I decided to spend some time playing in the yard today since the weather was so nice. I’m finally getting smart about living in the foothills (don’t plant early!), so I made it out of Lowe’s this morning without buying a single plant. My plan was for today to be a maintenance day – I pulled weeds, took down cages (my crepe myrtle is ready to be free), and staked my apricot trees. I also installed these cute little birds that have a little spinner on the bottom so that your hose moves around them – basically they go on corners so that you don’t drag your hose over your plants.
Hose Bird
I love them. I can’t wait for them to get a little dirty and look a little worn. I’ve also been putting in a little time in my vegetable garden. My pride and joy right now is my broccoli – I’ve never grown it before and it’s taken a while for the actual broccoli to show up, but all of the sudden, here it is! They’re still tiny, but I’ve got six of these little heads!
Broccoli
I’ve also pulled together a little kitchen window herb garden. It’s got cilantro, basil, oregano, and thyme.
Kitchen Herb Garden
I love mellow days like this. I am so happy that spring is coming and that I have acres and acres of land to play on! Shadow spent the day out with me (Mike spent the day on his bike), so now it’s time for all of us to plop down on the sofa and mellow out!
Today’s song is sort of a sad one. It’s called “I Drive Your Truck” by Lee Brice. I’m going to see him in August (with Brad Paisley) and am super excited. The song is about a man whose brother died in the Army and he copes with it by driving his truck around. Trust me, he’s much more eloquent about it.
This afternoon I received the sad news that a friend of mine had passed away quite unexpectedly. She was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer only two weeks ago. I met Carol Newton Hawk in 2005 when I joined the Sacramento Choral Society. She was a fellow soprano and our librarian, something I figured out very quickly meant she was a saint. She not only sorted and put together the music for all two hundred people for the four concerts each year, but then she took back the music, made sure it was in good condition and filed it away again. Beyond that, she was an incredibly talented musician. She sang beautifully along with playing piano and organ like nobody’s business.
My heartfelt condolences go out to Carol’s husband, children, and grandchildren. She touched so many lives – within a couple of hours a remembrance page set up on Facebook already had over 100 likes. I spent the whole afternoon feeling like I had been kicked in the stomach… I hate cancer.
Requiescat in pace, Carol. You will be greatly missed.
Most of you know that I am an EMT. You won’t find me riding around in an ambulance or even working in the ER – instead I volunteer at events on behalf of our local fire department. I love to help people and have always been interested in medicine.
I am blown away at a news story out of Bakersfield today. And 87 year-old-woman living in an independent living facility (Glenwood Gardens) collapsed in the dining room on February 26th. A woman called 911 and asked for paramedics to be sent to help – and then proceeds to tell the dispatcher that she is a nurse, but will not do CPR. The dispatcher spends seven minutes and sixteen seconds doing everything in her power to try to convince the nurse to help the ailing woman (or to find someone who will). Apparently, the home has a policy that says “in the event of a health emergency at this independent living community, our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives.”
Here’s the thing. I understand that the general public is terrified of getting sued. And that they worry about not doing CPR right, about breaking bones, about disease, about blood and guts and vomit. What I am most appalled at is the fact that this woman is a NURSE. She had a duty to act. She should be stripped of her license to practice. My God, there are stories of kids doing CPR that end up saving lives. Would this have helped this woman? I would guess probably not – in fact, more times than not CPR isn’t successful. The point is that you give them a fighting chance. To stand by and literally watch a woman die in front of you is incomprehensible. Despicable. Deplorable. I can’t understand how anyone can just stand there and not even try.
I beg you, if you don’t already know CPR, please learn. Over the years they’ve actually made CPR easier and hands only (for those of you afraid of cooties). Check out the American Heart Association or American Red Cross for classes in your area. Does it always work? Absolutely not. If it’s your kid, mother, husband, or grandma, do you want to give them a chance? ABSOLUTELY!
Here is the partial 911 call that was released to the public – see if you’re as enraged as I am (I am picturing my 80-something year old Oma who is currently living in an assisted living home).
Dispatcher: This woman’s not breathing enough. She’s gonna die if we don’t get this started. Do you understand?
Caller: I understand. I am a nurse. But I cannot have our other citizens, who don’t know CPR, do it. We’re in a dining room.
Dispatcher: I will instruct them. Is there anyone there?
Caller: I cannot do that.
Dispatcher: OK, is there anyone there who is willing to help this patient?
Caller: I am, but…
Dispatcher: OK great, then I’ll walk you through it all. EMS takes the liability for this, Colleen. I’m happy to … OK? This is EMS protocol. OK?
Caller: (To someone off the phone) I don’t know where he is. She’s yelling at me to have one of our other residents perform CPR. And I’m not gonna do that, and make that call.
