Sips and Nibbles

As minor as we all thought Tropical Storm Fay would be, she certainly proved to be a pain in the butt. It started raining Monday night, and then continued to rain until Friday. Daily rain isn't that unusual here in the summer, but it generally comes at about 4pm and lasts about half an hour, and then it's all sunshine again. This was all day, all night relentless rain. To illustrate, here's a picture of our parking lot from this week. You'll note that the water is high enough that you can't see the curb in some areas. (That little yellow car in the background is mine!)

As a result of the rain and flooding, we've been a little stir crazy. Frankly both Kyle and I were happy when the flooded roads cleared and we were able to go back to work. So, Friday night, we decided we'd celebrate that the rain had (mostly) stopped. We went to our favorite wine shop, WineStyles with a friend for the wine tasting. It's a great little shop- it's a franchise, and is owned by a nice couple that are passionate about good wine. If you're intimidated by wines and wine shopping, this is a perfect shop- all the wines are organized by "style" (ie. bold, mellow, fruity, &c) and every single wine has a card next to it that tells you what flavors it has, if its dry or sweet, what kind of food it's best with. And if that isn't enough help, the owners and employees are very friendly and knowledgeable, and don't mind helping you find the right wine. (Oh, and most of the wines are priced under $25, which is a bonus!) I'd highly recommend taking a look at the website to see if there's a franchise in your area.

We tasted some wines, and picked up our wines of the month, then headed over to the World Beat Cafe, a local tapas restaurant. Recently, they've been offering an all-you-can-eat tapas menu for only $25 per person. They have a special menu for the offer, with about 20 selections, plus the offer includes a bottle of wine, pitcher of sangria or three cocktails per person. (I had a chardonnay, but didn't finish it- we corked it and brought it home.)

It was especially fun with the three of us, because we shared all the little plates of food. I can't remember exactly everything we had, but I took pictures of the tandoori chicken with peanut sauce, the Mediterranean calamari and the five cheese flat bread.

I love tapas, because I like not having to commit to one entree. You get the chance to try small amounts of several things, plus they really encourage a very fun, social dining experience.

Rainy Day Picnic

Kyle and I had planned a picnic this weekend. We have a cute picnic basket with plastic wine glasses, and matching plates and everything. We were going to go to the beach in the evening, and have a romantic movie-style beach picnic...

But it rained. And rained. And rained.

So we moved our picnic indoors to our living room. We did lay out a plaid blanket and ate our food on the floor. We went for simple, cold foods- it was very continental.

This was our spread-

The pictures were going to be beautiful and scenic and jealousy-inspiring: us lounging on a beach at sunset, sipping wine and relaxing... but, since we were just in our boring living room, you just get the food.

We had a loaf of soft french bread, apples and grapes, prosciutto, chorizo, some Irish cheddar, pesto and olive oil to dip the bread in. We also had a bottle of L'Orval Merlot. It was very casual and rustic- we just tore off bits of bread and ate it with our meats and cheeses. The wine was nice- round and fruity, but nothing too fancy (I happened to see it at Publix the other day for $6.99- I can't remember if I bought it at the grocery store or the wine shop or if it was a gift...)

The whole thing was delish, and an easy, stress-free weekend dinner. Even without the beach, it was a pleasant (and gave us a chance to watch some DVR'd episodes of Mad Men.) Maybe next time the weather will be more co-operative.

Thai Inspired Peanut Noodles

Summer break starts next week at school, so Kyle and I are going to be taking a trip to visit my family in Kansas. This means that food-wise, we're in pre-vacation mode, meaning no new groceries- everything has to come out of the fridge or the pantry. Even if we weren't going on a vacation, it'd be a good idea, as I have a tendency to be a little... ahem... over-enthusiastic at the grocery store. It's a very zen experience for me- the soft music, the smell of bread wafting from the bakery, row after row of glorious edibles... Some people go to yoga, I go to Publix. Couple that with my mother's waste-not-want-not influence on my formative years, and the end result is a full pantry in which I rarely make a dent.

This meal is one that uses several of my pantry staples- pasta, peanut butter and tofu. It has a nice, spicy Thai-inspired flavor, thanks to the cilantro, pepper flakes and peanuts. We had plenty for our dinner, plus some leftovers. Kyle liked it so much, he took the leftovers to lunch at work-- not so notable, except that there was also leftover mexican in the fridge. I can rarely compete with chimichangas.

The noodles are super filling, cheap and pretty quick to throw together once your tofu is drained and pressed. If you didn't want to use tofu, it would be equally yummy with shrimp. Of course, if you don't have fresh herbs, you can use dried. I just happened to have fresh leftover that needed to get used.

We enjoyed our noodles with a bottle of HRM Rex Goliath Pinot Grigio (2006). I usually get wine at a local wine shop, but I saw the bottle at the grocery store, and the label was so weird... it called to me. It was nicely priced (less than $10), and quite good. I thought it was crisp, with a bright tart apple flavor. (The website says "Bright, juicy flavors of citrus and apples that lead to a sweet mineral core"- So I was close on my tasting notes!) I also bought the merlot, but haven't tried it yet.

Thai Inspired Peanut Noodles

Serves 2-3

1 block extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed

Canola oil

3-4 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1/2 medium onion, cut in thin half-rings

6oz spaghetti or angel hair pasta, cooked according to directions (I used whole wheat)

1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

Red pepper flakes (to taste)

1/3c creamy peanut butter

2T soy sauce

1T honey

1/3c peanuts

1/4c fresh chopped cilantro

1/4c chopped green onion

Salt (to taste)

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet on medium heat. Sautee onions and garlic until the onions just start to caramelize. Cut the tofu into strips and sprinkle lightly with salt. Add the tofu to the pan, and allow to cook undisturbed until it becomes golden on one side, then stir to allow other sides to cook.

While tofu cooks, heat the peanut butter in a microwave safe dish. Once the peanut butter is slightly melted, whisk in soy sauce, honey, a pinch or two pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like your noodles) and ginger.

When the tofu is golden and hot, add the peanuts and toss with the pasta, sauce and cilantro and green onions. Garnish with extra cilantro, if like me, you can't get enough of the stuff!