A Reluctant Blogger

I am a reluctant blogger. I have to say, I hate writting my blog. That would probably explain why I can go for months without posting anything. I can talk a mile a minute as anyone who has been in my company can attest to, but writting, even typing at around 80 words a minute, is too slow for me. Nothing is as fast as the thoughts in my mind. I switch from topic to topic about as fast as a hummingbird flaps its’ wings. I have always admired people who have the ability, talent, or better yet, gift, to write. I grew up watching my younger sister develop an incredible ability to convey a story on paper in the most intriguing way. I always brag about my sister and the “bat story”. When she was staying at my cousin’s cottage, Sue and her boyfriend had to help a bat escape from inside the cottage. Now, if I was the one leaving a note for my cousin, it would simply say, “There was a bat that got into the cottage, but we managed to get it out.” My writting is quick, to the point and little else, unless I’m really inspired, which is very rarely. That having been said, my sister left a “note” for my cousin which was written more as a 4 page epic story about the battle waged to release the bat from the cottage. Yes, that’s right, 4 pages, single spaced in teeny tiny handwritting! You have to put thought into that, time and effort and I just don’t have that in my. Actually, I probably do have it in me, I just don’t go there, it’s not “my thing”.

Yet I find myself surrounded by women who have a talent to write. I find myself at first envious, then proud and then inspired. And now I’m bragging about my sister-in-law, know to may in the blogging community as Suzemuse. Imagine my pride (and jealousy ) upon finding out that she has been named by CNN’s Anderson Cooper as one of his top 45 bloggers that he wants us to follow. I’ll say that again, Anderson Cooper of CNN follows my sister-in-law’s blog and thinks that you should too! I’ve gone back to her site and reviewed her posts for the last month and find myself in awe of her ability to get her point across in an interesting and fun way. The thing is, she does this for each and every post she writes! I’m sure that she will probably feel pressure because of this increadible exposure, but I know she can handle it. Trust me when I say that I fully agree with Anderson Cooper and that you should read and follow Sue Murphy’s blog…Suzemuse. I may be jealous of her success, but I am also very proud to see that all of her hard work and tenacity has paid off. She epitomises everything that I teach my 2 boys a person should be, a perpetual student of life. She never stops learning and passing those lessons on to everybody else.

Sue, you are a success, but more than that, you are an inspiration. I may never be able to write my blog the way you do yours, but I will endeavour to succeed at what I do do well.

Ugghhh! I said “do do”! My kids will never let me live this one down. LOL!

Correction! Apparently, Sue was listed ALONG WITH Anderson Cooper and NOT BY Anderson Cooper. Sorry!

Wine Preservation?

I have to confess I have never really bought into the idea of a wine preservation system. Most of the wines I buy last a couple of days and if it isn’t finished by about day 3 or 4, I pour it out or freeze it into cubes for stock/sauces. That having been said, my Dad bought tickets for the Heart and Stroke Lottery last year and won a wine saver. He called me up all excited to give it to me and have me try it and being the good little “Scottish” girl that I am I took it (like my Momma always said, “If it’s free…TAKE IT!”). That having been said, the past month has been rather hectic, what with my gallbladder deciding to go nuclear on me and needing surgery etc, so experiments with wine were the last thing on my mind. That changed last Friday.

My boys (Connor and Duncan) had been bugging me to cook steak for the last couple of weeks and feeling like I could use a decent meal, I decided it was time for a nice dinner with a glass of wine. The wine was an Aussie Shiraz/Mataro by Banrock Station (LCBO 555771, $10.95) and the meal was steak and potatoes. The wine was a little on the light side for a nice rare steak, but I was wanting to ease my way back into everything. After finishing my glass of wine, I opened up my new “Epicurean Preservation System”, charged it up and tried it out. The basic idea for this particular wine saver is that you put a special plastic/rubber stopper in the bottle and then use the machine to suck all the air out of the bottle. I figured I had nothing to lose since I was testing it on a rather inexpensive bottle of wine.

Last night, the 5th night after having opened the bottle of wine I decided it was time to open it up and see if the wine was still drinkable or if it had gone bad as I was expecting. I was very surprised to see I was wrong about it going bad. The wine had changed only slightly over the last few days and was absolutely delicious!

Needless to say, I am quite excited about opening up another bottle of wine and trying this out again. Tonight’s dinner is pasta with homemade meat sauce. I’ll blog my tasting notes for the wine I finally decide on and then I’ll let everybody know how well this wine saver has worked again in the next few days.

Wonders never cease!

Wine Review: Banrock Station – Shiraz/Mataro

Dinner tonight is pizza and I decided to have a glass of wine with it since it’s been quite a while (2 weeks tomorrow actually) since my last glass of wine. I decided to try one that I haven’t had before and here’s my review:

Banrock Station: Shiraz/Mataro, South Eastern Australia, 2007, 14% alc

Deep purple in colour, but not inky (I can see the bottom of the glass)

Nice aromas of red fruit (red cherries, raspberries etc) and some smoke/tobacco.

Tastes more of the oak and alcohol, but is smooth and medium bodied with a nice medium spicey finish.

I think that this one should go well with the pizza once it arrives.

If you have a favourite pizza wine, let me know

Fall is almost here!

Well, it’s that time again. The time when our wine cellars (or closets, or pantries) go from primarily white wine to red. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for lighter wines during the colder months, just that we tend to prefer bolder wines with richer food. It’s something that has been a staple for quite a while now. The classic matches reflect this perfectly, white wines with white food (i.e. white fish, chicken and pork) and red wines with red food (i.e. steak, beef stew and the like).

That all having been said, there is no reason not to bend this rule and possibly even break it on occasion. After all, we are now beginning to learn that matching wine with food is more that just weight and texture, but also, and most importantly, flavour. One of the best example would be pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce. One might automatically choose something along the lines of a Sauvignon Blanc or a buttery Chardonnay, but how would you react if I suggested trying a Pinot Noir? Yes, the buttery Chardonnay would go wonderfully with a creamy sauce, but we have to keep in mind that the dominant flavour here is the mushrooms. The wine that would reflect and enhance the mushroom flavour the most would be a nice, earthy, Pinot Noir. Staying on the Pinot kick, try matching it with cedar planked salmon and in it’s classic match with Burgundy Chicken, a hearty dish that’s wonderful on a cool evening.

For white wines, I always keep a medium dry to medium sweet Riesling in my wine rack. This particular wine works best with spicy food. The spicier the food, the sweeter the Riesling and we all love spicy food in the winter months. Some of the best matches for an off dry Riesling include Thai food and most especially, (and my personal favourite) sushi. It’s also a good idea to keep a Sauvignon Blanc on hand in the winter months for those dishes that have a lot of herbs in them, (i.e. herb roasted chicken, tarragon sole etc). With the globalization of the food industry there is no need to restrict ourselves from experimenting with new foods and new wines.

Now, I’m not suggesting that we all try Riesling with a rare striploin or a spicy Shiraz with tender sole fillet, but pairing with matching or contrasting flavours will rarely disappoint.

Stay tuned for more specific suggestions of wine and food matches and my top ten wines under $10 at the LCBO.

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