A lovely weekend...despite the ketchup incident.

This past weekend, I was able to spend some time with my Mom and Patrick who were up visiting from their home in Massachusetts.

I headed down to Charlotte on Friday evening after a relaxing afternoon on Church Street with Steven, (I took the day off from work!).  Mom, Patrick and I decided to have dinner at Fire and Ice in Middlebury. We enjoyed the yummy food and the nostalgic atmosphere in the “Library Room.” Molly, I was thinking of you…

Saturday morning, my Mom and I woke up and hit a number of yard sales. We found a couple of small treasures but, the find of the day was this vintage Samsonite Saturn Bag for $1.00. It’s in perfect condition! 

When we got home, we decided to head down to the rocks to have an afternoon swim and a beer. We paddled ourselves around and had a good chat for an hour or so which was plenty of time for me to get a good burn on my face and arms. We've had a wet summer s0, I welcomed the warm rays, (I think I’m feeling the effects of my window-less office). After a little dinner alfresco, I headed back into Burlington in time for some dancing with Hannah and Alison at Lift.  

I woke up with a small headache on Sunday morning. Too much bubbly? Not enough sleep? Probably both. But, I decided to work things out with a solo mission to Montreal. Goal: To purchase a shelf that will occupy a corner space in my kitchen.  Thank goodness for the drive. IKEA on a Sunday is no place for a lady with a hangover.  My time there was brief but, long enough for an unsupervised child to bump into me and my hotdog knocking ketchup onto my new Adidas kicks. Probably serves me right for choosing to put ketchup on my dog instead of mustard in a place like Montreal. No further comment on that.

After getting the 90 lb IKEA shelf into my car (quite a task), I decided to head to The Atwater Market sans Craig this time. Poo. What a wonderful place to visit when you want to slow down and enjoy the sites, sounds and smells. 

Dahlia’s, $4 CAD for a large bouquet. But, you can’t take them with you over the border. Cry, cry, cry.

Bins and bins of onions, garlic, fruits and veggies…

A cheese tasting at Fromagerie du marché Atwater. I had the aged Gouda in the back right hand corner.

Then, I made a quick stop at French Connection to partake in their 75% off sale. Lucky me! Finally, I visited the old city before heading back to Burlington. I pulled up next to this lovely creature at a red light.

My tired body fell into bed last night after dinner and a movie for some much needed rest. It's warming up today. My AC is on for the second time this summer. Bring on the heat!

Julie and Julia

Maybe it's because I'm absolutely in love with the optimism that's threaded throughout this movie or the fact that I can totally identify with how hard it was for Julie to "kill" those lobsters but, I loved this movie! I think I smiled/laughed for most of two hours while watching Julia hoot and holler over life's simple pleasures...and perhaps cried a teensy bit too watching the ups and downs that the main characters faced in each of their lives. It's just life. But, what a wonderful gift it is when you discover a passion that you are able to share with others you love. Now, that's rich!

"Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and Julie Powell (Amy Adams) are featured in writer-director Nora Ephron's adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell's Julie & Julia and My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends...until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible."  -Columbia Pictures

Brooklyn Beer & Cheese with Garrett Oliver

Last night, a small group of us gathered at Flatbread for an evening of beer and cheese pairings hosted by Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery and author of The Brewmaster's Table. I have to admit, prior to this event, I was skeptical about how well beer and cheese actually go together. What about wine?

Garrett started the evening by giving all of us a bit of background on the history of cheese and beer. He shared his feelings about the growing number food items in our grocery store that are FILLED with many too many ingredients to help preserve them. How long does bread stay fresh? Real bread only keeps for a few days. So what is the grocery store selling? Answer: A steamed product with no real crust. It's actually food coloring that makes the outside of the product look like crust on the loaves that seem to last forever. And then there are cheese, "singles." I can't even go there. Ew. OK, back to the history lesson. Cheese was originally made to capture milk so it wouldn't go bad before it could be consumed. Making beer was a way to capture clean water. Before there were water purifiers, there was always a concern that...a cow (for example) might wander into your river, DIE and contaminate your entire water source. Hmm...Beer and cheese have been dietary staples for hundreds of years. It just makes sense to pair them together.

Shortly after the introduction, we began to taste the beer...and then the cheese...and finally the beer and cheese together! I have a new appreciation for a person's ability to select a beer and a cheese that compliment each other. In one case, I really thought the beer was blah but, coupled with brined sheep's milk cheese, the combination was perfect!

