Sunday Oats

They’re fancy.  I have time.  I devote it to food.  Obviously.

And tea.  Because there’s nothing like a hot cup of tea on a cold Sunday morning.

Want to know what’s inside my bowl?

• Rolled oats made with water and milk
• Pinches of cinnamon
• Flax seed ground in a used coffee grinder; that makes them coffee flax (yummm)
• Thinly slice banana
• Smucker’s Natural drippy peanut butter

The coffee flax really made the bowl.  A little hint of coffee flavor from what was left in the grinder, plus a dose of fiber and omega-3’s from the flax.  Just one tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains 2 grams fiber!  Plus it’s a good source of omega-3’s which helps to reduce total and LDL cholesterol. 

If you are thinking about adding flaxseed to your diet, make sure you grind it.  A coffee grinder works great, or you can purchase the seeds already ground.  Grinding allows your body to access all the good omega-3 oils that it otherwise couldn’t reach in a whole seed.

Happy eating!

30 Minutes Activity:  Walking, my favorite pastime.

Wine Just Off The Vine

Did you know grapes are harvested in September and October?  If I stopped to think about it, I probably could have figured that out.  I just never did.  I drink wine year round, so why does it matter to me when the grapes are picked?!

This weekend it mattered, as Steve and our college friends Anna and Don, traveled the Mason-Dixon Wine Trail.  Although I’ve taken numerous tours of wineries, none have been quite like this weekend’s.

The name of the tour explains it all; we got to taste wine just off the vine.  Pipetted right from the barrel, we drank wine that was made just weeks ago.  Each winery that we visited had their own version of young wine, known as Nouveau.  They were a bit more tart than  aged wines, and obviously much less oaky and complex.  They were more pure in their fruit characteristics and I thought quite tasty.

It was a beautiful day to drive through the countryside, and Anna and Don got the full tour of York County and beyond.  We visited four wineries, an Amish market, and an artisan bread shop.  Thanks to our food stops and the snacks at each winery, no one got too tipsy or had a headache.  Plus I came home with freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter, homemade maple yogurt, herb bread, and numerous bottles of wine.  Success!

The four out of fourteen wineries we visited on Saturday are…

• Naylor Wine Cellars
• Fiore Winery
• Four Springs Winery
• Allegro Vineyards and Winery

Each was unique and interesting in it’s own way.  If we want, we could visit the other ten stops on Sunday and both days next weekend!  It’s a great deal (only $15) and a perfect way to support local businesses.  I was happy to hand over my cash to each winery in exchange for my favorite wine at all but one location, and that was just because they were so busy I didn’t want to wait in line.  I had other wineries to visit!

It was a beautiful weekend all around!

When it comes to wine, do you buy local?