OMG where has the time gone

I realized that I haven't written anything for awhile. Apparently my brain shut down somewhere along the way.
Weight is still good. Managed to maintain a 60 pound weight loss for awhile. Now I'm starting on the downward path again. Nice to know that I was able to maintain the weight loss. Maintaining is the hardest part.

Still no job. I have applied but have not heard back. I'm sure they are getting loads and loads of people applying for the same jobs. I also think that companies are waiting to hire people. I have applied for mostly part time jobs and I figured anything is better than nothing right now. Although I did hear that people are taking any job they can with the hopes of moving up or making more money but apparently that is not the way it works. Supposedly the state is going to start testing again in February.

The thing that peeves me off is that some employers won't hire someone who does not have a job. What the hell is up with that? I guess they think unemployed people don't make good employees. I would think they would make great employees because they want to work and aren't just job jumping.

I did hear of a place that has a bunch of jobs, Williston, ND. Yes, sunny and warm (haha) North Dakota. Think Fargo. It is in the Northwest corner of the state. Ya think they get any snow (although right now they don't have snow). You'd be going to work on a snowmobile, ya. Apparently it is quite oil rich. Halliburten is one of the biggest employers. Sounds like the Alaska Pipeline (charging a hella lotta money for rent and food). There are really jobs there, ya. Go to www.indeed.com and put in Williston, ND in the search line. Ya sure, there are some jobs. Okay, enough with the ya, but I couldn't resist.

Signed up for an online Italian language class. Just started and it is pretty cool. We'll see. I've taken Italian before but it didn't stick with me.

The weather has been awesome, although cold in the morning. I'm wondering when we are going to get rain and snow. The ski resorts have nada, well except for the resorts that are making their own snow. I'm betting that all of the boarders and skiers are quite bummed. Especially if they have already paid for their lift tickets.

Haven't been cooking any exciting meals lately, but I have made cookies. The guys where Mike works love them. It is like they have never had a homemade cookie. I made Snickerdoodles. Actually I made two different recipes of snickerdoodles just to see which one was better. One batch I added corn syrup (yes, I used the evil high fructose corn syrup, got to keep the guys on a sugar rush). The second batch I added a little bit of brown sugar in place of the corn syrup. They were quite different. The one with corn syrup was a more on the crispy side and was baked at 375. The one with brown sugar was fluffy with a softer texture, these were baked at 350. My taste tester, Ben, works with Mike and he chose the crunchy ones. He is a snickerdoodle lover.

Mike just bought me the The Pioneer Woman's first cookbook. Should be here today. I can't wait to see what meals I can whip up. You can look her up at www.thepioneerwoman.com. She also has a cooking show on the Food Network, new one starts on Saturday. Guess there is a trip to the store in the near future.

Ciao

Glad the weather is awesome. Able to get out and actually do yard work without having my muck boots on. The back lawn is so high that if you hid an Easter egg out there now you would never find it.

Mike and I have volunteered at an organic farm (Butte Mountain Organic Farm) a couple of times in the last few months. Did some transplanting, mulching, and rototilling. I left the rototilling to Mike since there were two big plots and I'm a sissy, I don't like using the big tiller. The farm also has chickens and sheep. Nothing better than having fresh eggs.

Weight has been good for a change, so far 50 pounds. I think working made me fat, too many snacks. Okay I'm in denial it wasn't just working that made me fat, it was eating way too much. I try to eat half portions. If we go out to eat I make sure I bring half of it home in a doggie bag or Mike and I share. We also try to eat fresh, healthy food. Although I have managed to eat a couple of Cadbury Eggs (best served cold). Trying to support Easter the best I can.

I do want to go back to work, but with only one car and living in a place that has very few jobs, it has been tough. I did look at some work at home options, but the one that has a decent reputation costs some sheckles. If you want your name to go out for better jobs you have to pay for the training. They do have different levels of training. Too bad they can't wait until you have actually worked awhile, then you can pay for the training.

