Planning a Trip to Wineries on Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg

Michel Schlumberger --Spanish colonial buildings, pretty sure been there.

My First Preserved Lemons - Day 1

I just bottled my first jar of preserved lemons. What will I do with them? Make salad dressing and Morrocan stew, lamb. Later I'll try to make a Chinese version, and other versions with bay leaves and other spices. But for my first bottle, simple, and unadorned.

Sunset Magazine suggests boiling the lemons -- I'm guessing there's some tradeoff between the lemons going bad vs. taste. Boiling makes it less likely to go bad, but may also result in less flavor. If this simple non-boil recipe doesn't work, I figure I'll try the boiling method.

Ming Tsai has a version and related recipes. Preserved lemon-edamame tapenade. Preserved lemon polenta.

Adding oil or not. I didn't add the oil. Maybe later. Feel like it might get in the way. Eventually, I'ld like to make the Chinese version with green lemons and putting them in jars outside so the sun. It reminds me of Hawaii where you'd see homes with a big jar of brown lemons on the roof. I had a cool punch with preserved lemons, mui, and 70up and other stuff that was super good at Leslie's bridal shower which might be nicely enhanced with some vodka. A kind of Chinese lemon drop.

Next: Chili oil with black bean, and if super motivated -- an attempt at Thai basil oil. Which may happen if people keep flaking on me. : )

From Martha Stewart:

Makes 8 preserved lemons

• 8 lemons, plus more as needed
• Juice of 4 lemons, plus more as needed
• Coarse salt
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Leaving one end in tact, cut lemons lengthwise into quarters. Using your fingers, stuff about 2 tablespoons salt inside each lemon, close them, and transfer to an 8-cup, sterilized, wide-mouth jar.
2. Measure juice in a liquid measuring cup, add to jar along with half that amount of water, making sure liquid almost covers lemons. Add more freshly squeezed lemon juice, if necessary.
3. Loosely cover jar and let stand, at room temperature, for 2 days, shaking the bottle each day.
4. If there is room, add more cut lemons with salt and add to jar, covering with more lemon juice, if necessary, and olive oil. Cover jar and let stand at room temperature at least 3 weeks.
5. To use lemons, rinse with water. Remove seeds and pith and discard. Use peel as desired. 

Store notes

Qupe, 88, syrah

Untamed rascal yet too hard to put down, richly flowered. Plenty of red and black fruit flavor.

Asian-themed recipe site

Nibbledish - lots of dishes I would loooooove to make. A nice unintended result. Originally looking for a pork adobo. Asian palate.

Tastes like dirt

Morrocan vegetable stew -- looks tasty right?, but somehow mine is tasting like dirt. It's definitely missing something. Sure I was winging it, but usually that doesn't matter. Actually it tastes more like rooibos tea. Dry and earthy. Even though there's a lot of liquid it tastes like a dirt road. Maybe I should put some tomato paste to deepen the flavor, and balsamic vinegar? Sugar? Hmm.

Soba & New Years

I just had my soba noodles and it seems like the right way to start this particular new year. It's got me thinking that maybe my New Year's resolution will be to have soba once a month. There's a simplicity that is so grounding -- in a way that you realize you don't need anything else but that moment and soba. It'll aso give me a reason to find good soba noodles and either make or find a good tsuyu (dipping sauce).

Soboku -- a quality Japanese people treasure that means to be simple, natural, modest and elegant in an unadorned way

Bringing in the new year with soba is a Japanese tradition, LA Times, December 30, 2009

May your family be happy, well, and peaceful

May your enemies be happy, well, and peaceful

May you be happy, well, and peaceful

Wine list - in process

Sauterne (from night before) 89
Montrachet 02
Quientessa 95
Pichon Lalande 85