Nasturtiums

From the garden: Nasturtiums.

 

Nasturtiums, reaching out, to the left of the mint.

We discovered nasturtiums at a family meal where one of our cousins brought them to the table, literally. She's a professional landscape-artist-awesome-gardener; and her backyard is a mini-farm with just about every produce item you could imagine. The typical tomatoes, zucchini, peppers; but also blackberries, hops, asparagus, raspberries, radishes - anything that could possibly grow on her hillside in central Vermont! At this particular dinner, she presented a gorgeous salad of homegrown greens, freshly made vinaigrette dressing and these little, sweet-looking orange blossoms scattered on top.

For garnish?

Also for eating.

Yes, the blossoms and leaves are a nice, tasty touch to a salad. They are spicy! Not loaded with many Scoville units of heat; but they do offer a delicious, peppery touch to the dish. And they look wonderful!

When in the ground, they tend to spread out, so if you have a garden bed in your yard, they could fill it well. The lily-pad-round leaves present a beautiful appearance as ground cover. We've just been growing them in containers on our porch, so they kind of spilled out the front and created this wonderful cascading "waterfall" of bright orange blossoms. They blossom in shades from white to butter-yellow to fluorescent orange and hot red.

Nasturtiums are also super-easy to care for, so if you have a spare spot in your garden next summer, try them! You'll be able to create the most impressive salads, garnished with Nasturtiums; and bring them to all your picnics and pot-lucks.  Your friends will love it - ours do!

PA Taxes

...just discovered a secret reason why PA's state-controlled wine prices aren't so desirable.  Yes, if you live in Pennsylvania (Commonwealth residents know and disdain this), you have to purchase any wine or liquor at the Liquor Control Board's stores.  Yet, beer is sold separately at distributors; six-packs are available for take-out at some restaurants.  It is difficult trying to explain this system to out-of-staters, because - yes! - it is ridiculous, out-dated and seems to just be in place for the Commonwealth to make money off its resident-consumers.

H'okay, here's what we learned last night:  there is a "Johnstown Flood Tax" that has been present since the flood happened in 1936.  What was meant to be a temporary tax to raise funds to rebuild Johnstown was never repealed.  Suppose the Capitol still wants that money coming in, eh?





Here is an information site about the JFT:

http://www.johnstownfloodtax.com/

If you're a PA resident who purchases wine, consider what's going on here.  The personal is political.  Maybe we can vote to repeal this; in the mean-time, Delaware is a short drive away (for some of us).  *sigh*

Coastal White

Bartlett Maine Estate Winery is absolutely at the top of our list of favorite wineries.

Now, keep in mind that we've never been to France, Italy, Oregon, California...

...but that's irrelevant!

We have been to Maine and have visited the gorgeous grounds of the Bartlett Winery and have tasted almost all they have to offer and it's WONDERFUL.  Kathe Bartlett is one of the most gracious and witty women we've had the pleasure of meeting.  All we've gotten from Bob B. is a wave from the back room, as he's always busy working, working; but Kathe has taken us on tasting journeys through the fruits of their labor.

Bartlett Winery became Maine's very first winery ever in the 80s; since New England's climate happens to be super-hostile to grapes (not so much with the sunny, bucolic hillsides).  Thus, Bob & Kathe decided to pioneer Maine fermentation with what was growing in abundance:  blueberries.  Basically, we're drawn to their kick-startin', diligent, energetic attitude toward the craft they love.

Also, they've won like a bazillion awards for their many wines and their new distillery products, Pear Eau de Vie and Fine Apple Brandy (very fancy).

Seriously, though, their dry blueberry wines surpass a lot of red grape wines (that we've experienced) in deep flavor, sensuousness, color; but we'll get to those later.

Now presenting:

Coastal White

Apple & Pear Wine

 Bartlett Maine Estate Winery

Gouldsboro, Maine, USA

"Fresh and fruity, this medium-dry wine is popular served with Maine seafoods, poultry, pasta or picnic by the sea."

It's good.  It's so flippin' good.  You could drink it with every meal.  Even breakfast (though we don't encourage this).  Even a sumptuous roast-turkey-dinner.  Even ice cream at 11:00 PM.  Coastal White is sweet on the tongue, but leaves no syrupy film in your mouth.  It's fruity and pleasantly tangy; yet, being a semi-dry wine, holds up to meals of fish or pork excellently.  We had some tonight and it made our grilled chicken come alive.  There are very faint notes of clove at the end of each sip - perhaps derived from the apple half of the blend.

If you ever end up in the easternmost state, do yourself a favor and pick up a bottle (or a case!) of Coastal White or any of the other Bartlett wines.  And if you're way Down East, be sure to stop in to the winery in Gouldsboro for a sweet visit - you'll love the tasting room, set behind fragrant Maine spruce & pine.  It seems like every time we go for a tasting, we end up taking home a variety case - because they're all so delicious.  With a great story and absolutely splendid, award-winning wines; visit, and you'll find out why Bartlett Estate is one of our most favoritest wineries.

Anyways, the Bartletts' Coastal White is a great choice for pairing with lighter meals - or just as a refresher in the afternoon.  Try some!