Open-Minded Wine Fans Unite

I try not to be too picky about wines. That way I can venture out and still enjoy the various vintages that cross my path. But I admit to a few favorites -- both wines and winemakers. Take Vince Tofanelli (pictured here) and his Zinfandel, for instance. It's killer. Vince advises us to pair it with any tomato-based dish. Also a slice of home-made chocolate cake. Wow.


Tofanelli is a tiny Napa winery with really old Italian grapevines.
Wines cost about $35 and you have to order them. So they are a special treat -- but without a trace of snob appeal. I have no problem storing them right next to my inexpensive red table wine from the winery down the street. All enjoyed in good fun.
Cheers.

The Goats in Our Family

Everybody's got family stories. Here's a good one from my nephew Tony Valls, a former city kid who lives in the Northern California wilderness with his wife Mary, their three daughters and a bunch of animals. A creative bunch -- their latest project is making soothing soap with the milk of their female goats. Yes, goats.

Tony's tale about their boy goat:

"Levi is a curious goat. Levi has been watching, with interest, our dogs appearing and disappearing through our doggie door into the house. He has tried pushing the door with his head, but to the side of the doggie door itself so he was lightly butting the door. I figured it was his poor depth perception had no worries of him getting into the house.

Gidget, our golden retriever, adopted Levi has her little brother. Gidget thought Levi should be allowed in the house, so she gave him a little help. She was standing halfway through the doggie and trying to get Levi to come through....After some trial and error, it worked. Gidget was so happy, so proud that Levi made it into the house. Levi was also happy to be in the house. He greeted everyone, checked the place out and was put back outside through the front door. Levi then trotted around the front porch to the side of the house, went through the doggie door and happily greeted everyone again...Now I need a solution to keep the goat out and still let the dogs use the doggie door."

I told you they were a creative bunch.

Here's a picture of Levi and one of the other family dogs. (It seems Gidget was too shy.)

Also, the Valls handmade goat milk soap is divine.

cheers,  Joan

Creative Minds Love Exercise

So, what's the connection with being fit and being creative? A lot of us  instinctively sense that moving our bodies around helps loosen the connections in our brains -- that and a few strong cups of java. 

But is there a physical side of creativity? Now, that's something to ponder during your next walk, run or bike ride. 

Haruki Murakami, a novelist, has a book,  What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2008) that reveals how running fuels his creative process. "Writing a long novel is like survival training" he writes. "Physical strength is as necessary as artistic sensitivity." 

Hmmm....Others pick up on this idea and run (sorry) with it, for instance, an  article in Fast Company  Upshot: If we exercise it improves our creativity so much that it more than pays for the time it takes us away from doing the task at hand. 

Welp, I suppose that's why I have to take a brisk walk with my dog whenever I  need an opening line for an article -- or for an idea to hang my next article on. And, you ask, what's the name of my idea-mongering pooch? "Einstein." Naturally.

cheers, 

Joan

Food, Bikes & Wit, Thanks to Twitter

As I'm cruising around the web, I've found some great voices on Twitter. 
Everyone has to get to the point quickly when they tweet - and I've become addicted.
You know I love wine, dogs, bikes and food from the garden. In that vein, here are my Twitter favs: with sample blurbs. 


@EatThisNotThat      FAT ATTACK: Uno Chicago Grill Classic Deep Dish Pizza (individual size) = 165 g fat = 12.5 Oscar Meyer Cheese Dogs!


@Chow     Make hotcakes filled with fresh summer corn and blackberry syrup this weekend 

@fastcompany     Bamboo Bikes Turn Heads In The U.S., Fight Poverty In Africa

@Richard Florida      "If you give the creative class access to the power of the industrial revolution, great things should come out of it," Mark Hatch Tech Shop 

Now I'm on the lookout for witty wine tweets, ideas?

Feels Like Fall

(photo by Ross & Mary) 

Pictures Tell the Story

It's August!

(courtesy of Ross & Mary)

Bicycles Keep Us Young

I like to think that to stay young, it really helps to have a Bike you don't have to lock and a Dog that you do have to walk.

The "beater" bike is probably secondhand and can be replaced at the Goodwill for a the price of a bottle of wine. That means you take it anywhere at the drop of a hat and don't worry about it. Soon, it becoming easier than driving for your daily errands.

As for Dogs, well, if you have a young pup you know what I mean. You will get your exercise no matter what the weather or you will have a very, very messy house. In my case, I seem to have both. How does that work?

And now, a new dimension. Young people think riding around on a bike is cool. Better than a car. Indeed the local hipster hotel H2 offers patrons a low-tech, high-design bike to find all the best cafes and wine bars. Their parents are the ones driving around town in the pricey sport cars.

I have to digest this, but in the meantime, check out this vending machine for energy drinks that takes cycle power instead of coins.

Oh yeah, my wine/food tip for August. A deep Syrah with BBQ chicken and pulled pork. Followed with great chunks of melon......cheers

Joan

Nuts and Wine Fight Fat: Who Knew?

They say that moderation is the best approach. Well, guess what, when it comes to food and health it is not. Which is kind of a bummer when it applies to my love for potato chips and french fries.

Some people adore ice cream, but for me it's chips. And the evidence is in: they are really awful for you, in even small amounts. It figures.Potato chips and fries lead to more weight gain per serving than any other food, according to the most comprehensive and detailed study of its kind.

Yogurt, on the other hand, is the opposite. Each extra daily serving prevented 0.82 lbs. of weight. And as we expect, the more daily servings we eat of fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains, the less weight we gain as we get older. Here's how the Harvard Medical prof who led the study puts it: "Conventional diet wisdom recommends 'everything in moderation,' with a focus only on total calories consumed. But, in reality, the types of food and beverages that you consume is strongly linked to weight gain." Cola, for instance, is out.

Here are the details.

So it's nuts and fruit instead of chips -- which are a tastier trade anyway. And definitely wine instead of sugary lemonade or soda. My favorite for an evening on the porch with friends after a bike ride: Mixed nuts and cherries with an exotic deep-red Charbono wine from Tofanelli. We can feel decadent, while our hapless and stubborn pals are off counting calories per french fry. Tomorrow -- after they read this -- maybe they'll join us.

cheers,

Joan