What I Wore: Lynmar Estate

Touring through wine country is a casual affair, but not too casual. With the heat spike that we recently went through, the weather was screaming SHIFT DRESS, WEAR A SHIFT DRESS! So naturally, I did.

J.Crew dress (old, similar here) | belt (very old, similar here)

Versace sunglasses | M Missoni bag (old, similar here and here)

I found this dress to be perfect for wine tasting, casually cool with a pop of color. Plus the cutouts on the neckline of this dress really stands out. 

Review: Lynmar Estate

This past weekend I landed myself at Lynmar Estate with one of my close friends. It was a scorching hot day out, but man, did the air conditioning feel good when we walked through those doors! It was a perfect day for a tasting - especially one that started off with a a nice chilled Rose. I would also suggest that you try the truffle oil popcorn, so good that we inhaled it before I remembered to take a picture.

Awesome Wine Refrigerator In The Tasting Room 

Patio Off Of The Tasting Room - Very Pretty (Note The Mountain)

Not only were the wines really good, but the ambiance was also perfect for a relaxing day. The vineyard is open for exploring, and just a few steps away from the patio. It looked like they had pinot and chardonnay (I think) growing. Their vineyards are actually maintained pretty well to facilitate walking, most vineyards I've seen are usually a tad bit overgrown, meaning walking around in flip flops is a no-no. Here however, I had no problem exploring.

Pinots (I Think)

Chardonnay (I Think)

Once you are done exploring the vineyards, you can start to relax on the patio which has a gorgeous vista of the mountains and vineyards. 

Pretty Idilic View

Lynmar also has a fruit and vegetable garden out back where they invite visitors to pick produce to bring home. If you ask, they will even provide you with a bag to carry your loot home!

Tomato Plants And Flora

Pumpkin! (No, I Did Not Take This Home - Thought About It Though)

My Loot (Strawberries & Tomatoes)

My loot actually made my lunch today *very* tasty! 

Spinach, Steak, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Parmesan, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar

Overall I really enjoyed Lynmar. I will definitely be back! Plus, who couldn't love a winery that has an awesome cork chair in the lobby?!?

Cork Chair!

Review: Merry Edwards Winery

As you can probably tell by now, I really love wine tasting. Let me reiterate, REALLY LOVE wine tasting ;). I just find that it is a perfect weekend activity. It gets you out of the Bay Area, ie. out of the cold and into the warm, and it is super fun to go with different groups of friends. Beyond that though, if you never wanted to hit the same vineyards twice, you wouldn't have to! There's Russian River, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma Coast, Napa Valley and even Livermore now. All in a very short radius of the Bay Area. My poison of choice is of course the Sonoma/Napa/Russian River area. They are all so close to one another, that you could really have a go at it!

Outside Patio

However, the latest vineyard that I went to was Merry Edwards Winery which is known for Pinot Noirs and their Sauvignon Blancs. It had a pretty peaceful atmosphere, but it was also very cosy. The feeling though was very much, go in, taste, buy wine, onto the next winery. There wasn't a lot of space to just lounge around, and the cashiers at the counter in the lobby definitely did not make it very welcoming.

Tasting Room

They do their tastings in groups and generally four pours. A great perk: FREE tastings! The downside? Miniature pours, not that I am complaining. After having a bottle of the 2010 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, I was really expecting a lot of very blended and balanced wines. I was a little surprised that the reds that they served were so tannic. However, they seemed like they just needed a little more time in the bottle to age to get the mature rounded taste. I ended up walking away with a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc, a very well balanced and fruity white. I'm sure that the chilled factor also played a factor in me wanting that bottle! I'll let you know when I try it!

Review: Lagunitas Brewing Company Tour

Over the weekend I dropped by Lagunitas Brewing Company with a few friends up in Petaluma and went on one of their tours. Unfortunately because it was the weekend, they did not have a tasting tour. It was *very* hot this weekend (around 90 degrees Fahrenheit) up in Petaluma, so we baked the entire tour. I would strongly suggest checking the weather before going up. However, that Pale Ale was the most refreshing beer I might have ever had.