Now to the wine, sorry for the rambling above, but I had to get it out of the way first.

We have found a new winery that we like in Amador County. It is Convergence (http://www.convergencevineyards.com). For those of you that like white wine (I know there are not many of you) their Sauvignon Blanc is excellent. Great with seafood and spicy food,. It is the kind of white wine that is a tad on the tart side. Their reds are excellent. Estate Zin was our favorite for reds, Tempranillo is a close second. They also carry these evil chocolate covered blueberries and a Raspberry Zinfandel Chocolate Sauce that is great on ice cream.

Convergence is off the beaten path and not in the Shenandoah Valley, but that is okay it is closer to my house.

Enough for now.

Ciao Bella

Garden Woes

Well, well, well it has taken awhile for our garden to get going with all of the crazy weather we had. As much as I hate the heat the tomatoes love it. Guess I have said that a few times.

I was like a new mother the other day. I called Mike and advised him our first born was here. Meaning I had seen our first heirloom tomato. Okay, it is kind of silly, but if you had waited as long as we have it is a blessing.

Oh, but to my dismay I saw the little black droppings of the worm that can suck the life out of a tomato plant. The Tomato Horn Worm (manduca quinquemaculata). I don't want them to stay around until the metamorphosis into The Five-Spotted Hawkmoth happens. The Hawkmoth is the size of a hummingbird  and not bad looking. I just wish their toddler stage was done on some other plant. Maybe the ugly shrubs in the yard, the weeds, we have plenty for them to eat. Get off my tomatoes, dammit. Okay not the best pic but you get the drift.

The zucchinis are, well do I really need to comment on this. One day they are two inches long, the next ten.

Lemon cucumbers are doing what they do best - climb. Beets are already picked and waiting to be roasted. Green beans are slow since we had to replant due to crappy soil, our bad.

Don't ever buy Kellogg soils. The are mostly wood, a tad of soil, and bat guano. Apparently, a bat flew over and pooped on it once. Oh yes, they did list it on the bag. The best soil is mushroom compost, organic matter, some cow or chicken manure. Let it sit after tilling it together. If you don't mix in the manure and let it sit, the soil will be to hot. Not weather hot but soil hot.

I think I'm done for right now, may go out and pick some worms. That is if I can find them, need the eyes of a hawk to spot them.

Ciao Bella

Ranting

Okay, I've had enough of this unemployment. Why you ask, because I had to cancel our wine clubs. One was Four Vines in Templeton (Paso Robles), the other was Esterlina in Philo.

I miss having my closet full of great wine to share with friends or to drink myself. I know that one of these days I'll have the wine again. There are more important things on my agenda.

Had dinner with friends on Saturday and had an awesome dinner and exceptional wine.

I have to get back on the bandwagon regarding my weight and working out. I had to freeze my gym membership to save some money. I go back next month and I am really ready. I just don't work out as hard at home. I notice that I don't feel as good nor do I have the energy I had when I was going. (Wait, maybe it is the lack of wine doing it. No? Okay I thought I would throw that in.)

One thing I have learned on this trip through the land of unemployment, there are a lot of things I can live without. When there is only one income coming in you have to make sacrifices. I don't get my nails done anymore, I wait longer to get my hair cut (I color it myself), the clothes in my closet are just fine, Mike doesn't mind that I cut his hair, we only go out to eat once in a while. We also plan our grocery shopping trips better. We still don't give up organic or quality, we just make it last. We have our own garden, we shop at the local farmer's markets, and I try to use as many coupons as I can. Our landlords are understanding during this time and they let us pay our rent in two payments. Thank you Steve and Linda.

This also becomes a problem when it comes to looking for employment. It looks like it would have to be something part time that doesn't conflict with Mike's schedule or something at night. Although I'm not sure I could work at night, I would probably fall asleep all of the time.

