Adventures in Wine Country

Last weekend I headed to the Napa Valley for a weekend of MakeMeMiniMarch cheating...

Arrived in town Friday evening (to watch the conclusion of Marquette getting whooped by UNC) and headed into Downtown Napa for dinner at Fish Story. Great restaurant. I ordered the Grilled Washington Steelhead with grilled asparagus, spring onion, green garlic & fingerling potato hash, grain mustard beurre blanc.Dinner was delicious, and the conversation was even better.

 

Saturday was a day full of winetasting, we had our agenda all lined up (thanks to GC for his thoughtful recommendations). We, being the dedicated wine drinkers that we are, started at 10:30 at Paraduxx. We enjoyed a tasting of the 2009 Parajaxx White Blend, Napa Valley Reds from 2006, 2007 and 2008, 2008 Parajaxx Zinfandel/Cabernet Franc, 2007 Canvasback Napa Valley Red, and charmed our way into the Migration Chardonnay and Migration Sauvignan Blanc. There was cheese and crackers served alongside this pairing and the gentleman who ended up adopting us there added to the great experience.  We took a stroll around the property, which looked like it'd be great fun on a sunnier day. (Here we were playing musical iPhone to get some pictures with the vines)

Our next stop, along what now seemed to be a fowl-centric wine tasting excursion was at Goosecross. Here we tasted the 2009 Napa Valley Chenin Blanc, 2008 Napa Valley Estate Chardonnay, 2009 Napa Valley "Oak Knoll" Viognier, 2007 Merlot, 2007 Syrah, 2007 Napa Cabernet, and the 2005 Howell Mountain Cabernet. They offered not only dark chocolate to compliment the Syrah and Cabs but a delicious Chardonnay infused peanut brittle. When asked (by the "connoisseurs" next to us) what they were known for, Jose's answer was quickly "Hospitality". I couldn't agree more!

After Goosecross we were ready for our lunch stop at Rutherford Grill. We started out with a spinach artichoke appetizer and I had a glass of Frank Family Chardonnay (since it was already beginning to look as though we weren't going to make it all the way up there). Mama Rose and I split the Prime Rib French Dip sandwich, which came highly recommended; dad had the Chicken Sandwich - both were served with MOUNDS of shoestring potatoes. (dad's lunch is pictured below)

After the delicious lunch, we headed to St. Supery where we were told to ask for the upstairs tasting room.Although the wine smelled delicious, we were underwhelmed by the tasting. It absolutely was the most tweet-worthy of all locations. Mama Rose described one of the wines "I thought the wine needed a little splenda" and dad voiced his concern over our white wine tasting "I'm worried about you two drinking formaldehyde". 

 

Our next stop of the day was a Paraduxx recommendation, Frog's Leap.We were sent there for the 2010 Pink La Grenouille Rougante. Everything that we tried, we loved. We had great conversation sitting at a long dining room table and walking around their gorgeous property. 

With just enough time to spare, we headed to Peju to do one last tasting. Our pourer was an aspiring rapper who had a different rhyme for each wine. Entertaining to say the least, wines were delicious as always. Mom got lost, but don't worry she didn't wander too far that we couldn't track her down. We had reservations for a late dinner at Bistro Don Giovanni. We started with the Fritto Misto calamari, rock shrimp fennel, onions, green beans, spicy aioli. Delicious. For dinner I was incredibly satisfied with the Fettuccine Bolognese with wild boar ragu, aged provolone, and sage. MOm got the ravioli and dad had the Prime Rib special.

 

We ended the weekend Sunday afternoon heading to Santa Rosa to try Guy Fieri's restaurant, Johnny Garlic's. Although our waitress was painfully awkward, we had a lovely meal. We were greeted with some homemade foccacia and a rosemary infused olive oil. We shared an order of Garlic Fries (how could we not, right?) and then I ordered the Volcano Chicken with Yukon Gold Mash, Seasonal Vegetable, "Maui Onion Straws" and Volcano Sauce. It was wonderful, and even the lunch portion was enough to take leftovers home for the next day.

All in all, it was a great weekend with my amazing parents, great wine, and delicious food. Until next time...

Forty Six Days

So, I'm gonna blame part of the reason for my lack of posts lately on Lent..  

For some, Lent is a period of going on a diet; for others, it is when Catholic co-workers show up to work with ashes on their heads, and fast food restaurants start selling fish sandwiches. Many Christians, who don't necessarily find their way to mass except on Easter and Christmas, find they are attracted to Lent.

I fall into the final category, Lent is a time of year that I enjoy challenging myself to 46 (yes, it's not 40, it's 46) days withholding something from myself. This year I decided to give up TWO things. Chocolate* and Technology on school nights*.  

Chocolate*: I'm allowed to have Chocolate Shakeology. I think that God would agree that it's too wonderful of a product to withhold from myself.
The chocolate has, thus far, been a breeze. Mainly because for Mardi Gras I seriously ate more chocolate than I have in the past three months, so by the time I weighted in on Wednesday at the gym (great timing, I know) I was ready to take a hiatus from Kringle, Reese's and beyond. 

Technology*: I turn off technology at 10:30 on school nights. Weekends and Spring Break are fair game.
The technology has been a challenge. Most days I work from 7:30-3:30, come home and cook dinner before going to yoga (5:30-7). By the time I get home, shower, and eat it's usually around 8:30. Now, one would imagine that two hours of technology SHOULD be enough for a person. Perhaps they haven't met me.
1. I am VERY well-versed at wasting time on the internet (facebook, twitter, blogs, ebay, gchat, etc) as well as doing research and collaborating on chapters for my Masters Research Paper.
2. Then there's texting! I usually do a good deal of my texting when I am laying in bed, ready to fall asleep. It's the only time when I don't have a ton of distractions, but this 10:30 rule cuts down on that (and especially my nightly 11:11 text to Lindsey Minor)
3. Television has surprisingly been the easiest thing to say goodnight too. I'm sure having the DVR helps, because most nights there are a few hours of programming that my roommate and I indulge in.

