Wineries, Recipes, Chocolate, and Cows
Hello My Lovelies and Gents,
I hope this finds you well, warm, and dry. Ugh the weather has been horrible lately. We have had so much rain that I was ready to start building an Ark (not kidding). And now it's been so cold that my knees are really stiffening up in the morning. I'm ready to move further south. Just kidding.
Okay, enough complaining. I was just saying that for Lent I'm giving up all of the complainers on Facebook. I have taken no action, so let this be a warning: I need some positive stuff out there!
I shall start today's blog by telling you about my fun adventure from last Saturday. Ms. Kera and I went to visit some wineries. Hooray! It was a very much needed day for both of us. The original plan was to stop for lunch on the way there, but just to be safe I made sure to have a big breakfast. And I'm glad I did, because I decided to stop at Starbucks instead of making my morning coffee. That was a mistake as I was very tired and had a hard time waking up. So I got a later start than I had hoped. I did pick up some protein bars and water when I got my Starbucks though. Must stay hydrated.
We ended up driving straight to the first Winery. We would stop for food later. The first place we went to was Laurel Grey Vineyards.
I liked this location. It was really pretty and the wine was good. The tasting paired the wines with sauces. I bought a bottle of the Sangria. It brought me joy. The little shop had many things that I wanted to buy. I didn't get anything, but when I go back I want to get a print that the owner painted of a Red Barn at Christmas. It was Gorgeous and inspiring. I want to paint something similar.
Our next stop was Shadow Springs Vineyard. In retrospect we should have gone to the store first, but I was super excited about the Shadow-rita. It's a Margarita wine. HELLO! I liked this place also. It was gorgeous and they let you choose the wines you want in your tasting. I like sweet wines (surprise) so I stayed towards the bottom of the list. You can see how much I enjoyed it. Ms. Kera told me to leave a little in my glass though for when he poured in the Shortcake. OMG. It was a strawberry margarita. HOLLA!
I liked some of the other wines, but I'm anxious to go back for some Shadow-Rita slushies when it's warmer out. PS. We are going back for my birthday. Everyone is invited!
By this point I was deeply regretting skipping lunch. So we ran to the Amish market. They were closing soon so the deli area was closed. I did get some Buggy trail mix (pretzels, sesame sticks, and cheese crackers). I pretty much inhaled it. I did also get some ginger snaps and a jar of nutmeg.
Then we were on our way to the last Winery of the day: Windsor Run Cellars. Ms. Kera's mom was working and would our server for the Tasting. By now I was quite happy, but I wasn't done. Again we were able to chose the wines we wanted to taste. I had some wines that I enjoyed: Windsorberry, Sangria, and Apple Mead. But, I lost my mind over the Island Holiday. It was by far my favorite of the day, and that's saying a lot since I liked so many.
When we finished it was dinner time and girlfriend needed food. So we all went out to pizza afterwards. While it was good at the moment, it was my second pizza in two days and I didn't feel well after. My body is no longer used to greasy food so it doesn't sit well with me anymore. Not going to complain about that.
When we go back for my birthday I will be better prepared.
Let's talk new recipes. I have cut back to one recipe a week, which was my original intent. I know have a lot of recipes to work with so one recipe a week is sufficient.
I got excited at the Grilled Mexican Pizza that I found in one of my used bookstore finds: Good Housekeeping 400 Calorie Vegetarian.
The recipe called for Black Bean Dip, pizza crust, shredded mexican cheese blend, Avocado, fresh lime juice, shredded Romaine Lettuce, grated lime peel, and a ripe tomato.
I opted to use whole wheat pitas for the crust, added cilantro, and skipped the lettuce. I also didn't grill it as I don't have a grill, but I'm anxious to try it.
It was tasty, but it felt like a good appetizer. I wasn't ready to give up though. So I got some fresh salsa and used that instead of tomatoes. OMG. This second round was outstanding. I will be keeping this in the rotation.
I love that Chick pea soup so much that I made it again. It's my third time and oh I love love love it.
My next new recipe was Lentil, Chickpea, Cheddar, and Onion Burger. This was from a cookbook that Aunt Gerri sent me: The Meat Free Monday cookbook.
