Food Goodness

One of my favorite places to shop for produce and cheese is the Milk Pail. It's sort of reminds me of the European open markets with rows and rows of glorious and sometimes mysterious fruits and vegetables bursting with color, radiating what I like to call "food goodness".

Customers carefully select each piece of produce out of large bins, deciding which one they'll take home as they lovingly place their newly chosen item into their basket. Ah, it all feels so very European...

Except that the Milk Pail is cluttered and tiny, the walkways are narrow and always crowded with shoppers. Eeks! I have to do a little yoga inspired breathing before entering because people will run you over with their carts for the last basket of strawberries. I restate my mantra throughout my weekly visit, "Breathe. Do not kill anyone during this visit. Breathe".

And that's when I know I'm definitely not in Europe. I'm in Mountain View, CA.

In spite of all the craziness, it's totally worth the trip. The prices are unreal, the produce is fresh, and they have best cheese selection in town (OK, maybe Whole Foods is larger but that doesn't necessarily mean better). They are extremely knowledgeable about their cheeses (well, to be fair, they are knowledgeable about everything in the store) and are always readily available to answer questions or help pair up cheeses to accompany your menu.

Eureka!

I recently discovered that if I arrive right when they open, I only have to wiggle my way through the staff unloading fresh produce for the day. Crates of vine ripened tomatoes are rolled out, Corn is shucked to expose their tasty yellow or red kernels (red corn - have you tried it? It's interesting...), the smell of freshly baked bread hits my olfactory system as the delivery person brings in the daily shipment from the local bakery, individual baskets of strawberries are being stacked on their stand, cheeses are being loaded into the refrigerators, the smell of purple onions loft through the air, a few steps later it's now it's the smell of tart apples, then lemons, limes, lettuces, peppers... Oh! I can go on and on...

Okay, maybe it does still feel a little European...

Sunset Magazine Celebration Weekend

Last weekend Sunset Magazine hosted it's annual Celebration Weekend. Purnima and Crystal were volunteering so a few of us decided to check it out. Unfortunately I was too occupied with wine tasting and eating to take any photos. Sorry Barbara, Alian, Mary, Chris, Baby Iris (sleeping beauty!), Dawn, Dawn's Brian, and my Brian...next time I'll be a better photographer.

Sunset Celebration attendees received a free year's subscription to Sunset Magazine (Mom, if you're reading this, we had two tickets so you'll be getting a free subscription!) In addition to that cool perk, we enjoyed visiting the Artisan Cheese tastings and Wine Region tastings. Cheeses from two of our favorites were there: Cowgirl Creamery and Harley Farms. Wine Associations from Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Santa Cruz, Alexander Valley, Oregon, and Washington were representing (and pouring) various wines from their regions. Needless to say, within an hour's time, we were full of delicious cheeses and fabulous wines. Ahhh, perfect! One of the Washington wineries represented is called Sheridan so Jill, if you're reading this, that picture is for you. :-)

As the day went on, we strolled around the booths admiring all of the companies, organizations, and vendors and their offerings. Inspired by these tomato boxes (see picture), we hope to replicate them one day (hint, hint Papa McCormick, bring your tools next time you visit!).

There were so many things to do and see that we'll have to come back next year. Yay! Can't wait!

Purnima and Gitte's Bday

Last week we gathered the gang to celebrate Purnima and Gitte's birthdays. Unfortunately Gitte couldn't make it at the last minute but we ate a slice of cake on her behalf. :-)

In addition to the birthday girls, we also got to meet the newest member of the group, Iris. She is seven-weeks old and an absolute love. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera handy (I'm hoping Greg took some shots).

Thanks to all who brought delicious foods for the BBQ and to Crystal for making the cake. I made turkey chili which seemed to go well with the grilled meats. All in all, it was a lot of food and tons of fun!

I can't wait for next month's ice cream making party!

Uncle Leo Vitale

Brian's Uncle Leo has been undergoing radiation treatment for pancreatic cancer at Stanford Hospital for the past five weeks. Although the circumstances for his visit weren't enjoyable, we've really loved spending time with him. Leo is the oldest of nine children (Brian's mother, Rose was number six). He served in World War II as a airplane engineer and said proudly that none of his planes were ever shot down (pretty remarkable if you ask me!) and that he escaped death twice during the war. After the war, he stayed in the military until he retired. He served in both the Air Force and the Navy.

Leo is a spitfire, as are all the Vitale's. For someone in his 80's and in a lot of pain from the cancer, this man didn't stop moving! Every day we'd go on at least two walks and he'd putter around the house fixing things. One of my most memorable nights with Leo was around the dinner table talking about Brian's mother and their family. This conversation prompted a conference call with Uncle Dante (the youngest of the nine Vitale children) and his wife Umbretta. The two brothers were trying to piece together where their parents (Brian's grandparents) were from in Italy.

Anyone who has been in a room with the Vitale clan knows that their basic form of communication is yelling back and forth "discussing". Mind you, this is all done with unconditional love; they're just really passionate people. If you can imagine, between the two households, we were on three phones yelling over one another(a lot of "whaaaat's" and "no, no no's") in between conversations. It was hilarious! In the end, with the help of Umbretta's proper spellings (she's also from Italy) and google maps, we actually found the villages they were from!

Noni (Bri's grandmother) is from Gioiosa Ionica Reggio de Calabre Calabria, Italia (she's from the heel of the boot if you look at the map) and Nono (Bri's grandfather) is from Pietra Perzia Enna, Italia (this is in Sicily).

It was wonderful having Leo around to also share stories of Brian's mother when they were children. Apparently Nono worked as a "Persuader" for the mob (altough Brian tells a story that if they said "mob" in the home, his mother would yell, "there's no such thing as the mob!") in Boston and when life got dicey they moved to California to start anew. Leo was nine at the time. He tells this funny story about how they practically came to California in a covered wagon filled with kids and a dog. They lived on a farm in San Jose growing their own crops and baking 25 loaves of bread a day that they shared with their neighbors from the outdoor brick oven Nono made with his own two hands. I just love this visual of this Italian family growing fresh vegetables and baking delicious bread...mmmm! It was unclear when the family moved to Lodi but most of the Vitale's are still there, including Leo and Brian's father.

Losing Rose almost four years ago to cancer was tragic and hearing stories about her brought a lot of warmth to our hearts.

Now that Leo is finished with treatment, he'll be heading back home to Lodi. In three months he'll return for another scan to see if the radiation worked. Until then, we hold our breath...

We love you Uncle Leo and we miss you Rose.