A refreshingly cool recipe for the summer tomato harvest

Are your tomatoes from those few tomato plants starting to take over your counter tops and refrigerator crispers?  Are your neighbors running from the door when you show up with yet another basket of those sweet and juicy globes of goodness?  This recipe for traditional gazpacho (the way they do it in Spain) will have you wishing you hadn't given so many  of your precious tomatoes away.   As heard on a recent episode of The Splendid Table (on Saturday and Sunday mornings on NPR) this is the recipe that originated in Spain where gazpacho was first conceived.  I tried this recipe most recently at my Moms house with the freshest golden yellow and ripe red tomatoes of the season along with a few cucs and onions that we had just harvested that day. To me there is nothing better than fresh, sustainably farmed and lovingly harvested produce from the earth that is still a bit dirty.  

This will make enough to enjoy over the next few days, or you can freeze some as well.  You most likely won't though as this cold soup is so refreshing and healing to the soul.

As my Mom had quite a few tomatoes lying around I ended up using some of the ones that were starting to split a little and a few that were bruised to make a stew first and then seperated the "puree" from the skins to use as liquid for the base of the gazpacho.

3lbs of toms

olive oil to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Again I stewed these down for about half an hour, let them cool and then put them through a food mill to seperate out the juice and the skins.  Save the skins and use them in either a red sauce or spread them on toast with a bit of sharp cheese.

2 more pounds of toms, chopped fine

3-4 large cucs chopped

1 large onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic chopped

20 basil leaves chopped

1 green/red pepper chopped

4 slices of thick hearty bread toasted until very crispy

a generous amount of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Into the food processor/blender I added half of the juice from the toms I cooked earlier and half of all the other veggies we chopped. You really can't add too much olive oil so be generous!  Take two pieces of the bread and break into small pieces and add to the mix. Puree until smooth and then continue with the second half of the juice and veggies.  

This is one of the greatest soups to sip on a hot August afternoon when the last thing you want to do is turn on the stove.  Enjoy!

Farm Raised Trout w/ Artichoke Pesto

While shopping at Fresh Market this past week I was scanning the fresh seafood case for what looked to be in season.  Usually I am drawn to wild caught fish and shellfish but some healthy looking trout filets caught my eye. Normally I would not have given the trout a second thought but this time I did. They came from Western North Carolina and were farm raised on a small fish farm, they even had a picture of the guy there on the wall beside the case, with his fishies swimming in the background.  That brings into question, is it better for you healh wise to eat wild caught fish with our oceans depleting the way that they are?  Or, if at all possible, to support your local "farmer" and enjoy trout without further depleting our oceans?

 After researching farm raising fish vs wild caught there is great evidence that suggests that wild caught fish are better for your health, specifically when you are talking about salmon.  There are harmful contaminants in the fish food that farm raised fish are fed and therefore are transfered into the meat of the fish.  Also there are more healthy omega 3-6 fatty acids present in the wild caught salmon due to its struggle to build-up tissue and muscle that can only be duplicated with an open ocean setting.  Like many environmental quandaries, the debate over wild vs. farmed fish doesn’t yield a simple, universal answer. Some fish species are in more danger in the wild than others. For the most ecofriendly fish, look for the Marine Stewardship Council label, which is applied to responsibly managed wild fisheries.

Farm Raised Trout with Artichoke Pesto

2 trout filets (farm raised or wild)

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup broth (chicken or veggie)

3 cloves of garlic chopped fine

1/4 cup of Artichoke hearts chopped

3 tbsp of pesto

fresh dill

lemon juice to taste

salt and pepper to taste

garam masala to taste

Pan sear the trout filets with salt and pepper and garam masala in olive oil for ten minutes with the meat side down

About 5 minutes into the cooking add the garlic and artichoke hearts

saute for about 3 minutes adding the wine and the broth to deglaze the pan alternativly.