Dispatcher: Are we just gonna let this lady die?
Caller: Well that’s why we’re calling 911.
Dispatcher: We can’t wait. She can’t wait right now. She is stopping breathing. She can’t wait for them to get there.
Caller: She’s taken three breaths.
Dispatcher: It’s not enough. We need to get CPR started.
Caller: (Chatter in background) He’s saying we don’t. You can talk to my boss, and I don’t know what to say.
Dispatcher: OK. (To someone off phone.) They’re refusing CPR, they’re gonna let her die. By the facility, yeah.
Caller: When will the fire department be here? When will the ambulance …
Dispatcher: OK, well then if you get anybody, any stranger that happens to walk by that’s willing to help. I understand if your boss is telling you can’t do it. But if there’s any human being… Is there anyone that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?
Caller: Um, not at this time.
Dispatcher: (To someone off phone) They won’t. They won’t touch her at all. I can’t get anyone to touch her at all.
Caller: We have residents that are …
Dispatcher: Any guests? Any guests that are there that are willing to help?
Caller: No, I don’t have any.
Dispatcher: Is there a gardener, any staff? Anybody who doesn’t work for you anywhere? Can we flag someone down in the street and get them to help this lady… Can we flag a stranger down? I bet a stranger will help her. I’m pretty good at talking them into it. If you can flag a stranger down I will help. I will tell them how to help her.
Each year the Amador Vintner’s Association puts on an event called “Behind The Cellar Door” – for $50, you get to visit as many of the thirty-six vineyards that are a part of the association. They all serve food as well as pour samples of their wines. I have never made it to the second day – one day is more than enough for me! When you arrive at the first vineyard, they give you a glass that you take with you to each one that you visit, along with a wristband that identifies you as part of the event. We all chip in to rent a van and hire a driver (Darryl, the awesome guy who drove the van at our wedding!) and that way we all have a safe, fun time. This year we had fourteen (!!!) people – here’s a pic of the van before we picked up the last three.
Are We There Yet?
Our first stop was at Sierra Ridge Winery. This was one of the vineyards that I had never been to, even though I drive past it twice a day on the way to and from work. My favorite wine here was the Pinotage, a variety of grape brought here from South Africa. According to their website, they’re the largest producer of Pinotage in the United States! The food here was pretty delicious as well – right when we entered the tasting room they had all sorts of jams and crackers. Mike and I absolutely loved the cherry chutney and the cherry chili – we bought a jar of each and are going to try to reproduce them! Then, back where the barrel tasting was, they had salad, bread, and Vinciguerra Ravioli Company ravioli. These are absolutely amazing!
Mike & I At Sierra Ridge Winery
Stop number two was at Drytown Cellars. My favorite wine at this stop was the 2010 Shenandoah Valley Zinfandel – it had a great peppery taste with some zing to it! They had absolutely amazing meatballs here – they were made by the Sutter Creek Cattle Company. While we were there, they gave a great little overview on the difference between store-bought beef and grass-fed beef. The difference was amazing – Mike and I are going to order some from them (40 pounds!) and see how we like it!
Sheila & I At Drytown Cellars
Our third stop was at Convergence Vineyards – named for the three creeks that come together on the property (Amador, Rancheria, and Dry Creeks). This was one of my favorite stops – I fell in love with the 2008 Carignane. They also had a great Zinfandel chocolate raspberry sauce that I buy every year – it tastes so good on ice cream! This vineyard has an Irish theme to it – they served a fantastic potato soup!
Lynn & I At Convergence Vineyards
Stop number four was Borjon Winery at my least favorite vineyard (it was earlier this year, so I was actually able to figure out why – normally this one is later in the lineup and my “palate” is not quite so great). Their wines are very strong and have a strong black licorice influence – something that is on my list of tastes I dislike. They did have some great spicy bean soup and a Santana cover band that was really good! Mike and I sat on this little park bench in the shade (it was pretty warm yesterday) and just listened to the band for a while… it was so nice!
Lynn, Troy, & Tim At Borjon
Our fifth stop was at Renwood Winery. To be honest, the whole reason we decided to try this one was that they said they had gourmet hamburgers and at this point in the day, that sounded fantastic. As it turned out, gourmet meant beef and lamb, which is not right up my alley. Just when I was about to be really disappointed, I discovered the macaroni and cheese. Definitely up my alley. I was even more excited to be walking back to the table only to find that they were serving fried macaroni and cheese balls. It was a little taste of heaven! After a little bit of eating, we headed into their super cool tasting room – the lady took the time to walk Mike & I through all six different wines! We then went back outside to have some apple cupcakes and try their Amador Ice – a light dessert wine that is surprisingly yummy (not nearly as sweet as some of them come).
Troy & I Enjoying Some Barrel Wine!
