All About The Food

Morning!

Sorry for the lack of post last night…..I got home around 11:15 and quite literally, fell into my bed. Last night was craaazy!

But first, I did do 60 minutes of power yoga (via Dave Farmar!) before I left yesterday afternoon. Really, the only posture that bothered my ankle was warrior one so I modified that and was fine. It was really really really good to stretch and break a sweat. Must.exercise.asap. 😉

No snack because lunch was so large and around 6:00, I headed over to a friend’s house for dinner! There were 12 of us there and it was like foodie heaven. Seriously. Every one of us ADORES food and wine and all we did for the next five hours was eat amazing food, drink wine and talk about more food…the whole time. I think I’ve come home.

Watched another beautiful California sunset—

Sipped on some Viognier—

Now this is what I’d call an amazing spread of appetizers:

Pate (which I discovered I actually LIKE??! Who am I?!), salumi, fresh local goat cheese, fresh whole wheat and sourdough bread, triple cream Italian butter and two other delicious specialty cheeses. Ahhhhhh

Naturally, the wine flowed as well:

I fell in love with this one:

And also an ’85 Petite Syrah/Syrah blend, which was FABULOUS and changed my opinion on the entire varietal. It was my birthday wine after all! 😉

I’ve found the best method when put in a situation with 15 bottles of wine is to only pour one ounce pours for yourself. That way you can enjoy many different kinds and not end up drinking, oh say 9 glasses of wine. That would not be good. I must have tried at least seven or eight different wines last night and felt good the whole time with one ounce rule. And then there was champagne with dessert….and sauvignon blanc with cheese….but that’s another story.

Anyways, dinner was nothing short of spectacular!

From 11:00: fish stew, brussels sprouts with bacon and white beans, small piece of lamb, whole wheat bread, salad.

Everything was local….the lettuce had actually just been picked yesterday morning from the garden! How crazy is that?! And it was so good…..I actually hated lamb (or thought I did) before last night but this didn’t taste like any lamb I’ve ever had, in terms of being really super gamey. This lamb actually had a bit of sweetness to it and tasted more like steak. So now counting four things I had previously despised before moving to Sonoma county: duck, lamb, pate, syrah. Wheeewww! Next up to try again is foie gras, which I had tried at a Paris farmer’s market and thought was the grossest thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. It’s been two years though and I’m prepared to give it a second chance!

Dessert was a sliver of rustic apple pie from a local bakery in town, paired with a splash of champagne, a tiny bit of cheese and the tiniest taste of apple brandy. whoaaa

I’m not kidding when I tell you ALL we talked about for FIVE hours was food. I’ve always been the craziest foodie amongst all my friends on the east coast so you can’t imagine my excitement when I am finally paired with people that can match my gastronomical enthusiasm! And then, Doug and Susan sent me home with cookbooks!

Ahhh Alice Waters and Patricia Wells. Awesome.

Needless to say, I was in total food coma state upon getting home and it was all I could do to wash my face, take out contact, brush teeth and fall into bed. This morning I resumed some order to my life with the typical oatmeal:

So yeahhh….I’m really trying NOT to think that right now I would be probably on mile 10 of my half marathon. Makes my heart hurt. However, I’m so thankful for such a great weekend filled with new friends in a place I love. I’ve been able to stay busy so I haven’t had time to have a pity party about my ankle, which is good.

Today my plans are to do more yoga, finish hanging all my pictures, run errands and relax. I feel like I’m finally settling in here, which is great. Can you believe this is the first time I’ve ever had my own place?! It feels so odd (and awesome at the same time) to have my own space and to be able to do whatever I want.

See you in a bit!