When the wine and broth have cooked down enough in the pan add the pesto and mix well with the sauce, all the while keeping the temperature on the fish consistant so it continues to cook thouroughly.

Allow the sauce to simmer on low when the fish starts to seperate from the pan and is cooked  and while plating add the lemon juice and freshly chopped dill.  There should be enough sauce to cover both filets.

Bon Apetite!

Sweet Beet Smoothie

I have been juicing most mornings here lately; usually it will involve carrots, apples and a melange of whatever green leafy veggies I find in my fridge.  This morning I decided to mix my two favorite morning beverages, smoothies and juice.  The result was a very bright and deliciously satisfying breakfast that really got my day started in the right direction.  Other veggies can be subsituted in place of the celery and beet greens but the beet is essential for the color.  

Sweet Beet Smoothie

makes four 8oz servings

1 Beet

4 Stalks of Celery

5 Carrots

Small Bunch of Beet Greens

Juice the above veggies and set aside for later use.  If you really want to be resourceful you can use the leftover pulp from the juice in muffins... recipe to follow later!

1 cup of plain lowfat yogurt

1 Banana

6 Strawberries

2 tablespoons of honey

ice to taste

Blend the following ingredients with the above juice in your blender until smooth and enjoy with a smile knowing you are giving your body the most nutritious energy it could every want.

Holistic Living; Healthy, Delicious and Fun

"Whether you and I and a few others will renew the world some day remains to be seen. But within ourselves we must renew it everyday."
Hermann Hesse

This blog is going to be utilized as a tool to keep myself motivated and connected to understanding how much applying the principles of holistic living will evolve my journey into the life I have envisioned for myself. As a wine aficionado my appreciation for flavorful food has evolved over the past 5 years. I am now dedicated to experimenting with a multitude of styles and flavor profiles to achieve healthy holistic meals. Utilizing the freshest local ingredients and incorporating organic whole foods into my recipes I hope to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to transform their cooking into delicious soul fulfilling meals to share with their family and friends. So with gusto, I am jumping in headfirst and will plot my success' here and share the journey with whomever wants to keep up with this journal.

Holistic nutrition suggests we build our diet around unprocessed natural foods rather than a diet of commercial, packaged, processed foods. The title of this blog makes reference to preparing healthy meals "the co-op way".  To me that means finding food that is as local, fresh and organically grown as possible. It takes a little bit of effort to find the most economical/ecological/sustainable foods there is in your town but I firmly believe it makes a huge difference in the quality.  I am a firm believer that "happy chickens taste better". Frequently I will try to include nutritional information on the recipes I post as well as pictures of the finished product, always a motivating factor to make something look tasty first right?! . Happy cooking, eating and being healthy :)

Another type of harvest

As some of you know, Copia was a vast food, wine and art center here in the Napa Valley. Robert Mondavi was one of the leading investors in this project that was only open for 7 short years until it went bankrupt and is now closed to the public. There were massive gardens planted with any type of fruit or vegetable you could imagine along with a few acres of grape vines. After closing in February of 2008, the gardens have been allowed to run wild with no-one going in to water or keep up with plants. So as you see from the picture above, my roomate and I are doing what we think is right and harvesting the fruits and vegetables that are left. There are numerous orange and grapefruit trees that are yet to be ripe and countless rows of swiss chard and other greens. We are planning a huge pick before Thanksgiving to donate to a soup kitchen. Just wanted you to know what I have been up to on my day off :) Hope everyone is well and I am working on my introduction to winemaking as we speak so check back often, I am on the blog train again!

The moment of truth we have been waiting for...