We were also surprised to hear that despite all we've ever heard about the union of wine and cheese...people in the industry find it near impossible to successfully match a red wine with a cheese. Garrett told us that in one case, a Sommelier announced that, since he had lost in the past with red wine, he was going to cheat and serve his cheeses with Sherry. Garrett later said, "...and he still lost!" In many cases people pair wine and cheese together without much thought since a cheese course falls towards the end of a meal. They just look for what's left of the wine and go for it. In my opinion, that approach is still fine. I'm just glad to know that when I really want to taste something wonderful there are people out there who can guide me. 

Thanks for entering the contest at the Brewer's Festival Jay and Maegen...and winning!

Here are the pairings:

Vermont Butter & Cheese Chevre with Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

Taleggio with Brooklyn Local 2

St. Andre Triple Cream with Brooklyn Local 1

Petit Basque with Brooklyn Brown Ale

Shelburne Farms 1 Year Old Cheddar with Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

Jaspar Hill Bayley Hazen Blue with Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Maegen, moments after I missed the "cheese sniffing" moment. 

Brooklyn Brown Ale: the 4th of six pairings.

A few of The Critics.

The Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout was selected for the final pairing. 

The Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Sandwich is delish!

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. So, why do I only partake in it on the weekends? I cherish my sleep. On most weekdays, my alarm goes off and I disregard it for a good 15 minutes or so before I actually start the day. That 15 minutes is all I really need to prepare a little something to eat before work. When I choose the few extra minutes of sleep, my breakfast is coffee. There's no compromising on that but, coffee loves a good companion, right?

Today, I decided to make a different kind of breakfast sandwich and I honestly think my day has been better because of it. No grumbling tummy or wishing the morning away in anticipation of lunch. Let's see if I can keep it up. 

Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Sandwich

wheat toast

1/2 banana

peanut butter

brown sugar

Bottle Shock

I watched the movie Bottle Shock last night. This is the story, (based on actual events) of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris." Fun! I give it a 7.5 out of 10.

"Sommelier and wine shop owner Steven Spurrier, a British expatriate living in Paris, concocts a plan to hold a blind taste-test intended to introduce Parisians to the quality wines coming from elsewhere in the world (and save his business in the process). He travels to the not-yet-famous Napa Valley in search of contestants for his Judgment of Paris taste test, where a chance meeting introduces him to floundering vintner Jim Barrett of Chateau Montelena. This twist of fate and the resultant oenological epiphany forever change their lives along with that of Barrett's son, Bo, as well as the fortunes of Napa Valley wineries and the global wine industry as a whole. "    

-Sundance Film Festival

ACTUAL "Judgement of Paris" Results:

1. Chateau Montelena 1973 United States

2. Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973 France

3. Chalone Vineyard 1974 United States

4. Spring Mountain Vineyard 1973 United States

5. Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973 France

6. Freemark Abbey Winery 1972 United States

7. Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973 France

8. Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive 1972 France

9. Veedercrest Vineyards 1972 United States

10. David Bruce Winery 1973 United States

Ingrid is just lovely today.

2009 North Shore Tennis Tournament

Our family gathers every summer on the first Saturday in August for a 2.2 mile fun run, tennis tournament and pot luck dinner. This year, the participants and observers enjoyed 10 full hours of play! Thankfully, it was the 4th (?) sunny day of our soggy summer and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was lots of fun to catch up with everyone and pretty neat to, "meet" the kids who had sprouted up during the past year. Chloe (Lori and Karl's daughter), Savannah (Nancy and Max's daughter), and Trent (Karen and Peter's son) ran a Lemonade stand throughout the day. They had a slow start but, as soon as the afternoon sun heated up, we all took advantage of their across-the-court delivery service. They ended up raising $130 for Karen's Caring Bridge Foundation. 

Matt Carlson was the big winner of the day. He received the, "Rabbit Award" for running the 2.2 mile circle the fastest in 12 min. 40 sec. He and Nancy Burcham were just barely defeated in a doubles tennis match against Peter Newman and Evan.  
There were roughly 85 people who attended the pot luck dinner after the finals match was over, complete with ice cream sundaes!

Here are a few of the tennis players in the mandatory post match picture pose. Ha!

In the end, we traveled back and forth (from our cabin to the court) a total of 4 times throughout the day to get food, drinks and of course to cool off in the lake with mom. There were lots of small moments that inspired me and others around me. We watched as family members young (10 years) and old (85 years) hit the ball over the net to each other. The quote of the day came from Dottie (a woman in her 80's) who said to her partner Josh (a UVM Rugby player), "OK, I'm going to hit the ball when it comes to me and you're going to run around. Got it?" Amazing.