This might be the best beet salad that I have tried. If you are lucky enough to still have beets and beet greens, you are in for a treat. If you don’t have beet greens just try any greens you like. I have tried it with kale and chard and a mix of green – all amazing, but beet greens do turn to magic in this recipe – so if you have them use them!

This is from a great cookbook called Feeding the Whole Family. I got this as a gift from a member of the family – Thanks Nancy!

I am not as fancy as Pearson with a finished image (because we ate it all too fast) but I do have pictures of all the beets we got from our friend’s garden!

Beets!

Luscious Beet Salad with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Salad
4 large beets
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted (walnuts are delicious too!)
1 bunch beet greens
2 scallions, finely chopped (chives are great too)
1/4 lb. feta cheese (optional)

Dressing
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

Wash beets and remove tops. Place beets in a large pot filled with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until beets are tender – about an hour – or pressure cook instead. Set aside to cool.

Toast pumpkin seeds by placing seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Move the skillet back and forth over the heat with one hand; stir the seeds using a wooden spoon with the other hand. This will toast the seeds evenly and prevent burning. When seeds begin to pop and give off a nutty aroma they are ready. Remove seeds from skillet and set aside.

To prepare beet greens, bring a large pot of water to boil. Wash beet greens by submerging the bunch in a sink full of cold water. Shake off water and chop the bunch into bite-size pieces. Drop greens into boiling water and let it cook for about 30 seconds, just enough to make the stems tender. Place greens in a colander and run cold water over them to halt cooking.

Enjoy!

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Pearson here!

This must be good luck!

It’s Verasion at Colter’s Creek. Verasion is that time when the grapes begin to ripen; the red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot begin to turn from green to red, a natural signal for the birds to come have a meal. It is a fabulous time of year (but also the time to put up the bird netting….uugh). The garlic is curing in the cellar, onions are ready, the first ripe tomatoes are hanging on the vine, there is copious eggplant to harvest, and Praying Mantis are now all over the vineyard. In my world, that means eggplant parmigiana. If you have only had bad experiences with this fine Italian dish at restaraunts, then read on, head to the store (or preferably your garden) for ingredients, and let’s change your mind.

Home Grown Garlic

I’ll first add my gardening 2 cents here. Plant the Japanese eggplant varieties. They are slender, not as watery or mushy, and in general much better than the huge globe type eggplants found at all grocery stores. They are beautiful plants that work well in containers if you don’t have garden space. They have nice foliage and beautiful purple flowers before the showy fruit develops. Three plants keeps me in great supply for 6 weeks beginning in late July.

Eggplant and Tomatoes from the garden.

Also, use the real stuff when it comes to Parmigiano Reggiano. Get a hunk at Costco. It keeps for months in the fridge wrapped in foil. Grate it as finely as possible. I use a Microplane zester/grater, but a light grating on most cheese graters will suffice. The finer you grate it, the better it tastes and the less you use. Trust me. Parmigiano Reggiano comes from the Parma province of the Emilia Romagna region in Italy. The same region that Proscuitto comes from. In fact, the pigs that give us their legs that are cured into proscuitto, eat whey from the manufacture of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Here’s the scoop on eggplant parmigiana. If you have the big eggplant, follow the entire recipe. If you have Japanese eggplant, use 5-8 eggplant depending on size, and skip the salt/dewatering step.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Ingredients:
2 Large Globe eggplants or 5-8 smaller Japanese eggplants
3 eggs
1 C flour
3-4 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano
4-5 cloves garlic
freshly ground pepper
2 C Plain bread crumbs
3 14.5oz cans of chopped tomatoes
3T olive oil
2 medium onions
1/2 c chopped basil (optional)

Take 2 large globe eggplant and cut into 1/2 inch cross sections, discarding the ends. Place in a colander and sprinkle in 2 T of kosher salt and toss to coat well. Let stand 1 hour and drain. You should get a few tablespoons of liquid. Pat dry with a paper towel.

In the meantime, chop 4-5 cloves of garlic (or more if you’re like me), and 2 medium onions and saute over medium heat in 3 T olive oil until nice and tender. Add 3 cans of chopped tomatoes (I like Muir Glen 14.5 oz, but any similar will do), and simmer until the eggplant is ready. Don’t worry, you can’t over cook it, just don’t let it burn. Pour it into a blender, and puree it until it’s smooth.

Heat the oven to 425F. Put 1 cup of flour in a large bowl and add a bunch of freshly ground pepper. Add as much as you think you will like. I like a lot. I usually stop when my wrist gets tired from grinding. Add the eggplant and toss to coat.

Beat 3 eggs with a fork in a separate bowl until they are pretty consistent.

Put 2 cups of plain breadcrumbs in a final bowl.

Now, dip the eggplant into the egg mixture, then into the breadcrumbs, and place onto a cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet into the oven for 15 minutes, then turn the eggplant and cook for another 10 minutes or so until nice and golden.

Get out a big hunk of Parmigiano Reggiano and grate a few cups. Remember, very fine grating.

It’s time for assembly.

In a 13 x 9 baking dish, add some tomato sauce to coat the bottom, then add a layer of eggplant. Add more sauce to coat the eggplant followed by a cup (or more) of grated cheese. Add chopped basil to this layer if you desire. Add another layer of eggplant, sauce, and cheese. Top with a few grindings of pepper, and bake for 15 minutes at 425F. Let it cool a bit before serving. It freezes well, and like a good lasagna, it is better the second or even third day.

Serve with a salad. This dish pairs nicely with Colter’s Creek Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec, or Chardonnay.

Cheers!