If the job market is getting better I sure haven't seen it, especially here in the foothills. Most people are now to the point where they are running out of unemployment benefits, what happens to these people now? They are already barely making it. People are still losing jobs, their houses, their cars, spouses, and sometimes their minds (depression is a horrible state of being).

You get questioned why you haven't found work from the person that is making $100k a year, driving a Mercedes, and their kids go to private school. They are also very good about giving suggestions of what you should do to find a job. Have you looked here? Have you looked there? These well meaning friends do not understand that when there is a job opening, 500 people have probably applied for it. Most of the people that apply may not even have the qualifications, but they apply anyway just because they want a job.

On the news and in person I see hundreds of people standing in line for a company that is hiring 100 people, there are more than 500 people showing up at job fairs. You know what I don't see? People dressed professionally, like they really want a job. I've seen hoodies, t-shirts, ripped jeans, ratty clothing in general, standing along with the minority of people dressed in business attire. Men in a suit or a decent pair of slacks and a nice shirt. Women in a dress, nice slacks, or business suit.

Oh, if you do want a job, LOSE THE DAMN CELL PHONE. You don't need to be texting your buds or BFFs what you are doing every five seconds. Do you think a potential employer is going to hire you if you are texting while being interviewed? Unless, they are a company that does texting studies, I doubt you will get hired.

Okay, I think I'm done for tonight. Keep positive thoughts and everything will be alright.

Esterlina Chardonnay and My Shrimp Pasta Dish

It is the end of my three week grocery shopping cache. I stand looking at the refrigerator/freezer and cupboards wondering what can I cook for dinner tonight?

Let's see I have some frozen uncooked shrimp, white wine, lemons, capers, garlic, olive oil, and whole wheat pasta. Gee, I wonder what can make with these ingredients?

The white wine is an Esterlina (do you see a pattern here?) 2007 Chardonnay from Russian River Valley. Yes, people I do like a good white wine on occasion. It's not all about red wine.

This wine is crisp and goes well with anything tart. Like lemons. Maybe that is just my opinion, but I do enjoy this Chardonnay. I could also see it accenting a hot, Asian dish also.

So the dinner, first I sauted the shrimp in a Spanish Olive Oil, then put them to the side. Sprinkled with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper. I add the whole wheat spaghetti to the boiling, salted water. 12 minutes for the pasta.

During this time, I add a little more olive oil to the pan that the shimp was cooked in. In goes the minced garlic, I only cook this for a moment because garlic will get bitter if it is cooked too long. I add 1/2 a cup of the Chardonnay (and no I am not wasting it by using it in my dish). It simmers for a minute or so, then I add lemon zest and 1/2 a cup of lemon juice (about two lemons). I let this simmer until it is reduced about half. Now for the capers, they only cook in the sauce for a minute then I add the shrimp back in.

The pasta has finished cooking, it has been drained, and put back into the pot it was cooked in. Now the shrimp is done and I pour it on the pasta. I mix it up, then serve it in bowls. I pour a glass of the Esterlina Chardonnay. The evening is complete.

An awesome meal, exceptional Chardonnay, and the USA won the Hockey game. What more can I ask for?

Ellie and Esterlina once again

Okay you are probably already tired of this combination, but you must get over it. As Martha would say, "It is a good thing."

I would have never thought that a Pinot Noir would go with Chicken Chop Suey, oh but it does! Quite well as a matter of fact.

There was a lot of prep time, shredding chicken (okay, I confess Mike did the chicken), cutting Shitake mushrooms, Napa cabbage (something I had never cooked before), bamboo shoots, and the regular items that would accent Chop Suey.

I coated Won Ton skins with canola oil and a tad of sea salt and baked them until browned and crispy. Then I proceeded to stir fry the rest of the ingredients while brown rice was in the steamer. Once everything was was combined and cooked to what the recipe specified, it was time to eat. We started with the brown rice in our bowls, topped with the chop suey and the crispy won tons. WOW!