Since one of my friends and I ended up showing up early, we grabbed a quick beer (super cheap at $4.50!) and hung out on the patio, which was just buzzing with activity. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we thought that we couldn't bring the beer with us, so we downed it pretty fast. Needless to say, while on the tour, we realized that you could bring your beer with you, if you decanted it into a plastic cup first.

Signs Displayed Going Into The Tap Room

The tour was short, maybe 20 minutes in all, but there were a lot of funny stories and some (emphasis on some) detail on how they actually made the beer. It was really more around how their facilities has grown and moved over the last 20 years. 

Here Is Our Tour Guide - I Think That He Looks Like He Works At A Brewery

Random fact: did you know that craft breweries create loads of jobs? In 2011, on the heels of the "Great Recession" craft breweries in California alone created 22k jobs. [source]

Some Of The Fermenting Vessels They Have Onsite

Even though these look large, they are building an even larger brewery in Chicago. Not sure about how I feel about this, cause I don't like to share my California goodies! (ie. Pete's, Philz, etc.)

Sacks Of Grain

Quick fact: Did you know that Lagunitas goes through over 50k lbs of grain a day? That's A LOT! Don't worry, there is no waste, the parts of the grain that they don't use goes to local farmers to feed cattle.

Can You See The Grains Going Through The Pipe?

Quick fact: Did you know that the ads for "triple hopped" are kinda just dumb? Lagunitas hops at least six times, if not more!

Lots Of Magic Happening Here

Of course we couldn't leave without popping into the little shop - although, come to find out everything is also available on their online store, duh. You can shop their goods here.

Awesome Seat/Bench In Front Of The Store

All in all, it was a pretty fun trip. I would definitely go again when it was cooler, and maybe at night when the patio lights are all up. Since there looks like there would be good food, I would suggest going after a day of wine tasting.

The Grand Canadian Sport - Curling

Okay, okay, I know that curling isn't exactly a Canadian sport, but it basically is. Just like how hockey isn't a Canadian sport, but is just so popular there, it basically is. For those who don't know what curling is, it is almost like bocce ball, but on ice, except you don't throw the massively heavy granite rock, you slide it on the ice. You can learn more here. (Yes, you can burn me for linking you to a Wikipedia page..)

Curling Court - Need To Get The Rocks Into The Circles
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

So a bit of a breakdown: there are eight heavy stones on each side (42 lbs each!), a stabilizer, broom, hack (the thing that your foot pushes off of) and for those without curling shoes (so everyone in our group, excluding the instructor) a piece of material that is *very* slippery.

All The Equipment Needed To Curl

The hardest thing to do for me was learning how to push off in the correct stance. Once I started to semi-equate the proper stance into what is the "Knight" pose in yoga, I got a lot better at it. You also have to be quite limber for this sport, if not, you can really knot up, or will feel the stretch in your thighs. Since I've been doing lots of yoga lately, I didn't find this to be a problem.
 

Here You Can See Someone Getting Into Position To Throw The Rock

The Rock Was Just Thrown In This Picture

So a lot of technique also goes into sweeping which can help direct which way the rock goes and even help it go farther. Usually two people sweep at a time. 

Waiting For Instructions

In Position, Ready To Sweep

Apparently We Needed A Little Help - Our Instructor Jumped In

Over all it was actually really fun. I would totally consider taking it up, buttt the only two ice rinks around that play the sport are in Oakland (SCARY!) and San Jose - both of which are pretty far from me. If you have the chance to try out the sport, I would highly recommend it!

Cooking Dinner For Ten, I Mean Two

This past week one of my friends came over after work and we did something that we've never done before - we decided to be Asian. What does this entail? Actually going to the Chinese market, getting raw ingredients and making dinner. What do I usually eat for dinner? Something embarrassing to admit - it usually comes out of a box... Meaning: instant foods/dinner "helpers" or take out. Well to be fair, sometimes it comes out of the freezer too. Haha, you get my point - it's usually a *very* lazy dinner.

First stop of the night was the market where we packed our cart full of random things - including a few mystery (to us) items. It was a huge experiment and I am so happy that we had something not only edible but also super tasty at the end!

