Next up? Photography.

I’m always trying to learn and challenge myself.  As I get older, I’m trying to hone the skills that I will be able to use forever.   For example, one day I decided that I would definitely be drinking wine for the rest of my life and thought that I should learn more about it so I could enjoy the experience that much more.   As a result, I enrolled in the International Sommelier Guild classes and became a certified sommelier.   The same goes for food.  I will definitely be eating for the rest of my life and love to challenge myself everyday with new techniques, recipes, and ingredients.   Even though, I have always enjoyed cooking (and thought I was pretty good at it), I did indeed sign up for cooking school a few years ago to take it up a notch.   While I eventually dropped out (yep, I’m a cooking school drop out) I learned some new skills and gained a lot more confidence as far as not being afraid to try anything. I use recipes as only a guide; it is so much more fun to play around.  A pinch of this, a dash of that…….

I definitely have a passion for food and wine.   My other love that ties this all together is travel.  I love to explore new places; I spend many hours researching the foods and wines of an area.   In addition, I’ve also always been somewhat of a photo freak (I have a bookcase full of photo albums to prove it).    Since I plan to be eating, drinking wine, and traveling for many years to come, I need to hone my documentation skills.  Yep, time to step up the photography skills.    I came across this website this morning and am wondering why my food photos don’t look like this?   

http://www.pennydelossantos.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=1&p=1

Well, now I have a new goal.   I hope within the next year we will all see a noticeable difference in my photos.    I have the fancy camera, now it is time to get it off “auto” and explore the settings and many possibilities that await.   

I am now enrolled in my first photography class and can’t wait!   

Cheers!

Inspirational Blog

So, I was in a “French Picnic” cooking class a few weeks ago at Whole Foods.   It was a great class; I loved the instructor, there was lots of food, the recipes were great and do-able, they keep the class size to 10, and it was only $30.   I’ve taken lots of cooking classes in the Twin Cities and this one really impressed me.  (So much so that I signed up for two more.)    Anyway, to get to my point….. During class there was a woman taking lots of photos and it came up that she was taking photos for her blog.   I wrote down her blog and when I later went to look at it, I was in awe!

Move over Martha Stewart, Jenna has got you beat!    In addition to admiring the beautiful photos, I can’t help but want to throw a festive party (and maybe take a photography class as well).  I found lots of inspiration on this site; the ideas are very creative and fun, not to mention beautiful.    Just try to go to this site and not want to throw a party yourself.  Either that or try to find a way onto the guest list for one of her fabulous parties.

http://eatdrinkpretty.blogspot.com/

Let me know what you think, and if you get inspired - I want an invite!  

Parmesan from Australia?

I recently found parmesan from Australia.   I did a double take, as parmesan and Australia are not words I would put normally together.   My curiosity got the best of me and I had to try it.    I have to admit, I really liked it.    It was crisp and nutty and I loved the texture.    I will definitely be looking for the kangaroo in the cheese aisle again; it is a reasonable alternative to Italy’s Parmigiano-Reggiano (which I love).   Check it out!

Favorite Summertime Meal

Summer is flying by and I finally made one of my favorite meals on the grill; pancetta wrapped Swordfish skewers.   They are so good.  Wrapping the fish in Pancetta keeps it moist and flavorful.   I basically cut the swordfish into one-inch cubes and marinate it in olive oil, salt & pepper, cayenne, and some pesto.   I marinate it for 4-8 hours.   Then I put the fish on skewers and wrap it in the pancetta.  I grill it for no more than 3 minutes on each side (4 sides).   I drizzle the plate with homemade pesto and serve it with pan seared gnocchi with parmesan, grilled bread, and caprese salad.   So good!   

 I also found a new Italian white wine that I paired with this dish.  It worked out fabulously.   This actually might be my new favorite white wine.  It is very aromatic, clean, and refreshing.  I bought it at Bright Wines in St. Paul when I was there for the first time and had bought a variety of things to try.   I highly recommend it!   (Details:  Soave Classico, 2008, Le Barche, made by Marcato.)   It was $16; I’m tempted to go buy a case - and I never do that.  

