Sainte Genevieve Christmas Parade

Did you see the parade? We finally got the firetruck parade ready! We loaded up the elves (grandkids) and away we went. A good time was had by all!

Veggie Bread Recipe

Here is the recipe for the bread we made this past weekend for Wine Diva. Thank you all for coming. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Veggie Bread

3 eggs
1 pkg yeast (2 ½ tsp)
½ cup milk, warmed
1 cup flour
½ shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup feta cheese in small cubes
2 oz black or green or both olives
¼ cup chopped red pepper or jarred roasted red pepper
Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. in bowl, mix eggs, flour, & yeast. Add olive oil and slightly warmed mild. Add rest of ingredients and stir. Batter will be thick. Line a bread pan with parchment paper. Spread batter into pan and sprinkle with black pepper. Bake 45 min or until tested done. Bread can be made with any veggie of choice. We used chopped shredded carrots, & zucchini.

It's Harvest Time!

Here it is September, the kids are back in school, the weather is cooling off and harvest is under way. It was a good summer for us. A trip to Sanibel with our daughter was so much fun. Marty and I enjoyed the time away. Then in July, the girls and I took a road trip to Ohio to visit family who we hadn’t seen in a couple years. Along the way we stopped at a few wineries. As always, it’s nice to sample wines other than your own and to see how they do things. A winery in Indiana did not permit children to come up to the tasting bar. They had to wait for their family in a sitting area away from the bar.

The rest of the summer was taken up with grandsons coming to spend a week with grandma and grandpa. They each had their own week, except for the twins. They came together and thought they stayed a week. In reality, they were only here 1 night but they did enjoy their time. I enjoy this time with the grandsons. Not only do we have fun, but a special bond takes place.

Harvest has started and will continue for a few more weeks. We started with the Chardonel last week. The actual tonnage we received was a bit disappointing, however, the rest of the vineyard looks promising. Our first crush of the season went well. The juice is currently in the tank chilling. Next week, we will harvest the Traminette grapes. Picking will begin at 4am! It is better to pick the grapes when they are cool, so we often pick at night or in the early morning hours. Some of these grapes are being sold to another winery and must be delivered right after they are picked. Marty will then come home and begin crushing our portion of the Traminette grapes. It will be a long day! All of this will be taking place as the Tour of Missouri passes through wine country. Also, we have been putting our new bottling line to good use. How wonderful it is to have this piece of equipment!

This time of year is never dull!

Summertime

Ok, I know, it’s been nearly a month since you heard from me. Seems like spring came and went and before I knew it, summer was here and the heat had settled in. good ol MO heat and humity. The grapes don’t seem to mind. They thrive well in the hot weather. The clusters of fruit are forming nicely, looks like a good crop this year. I took a ride out into the vineyard earlier today and the bunches of grapes look beautiful!

Marty and I had the pleasure of joining our daughter and her family on vacation to Sanibel FL last month. Sanibel is a beautiful place to relax and take in the scenery of the ocean. I think it must have been MO week there. We talked to quite a few from St. Louis and surrounding areas. Of course, the shelling was fantastic. They were dredging a few miles from where we were staying so we were like many others, hunched over picking up our perfect shells. Family wanted to know what was Grandma going to do with all of those shells she insisted she was taking home. Grandma had the same question after being back home!

Grandsons are coming off and on for their summer stays. Working around ball games and camps have made scheduling a challenge this year but I think all will all be here at some point. Grandma loves to spoil them!

We’re getting geared up to bottle on our new bottling line. Bottles and labels are here, a few more adjustments to the new equipment and away we’ll go!

Come see us in the cool cave and sip some wine. We have added pitchers of sangria this season as well. I must say, it’s yummy!

Have a good 4th of July holiday!

Fun Filled Weekend

Last weekend was a fun filled two days. Starting off with the Progressive Dinner the Route du Vin wineries put together. We served pasta salad paired with our Chardonel Off Dry and I would claim that it was well received. These events are becoming a hit, so watch our websites for future events, or check out the RDV website www.RDVWineTrail.com and get in on the fun!

Also, our neighbors from Webster Groves, who we had not seen in a few years, came for a visit. We truly had a wonderful afternoon. Their girls and our girls were inseparable growing up, so it explained the non stop talking and catching up with each others lives. And of course, we had to show off our fire truck. Marty drove it over from the barn and all of the young ones (and old) had loads of fun and laughs. It was great to see them all!

Sunday we were treated by Cousin G to a real home made pasta lunch. After some discussion on what was in my pantry, he came up with a delicious menu with a 1lb of ground venison and eggs, flour, and a few cans of tomatoes. Within two hours, we had homemade pasta and meatballs. Family, employees, and our friends who stopped by, all enjoyed the delicious lunch. G said that this was a one time deal. He would not become my chef.

I have been tending my rows of vines, tying up, and gloving. I’m pleased how they look so far. Little bunches of grapes are already formed.

We expect a busy Memorial holiday weekend. Pray for good weather and come by and say hello!

It's Spring!!

Have been spending the past few weeks outdoors (weather permitting) planting flowers and creating planters of flowers. I am confident that I am 99% finished. Next week I hope to have that last plants arrive. Right now, they are still being babied in a wonderful, well cared, greenhouse here in Ste. Genevieve. We are lucky to have places to buy local.

A few weeks ago, the grandsons were all here and the older boys decided they would have a clubhouse by the walk out basement door. I didn’t see any harm with this so I gave the go ahead, until I realized all of our “junk” some how ended up in their club house! This I did put a stop to and insisted it be cleaned up. I kept preaching about snakes, “Keep the doors closed! Keep things from around the door to prevent hiding creatures!” You can guess what I am getting at. My cousin and his wife were visiting and staying the guest room downstairs. You guessed it - they saw a snake in the middle of the living area! Now granted, it was small, but big enough to freak us out. We caught it. They left the next morning (so would I). So now, when grandma says “Keep the door closed”, maybe they will hear me.

Our new bottling system arrived this week. It will be ready for operation in June. Stop by and see it!

Vines are growing with all the rain we’ve had. Unfortunately so is the grass in the rows between the vines. Because of the soggy ground, we can’t get in there to mow.

Hope to see you soon. It’s always nice to see friends!

Route du Vin Recipes

So many of you requested the cookie recipes from this weekend - glad you enjoyed them! We were happy to have such a great turn out for Jour de la Terre weekend! Hope to see you on the next Route du Vin Wine Trail event! (May 16-17, Progressive Dinner)

Grandma Strussione's Anise Biscotti
2 cups flour
½ cup butter
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 TBSP Anise Extract
1 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients. Beat butter, sugar, & eggs. Add extract. Gradually add flour mixture. Turn dough onto floured surface. Divide in two. Form 2 logs approximately 3” wide. Place logs on greased cookie sheet. Bake 30 min at 350 until golden brown. Take out logs, cut into ½’ cookies, put them back on cookie sheet, turn off oven, and put them back into oven to harden.


Grandma Strussione’s Pizzelle Recipe

4 eggs
2 2/3 cup sifted flour
2/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp anise extract
Pizzelle Iron

Mix ingredients and drop by spoonful onto hot pizzelle iron. Cook according to iron directions.