So far, so good. What did you give up/promise to do for Lent?

Passion: The Defining Difference

Struggle is much less painful than regret -Craig Holiday

Who was that strange blue creature?

Sometimes me think what is love, and then me think love is what last cookie is for. Me give up the last cookie for you. -Cookie Monster

I decided that I am going to give up chocolate for Lent, so in preparation I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies to celebrate it's temporary (46 day) departure from my life. So, I kinda fell off the bandwagon. But at least I attempted to do it in a calorie-concious way. 

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! 

The Ingredients (yes, that's applesauce)

The Process

The Result (om nom nom)

This recipe substituted applesauce for the oil to be more "health-conscious" However I feel like that doesn't really matter when I eat 3 per serving. They were more cake-y than crispy but they received warm reception from those who tried them. So, I'd probably make them again.

Wallet vs Waist

My first frustration set in today with my Make Me Mini March campaign.. 

Now, don't get me wrong... I had a BLAST planning my meals for the week this afternoon. I used myrecipes.com to browse online, select Cooking Light recipes, and generate a shopping list. I was off to the store, excited to do my shopping for the week- one of the highlights of my Sunday.. 

The frustration set in when I saw my total, $101.96. I was once again reminded that it's not cheap to eat healthy. I DID get a lot of food and it will feed me (and my roommate) for an entire week. But when you consider the price of fast food, it is definitely a cheaper option. For the price I paid for groceries I could have purchased the following amounts of fast food:
115 Crunch Wrap Supremes (Taco Bell)
19 Mandarin Chicken Salads (Wendy's)
20 Footlong Meatball Sandwiches (Subway)
25 Big Macs (McDonalds)
22 Personal Pepperoni Pizzas (Pizza Hut)
46 Medium French Fries (Mc Donalds)



Clearly, the tradeoff of cost vs. nutritional value isn't enough to change my mind about Make Me Mini March... but it is something that I'd like to complain about.

On a brighter note, this week's menu looks amazing!!

Tuesday (Mardi Gras): Jambalaya with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage
Wednesday: Roasted-Vegetable Lasagna
Thursday: Dinner with Brett Hoebel :)
Friday: Slow-Cooker Veggie Chili
Saturday:Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles
Sunday: Sausage and Bean Casserole

Beauty School Haircut

Last weekend, well let's be honest, the last few weeks.. I've noticed that my hair was beginning to look like a lion's mane (not in a good way). My ends were fried and in the past I've been pretty picky (cheap) about who I let cut my hair because I want to keep the length while still getting an affordable (paid for my mom) haircut. With a trip to SCV nowhere in the foreseeable future, I decided that it was time for me to bite the bullet and get myself a damn haircut.

So, I did what any thrifty (cheap) twenty-something would do. I typed "Cheap Haircut" into Yelp! and out came 154 reviews for the Academy for Salon Professionals. I've heard of people getting their hair done at beauty schools before, with no glaring reviews one way or the other.. after reading some of the reviews, realizing that the haircut would set me back $10, the decision was made. I called and was able to get a 7:30 appointment that night.

When I arrived they made me sign a contract of sorts saying that I realize that I'm basically putting my hair in the hands of students (under supervision of a teacher). I had a consultation with my hairdresser Sandra who couldn't have been sweeter. She explained to me that it would take a while because her teacher had to come check in at three different times during the appointment - not like I cared, all I would've been doing was watching more Dexter on my couch. We discussed my cut, she drew some pictures, we got the sign-off and we went for the shampoo. Throughout the cut, her teacher checked in and even came and did a few cuts herself to even it out. When all was said and done I was very pleased with the end result. $10 well spent.

 

 The Academy of Salon Professionals is located at 2238 East El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Appointments can be made by calling (408) 261-9201 and is open Tue,Fri-Sat 9am-5pm; Wed 10am-9pm; Thu 9am-9pm

Make Me Mini March

A healthy diet and exercise program are complementary to one another and are essential for improving or maintaining good health. While some may choose to reduce food intake dramatically, the food you eat is important because it provides you with your daily essential nutrients and vitamins to keep your body functioning properly. Additionally, daily exercise is important because it helps to manage your weight in addition to aiding in reducing your risk for certain health conditions.

A new month is a great time to recommit to your health, and that's exactly what I intend to do. Here are my goals for the coming month, will you join me in any/all?

Diet

• Plan all meals/snacks for the week on Sunday and do grocery shopping for all ingredients (this generally will prevent my impulses to eat food that is not aligned with my goals)
• Utilize resources like Cooking Light and My Recipes to choose meals that are lower in calories
• Try to avoid excessive starch, sugar, and dairy while focusing on meals that highlight lean protein and fresh produce
• Aim for 1000-1200 calories/day 
• Drink the ounce equivalent of half my body weight
• No booze

Exercise

• Start each morning with a RevAbs Workout (or short run) before school
• RevAb workout WITH Brett Hoebel on March 10th!!
• Yoga- Power Flow practice at YogaSource 3 days/week (currently offering a newcomer special of $40/30 days if you're interesred)
• Circuit Training- Club Circuit with Casey Miranda at Club One Silicon Valley (at least 3 Wednesdays)
• Kickboxing- Groupon month-pass to try out variety of classes at Condition and Competition Kickboxing