Halloween Wine Time

Yes, I really have been eating (and cooking) over the last two weeks. I’ve just been focusing my writing energy on other projects. And I really haven’t cooked much that was noteworthy.

And that’s still true, despite this morning’s frittata with poblano pepper and cheddar. I’ve been eating a lot of makeshift meals, just throwing things together without a lot of forethought or preparation. But there have been a few special meals and celebrations in recent days, so I’ll dive in and catch up.

On Monday evening, I returned to the semi-potluck Monday dinner; my contribution was a dish of Indian-style potatoes and onions. This recipe came from Madhur Jaffrey’s World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking, a go-to classic from 1981, but it was pretty straightforward: ginger, black mustard seeds, turmeric and chili pepper (I used part of a jalapeño). Seemed strange to not throw in some cumin, but it turned out to be a pretty tasty dish. Not many people tried it, however—it was overshadowed by a huge pan of scalloped potatoes, not to mention the made-from-scratch tortolloni with tomato-vodka sauce. The splashier carbs won out. But at the end of the night, I traded leftover potatoes for some of Ann W.’s fall salad (romaine, apples, dried figs, feta, walnuts), so we both won.

Saturday (aka Halloween) was Whitestone Winery’s annual fall barrel tasting, at the winery in Wilbur, Wash., about 65 miles west of Spokane on U.S. 2. The weather was unexpectedly delightful (if a tad breezy), following a couple of days of low clouds and drizzle, so Ann W. and I struck out across the wheat fields to sample the latest release of Pieces of Red (their red blend; this one’s just merlot and cab). We also got to taste the 2008 cab straight out of the barrel, along with the six-day-old 2009 cab—as winemaker Michael Haig explained, fermentation is complete; now all it needs is time. They served up plenty of grilled burgers and brats from Eggers to go with the wine—the new Pieces was the best complement to the brats, we thought, although the 2006 cab (the current release) was lovely and smooth. We got to visit with Michael and his lovely wife Terra, plus Spokane tasting room manager Heath Kays, then we drove back in the golden twilight of the last evening in Daylight Savings Time.

Last Thursday I had lunch with my friend Ginny, who’s on sabbatical this term from Whitworth and is working on a book about young women who’ve been adopted from China. (She has two Chinese daughters, so it’s a topic that’s highly personal and emotional for her.) We met at the Maple Street Bistro, a cute little breakfast-and-lunch spot in north Spokane. (I wrote about it in the Inlander’s Fresh & Tasty column in March 2009.) I had one of the flatbread sandwiches (turkey and pepperoncini, a surprising and slightly messy, but tasty, combo) with a cup of rich tomato-basil soup and a Doma coffee. The place was as cozy and comfortable as I remembered, and we had a good visit talking about writing and all sorts of other things.

The prior weekend was chock-full of activities celebrating my friend Cate’s 50^th birthday. She and Ann W. hosted an open house at their home on Saturday afternoon, then several of us gathered for dinner at Chaps and toasted her over hearty meals and good wine (and birthday cake).

I was also sold at live auction that weekend, to benefit the Parkinson’s Resource Center of Spokane—but you’ll just have to wait until later for those details.