Wine of the Week - Blue Mountain 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

Summery red fruits on the nose - strawberries, cherries, raspberries.

The taste up front is sweetly acidic. Might be a bit much for some, but I liked it. The taste of red fruits carries over from the nose, and some earthy tobacco notes drift up from underneath. Premium stuff, and a good showing from a Pennsylvania winery.

13.1% alcohol

Veggie broth

With fall comes the warm tasty fall veggie soups that come with it. I make a lot of soups, but the one thing I've never made was my own veggie broth. I found this recipe from VegantYumYum.com and tweaked it a bit to fit my tastes.

For my broth, I used carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, garlic, leeks, and tomato paste.

I split the broth into two tupperware containers and froze them until needed.

Wine of the Week - Sandler Wine Co. 2010 Grenache

This wine has a very potent bouquet - you can smell it from across the room. That was promising to me, as I like my wines bold.

The boldness ends up kicking you in the teeth a little bit. Hot up front, with strawberries and floral tastes coming through only after you've had a moment to collect your senses. Finishes tannic and anise-y.

Drinkable, but I'd recommend keeping away from this one. I got it at a discount price, and I'd still say it's not a great value.

14.3% alcohol

Fresh Apple Cookies

Fall is here! So that means I get to buy loads and loads of apples. First up, yummy apple cookie recipe I found at Food.com.

I recommend pushing down the dough balls with your hand of the back of a spoon. I had followed the instructions and left them as balls on the pan, but that's how they cooked then - they didn't flatten out.

See the baking mat in the picture? A friend involved with Chico Chef asked me to try it out since I bake pretty often. I ordered the silicon mats off Amazon.com. When I took the mats out of the packaging, they had a weird oily feel to them, so I was a bit apprehensive. But once I pulled the cookies out of the oven, I totally saw their worth. The cookies didn't stick to the mat at all, the baking pans stayed clean, and the mats cleaned up very easily. So, if you're looking to save a few minutes in the kitchen, pick up one of these mats!

Wine of the Week - Maurice Car'rie Heather's Mist

Here's a smooth-textured, light and crisp white wine, perfect for closing out the waning days of summer.
Rose and apple scents precede a mostly apple taste.  Develops into a nice tart, and finishes with succulent grapeseed tastes.
12.2% alcohol

Sweet Potato Quinoa Loaf

With Labor Day over, that means it's officially autumn, right? So time for those autumn veggies!

A tasty meatloaf alternative from Hope for Healing.

Rather than topping with tomatoes and the glaze as per this recipe, I made it a bit more Italian. I filled the loaf pan halfway with the mix. I topped it with mozzarella cheese, then added the rest of the mix. More mozzarella was added on top of the loaf, then some spaghetti sauce (and a little more cheese sprinkled on top).

Chocolate breakfast smoothie

I've been into making smoothies for breakfast lately, finding some good recipes online. But I decided to try one for myself. It's almost like dessert for breakfast!

Serves 2:
1 banana
~15 sliced strawberries
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 cup vanilla almond milk
8-10 ice cubes

Throw all in the blender and combine.