he found a wine he likes!!!!

it only took three and a half years

but

my beer only husband

finally 

found a wine he likes

and 

we found a beautiful vineyard to explore as well
our quest for this vineyard 
all started after we spotted a
50 euro
bottle of wine
at our local wine bar
why on earth was this wine 50 euro??
(note to readers, we are cheap winos
and
only spend avg 6-10 euro a bottle)
we saw the vineyard
on the label
google mapped it
realized it was only a couple of hours away
and
decided
to drive there
to try it
in 
hopes it would be cheaper there
then 
at the wine bar

enter

{santa sofia}

the drive up was gorgeous

 at the end of this tree lined road
sat the vineyard
(this picture doesn't do it justice)
the winery was founded in
1811
Giancarlo Begnoni
the head of the vineyard

was there when we came
and 
he provided us a wonderful tasting experience
without even setting up an appointment!
(perks of going mid week)
he gave us a brief history about the wine he "made"


and 
friends it is worth every penny!
it has only been made
seventeen times
in 
fifty years!
we even got to see the historical cellars
the oldest cellar
dates back to the 11th century!

it is dedicated 
to 
Santa Sofia
the newest cellars

were built in the 18th century
the tour was delightful
very informative

and the grounds were simply gorgeous

i apologize
i wish i had more
and
better pictures
but 
we had a two year old with us
and 
between 
wine tasting
chasing a two year old
and 
listening to the wealth of information from Giancarlo
(whom speaks mainly italian and i speak mainly english)
my photo opportunities were limited
but 
aviano folks 
take my word
drive the two hours 
out towards verona
and 
see this beautiful vineyard
and taste
the wine
it's extremely pleasing to the pallet
(do i sound like a wino yet)
 my beer loving husband
finally bought a case of wine

he calls
"all his"

love love
from 
aviano

a view only God could design

We decided to get away to Cinque Terre this past break

many speak of the beauty of cinque terre

but 

until you see it 

you really don't understand 

how beautiful it really is

cinque terre is a group of five cities

along 

the italian rivera 

the cities are

Monterossor al Mare

Vernazza

Cornigilia

Manarola

and

Riomaggiore 

We stayed at Riomaggiore

 at

{Locanda Del Sole} 

the best thing about this hotel 

is 

FREE SECURE PARKING!!

the hike back from the shore to the hotel

made for a wonderful workout 

Upon check-in

we learned that two of the major hiking paths

via dell amore

and 

the path from manarola to vernazza

were closed

because of mud slides

so

we took the boat

from riomaggiore 

coast at riomaggorie

to

monterossor al mare

to enjoy the view of the coast

and

of course let the little one enjoy the boat

***travel tip***

if you want to go primarily for the beach

stay at monterossor 

at monterossor we took the train to vernazza

when in vernazza stop here 

 

{gelateria vernazza} 

was amazing

and 

had an abundance of flavors 

next 

we hiked 

oh boy did we hike

from 

vernazza to corniglia

this was a 4 km hike

with 36 pounds of toddler 

on my husbands back

 he's a trooper

at the halfway point 

we caught a breeze

and a nice little pit stop 

created by a local 

  

(there were quite a few four legged kiddos on the hike!)

but without the hike

we would have never seen these views

 

 once we reached corniligia 

we took the train

to manarola

 

 where i got to tote 36 pounds of pure cuteness

outside manarola 

about 30 minutes uphill

in groppo 

is the

{wine co-op}

you can buy all your wine here!!

cinque terre is known for 

sciacchetra

a very sweet white wine

it will run about 30-40 euro a bottle

they have other whites and reds 

that are in the 6-15 euro range as well

after manarola 

we headed back to 

riomaggiore

to enjoy a wonderful dinner

where i enjoyed

the traditional

trofie al pesto

it was delicious!

then the next day we headed to 

carrara 

to see the marble quaries that michelangelo used!

but that will have to wait!

