Today’s class was all about WINE – sort of a weird day considering I don’t drink anymore.  But it was actually still interesting and it was fun to learn about the wine pairings.  We each were given six different wines – three white, two red, and a port.

And a big plate of food with all sorts of different ranges of flavor profiles – sweet (jelly beans, chocolate), salty (potato chips, manchego cheese), bitter (lemon), spicy (sriracha), creamy (goat cheese, butter), and more!

I swirled and sniffed my wines (instead of drinking them) in order to get an idea of the flavors, and then happily sat there and ate my tasting plate.  :)  Back in my drinking days, I drank plenty of wine, so I already know what these all taste like – I didn’t feel like I was missing an educational opportunity. 

The rules about drinking wine at school are that all tastings must be done before 10am, so that you have at least 3 hours to sober up before leaving school in case anyone is feeling the effects of the wine.  They also have a permit to serve the underage kids for educational purposes, which I didn’t know existed before school!  So we did all our wine and food pairings at 9am – kind of funny.

We set the dining room and served our guests again.  I lucked out and got a table for two today – totally easy.  I’m really not nervous about it at all anymore.  Today’s menu was Mediterranean food – my absolute favorite!  On the menu…

Greek Salad – a classic Greek salad with kalamata olives, feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and lemon oregano vinaigrette

Hummus, Baba Ghannouj,  and Pita Bread – mashed chickpeas seasoned with lemon juice, garlic and olive oil served with a roasted eggplant puree and pita bread

Spanakopita – crispy buttery phyllo dough triangles filled with spinach, feta, dill, and onion

Falafel with Cucumber Sauce – small fried chickpea patties seasoned with cumin, coriander and garlic, served with pita bread, lettuce, tomato and tzatziki

Octopus – grilled with garlic, white wine and lemon (this really freaked me out!)

Broiled Chicken Souvlaki – chicken marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and grilled

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Lamb Kabobs – cubed leg of lamb, marinated in red wine, olive oil and oregano, grilled and served with a tzatziki sauce

After service I loaded up a big plate of salad, falafels, tabbouli, and baba ghannouj – sooooo fabulous.  I cannot wait to MAKE all this food next term!

While I enjoyed my vegetarian delicacies, Sid chomped the head off of an octopus just to freak me out – eeeeeek!

After class I walked out to find sunny skies and 60 degree temps!  SO NICE!  The dogs are running around like puppies, finding the biggest sticks in the entire yard…

I took advantage of being home early and having nice weather, and just completely cleaned out BOTH cars top to bottom!  I love my Shop Vac :)  It will be so nice to have a clean car for tomorrow’s roooooad trip!

Off to meet Kath for a sunny walk and some HOT yoga!  Going out to dinner tonight with Casey – back later with fun details!