Sunday, October 19, 2008

Cold Springs Winery, Hammett, ID


What a nice trip we had on Saturday, 18 Oct. Robin and I and Geno and Debra Chantrill, all drove down to Hammett and to the Cold Springs Winery, where Robin's cousin, Jamie Martin, is the winemaker. It was good to see Jamie again. Here are some photos. Top Left: Cold Springs Winery Label. Top Right: Some old vine grapes

On the (Left) Robin and Jamie, with Geno Chantrill in the background and on the (Right) New Vines. Have you ever had a "new wine" (Syrah) that is about 3 days off the vine? We did and that is going to be a great wine, Jamie!


On the Left, Jamie's label for his "Hot Rod White". But I really must say that his Hot Rod Red is much better - along the lines of his Basque Red. On the Right, Riesling grapes ready to be converted to wine! Robin, Jamie, Debra and Geno - hiding!











On the Left, Caroline punching down the Syrah and on the Right, Robin, Geno and Debra tasting the Riesling grapes.






Left, another one of the Cold Springs labels and, on the Right, bottles of Riesling lees - still full of sugar and some yeast - that Jamie gave me. I have a special project that I am going to use some on. I will post the project and results at a later time. This should really be fun and interesting. Any suggestions for the use of the lees? Keep Tuned In and I will post updates. Cheers!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Early Snow!

Yes, the first of October is early for snow around here. We had measurable snow, less than 1/4". Whereas, there are places in the mountains that are going to get 12" of snow over night. The earliest snow was in 1998, but it was not measurable. Prior to this evening, the earliest measurable snow was in 1968. Here are some photos of this evenings snow.
Here is looking north from in front of our house. The large white spots are actually snow flakes.
This is looking south in front of our house. And yes, those are snow flakes. Buddy loves the snow!
Snow covered roses.
And of course, there are the Hollyhocks. So there you have "on the spot" photos of the First Snow In Boise for 2008. Now we just have to remind the Snow Gods that this "stuff" belongs in the mountains, not in the Banana Belt!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Homemade Jewish Rye

I have been looking for a good New York Style Jewish Rye bread and, now that Oktober Fest is just around the corner, I found a recipe, modified it and it is great! here is the Recipe for it. Try it and let me know what you think about it.
Here is a photo of the bread 30 minutes out of the oven and two sandwiches cut - ham and cheese, of course. A nice open crumb and the caraway is very visible. With this recipe, you get a very slight sourdough taste that really goes well with the caraway and rye.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

New Doll - Old Method

We have some Hollyhocks growing along our side yard. So Robin thought she would make a new doll, using an old method. Here is what she did.


So there you have it. It's not hard to imagine the dolls in their flamenco outfits. Hear the guitar? The castanets? The rhythm of the feet? Imagine!