Monday, July 16, 2007

Dashwood Wine & Boulder Belt Eco Farm


As I was cleaning my purchase of kale from the Farmers Market on Saturday, I decided to open a chilled bottle of 2005 Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc to keep me company. Washing all of the lettuces, kale, green beans and other various items I picked up takes quite a few minutes, but minutes that I totally enjoy. I love cooking and having the freshest, healthiest, veggies that I can possibly get...it makes all the difference. Just look at this kale from Boulder Belt Eco Farms, so handsome! Lucy and Eugene put their heart and souls into this farm and it is very evident by the produce they bring to market for all of us. Actually, I tip my hat to all of the farmers who make the Oxford Farmers Market such a success and a fun place to be!

Now let's talk about the wine I treated myself to while doing my cleansing of the veggies! As I mentioned, I pulled out a bottle of 2005 Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc that was produced from the fruit grown in the Awatere and Wairau Valley's in Marborough, New Zealand. After unscrewing the cap, whiffs of citrus, mostly lime but a bit of grapefruit too, filled the air. Jumping around on my tongue were the flavors, not only of this citrus, but also a hint of passion fruit and apples also. I know, what a combination. This is a medium bodied wine with a bit of personality to it. Nice bright, dry, crisp, smack your lips, was what was on the finish. And, typical of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, that down to Earth green grass flavor that I adore. This wine was a great bargain at $11.99. Sonadora, look this one up for your summer sips. You will enjoy.


Now, you ask, what did you whip up with all of the good veggies from the farmers market? That, my friends, is for another post!

Cheers!

7 comments:

Sonadora said...

Yum, sounds delish!!

Shayne said...

I love Kale. it is so yummy in soups.

Shayne

winedeb said...

Sonadora - Yep, love those NZ wines!

Shayne - I was just thinking how I wanted to use all of the fresh kale I am hauling home right now and soup is a great idea!

Nate said...

On the subject of kale - my wife and I belong to a CSA, and we get a whole ton of kale. We have never figured out a really good use for it, and either default to throwing it into soups or it goes bad (ugh). Have any suggestions on other recipes to utilize copious amounts of kale? Swiss Chard too - although we do a better job here than with kale..

Thanks!

winedeb said...

Hey Nate - Kale is soo good for you. One of those power foods but you are right - what to do with it. One way Mike and I like it is to take the kale off the stem, add about a 1/2-3/4 cup of chicken broth or veggie broth to pan, add torn up kale and cook over med heat for about 20 minutes with the lid on the pan. Drain, put in bowl and sprinkle cider vinegar over it. Be careful with the vinegar as too much will overpower you.
Another way is to saute some shallots and garlic in olive oil in skillet, then add torn kale and saute till the kale is done to your liking, about 10 min. or so.
Lastly, make a fresh veggie pasta sauce and use the kale as one of the ingredients. I take and saute garlic, shallots or onions, add chopped tomoatoes, red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, add some of the white wine that you are drinking while you are preparing, add some kale or whatever veggies happen to be in the frig and just simmer for awhile, also sprinkle some dried oregano in. You could add some of that fresh basil that you have at the end. Mix with your favorite pasta, top with some freshly grated parmasean cheese and you have dinner quickly and freshly. Just make sure you start your sauce with a good base of garlic, onions and tomatoes (sometimes I even used canned so I have the juice). Then add whatever veggies, hot peppers, whatever, and let simmer. Hope these suggestions help! Cheers!

Lucy said...

I like sauteeing Kale with onions, garlic and either a small rutabaga or a cooking radish such as daikon or red meat/watermelon cut ino small cubes.

In a hot pan put in butter or olive oil and than the kale, onion and radish/rutabaga and sautee for a couple of minutes. Than add the garlic and cook another 3 o 5 minutes and serve.

I also will use Kale in pesto-I do half kale half basil (plus the cheese, oil, nuts and garlic).

winedeb said...

Lucy thanks for the yummy looking recipe! I definately will be trying this one, especially from the veggies from your farm!