Wine of the Week - Frey 2011 Zinfandel

This organic grape wine is one of those curious cases where the nose doesn't match the tongue.

On the nose are scents of seedy strawberry and mild anise.

None of that is on the tongue. Instead, you'll find a lot of bright, fruity flavors with a long, tart finish.

Not a stand-out wine, but completely functional.

13.3% alcohol

Wine of the Week - Presque Isle 2010 Syrah

Presque Isle Wine Cellars, Lake Erie

Atypical for its region, this is a delicious wine full of dark, earthy scents and flavors.

Strawberries, raspberries and black licorice on the nose.

The licorice carries through to the taste, joined by ashy smoke, black pepper and some berries.

When you're in the Lake Erie region, this wine is an excellent escape from the more typical colorfully sweet wines produced there.

12% alcohol

Wine of the Week - Buttonwood 2011 Syrah Rosé

The first things you'll notice are scents of honeydew and fresh cut grass on the nose.

As you taste, you'll notice the well-rounded richness of this wine. Tasty sour acid with golden, honey-tinged fruitiness. This is a full-bodied and balanced wine. A rosé that red wine drinkers can appreciate and white wine drinkers are sure to love.

12% alcohol

Pancake puffs

Is it breakfast or dessert? Who can tell? But it doesn't matter - they're super tasty!
Pancake puffs from Vegan Fling.

I made several different ones - blueberry, strawberry, banana, and chocolate chip. It's very easy to make each puff differently since you don't add the variations to the batter, but to the muffin tin itself. It'll be fun to experiment with different ingredients!

Wine of the Week - STO 2011 Red Hot Rosé

This sweet, sweet, sweet grenache rosé from Sort This Out Cellars comes from Santa Barbara County.

Overwhelming sweet apple scents on the nose, with some watery strawberry notes underneath.

Sweet and tart strawberry candy on the tongue, which develops into some apple skin taste before finishing with a little bit of a sting on your taste buds.

If you like your wine like candy, this one should be at the top of your list.

13.5% alcohol

Pizza salad

I saw this recipe from the June issue of Good Housekeeping and knew it would be a great summer meal!

I used sourdough English muffins instead of pizza crust, since it's what I had on-hand. The muffins were cut in half, sprayed with oil olive, topped with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese, and baked at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.

I followed the rest of the recipe pretty closely and it turned out great! I served baked asparagus topped with Parmesan cheese on the side.

I think next time I make this, I'll add black olives to the salad, and maybe some fresh basil.