Mike had already picked the Esterlina Pinot Noir (my sommelier in training?). I would like a Sauvignon Blanc or a really dry Chardonnay, (in my mind I am thinking "What would Andrea Immer Robinson do?") as this is a Chinese meal with chicken. Once again I was proved wrong. The Pinot went perfectly with the meal. I don't know if it was the salty won tons or the sesame oil, but it worked.

Some of you might wonder why I'm doing all of this cooking when Mike and I used to go out a lot. Well, unemployment has given me a lot of time to prepare and cook meals at home. We now only go out maybe once a month for dinner and a couple of times for lunch.

This is not a bad thing. I do not miss going out. Actually it has worked out quite well. Our first adventure of not going out has been Ellie Krieger's cookbook and it has been worth it. Her recipes are healthy and always tasty. I'm not missing the mega pinches of salt that my recipes usually had. I follow her lead and do not add additional salt.

I'm not spending any more than when we were going out. Honestly, I think I am spending less and Mike is happy to have his meals ready when he gets home from work. And no, I have not become the perfect housefrau, it is just something I have found I really, really like to do and yes it is for me too.

Okay, now the information on the wine. Esterlina 2007 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Esterlina Estate Vineyard, Reserva.

Here is what they say: My father believes wine growing is all about the land. Based on that belief, we sought out sites in the finest appellations and planted superior clones with the goal of producing exceptional wine. Through experimentation, patience, and a little luck, we feel we have created an exceptional wine. We hope you feel the same. E.I.Sterling, Proprietor. http://www.esterlinavineyards.com/ (707) 895-2920.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I am cooking a Sweet and Sour Brisket. Don't be surprised, yes it is Ellie all over again. I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful day. Make sure to eat DARK chocolate as it is good for you. Oh and it goes really great with Port.

Ciao Bella!

Ellie Krieger and Esterlina Wine

The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger has become one of my favorite cookbooks. Ellie has been on the Food Network, that is where I first saw her. She is a registered dietitian and was an adjunct professor at NYU in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health.

Her cookbook is filled with yummy recipes that list all of the nutrient and calorie information. She has updated old recipes by making them healthier and full of flavor without all of the bad things.

The other day I gave Mike a bunch of sticky tabs and said go through this book and find what you would like to try. Let's just say the book is full of sticky tabs. So I pick the recipe, buy the ingredients, and give it a try.

Last night we had Linguine with Shrimp and Vegetables. I couldn't find whole wheat linguine so I used whole wheat spaghetti. This recipe has asparagus, garlic, lemon, large shrimp, dry white wine, parsley, tomatoes and parmesan cheese to top it off. The recipe serves four (leftovers for Mike to take to lunch) and has 579 calories per serving.

I used some Esterlina 2008 Riesling for the 1/2 cup of white wine. I then helped myself to a glass. This wine was the perfect complement to the dish. This was not an overly sweet Riesling. It comes from Esterlina's Cole Ranch.

Mike and I have had the pleasure of meeting the Sterling family that comprises Esterlina. Their tasting rooms are way up (2.5 miles) a dirt road just outside of Philo in Mendocino County. You have to call first and they will tell you to come on up or not. After winding up the road, we reached the tasting rooms. They look like converted two-story homes with big decks that give you the most amazing view of  the valley and the vineyards. There we tasted their exceptional wines, not a bad one in the bunch.

Here is a little info: Cole Ranch is 253 acres - the smallest appellation in America. There, they grow Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot grapes. Their vineyard is the sole vineyard in this unique appellation; Esterlina's Alexander Valley Ranch, with gravelly soils produce some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon in the region; The Sterling Family vineyard, in the cool Russian River Valley produces a classic Burgundian-style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

I'm sure we will get back there in the future (I'm hoping the near future). I love Mendocino County and could easily live there. I don't see that happening anytime soon, but I can hope can't I. So for the time being I'll enjoy my few bottles of Esterlina and match it up with some healthy, flavorful, recipes from Ellie. Buon Appetito!

Ciao!