I finally get to experience what I set out to do two short months ago! After begging and pleading, I got my wish to stomp grapes on the second to last day of harvest. One more pick next week and we are finite!!! Everyone is amazed that I have kept up with this blog as I usually only have time to shower,eat and sleep outside of work hours. Alas things will settle after this last pick and I will have more time to elaborate on my story of from vine to wine. Hope everyone has had a great week and the weather is back to normal. Been clear and sunny for the past few days, just windy! Good forecast for the next week, trying to get as much bike riding in as I can before it gets too cold! Lu~

The Mad Rush

Mother Nature is at it again, stirring up another low pressure threatening rain and very cold temps at night and the time is nigh! Last week we took in over 15 tons of grapes and this week we are harvesting the rest. There are 20 tons of Estate Cabernet fruit still hanging (one ton is approx. 2200lbs) that we will receive today and then 16 tons of Cabernet from other vineyards we will get on Wednesday and Thursday. You will never believe how much work goes into making wine until you come see it for yourself! Hope everyone is well, I will try to make time to post more about the process in the next few days but they threaten to be very long days... Lu~

From Vine to Wine: Introduction

As my internship has been extended I wanted to do a five part series and really explain the process of turning grapes into wine. Throughout the blog I have mentioned various procedures that I have been involved in as I learned them. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of what goes on behind the scenes, at least at Reynolds Family Winery. All wineries do things differently as I have learned from my two twin girlfriends working with me. They have worked three harvests for three different wineries, one in Argentina.

As we are getting more fruit in today, I may not be able to start until this weekend but check back often, I have more pictures to upload and lots more to say, just not much time to say it! Lu~

Along the Way

Rain rain go away!

So far, as I reported earlier, harvest had been a breeze and everyone seemed excited about this crop. Well, we had more rain yesterday to stress everyone who still has fruit hanging on the vine. Most of our Estate Cabernet is still out there and is quite plump by now if you can imagine. The watering system for these vines is called drip irrigation and that is literally how the grapes are watered. They receive such little water at one time that these two days of rain have really set us back. We may have to go ahead and pick some this week as fear of mold is now eminent. Hope all is well, I have some new pictures to post so stay tuned! Lu~

A long overdue post..

...is in order! I apologize to all who have been checking this frequently. Two weeks of 70+ hour weeks caught up with me really quick! This is what everyone was talking about who had ever worked harvest time for a winery. There were those few weeks where everything came together and it was crunch time. We now have about 75% of our grapes crushed and in either bins, tanks or barrels. It is mostly Cabernet grapes that we have left hanging on the vine as they usually take the longest to ripen. They have very thick skins, which is helpful when you have the biggest October storm since 1962 come barreling through the valley! Dumping 5+ inches of rain and with winds up to 40mph, those Cabernet grapes are the most resilient to withstand that type of water consumption without splitting. At least our estate Cabernet fared well, I can't speak for everyone.
The weather for the next week sounds promising with lots of sunshine to dry out the ground and get the grapes back to their previous brix readings before the storm. This may have pushed back our final harvesting dates but there is still plenty of optimism in the air. Overall, the vintage report for 2009 in the valley is being called the smoothest and "easiest" in decades. I will expound upon this topic after I do a little more research into the conditions of the Spring. Steve seems to think that this is going to be a phenomenal year for all of his wines and as I am learning quickly he is quite the optomistic person no matter what the situation. Must be why so many people like this guy and his wines. Of what I have tasted so far, and I have been lucky enough to try some back vintages of his cabernet and Pinot Noir, his wines are consistent from year to year. I had to work during the harvest party that is solely for wine club members and he has some loyal members (like a certain wine shop). They speak so highly of Steve and his wines, I am honored to still be working for the family.
Some of you may have heard already but if you haven't, I was offered a position to stay on with the Reynolds Family and help out with the rest of harvest. I accepted (!) and will be here through the middle of December! I am excited to be able to be a significant part of the 2009 vintage and will keep blogging for everyone to see how winemaking is evolving. I must go to work now but keep checking back frequently for updated pictures and posts, I am on the wagon again! Ciao for now

