success!

I am happy to report that my first ever cheese is a success! After 8+ weeks of aging it, we finally got to try our farmhouse cheddar. It is 2 lbs, made out of 2 gallons of pasteurized whole milk. We even got to wax it and everything.

It is softer than what we expected but the taste is fantastic for a first attempt. It had a hint of acidity in the beginning but ends well with a creamy texture. I actually like sharper cheddars but my Hubby likes the milder flavor. It held enough so I could cut it and tasted great on just a piece of bread. My Hubby was very impressed and that means a lot. My comment? "At least it's not gross." The tough self-critic. Really though, it's pretty good cheese.

We had some with our turkey burgers for dinner. The cheese went well with the 2007 Williamson Malbec.

Time to schedule some more cheese making!

smoked pork loin

Hubby's been making lots of dinners lately, courtesy of his new pellet smoker and a brand new Weber Genesis grill! One of these days I'll talk about the creative financing of these new toys.

His basic dry rub is fairly simple: seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder. The meat was juicy and tender. We paired it with leftover shrimp fried rice I had made earlier in the week and my easy salad: greens, red pepper slivers and a light raspberry walnut dressing. The weather has been so beautiful - we've been taking advantage of it by having our dinners outside and enjoying the sight of our garden.

roses, roses, roses!

One of my dreams come true! I always wanted to have a garden with several rose bushes and now I have over a dozen! This first one is the most special. My Hubby gave me this for Valentine's Day and it was one of the first bushes that got planted in our new home. I was pretty aggressive in trimming the rose bushes this year and it paid off - I've got beautiful blooms especially with this variegated one. I should find out the name of it.

This next one is still a young bush - not even two feet tall but the blooms are enormous!

And the last photo are the first bouquet for the season. Aren't they just lovely???

gazpacho for the first time

I am enjoying a beautiful weekend in historic downtown Grass Valley for a women's retreat. We have an inspiring speaker, whom the Lord has chosen to bring a timely word for us women. I am eating well from the banquet God has laid out for us.

As for worldly treats, a group of us went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant, which appears to be the taste of choice in this small town. I ordered the gazpacho, which I had never had and it was pretty good. I didn't expect it to be chilled but it was very tasty. I cannot wait to make it a home for my Hubby, whom I miss a lot. I've already got a ton to share with him. The thing about this gazpacho...the shrimp was really, really small! Jumbo shrimp will make it off the hook:-) And I forgot to tell them to leave off the avocado. Not a fan and I hate to waste it since it's such a near-delicacy.

The restaurant also served a very complicated oil and vinegar dip for their bread. Had lots of spices in it...I'll have to think about that one so I can recreate it.

I think I'll make it my goal to eat something new every chance I get this weekend. That might be a stretch given the small town but we'll see. I want to eat well!

I miss you Honey! I can say that since he really is the only one who knows about my blog and reads it (I think!).

smoked "Indonesian" teriyaki salmon

Hubby has gone crazy practically smoking something every night using his new pellet grill. The masterpiece tonight is a smoked salmon and he used an Indonesian sauce called kecap manis as the base for his version of teriyaki. Doesn't it look awesome??? A couple of nights we didn't eat until 8 pm because he was smoking something! But every single one has been worth the wait. Our latest book is on charcuterie...we'll be trying our hand in making sausages, pancetta, and bacon!

We had a preview of this smoked salmon and it was fantastic! Hubby served it with some grilled corn on the cob - our first of the season. And I do have to mention he bought Stove Top stuffing...he had a craving for it! All this gourmet stuff and we made it real by eating it with stuffing. We ate outside on our patio, enjoying the beautiful weather, a lovely bottle of Williamson pinot noir and just sweet, sweet company. The Lord is good to us.

great news...we can raise chickens!

Just found out via the City ordinance that we can raise chickens in our backyard!!! Hubby and I are super-excited about this. I eat eggs everyday and he eats them 3-4 times a week. We thought we couldn't do this. I saw an article about folks protesting against their City about not being allowed to raise backyard chickens. Finally occurred to me to Google it and voila! Our City allows it!!! Woo hoo!

lovely Easter weekend

We had a glorious Easter weekend. My sister visited me on Friday and we just did some shopping, catching up and eating a great lunch. On Saturday we got her to help us with our current backyard project: replacing the bark in the flower beds with river rock/gravel. It was back-breaking work. I had her rake in the old bark, to ease her into yard work.

Hubby and I have been hard at work doing some DIY patio decorating. It’s not quite renovation since our house is new. We’ve set-up the new sitting area and got huge planters for some flowery shrubs: azalea, hibiscus and camellia. They look awesome. I will post pix later. On Saturday we actually got to enjoy the fire pit again while my Sweetness worked on smoking yet another brisket for Easter lunch.

My in-laws came for lunch after the respective Easter services. The picture below is one of 2 tulip bouquets I had gotten from Whole Foods. I can’t wait to cut flowers from my own yard! My roses have got a ton of buds. I’ve got 7 hanging flower baskets and I’ve planted seeds in them (poppies, snapdragon, alyssum) and two have freesia bulbs. I am resisting buying annuals this year, choosing instead to grow them from seeds. The wait is testing my patience.

The weather was beautiful enough to enjoy our Easter meal outside. The food was just outstanding! Hubby and I enjoy hosting and yesterday was great. I made potatoes au gratin and two different beer breads (multi-grain with brown ale beer and wheat with IPA). I thought they turned out well.