 

Here’s to making the most to the last weeks of summer!  September will be here before you know it.   Let me know if you give this recipe a try and what you think of it.

Cheers!

It’s Official, I am a Triathlete!

Well, I did it.  I completed my first triathlon.   It was awesome!

The training was good, I felt prepared.  I love that this gave me motivation to keep up my workouts and to workout more frequently all summer.  (I’m hoping to continue the pace now that it is done.)  I also liked the variety of having three sports to focus on.  If I didn't feel like running one day, I could always bike or swim.

The stress of how to transition between during the race got the best of me and I broke down and bought a tri suit.  Which is good from a transition aspect but bad because it looks like I mean business and people might have overly high expectations of me.

The low down:

I got to Okoboji late Friday afternoon and we took a boat ride to a local restaurant, Rebos (sober spelled backwards), for dinner.   My pre-race meal?  Chips and salsa, 2 margaritas, and a burrito (quite possibly the best burrito I’ve ever had).   Admittedly, this was probably not the best pre-race dinner; the peer pressure got to me.   I was planning to forgo the chips and salsa and only drink water.  Ha!   I have no will power when it comes to chips and you pretty much can’t have chips and salsa without a margarita (or two).  

My hopes of going to bed at 8 p.m. were not realistic with this gang.   But I did make it by 10:20, although it didn’t help.  Robin (cousin) and I couldn’t sleep; we were too anxious for the race.   

We got out of bed at 5:00 a.m. and had a banana and Cliff bar and got geared up for the race.  (This was forced as I was still full from the burrito.)  We loaded up our bikes and off we went.   “We” consisted of myself, my cousin Nicholas, my cousin Robin, my cousin Christopher, my cousin Eric, and three of Nicholas’ friends – Troy, Katie, and Jenny.  It was a great group.

The weather was perfect.   We hit the water at 7 a.m.   I got kicked twice within my first two minutes and decided to back off.  The swim went well except my calf cramped up and still hasn’t let go.  I thought it would take me 40 minutes to complete but the timer guy said 24:18 when I got out of the water.   You would’ve thought we were at a picnic during our transitions periods.  I think we got chatty and forgot we were in a race.  Therefore, we lost a lot of time during the transitions.   The bike ride was okay.   It was 65% on the highway – which was not blocked off!  We got honked at, yelled at, cursed at, and dirty looks.   It wasn’t very safe.   There were also no bathrooms along the route and I had to pee like crazy!    

Once we got back to the transition area I dumped my bike and headed to the restroom.  This is where the tri suit was not the most efficient.  It is hard to peel that thing off so I lost some time there.   For the run we all decided to stick together and we did a lot of walking.   I crossed the finish line at 3:10 and it felt great!    My goal was 3:30.  

The next 12 hours consisted of a big celebration.   After hydrating a bit, I popped a bottle of bubbly and kicked the festivities off.   The rest of the day consisted of lots of eating, drinking, and boating.  Oh, and the tornado that happened while we were at the bar that knocked the power out for the night.  Got to bed at 2 a.m. and didn’t sleep well again because it was hot and humid and with now power, there was no AC.   Always and adventure!

All in all, it was a great first triathlon and, yes, there will be second.  I loved it!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

Well, it is mid-July and I’ve finally kicked off summer. Nothing says summer like homemade ice cream. My only question is why did I wait so long? My answer is weak. For one, I’ve been busy. (Too busy for ice cream? That sounds absurd.) Secondly, I’ve been trying to be healthier. (But eggs are good for you and dairy has calcium. Believe me I can justify anything.) Needless to say, my trusty Cuisinart ice cream maker has made its 2010 summer début. I love that you can whip up the ice cream recipe in less than 30 minutes and be eating fresh, delicious ice cream 30-40 minutes later.

I decided to try a new recipe from my Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.