Random Notes

So, this is kind of for Sean. The day after he was asking about pictures of my bike and how that was the only thing missing from my blog I posted a picture of me and my bike. I don't think my bike likes the camera because that following week I had not one, not two but three flat tires! Twas the most frustrating experience so far. There are these thorns that grow out in the vineyards that are literally hard as rocks and will flatten a forklift tire as I have heard. Luckily Steve is so nice that he offered me a work truck to take home a few of those days and as you see above this was my chariot that got me to the party Friday night. Riding in style as always. And I had to have a picture with the 760lb pumpkin we have in our tasting room right now. Hope everyone is well and missing me :) Ciao~

Purple hands = Purple smiles

What a crazy week this has been, my time here is really starting to fly by! I have almost been here a month and am finally getting the swing of things. Been working in the tasting room on Saturdays, my real forte! It is fun to talk to people from all over the world, give them tours of the winery and show them what goes on behind the scenes. Everyone seems so fascinated by the process, I feel like a celebrity! One of the chosen few... but there is so much work and careful planning that goes into making wine. One wrong move and you could easily ruin a whole bin/barrel of wine. FYI you can get about 300 bottles of wine (give or take a few) out of a barrel of wine. This past week I also helped out Friday night for a private party that was held at the winery. It was a Taco's, Tequila and Cabernet party (crazy mix). But it was a success, everyone had a blast and the taco's came from the infamous California taco truck's that are everywhere. They were so good I am considering driving one home and setting up outside the wine store on the weekend. :)
As you can see in the pictures above, we are already putting some of our oak barrels into use this early in the game. This is a process called open barrel fermentation. We are crushing into the open barrels and fermenting them with their skins for 50-60 days (called extended maceration) before they will be pressed off and put back into the barrel until they are bottled. This allows for a softer, more plush wine with lots of age ability (due to the high tannins from the skins) and with more of an oak influence. This is the second year Steve and Arturo are doing this as they are very happy with how the 2008's are evolving.
My job this week consists of doing punchdowns and pumpovers of the grapes we have fermenting so far. There are 18 bins, 16 barrels and 5 stainless steel tanks filled with juice, and as I heard yesterday this is only 20% of the harvest! It has been quite a late one this year with more moderate temperatures allowing for a longer hang time on the vine. By the time I leave they will really be needing a second hand. Ciao for now, this one is getting long.

So I thought work had begun...

But I was very confused earlier. See all that was just leading up to and getting ready for when the real work began yesterday. This was my day:
* Arrived at 8:30 am and the guys were already pressing the 4 tons of Sauvignon Blanc we had received on Monday. I helped clean the crusher when it was finished and was almost attacked by a swarm of bees that were upset that I kept spraying them with the hose! They are all over the crusher when we are pressing.
* Set up the crusher/destemmer in the front of the winery for the 16 tons of Cab/Syrah/Pinot Noir we were receiving today. Steve Reynolds is going to experiment with open barrel fermentation this year for his special wine club member bottle and so we were crushing right into the barrel as you see above. They aren't sealed after that, just covered with the lid and saran wrap. You will get more of an oak presence in these wines as they are exposed during the first of the fermentation.
* Quick lunch at 12:30 then the party was on! We had to open up and pressure wash 16 oak barrels that we would be using today. Kind of a deconstructing cooperage job. Grapes started to arrive and didn't stop until around 3:30pm. Usually we like to get our grapes earlier in the day but as this heat kind of snuck up on us we had to react quickly to make sure the grape sugar levels didn't go crazy. So we were using dry ice all day as you see in the picture above. That was a bin of Pinot Noir we just crushed.
* I was all over the place yesterday, helping with the crushing, wrapping barrels in the cellar room and just an extra hand wherever they needed me. Don't know if I mentioned it but they have taught me how to operate a forklift and this is slowly becoming one of my favorite things to do at the winery. There will eventually be a post about my new found love for forklifts.
* When the day ended around 8pm we had filled 12 oak barrels, 6 bins and two stainless fermentation tanks of grapes. I was literally covered from head to toe in grape juice. I got home, took a shower and was asleep by 9:15! All in a day's work, and I LOVE IT. Ciao~