This was an ambitious recipe for me, but I have had a bunch of Lentils and haven't found any recipes for them. There were many ingredients:
olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, cayanne pepper, lentils, chickpeas, tahini paste, parsley, egg, bread crumbs, grated gruyere, feta, black pepper, and flour.
Naturally I improvised. I skipped the cumin and pepper. Instead I used an Italian Garlic seasoning. I also skipped the tahini and increased the eggs and bread crumbs (which were Italian flavored). The last change I made was substituting shredded gouda for the gruyere. And let me just say that finding shredded gouda has been life changing.
I frequently solicit advice from the cooks in my life when I start something new. And it was recommended that I cook the lentils in some vegetable stock. So I did. And I burnt a bunch because I wasn't paying attention. Oops. Good news: we were able to clean the pot.
This recipe was a labor of love and I completely took liberties, but I am in LOVE with these burgers. Although I have still not found Cheddar in the recipe. The gouda is an outstanding choice though.
And now for a funny little antidote. I live across the street from a cow pasture. Many times it has looked like the cows got out, but they hadn't, you just couldn't see the fence. Well a couple of weeks ago they did get out. And they came to visit. I think they just knew that I am a vegetarian and they were safe around me. lol.
Only the younger ones got out and went exploring. The older cows just kept on eating. I would like to mention that I was extremely brave and didn't run from them. My job was to make sure the cars on the road slowed down. They were pretty good. My video is better than my picture, but this was a good one.
All is well. The farmer was getting his boots on to come get them when we were there. He appreciated our help. Our pleasure.
Lent started last week and once again I gave up chocolate. I can't explain it, but it's so much easier for me to give up chocolate during Lent then if I were to say "I'm not going to each chocolate this week." I haven't touched chocolate since Tuesday, and I've been fine. However, I completely binged on chocolate on Tuesday.
I was also given a white chocolate bunny on Tuesday. I am holding on to it for Easter. It's currently hiding from me. I was also given a bottle of wine on Tuesday. I did NOT give up wine for Lent. Lol. Relax, I've only had a couple of glasses.
The other day I needed to kill some time so I thought I would take my laptop to a coffee shop and work on some recertification courses. I have a bunch of nutrition courses that I'm really excited about. YAY.
Have a Blessed Evening,
Jennie
xoxo
If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.
jhendersonfit@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfAFormerFatGir
yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: hugsnsmile
Instagram: Jennie5973
I hope this finds you well, warm, and dry. Ugh the weather has been horrible lately. We have had so much rain that I was ready to start building an Ark (not kidding). And now it's been so cold that my knees are really stiffening up in the morning. I'm ready to move further south. Just kidding.
Okay, enough complaining. I was just saying that for Lent I'm giving up all of the complainers on Facebook. I have taken no action, so let this be a warning: I need some positive stuff out there!
I shall start today's blog by telling you about my fun adventure from last Saturday. Ms. Kera and I went to visit some wineries. Hooray! It was a very much needed day for both of us. The original plan was to stop for lunch on the way there, but just to be safe I made sure to have a big breakfast. And I'm glad I did, because I decided to stop at Starbucks instead of making my morning coffee. That was a mistake as I was very tired and had a hard time waking up. So I got a later start than I had hoped. I did pick up some protein bars and water when I got my Starbucks though. Must stay hydrated.
We ended up driving straight to the first Winery. We would stop for food later. The first place we went to was Laurel Grey Vineyards.
Our next stop was Shadow Springs Vineyard. In retrospect we should have gone to the store first, but I was super excited about the Shadow-rita. It's a Margarita wine. HELLO! I liked this place also. It was gorgeous and they let you choose the wines you want in your tasting. I like sweet wines (surprise) so I stayed towards the bottom of the list. You can see how much I enjoyed it. Ms. Kera told me to leave a little in my glass though for when he poured in the Shortcake. OMG. It was a strawberry margarita. HOLLA!
By this point I was deeply regretting skipping lunch. So we ran to the Amish market. They were closing soon so the deli area was closed. I did get some Buggy trail mix (pretzels, sesame sticks, and cheese crackers). I pretty much inhaled it. I did also get some ginger snaps and a jar of nutmeg.