Eggplant Parmigiana

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Just last weekend we went out to support Colter’s Creek winemaker Melissa Sanborn as she and Robin Woods completed their first Olympic Triathlon. That includes swimming 1 mile, biking for 25 miles, and running for 6 miles. To say this was an inspiring experience would be an understatement. Great job gals!

Melissa out of the water

Robin out of the water

Round 2

Finishers!

Tough Ladies

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With things slowing down slightly in the vineyard over the summer, we are taking the opportunity to give the winery a facelift. The building that holds the winery was originally a pole barn with a metal shell.

Glimpse of the old white metal siding (beneath window)

Mike & Mike applying 1st layer of stucco

Jim mixing up the stucco

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We’re about 2 weeks behind this year due to the long, cool spring, but the vines and berries look great so far! Right now our energy is directed at tucking vines into catch wires to protect them from wind and spray damage, watering, and removing leaves to allow more sunlight into the fruit.

The mature vines are nearly finished establishing their canopy and will soon direct their energy into ripening fruit. The younger vines are trying to catch up.

The Kornze block, with 1st year Cab Sauv (in grow tubes), established Cab Sauv, Merlot, and Cab Franc

2nd year vines on left, 1st year vines on right

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It’s been a while since the last vine diary post, and you can imagine things have changed in the vineyard in that time. We missed posting pics of the vineyard in full bloom (which smells fantastic), but here are a few pics of a younger vine in bloom.

Fruit nearing end of bloom.

Berry set

Berry set in 2 year old Zinfandel

Though the cab franc took most of the damage from this spring’s late frost, both it and the Chardonnay are doing well this summer. Can you notice the difference between the Cab franc and Chardonnay clusters? Cab franc clusters are a little looser than Chardonnay clusters, which are generally tight and dense.

21Jul2010 Cab franc

Cab franc clusters

21Jul2010 Chardonnay

Chardonnay clusters

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The following comes from Mike and Melissa – picture later on when I try it out:

Mike and I found the perfect summer food and wine combo the other night after a long evening of working in the garden. Too tired to prepare a timely dinner, we threw down a handful of tortilla chips, covered them with a light layer of cheese, spooned on a healthy scoop of leftover pinto beans we’d cooked a couple nights earlier, and topped them off with a generous portion of pico de gallo. Mike popped open a bottle of our 2009 Estate Chardonnay, and we settled into our deck chairs. Delightful! We found the paring of Chardonnay, slightly chilled, and pico de gallo to be a great combination. Nothing fancy, just a simple meal on a warm summer night. The pico de gallo was some I’d purchased at Costco (still waiting on our tomatoes), as were the chips. Nothing fancy, but man was it ever good. Give it a try!

Here is from myself (Beth) and my Mike!

Ok last night we had the quickest meal and it was outstanding! Also with Colter’s Creek Chardonnay. Mike had pressure cooked some white cannelli beans with olive oil and a handful of sage. I brought in some fresh kale from the garden, torn up in a pyrex dish, and added a pint jar of my mom’s canned heirloom tomatoes from last year. I microwaved (I know what your thinking) the kale/tomato mix for 5 mins. We shelled some peas and I poured boiling water over those and let them sit while the kale tomato mix was microwaving away. When all the bits were done, we salted and peppered the beans and ladled them with broth into a bowl, added some tomato/kale with and sprinkled with the drained, blanched peas. I put a touch of white wine vinegar and olive oil to finish. Seriously, delicious with that wine – wow!

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Melissa and I had a great time at the blogging conference and as promised here are some of the adventures that we had. I highly recommend taking a trip to Walla Walla some weekend over the summer, it is a beautiful spot for a weekend away. We had the pleasure of staying off the beaten path at the Capri Motel which was so quiet and wonderful and our neighbors were great.

The fantastic Capri Motel

The conference was filled with people and winery staff pouring and talking about their wines. We were both thankful to have some wine after the long drive.

Beginning of the Conference

Sherry Sampling

We had some errands to run for the winery so we headed over to Jim’s Supply to pick up wire. Doug and Dan are great guys, we got to tour the place, meet the chickens, and learn exactly where the best restaurants in town are.

Doug and Dan of Jim's Supply

Their suggestion to try Brasserie Four was perfect.

Brasserie Four

Beautiful and delicious.

The next day we loaded up on a school bus and toured several wineries. At Gifford Hirlinger’s, Frank stole the show and had his picture taken with many adoring fans including Melissa.

Frank and Melissa

Out in the Vineyard

This was a beautiful winery with a very similar vision to Colter’s Creek. A real focus on growing the grapes on site and making the wine to create a closed loop system for wine making – a way to enrich the experience of quality and character from grape to glass.

Next we met at the Walla Walla Foundry an amazing collaboration primarily focused on art but more recently adding wine to the mediums. Three local winemakers shared their stories, time, and wines with us.

Melissa and art

The wines.

Amazing Steel Horse outside the Foundry

For our final destination, we were treated to an incredible view at Leonetti Vineyards, lunch of organic and sustainably grown beef sliders, Leonetti and Doubleback wines. Maybe one of the most romantic lunches I have attended.

Our lunch spot for the afternoon.

Checking out the view.

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This year’s Savor Idaho was a success! Over 900 people attended the ’sold-out’ event at the Boise Botanical Gardens on a beautiful June afternoon. We poured 3 wines; 2009 Estate Chardonnay, 2009 Rose of Syrah, and 2008 Cab/Malbec. We had a great time meeting many of the Southern Idaho wine folks and trying their wines, as well as sharing our wines with others. We look forward to next year’s event, June 12th, 2011. Save the date!

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Melissa and I are at a wine blogging conference in Walla Walla, WA. It is kind of a new & strange experience for us but we are having a great time. We felt a little like we were cutting class because we have had a number of adventures already outside the conference. Pictures and stories coming soon! And a lot more wine to taste

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