The Truffle Puppy Sophie

We all know those extreme pet lovers and I don't like to call myself one, but I do have to admit that I have fallen head over-heals in the last 7 months with our pup, Sophie. In school there is always that kid with the long funny name that even when parents hear it they get a perplexed look on their face and say, "I'm sorry how do you spell that", or "where did you ever find that name"? Well I feel like I have that child when people ask what breed Sophie is. I honestly go in stages of what I decide to classify her as. For the first month I was all about her official breed, Lagotto Romagnolo. Then as she started getting bigger and I was able to take her on a few short walks I started shortening her to a truffle dog. Well this was great until a sweet old woman dove into a long conversation about how she would just love a truffle dog but she would be scared it would eat the truffles and we all know dogs are allergic to chocolate truffles. No ma'am, I mean the fungi, the fruiting body of a subterranean mushroom. And eventually I have come to a point with some I simply claim her to be an Italian Water dog. Now all these terms are correct. She is a Lagotto, a truffle dog, and a water dog!

Truffles! So what does a truffle dog do? The Lagotto is an ancient breed of water retriever from the marshlands of Italy. It is said that modern water retrieving dog breeds have descended in part from the Lagotto Ramagnolo. The Lagotto is a medium sized, non shedding, hypoallergenic dog that has been specially bred to find truffles on all kinds of terrain. We got Sophie from a very special place to us, Blackberry Farm, in Tennessee. Blackberry Farm is part of just a handfull of breeder here in the United States. Your probably thinking what a pretentious dog, huh? Well its not like she is some rare specimen of life form on this planet, Lagottos are common in Italy.

Now we don't have truffles in Texas and I don't expect any to grow anytime soon, so for the future Sophie has to plan a different career. Sophie currently working on manners and basic dog skills hopes to become a therapy dog, specializing in children's therapy and hopes to work with The Center for Child Protection in Austin.

Where will you will spot Sophie? She loves to play fetch, go on long walks in the neighborhood and has recently found a love for swimming. She also enjoys raw hide chews and cold tile floors!

Be Merry, Be Gentil

When you see the word "Gentil" on a bottle of wine, this simply means that the wine is blended. These wines will come from Alsace and they are of superior quality. One of the noble grapes of Alsace, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Muscat, must be at least 50% of the blend and the varietals must be vinified separately.

Alsace

Alsace

This Northeastern region in France borders Germany to its east and the Vosgaes mountain range to its west. It experiences a " Rain Shadow Effect" and is home to the driest city in France. The definition of rain shadow effect is to be a dry area on a hillside (being bordered by the Vosgaes Mountains) that is facing opposite of the flow of wind. Which means harsher winds make give it its dry climate. Alsace is Frances smallest major wine growing region and established its status as an AOC in 1962.

Nobles de' Alsace:
Alsace wine label generally state the grape varietal on the label.

Riesling
Pinot Gris
Muscat
Gewurztraminer

These wines tend to be drier and heavier in alcohol making them great agers. Incredible acid and minerality characteristics.
Look for Tokay d' Alsace.

Lees

Lees are dead yeast cells created during the fermentation process. They form a yeasty residue remaining in the cast after the fermentation process. To make wine clear you must drain the fermented grape juice from the lees and sediment using a method called racking. In the case of Muscadet Sur Lie, the wines are bottled without going through the racking process, thus leaving the wine with creamy, yeasty characteristics.

Wine Diamonds

WINE:
When examining a glass of wine it should be clear, never cloudy. In some white wines you may see little crystals, or sediment, in the bottom of your bottle or glass. These crystals are called Tartrates. Some are reluctant to drink wine when it looks like little pieces of glass are in the bottom of the bottle or glass. During the fermentation process, these crystals act as a preservative and help control PH levels. They are not harmful in any way!

What it is is the natural by-product of Tartaric acids and Potassium bound together and then introduced to temperatures below 50 degrees. For instance a walk-in refrigerator. A good way of imagining Tartrates is the formation of rock candy.

With commercial wineries, most treat their wines after fermentation with a process known as Cold Stabilization. The crystals naturally form in large cooled stainless steel "tanks". The Tartrates then cling to the sides of the "tanks" and the wine is then bottles without them. This is done less in Old World, or higher quality wines, as it is thought to be removing some character from the wine.

FOOD:
Tartrates share the same chemical composition of Cream of Tartar. It is an acid salt used in cooking and baking. Added to egg whites, it increases volume when beating the eggs. The Cream of Tartar is a major component in baking powder. When combined with baking soda and moistened, it aids in the rising of baked goods. It also is used with frosting's to prevent the crystallization of cooked sugars, leaving the frosting creamier.

Other interesting facts about the Cream of Tartar/Tartrates:
It is a vital ingredient in making Play-Doh, can be combined with white vinegar to make a cleaner, and is created only through the process of wine making.

The weekend of the 12th of May, I threw my wonderful man, Curtis a 30th Birthday Party to celebrate his big day which was the previous weekend on the 5th. This was the first "big" personal party that I had planned and executed while in our new home and to be honest ever. We seem to always be entertaining but never with a invite list of 40 people. It started with the notion of making a 3oth birthday special and then grew into an opportunity to bring friends and family together in one place surrounded by what Curtis and I love so much, our garden.

This time around we decided to hire help in making the night a success. Our favorite food truck in town, East Side King would be providing the food and Michelle a bartender and rockstar when it comes to working a party, would be manning the bar.

The night went great! My favorite from East Side King is always the Pork Belly Buns and the cocktails were well received. The night included lots of delicious wine, good friends, and we can't wait for the next garden party! Could this become a seasonal thing? Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter? Well I won't push an outdoor Summer party but stay tuned for Fall :)! Thanks to all who shared this special time with us!

Blackberry Jam

This past week I had the great opportunity to visit Marburger orchard outside of Fredricksburg to pick fresh, delicious Blackberries. We were given these small cardboard baskets and given a row to pick from. The weather couldn't be any better and there a relaxing morning quiet in the air. After two baskets each we headed to the peach orchard. Because it had just rained the peaches were covering the grown, ripe but damaged. Luckily enough there were plenty golden pink peaches safely hanging from the trees.

12 hours later... Aside from the excitement of spending time in the orchard on on the vine, I had my mind on jam. I started the morning going through all my cookbooks on canning, preserving, and fruit to see if I could find unique and creative recipes for all the Blackberries I would have. There were a few recipes for unique ideas such as blackberries in Framboise and blackberry bundt cake, but I decided that I wanted to go with a classic, Blackberry Jam.

4 hours later... When making jam and jellies it is important to do each batch "individually" and not to double or triple the recipe. So this means each batch used 4 cups of the crushed blackberries and I had 28 pounds to process! This time we decided to save some of the concentrated crush blackberries to put into our morning fruit smoothies. I like to pour the blackberry pulp and juice into a muffin pan and freeze over night. I then take the result, which takes the shape of a hockey puck and fill a zip lock bag with the "pucks". Now when we go to make our smoothie we simply pop a puck into the blender with some fresh peaches, frozen strawberries and a splash of freshly squeezed orange juice.

My favorite thing about canning and pickling is having the final product to give out to friends and family. They make wonderful gifts or just a random gesture that show a friend we really appreciate them!