Stop number six was Dobra Zemlja Winery, a Croatian vineyard. This one actually hosts the event in their wine cave – it was fun to hang out there a little bit! I really liked their late harvest Zinfandel (paired with a brownie for me and a Croatian cheeseburger for Mike). He really liked the Milan Ruz – a blend of their Sangiovese, Syrah, and Zinfandel wines. In fact, we bought a jug.
Mike & His Dobra Jug
Our seventh stop was at BellaGrace Vineyards. They had a French theme going, complete with accordion player! They served French onion soup along with their wines. I really liked their Duex Femmes wine and the stunning view!
BellaGrace Vineyards
Our eighth stop was Andis Winery. It was here that I found the one Grenache that I actually liked as well as a white that I liked (I don’t typically like white wine at all!). They were serving shrimp (yuck) and curried rice (YUM!) and had a great little band.
Andis Winery Band
Our final stop (and vineyard number NINE!) was Bray Vineyards. This place was a lot of fun – they had this random accordion player wandering around and had good wines with fun names (like the 2010 Brayzin Hussy Red).
Accordion Player!
This event was seriously a great time! I can’t wait to go again next year! We’re even talking about going to the “Big Crush” in the fall this year!
A few days ago Safeway had a big sale on blueberries – which I love, so I bought the huge pack. I decided to give homemade blueberry muffins a try this morning – they were delicious! I stole the recipe from Martha Stewart (click here to go to the site).
Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tins
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 3/4 cups blueberries
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter large (3 3/4 inches) or small (2 3/4 inches) muffin tins, and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, egg yolks, and vanilla; mix until well combined. Reduce speed to low; alternate adding reserved flour mixture and milk to mixer, beginning and ending with flour. Remove bowl from mixer; gently fold in berries by hand. Divide batter among muffin tins; sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake until light golden, about 45 minutes for large muffins, about 30 minutes for small muffins. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; transfer to wire rack, and let cool completely.
These pictures are from a few weeks back when we had about five or six inches of snow on our property. The first, of Shadow running, makes me laugh. I somehow caught him in full flight with his ears flopping around. I love it. The second is a picture of his paw print in the snow. He’s such a great dog and it’s always so much fun to see him running around like that!
This is one of my favorite recipes – I’ve been making it for a while now and absolutely love it. The bummer is that it takes a long time… three to four hours from start to finish. It makes enough for Mike and I to have dinner and then another meal, so if you’re cooking it for a dinner party, you’ll want to double it.
The key to this meal is the soffritto – the mixture of carrot, onion, and celery. It makes the sauce taste amazing and the house smells awesome for hours after! It conjures up that “something’s cooking” smell that makes your stomach grumble!
I finally perfected the pasta – I made tagliatelle, which is a long, thin ribbon. It made all the difference – this tasted so gourmet!
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 small carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 ounces thick-cut pancetta, chopped
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef chuck
1/2 cup dry red wine, such as Barbera
1 cup drained, chopped canned
Roma tomatoes (aka plum tomatoes)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups beef stock, plus more as needed
1 cup whole milk (I just use my fat-free milk, but I’m sure whole would be yummy)
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pound fresh egg pasta dough
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions
To make the Bolognese sauce, in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the carrots, celery, onion and pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are tender and a rich golden brown, about 30 minutes. If the ingredients begin to brown too much, reduce the heat and stir in a spoonful or two of warm water.
Add the ground meats to the pot and stir well. Raise the heat to medium and cook, breaking up the meats with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and crumbly and their juices have evaporated, about 20 minutes.
Add the wine and deglaze the pot, scraping up the browned bits from the pot bottom. Cook until the wine evaporates, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, the tomato paste, the 2 cups stock, the milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the nutmeg. Cook the mixture until it just begins to simmer, then reduce the heat to very low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour. If the sauce becomes too thick or threatens to scorch, add a little more stock.
Partially cover the pot and continue cooking the sauce on the lowest heat setting until it is thick and dark brown, 1 – 1 1/2 hours longer. When the sauce is ready, use a large spoon to skim off and discard any fat that floats on the surface. Cover the pan and set aside.
While the sauce is simmering, make the pasta dough, then divide and roll out each piece into a sheet 1/16 inch thick. Cut the pasta into tagliatelle and let dry for 10-20 minutes.
Bring a large pot three-fourths full of water to a rolling boil and add about 2 tablespoons salt. Add the tagliatelle, stir well, and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 1 1/2 – 2 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, reheat the sauce over medium-low heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and/or nutmeg.
When the tagliatelle is ready, scoop out and reserve about 2 ladlefuls of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the drained pasta to the sauce in the pot and stir and toss until well coated with the sauce, adjusting the consistency with some of the cooking water if needed. Serve with fresh grated cheese.
Down The Road I Go 