I picked Cherry Garcia, which is basically vanilla ice cream with fresh cherries and dark chocolate flakes. It turned out really good, except I forgot to put vodka in it and now it is frozen solid. Putting vodka in homemade ice cream is a tip I got at a cooking class in Italy. It helps keep the ice cream from freezing completely solid and instead results in a creamier texture and maybe, perhaps, a buzz. I figure now that I am in the swing of summer; I will have to try at least one new ice cream recipe a month. This goal is not only because I love homemade ice cream but also because I have to prove to my husband that “yes, I do need all of these kitchen gadgets, and yes I do use them.”

If you have an ice cream maker break it out and whip some up, if not then I’m sorry – you are missing out. If you live anywhere near me, feel free to grab a spoon and come on over.

                                                                         Ingredients

                                                                             YUM!

"Penelope, Get Over It!"

These are the words my Dad spoke to me this morning as I was still dwelling over a contest that I had lost. This is what I love about my Dad. While you may think his words seemed harsh, that was all it took to snap me back to reality. I realized after he said those words that I was dwelling on something in the past that I had no control over now. I kept beating myself up for not doing x, y, and z and for losing by such a small margin. I was grieving the loss of something I never had. Would it have been great to win? Hell yes! But did I lose anything in the process? Well, about 6 hours of my time and a whole lot of energy, but really no. There were no real consequence, other than my self-pity and moping.

Here is my sob story, in case you are curious…..
So, last week I was doing research on some Champagne that I had in my cellar that I was about to open. (I know I’m a geek, just like to know the stats on what I’m drinking). Anyway, one of those Champagnes was G.H. Mumm (NV Cordon Rouge). As I was perusing their website I came across a photo contest they had going on. Basically, “set the scene and think of what is for you “a stunning dinner to celebrate the world’s beauty.” Well, I happen to think Lake Calhoun in the summer time is quite beautiful and happens to be across the street from me. I also, had a bottle of Mumm in the fridge and plenty of my favorite snacks (cheese, crackers, grapes, strawberries, and salami) - which for me constitute the perfect meal. So, off I went with my camera and set up my perfect lake view picnic on a perfect sunny day with the Minneapolis skyline in the background.




Well, I entered on Friday, July 2 and it took until Saturday morning, July 3, for my photo to post to the site. Not a big deal, other than it was a holiday weekend and the contest ended at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 4.

Feeling confident, I posted a request for votes on my facebook page and figured I could easily get the 30 votes I needed; especially given I have over 200 facebook friends. Well, I was wrong. I only ended up getting 26 votes. I made a couple frantic calls on Sun. to get some last-minute votes and I neglected to call a few people who I didn’t think had internet access over the weekend (which I later found out they did – 6 votes right there! Ugh – kick, kick.). Anyway….. There were about 50 photos, and I’m telling you they were not that good; I really thought mine had a shot of winning. The contest takes the top 10 photos based on votes. I was #11! I had 26 votes and #10 had 27 votes! This is where my self loathing came into play. I was really upset and disappointed for the next 24 hours (at least). Admittedly, I still get a little mad thinking about it.

What did I lose out on you ask? Not just a t-shirt my friend. The top 2 winners (picked by a jury that evaluates the top 10 photos) get to attend the 4th Mumm Explorer Experience dinner in the Gobi Desert, China for a 4 day trip in September. (Including: airfare, transportation, camel lodge accommodation, catering during the expedition, and a Mumm Explorer Experience Expedition Kit). The rest of the 8 get a bottle of Mumm Champagne. I had myself so psyched up to win the trip (or at least the bottle of Champagne). I never win anything and I really thought this was my chance.

Okay, I've wasted enough energy dwelling on the people I should've called and those darn people that didn't take 3 minutes to vote for me. I’m going to chalk this up to yet another life lesson on not sweating the small stuff. If there is nothing you can do to improve your situation then you best just get over it and take what you learned and move on. Bigger and better experiences await; there is no sense dwelling on the past. This is always a good thing to be reminded of.

Even now as I think about riding a camel in China, I hear my Dad saying, “Penelope, get over it!”