Vino

What do 16 pounds of pears, 3 gallons of water, and 10 pounds of sugar have in common?  In combination with some yeast, pectin, and a few other powdery substances: they can all be used to make wine!  This year's crazy weather has resulted in a very full pear tree, as opposed to last year when we maybe harvested six.  So what's a girl to do with an over abundance of these little green guys?  That's right.  Make wine.

Last year I bought a wine making kit to use with the peaches we harvested. My first attempt ever at processing wine came out pretty good. A little drier than expected, similar to a riesling, but pretty good none-the-less. This go around I am aiming for a sweet pinot grigio.  The key to this process is successful racking: filtering stages that reduce the fruit sediment and yeast yielding the clear liquid known as wine, aka Vino.  Plus, I have read that with pear wine you typically add in about six cups of honey midprocess.   I am no expert, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once.  So, that's the game plan.

About three months from now we shall have a finished product.  I am a firm believer in planning ahead so I'd like to solicit ideas for names starting now.  Get your creative juices flowing and leave a comment.

Stir-Fry

No, this is not a foodie blog.  However, I threw together a meal last night "Theresa-style" and think it's worthy of discussion. (Side note: "Theresa-style" refers to Justin's grandmother who likes to experiment in the kitchen.)  I got home last night and I just wasn't feeling another night of bbq.  I know I'll regret saying that when we have three foot of snow on the ground, but I just couldn't endure another hamburger or hotdog.  Enter Stir-Fry.

I had probably half a pound of purple string-beans and another half a pound of asparagus in the fridge which I wanted to use up.  I got the frying pan out to saute the two together with butter and garlic when the idea for Stir-Fry hit me.  So I pulled two chicken breasts from the freezer and put them on auto-defrost in the microwave.  I got some minute brown rice going on the stove.  Then I got fancy and swirled some soy sauce and honey in with the veggies and covered them to steam a bit on low.  I cut the chicken into strips and fried them up separately with some olive oil, salt-n-pepper, paprika, and a glob or so of sweet and sour sauce.  The end result was a dish even Julia Child would be proud of.  You'll have to forgive me as it was an afterthought to take a photo, so it's not plated fancy and there is in fact no rice in this photo.