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Farewell to the Best Season

September 19, 2014 in Living, Travel by traveleatlove | 4 comments

Summer is my favorite time of year. I don’t love or even like the other seasons nearly as much; I find early sunsets deplorable, and chilly weather makes my bones hurt. I am happiest when I can have bare legs and bare feet (or open toed shoes for work) and can sleep without blankets. I love being hot, I love beating sun, and most of all I love boats, beaches, fresh produce, and long days. This summer wasn’t the best, as far as heat went, but we still managed to have some pretty great times.

Some favorite moments included our anniversary dinner at Hamersley’s, our Red Fire Farm CSA and all the tomatoes, a concert at Westport Rivers, James Taylor at Tanglewood,  swimming at the Jersey shore, and my family’s visit, especially whale watching from Boston.

boating in Boston

We visited Venezia on a friend’s boat and spent a ton of time at our friends’ new pool, sipping cocktails and swimming, It was the life.

pool time

We also made some time for Chatham, one of my favorite places on Cape Cod. It was a chilly August day, but we still enjoyed the views from Chatham Bars Inn and celebrated their 10th anniversary with commemorative cocktails.

Chatham Bars Inn

CBI 100

We also spent some time on one of my favorite Cape Cod Beaches, Craigville Beach, where I spent childhood vacations and look forward to making more memories. How gorgeous is this?!

Craigville Beach

And then there was our Sonoma trip, where we fell in love with a house on a mountain overlooking vineyards. We tend to not leave New England during summer and to save trips outside for after the season ends. But there is really nothing like the Dry Creek Valley in the height of summer, with big purple grapes hanging from the vines and an exquisite dry heat that my body loves. I have about 10 blog posts about Sonoma left, and for that I apologize. But we helped with harvest and went to some fun events, met really nice people, and most of all relaxed and unlpugged. It’s hard to say goodbye to my favorite, season, but being the optimist I am, I know fall will also bring adventures, delicious food and wine, and great friends and family. And despite how much I love long, warm days, you really can’t beat all that.

 

What were your favorite summer moments?

Tags: Cape Cod, Chatham, gardening, home, Massachusetts, New England, Sonoma, summer, sunshine, Travel

CSA Week 12: Late Summer Deliciousness

September 5, 2014 in Food by traveleatlove | 2 comments

Our CSA continues to fill each week with a little bit of excitement and lots of healthy local produce. The last couple of weeks have simply been bursting with summery delights like heirloom tomatoes, peaches, and corn, possibly the best foods in the world (paired with a lovely Rosé, of course)

 

Heirloom Tomato BLT

As is often the case in the warmer months, simple was really our goal in highlighting the beautiful food provided by our local farmers. Big, juicy heirloom tomatoes and crisp local lettuce lent themselves to quick and easy, yet completely heavenly BLTs while green beans were perfect sautéed in a little olive oil, chopped garlic, and black pepper.

green beans

Each week brings its own share of greens, and I imagine that will continue once summer ends. Rainbow chard is yummy chopped and cooked down with a little olive oil, a great balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper. This would be a great side dish for a good cut of beef and your favorite red wine.

rainbow chard

We drooled over the fresh peaches we received, super juicy and sweet. They were more often than not eaten on their own, but once warm night called for a peach and tomato salad topped with goat cheese and a little fig balsamic. Simple and perfect.

peach and tomato salad

Finally, while we did eat plenty of corn from our CSA, the below dish is actually from my beloved Steel and Rye. Their soups are always phenomenal, and this chilled corn soup was one of my favorite dishes of the summer.

chilled corn soup

What seasonal dishes are you loving right now?

Tags: cooking at home, corn, corn soup, CSA, farm, green beans, healthy, peaches, produce, summer, tomatoes, vegetables

Summer (And Fall) of Rosé

September 3, 2014 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 4 comments

Another weekend is almost upon us, and many of us will be taking advantage of long, sunshine-filled days with friends and family, beach time, barbecues, and other relaxing summer fun. It’s still summer, after all!

I have some perfect wines to go with your summery fun. The below samples showed up in my office one Monday morning not too long ago. A Monday with a wine mail call is not too bad at all!

Rhône rosés

The following wines were kindly sent to me:

  • M.Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône Belleruche Rosé 2013
  • Domaine Le Murmurium Côtes du Ventoux Rosé 2013
  • Saveur du Temps Costières de Nîmes Rosé 2013
  • Lavau Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2013

All of these are Rhône rosés, known for being more structured and fuller bodied than others, and for their ability to pair with food. As I mentioned above, they also pair really well with sun.

We sampled these wines on the boat and in our back yard, and we truly loved them all.

imageMy favorites, however, were the Saveur du Temps Costières de Nîmes Rosé  and the Lavau.

The Saveur du Temps, a Grenache/Syrah blend  was fun and fruity, shared with friends in the sun while enjoying bits of cheese, meat, veggies, and other snacks. It’s one of those wines you could drink with anyone; it’s fruity enough for those who prefer something sweeter, but it’s still nice and dry.

The Lavau, a blend of Cinsault and Grenache,  has a beautiful rich color and medium body, with dark cherry and ripe strawberry notes, fruits that really show themselves in the wine. But there’s also that dry, mineral characteristic that wines from this region also express. I can tell you it’s just really yummy.

Most importantly, the Lavau is a reminder that there are Rosé wines that are made for year-round enjoyment, with heavier foods like spiced grilled steak, which is what we paired this with. Because these wines have more structure and complexity than your regular beach day Rosé, you could easily be sipping them while wrapped up in your favorite sweater in front of a fire pit outdoors. The thought sounds kind of delightful, doesn’t it?

image

All of these wines were provided as samples. All opinions are my own.

Tags: Labor Day weekend, rhone, Rhône rosés, Rhône Valley Wines, rose, summer, Summer wine, wine, wine tasting

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