Then we were on our way to the last Winery of the day: Windsor Run Cellars. Ms. Kera's mom was working and would our server for the Tasting. By now I was quite happy, but I wasn't done. Again we were able to chose the wines we wanted to taste. I had some wines that I enjoyed: Windsorberry, Sangria, and Apple Mead. But, I lost my mind over the Island Holiday. It was by far my favorite of the day, and that's saying a lot since I liked so many.
When we finished it was dinner time and girlfriend needed food. So we all went out to pizza afterwards. While it was good at the moment, it was my second pizza in two days and I didn't feel well after. My body is no longer used to greasy food so it doesn't sit well with me anymore. Not going to complain about that.
When we go back for my birthday I will be better prepared.
*****
Let's talk new recipes. I have cut back to one recipe a week, which was my original intent. I know have a lot of recipes to work with so one recipe a week is sufficient.
I got excited at the Grilled Mexican Pizza that I found in one of my used bookstore finds: Good Housekeeping 400 Calorie Vegetarian.
The recipe called for Black Bean Dip, pizza crust, shredded mexican cheese blend, Avocado, fresh lime juice, shredded Romaine Lettuce, grated lime peel, and a ripe tomato.
I opted to use whole wheat pitas for the crust, added cilantro, and skipped the lettuce. I also didn't grill it as I don't have a grill, but I'm anxious to try it.
It was tasty, but it felt like a good appetizer. I wasn't ready to give up though. So I got some fresh salsa and used that instead of tomatoes. OMG. This second round was outstanding. I will be keeping this in the rotation.
I love that Chick pea soup so much that I made it again. It's my third time and oh I love love love it.
My next new recipe was Lentil, Chickpea, Cheddar, and Onion Burger. This was from a cookbook that Aunt Gerri sent me: The Meat Free Monday cookbook.
This was an ambitious recipe for me, but I have had a bunch of Lentils and haven't found any recipes for them. There were many ingredients:
olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, cayanne pepper, lentils, chickpeas, tahini paste, parsley, egg, bread crumbs, grated gruyere, feta, black pepper, and flour.
Naturally I improvised. I skipped the cumin and pepper. Instead I used an Italian Garlic seasoning. I also skipped the tahini and increased the eggs and bread crumbs (which were Italian flavored). The last change I made was substituting shredded gouda for the gruyere. And let me just say that finding shredded gouda has been life changing.
I frequently solicit advice from the cooks in my life when I start something new. And it was recommended that I cook the lentils in some vegetable stock. So I did. And I burnt a bunch because I wasn't paying attention. Oops. Good news: we were able to clean the pot.
This recipe was a labor of love and I completely took liberties, but I am in LOVE with these burgers. Although I have still not found Cheddar in the recipe. The gouda is an outstanding choice though.
*****
And now for a funny little antidote. I live across the street from a cow pasture. Many times it has looked like the cows got out, but they hadn't, you just couldn't see the fence. Well a couple of weeks ago they did get out. And they came to visit. I think they just knew that I am a vegetarian and they were safe around me. lol.
Only the younger ones got out and went exploring. The older cows just kept on eating. I would like to mention that I was extremely brave and didn't run from them. My job was to make sure the cars on the road slowed down. They were pretty good. My video is better than my picture, but this was a good one.
All is well. The farmer was getting his boots on to come get them when we were there. He appreciated our help. Our pleasure.
*****
Lent started last week and once again I gave up chocolate. I can't explain it, but it's so much easier for me to give up chocolate during Lent then if I were to say "I'm not going to each chocolate this week." I haven't touched chocolate since Tuesday, and I've been fine. However, I completely binged on chocolate on Tuesday.
I was also given a white chocolate bunny on Tuesday. I am holding on to it for Easter. It's currently hiding from me. I was also given a bottle of wine on Tuesday. I did NOT give up wine for Lent. Lol. Relax, I've only had a couple of glasses.
*****
The other day I needed to kill some time so I thought I would take my laptop to a coffee shop and work on some recertification courses. I have a bunch of nutrition courses that I'm really excited about. YAY.
Have a Blessed Evening,
Jennie
xoxo
****Please note****
If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.
jhendersonfit@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfAFormerFatGir
yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: hugsnsmile
Instagram: Jennie5973
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