matanzas creek winery (and sea salt)

my sweet muffin of a husband and i were out in napa with friends (see below) in june for vacation, and while we were there we dragged them 90 minutes away to the bennett valley in sonoma county to see the beautiful matanzas creek winery. we first discovered it on our first trip to the area back in 1992 and have been big fans of their superior handcrafted wines ever since. when we visited, we were lucky enough to catch the lavender in bloom this year: 4,500 magnificent provence and grosso plants arranged in terraces down a one acre hill.

it truly is a feast for the senses. imagine a sea of purple and the quiet, humming sound of bees drifting lazily and drunkenly from one flower to the next. the redolent, relaxing scent of the blooms and leaves wafting into your nose as you close your eyes and deeply inhale, and afterwards stroking your hands and wrists against the herbs to keep the scent with on you and in your memory for a long, long while. i am thinking “ahhhh” as i write this.

but i digress. we were seduced by the wines as well, and decided to join their wine club. when i opened our first shipment, inside of the carefully packaged box was a small cube covered with russet-colored tissue paper. i opened it to see what it was and to my delight it was some wonderful lagniappe - a package of pink himalayan sea salt, made heady by the edition of the winery’s estate grown lavender.

“whee! a reminder of my summer vacation!” was my first thought, which quickly changed to confusion…

“what the heck should i put this in?”

“lavender shortbread?”

“corn pudding?”

“huh? what? gah!”

so now i must humbly beseech all of you in out there in bloggyland. who here among us can offer up any suggestions about dishes that should include this salt?

i would be most grateful!

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enstrom’s toffee: a tasty history

i love the endearing qualities (and taste of course) of old-fashioned sweet treats. some places that make them have fascinating tales of their beginnings too. this gorgeous, buttery, handmade toffee, from colorado’s enstrom family, comes from a family recipe that’s over a half century old and is a great example of both.

chet enstrom began his career as a soda jerk in colorado springs. after he got married, he moved out to grand junction and opened an ice cream company, and at the same time it grew and thrived, so did his passionate hobby of candy making. at the urging of his friends and relatives, he and his wife vernie started enstrom’s candy in 1960. the company has been making these great confections ever since.

the company remains in the family to this day, run by third generation grandchildren and their spouses. in addition to toffee, they also offer truffles, mint meltaways, toffee popcorn and fudge.

yum - for the treats and the story!

buy it on their website.

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iced coffee and big head coasters

my friend, a food and wine lover, just passed me a recipe from the new york times for an cold-brewed iced coffee concentrate. after expressly extolling it’s virtues, he’s gotten me all riled up about it. apparently, thoughtful preparation of this not-too-difficult prescription results in some type of ambrosial elixir that is smooth, satisfying and full of sublime coffee flavor. being a bon vivant, i needed little time to prepare myself mentally for the exquisite pleasures of coffeefantasyland, and now i’m ready to taker the, er, plunge.

after the requisite 12 hour steeping time, i can’t think of a better place to put my slippery, filled-to-the-brim glass than these big head coasters.

these clever drink holders are made of thick rubber, and as you can see, you can stack them or stand them. they come in packages of 4, in assorted colorways.

buy them online at wrapables or perpetual kid, and don’t forget to savor each sip!

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