What we ended up making was: dumpling soup, inarizushi and gyozas:

Dinner Is Served

I wish that I could say that I helped with the soup, but well, I didn't. I did absolutely nothing for that dish sooo I'll just show you a picture of the finished product. It was a dumpling and mushroom soup (with other ingredients that I can't remember..):

Dumpling Soup

I spearheaded making the Inarizushis though so, here was the process:

Making Inarizushi, Completed Ones In The Back

1. Ingredients needed: rice, sushi rice powder stuff, wrappers
2. Make short grain white rice (thank god I have a rice cooker which is pulled out twice a year
3. Fold the sushi rice powder into rice in a separate bowl
4. Fill Inarizushi wrappers

The last portion of our meal was something that we made together - gyoza/potstickers totally from scratch! We opted for a pork, green onion and garlic gyoza/potsticker. These were easy to make - time consuming, yes, but actually making them? Easy peasy. Here's how to make them:

Garlic, Pork & Green Onion Gyoza's

1. Ingredients needed: ground meat, garlic, green onion, gyoza/dumpling wrappers (can also be found at Safeway), one egg
2. Mix the meat, garlic and green onions into a bowl
3. Beat one egg into a small bowl
4. Lay out wrappers onto a cutting board, or other non-stick surface

5. Slater egg mixture onto the edges of the wrappers (I just used my finger cause I'm fancy like that)

Fancy Pants Technique Right There ;)

6. Fill with small portions of the meat mixture (remember that you need to close these pretty tightly so it doesn't seep out!)

No Magic Needed, Just Press To Seal

7. Fry in a pan - this is a multi-step process. First add oil to the pan, once it gets hot, place gyozas into the pan, after you let it sear for about 30 seconds, add water into the pan, cover the pan, turn heat on low, wait around 5-8 minutes, take lid off, let sit until the bottoms are golden brown

Yummmm, Fried Food

It was definitely a fun time, but let me tell you, my eyes are MUCH bigger than my stomach! It's been a few days now, and even with eating leftovers for lunch AND dinner, I still have a lot left... Just goes to show, really, do NOT go to the grocery store when hungry. Oy.

What I Wore: Napa Valley, August 2013

For this trip to Napa, I knew that I would be attending a nicer restaurant so I decided on something simple, but somewhat elegant. As this was a *very* last minute trip thrown together, I actually ended up buying my outfit day of.

Express Skater Dress (on sale!, same dress different color) | Chanel Sunglasses (old, similar here)

ALDO necklace | ALDO earrings (old, similar here) | 

Kate Spade handbag (old, similar here & here) | Vince Camuto flats

                                             Here's a better view of my bag.

I decided to pull my hair into a bun all day, which left me with these great curls at the end of the day, which I was quite pleased with.

Not a great photo of me, but a great shot of the necklace and some of my hair.

Silly pic driving home. You can see my earrings a bit better in this photo.

Review: Auberge du Soleil

Twin food babies. That's what I left Auberge du Soleil with. It was one of the best meals I've had so far this year, and definitely by far the best since leaving Vegas. Located on the side of a hill in the heart of Napa Valley it obviously had an amazing view.

View From Our Table

First off let me say that the service was impeccable. I couldn't believe that we were able to make reservations less than 24 hours in advance for a patio table at 5:30PM for dinner. The absolute best time for dinner as the vineyards generally start closing their tasting rooms around 4PM or 5PM - although many will let you linger after your are done with your flights. Since we arrived a bit early, we decided to grab drinks at the bar first. Where the bartender was more than accommodating and made me a rendition of a Strawberry Fields a la The Tipsy Pig. My (more alcoholic) spin on the drink is: strawberry puree, blueberry vodka, sparkling wine, 1/2 a lime served in a mason jar (this place was a bit too fancy for mason jars, so I guess a regular glass will do) and garnished with fresh strawberries and lime.

Delicious - Guess Who's Pink Drink That Is ;)

Once we were seated, we quickly realized that the cocktails were going to ruin the wine, so we dispensed of those right off the bat. We couldn't decide between the six course with the wine pairings or doing four courses. We chose to go with the four course and getting a bottle of Pinot which was perfect for the warm Napa evening which was by far the better choice for us as we had a late lunch in Marin.

Merry Edwards 2011 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

To start off, Auberge provides a chilled cucumber soup shooter with a dash of crab. It was just the perfect amount to whet your appetite for all the scrumptious foods to come.