until next time

love love 

from aviano

friday fun fact: chicken noodle soup

in our household

we’ve all been a little under the weather

well except for the little one

she has found herself under the tree 

digging for presents

so last night i made chicken noodle soup

i heard a rumor

that chicken noodle soup could actually cure a cold

so

i did some very laxed research

and found this article

from

{the ny times}

it’s true

well at least according to the university of nebraska study

people do feel better after chicken noodle soup

remember this

the next time you are feeling a little under the weather

and

make some chicken noodle soup

(even the canned soup was effective!)

eat clean: cauliflower and kale soup!

we are trying to

“eat clean”

aka

eat healthier

we’ve been at this for about a month now

and i have posted pictures

of some of my food (re)creations

on my

facebook page

but the other day

someone

who is my facebook friend

asked

if i had pinned the recipes

because she wanted to try them

(i say recreate because most are recipes that i modify)

so tonight

it’s a cauliflower and kale soup

inspired by dr. furnham's

{eat to live book}

my husband frowned initially 

honestly i kinda did too....

but

my oh my!!

it is a do again!

so

without further adieu

let's get started

first

 

a 3-4 sliced carrots

a cup of celery

and a head of cauliflower separated into florets

then 

add

2 cups of carrot juice

4 cups of water

some ms. dash’s

(about 2 tablespoons)

and

a dash of nutmeg

simmer until tender

for me this was about 20 minutes

while this mixture is simmering steam

4-5 cups of kale

i steamed mine in the microwave

so easy!

i put a little lemon juice on the shredded kale

covered the bowl with a paper towel

then set the timer for 4 minutes

also check on your little one

 

why hello cutie!

after your ‘soup’ mixture is tender

then 

 

take a cup of raw cashews

raw cashews are hard to find

especially overseas

so i found the ‘healthiest’ alternative

in the commissary

the only ingredients are cashews and salt

put the cashews in a blender

add most of the soup mix

then blend till smooth

once smooth

add the smooth soup

back to the liquid soup

or what’s left

mix together

 

top with kale

mix some more

let cool a little

and voila

it is simply tasty!

and it’s only 175 calories per cup!!!!!!!

because there was no link....

 

i found this post on 

{pinterest}

but it didn’t have a link

so i thought

why the heck not

it looks simple enough

and it was

prep was easy

especially since i used all prepackaged goods

hey i am not ashamed with a 8 month old

i needs simple and quick

hence why i choose this recipe

line the bottom of your muffin tin with cookies

then add your reesee cups

make your brownie mix according to box directions

then add to the reese/cookie mix

 

cook time was simple

18 minutes at 350*f

and it comes out looking delicious

 

 

but i must have done something wrong

or

the recipe just sounds good

because the taste was mediocre

getting the brownie cookie mix out of the muffin tin was hard

i let it cool 

but still it was difficult 

and didn’t come out pretty

maybe in the future I will use cupcake tins

the bottom cookie tasted slightly burnt

and the peanut butter didn’t help the burnt taste either

so that is my review

try the recipe for yourself

let me know tips to making it better

knock you butt(er) naked brownies!

i have made

{knock you naked brownies}

courtesy of pioneer woman

many times

and trust me they are delicious!

but tonight

after making them

and having some left over ingredients

and some other ingredients

i decided to be creative

without further adieu 

i present you

"knock you butt(er) naked brownies"

let me explain the butter

i used 

reese peanut butter pieces

in lieu of chocolate chips

pretty creative huh?!?

another change i made:

i used duncan hines

triple chocolate fudge

and 

added 

hershey's chocolate syrup

i'm not craving chocolate or anything!

the steps are exactly like pw's recipe

so

you will need 

1/2 cup of melted butter

evaporated milk

cake mix

be creative here folks!

then i added just a drizzle of chocolate syrup

mix it all together

put half the batter

in a 9x9 greased pan

pop it in the oven at 350 for 8-10 minutes

while that's cooking

take your caramels

unwrapped of course!

add it to 1/2 cup of evaporated milk

and melt

in a double boiler

once melted pour over your 

half of batter baked mixture

sprinkle your reese's pieces

we just bought halloween candy 

so i used that 

it's not stealing from kids

it's being resourceful!

then add the other half of the batter on top

pop it back in the oven

for 20-25 minutes

let cool

then 

sprinkle with powdered sugar!

then 

enjoy

your

knock you butt(er) naked brownies!