Dad's First GOLD!

Guess who WON GOLD this past weekend at the Youngsville Art & Vino Venue?  MY DAD!  I'm so proud of him!  He was so very excited about winning, too, and rightfully so!  He will be receiving his Gold Medal soon for this Dry Wine.  This was an Amateur Wine Making Contest and it was judged by Wineries in our region.  He received GOLD for the Dry and our dear friend Lynn received a GOLD for her Sweet Wine.  There were only 2 GOLDS awarded.  There were a few Silver, Bronze, and Diamond, I think, too...but...Dad and Lynn's were the only 2 Gold's!  Woot!  Here's a photo of his bottle.  The labels were finished in just the nick of time, too!  He named it Irish Red.  It's a Chianti. 

Recently he started a white wine...a Riesling. I'm looking forward to trying this one!  I thought this dry was great...not overly dry so I guess one could call it a Semi-Dry.  Either way...I really liked it.  It was smooth, too!

This event was so much fun!  We've been vendors with our Wildtree Products each year.

I was able to take a few photos of our set-up before all hell broke loose! LOL!

Once the start time hit - the event-goers seemed to come thru the door fast and furiously!  BUT...it was fun, regardless!

We sold out of the Hot Pepper Jelly - as we tend to do at the events we sample it at!  It's overall our BEST seller - second year running!  As you can see in the first set-up photo in front we had all the Grapeseed Oil Flavors out.  To the right we had 3 'dry' ones for people to try...the Lemon Pepper, Rodeo Rub, and Mediterranean Rub.  In the center of this 2nd photo you will see a wooden stand that we came across and decided to use.  I'm not real sure where my parents came across it but it works nicely!  Looks pretty sharp, too!  On the right hand side you will see the other items...some dips, spreads, sauces, more dry rubs, and some more jams/jellies, too!  It was a FUN Day all around!  And my Dad's very first medal for his wine making!  YAY!

Relay For Life Quarter Auction, Homemade Wine, & My Dad

I can't believe it's been a full two weeks since I attended a local Relay For Life Quarter Auction.  I wanted to blog about this well before now!  Oops!

This is the first Quarter Auction I have ever been to.  It was a bit confusing at first but it ended up being REALLY fun and I know they raised a slew of money for their Relay Team!

The girl who arranged it is a friend of mine and she started her team because she has lost her sister, mother, and uncle all to cancer.  My mom, dad, and I participated in the fundraising auction as participants but didn't win anything.  We also participated as donators of our Wildtree Products, too, and our auction items seemed to have a lot of interest!  In addition we did a live tasting during before, during, and after the event - and during the breaks.  It was a FUN time!

In the first photo above you can see my father with the pink number signs!  I LOVE him dearly!  He's an awesome guy! 

I follow a few of his high school buddies on Facebook, too!  A week or two ago one of his friends posted this photo of him.  My dad thinks it was from when we he was leave from his time with the Navy during Vietnam.  He was on the USS Kitty Hawk during that time.  I just LOVE old photos!  I think he looks adorable in this picture!

In other DAD News...

His Wine Making is going VERY well!  He has started a white wine and will be entering his semi-dry into next weekend's Amateur Wine Making Contest.

I really hope he places!  It would be a VERY big deal for him!  I will certainly keep you posted on that! 

Here's another look at his revised Wine Bottle Labels!  The one he's entering is the RED.

I  think he will be purchasing two more containers so he can have more than 2 wine's 'working' at the same time.  One of these days I should take photos while I am over there and post them so you can see them!  It's an interesting process that he's been trying to explain to my sister and I for a while now!

I have to say the wines I have tasted that he's made so far have been VERY GOOD...they have exceeded my expectations!  And with them being the first wine's he's tried - I think the outcome was EXCELLENT!  He's had a lot of feedback from other wine lovers already and he's very pleased.  I think I take after him in that regard...when we get positive feedback from others it just makes us want to do more and more!  I'm so proud of him for getting into Wine Making - it's a great new hobby for him and something that mom and dad can do together!

Garlic Lemon Tahini Dressing, Wine Spotting, Kiku Apples, Dragon Carrots, & Watermelon Radishes

Last night I had my main dinner already planned - just needed to warm it up - it was the Hummus Quinoa Casserole I blogged about yesterday topped with veggies and the Tomato Garlic Sauce I also blogged about yesterday.  I had a little bit of my raw Vegan Chedda Cheese Sauce left and decided to throw that on top as well.  I wanted to have a salad with it and was totally out of dressing. 

I decided to whip up a quick one in my Vitamix...

Here's what I did...

1/4 C Grapeseed Oil
2/3 C Lemon Juice
1/4 C Tahini
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1/2 Small Onion
Small Handful Parsley
1/2 T Agave
1/2 tea Wildtree California Garlic Pepper

It turned out AWESOME!  I also made a Black Bean Soup but I will have to blog about that at another time...I seemed to have misplaced my recipe notes for the time being. 

My father sent me this photo of his wine that he made.  I think he took it to a friend and colleague this past week.  If it was either of the two wines that I have sampled - I think it's a real winner!  Speaking of which...I think he's going to enter it into a wine making competition next month so I will be sure to report back!

In other news...we've been on a bit of a SWEET Apple Kick lately!  Hubby, included!  I'm partial to Pink Lady Apples when I want a sweet apple.  We were able to get those a few weeks ago but then they have been all sold out the last few times we have been on the hunt for them.  We tried Red Delicious and they weren't all that great the time we bought them from a local grocery store.  We were left wanting.  We then tried Fuji and they were lovely but we also bought some Kiku Apples at the same time and I have to give them a shout out!  Pretty Awesome Apples!  They claim they are the sweetest apple you would ever eat and I have to agree they are darn sweet!  They are roughly the same size and color as a Fuji.  They are a little sweeter than Fuji as well as a bit crispier than Fuji.  I was excited to read about this Apple Story HERE.  These apples now have a place in our hearts!  We will certainly be buying them again when we are able to get our hands on them!

I know I have been chattering and chattering about all of our plans for our Rooftop Garden and I hope I'm not to the point of being annoying before we have even started! haha...but...what can I say...I'm excited!

Look at these carrots!  Aren't they wonderful!?  I thought so, too, that's why I added them to my list of things to get from SeedSaverExchange.  They are called Dragon Carrots.  And are the most refined purple carrot available; bred by John Navazio. Sure to be the best selling carrot at specialty and farmers’ markets. Beautiful red-purple exterior provides an amazing contrast with the yellow-orange interior when sliced. Sweet, almost spicy flavor.

Fellow bloggers talked about these Watermelon Radish last year and I was so jealous that they were able to try them and I wasn't.  I haven't been able to find these ANYWHERE near here so of course I had to add them to the list.

(aka Roseheart, Chinese Red Meat) Round 2-4" white radish with a stunning dark pink and white interior. Flesh is surprisingly sweet, crisp, and refreshing. Best grown in cool weather. Warm days, cool nights, and adequate nutrition and moisture result in a more colorful interior.

It says to plant them in full sun!  I think this just might work on the hot roof!   I love the color of these and in other photos I have seen they really do look like little watermelons.