Chilled Cucumber Soup With Crab

For my first course, I selected the poached Maine Lobster with mango, snap peas, black sesame, curry and cilantro. Boy, the best thing about having a date is picking at his plate too. He selected the roasted kurobuta pork belly with romaine, avocado, brioche (so yum!) and smoked tomato. Honestly I preferred his dish (which is probably why I ate half of it..) over mine. [Note: he wasn't too fond of me taking pictures of his food sooo I super stealth mode snapped a picture or two of a few of his courses]

First Course: Maine Lobster

For the second course I selected the Veal Sweetbreads with a side salad of frisee, capers, salsa verde and a slow cooked egg yolk. Even though I thought that the veal was so-so, the side salad with the egg yolk was absolutely divine. The chef cooked that egg yolk to perfection where he was able to achieve a creamy rich texture with the egg yolk. The warm egg yolk paired with the crisp fresh frisee was a perfect pairing which left you wanting more. 

My Second Course: Veal Shortbread And The Most Amazing Salad Ever. Ever.

For my date's second course (this is one of his courses that he let me take a picture of) he selected the seared Ahi Tuna which was paired with mini falafels, mint, and grilled little gem. The falafels were very good, especially paired with the mint. Still light and airy, but full of texture. I myself am still a little tired of raw fish (too much sushi, sashimi and ceviche during and after Vegas), but the Ahi was still delicious. It always helps when it is perfectly cooked. 

My Date's Second Course: Ahi Tuna With Grilled Little Gem, Falafels and Mint

Onto the main, and third course: I selected the Liberty Farms Duck (done two ways) with a cherry and endive salad, topped with pistachios, tarragon and cocoa nibs. I was a fan of the braised duck, however I did find that the brine had been over seasoned. The salt was a little overpowering, but once you scaled down the brine to duck ratio (basically almost no brine to a larger portion of duck) it was amazing. The dark meat of the duck was very good, you definitely got more of a gamey flavor to it which turned out to be a great balance to the braised duck. The pistachios and cocoa nibs were the perfect addition to the plate as it really did need that "crunch" to make it more satisfying.

Third Course: Duck Two Ways - Clearly I Ate A Portion Before Remembering To Take A Photo

My date indulged in the lamb which rested on a bed of the most tender potato gnocchi and favas. His dish was also paired with olives, lavender and orange sauce. I personally detest olives, or I might have also ordered his dish for the main entree! The gnocchi is probably the lightest and best that I have tasted since I was last in Belgium, which is saying A LOT. Unfortunately I didn't get to snap a picture, so we all kind of lose out. 

To cleanse our palettes after our very savory meal, and to gear us up for our sweets, we were provided with watermelon shooters which were not only delicious, but also very refreshing. This also might have been my first shot of anything since the ski lease ended. 

Watermelon Shooters

For desserts I am happy to say, my date also let me take a picture of his plate. I'm pretty sure this is only because he was nearing food coma and couldn't move fast enough to take a bite before I snapped a picture. He chose the 'Loukoumades' Greek style honey beignets (thinking of Cafe du Monde right now, even though these were *nothing* like them) on a bed of peaches, whiskey flavored ice cream and pistachios. At this point I had at least one food baby in me so I only grabbed one bite that had everything in it. It was melt in your mouth good, however, it wasn't as amazing as my selection.

My Date's Dessert: Beignets With Whiskey Ice Cream, Peaches and Pistachios

For my dessert I chose chocolate wrapped filo dumplings, served with tarragon ice cream and olive oil. It was MELT IN YOUR MOUTH (dare I say it?) Orgasmic. Oh. My. Lord. SO amazing. Unfortunately I didn't read the menu properly and had to ask for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream to be brought out (I also dislike anything that faintly reminds me of licorice - ew), but the staff was very accommodating and brought it out in a jiffy. Let me tell you, this dessert was worth the extra food baby.

My (Far Superior) Dessert: Chocolate Filo Dumplings And Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

To top it all off, they also sent out a plate consisting of almonds covered in cocoa nibs, house made truffles and toffee.

House Made Chocolate Goodies

The final bit was a wonderful end to our dinner - and coincidentally this was also our "farewell" dinner. So now that I am officially back on the market, let the good times roll!