Another WWWT

It is another installment of WWWT. This week we tasted Fume Blancs, which is actually just a made up term to make Sauvignon Blanc sound more appealing. Our host really stepped it up a notch this week and made Tofu Curry Bao. She made them from scratch and steamed them as we sat there with our mouths watering.
This week the winner was Ferrari Carano 2006 Sonoma County Fume Blanc, the second and third place was a tie between the Robert Mondavi Private Selection 2006 Fume Blanc and the Hogue Fume Blanc Columbia Valley 2006. The last place was not a Fume Blanc, it was the Barefoot Pinot Grigio. I guess there weren't enough Fume Blancs readily available to have a tasting of four wines. When you put Pinot Grigio next to anything else it tastes like water, so it never really had a chance.

Cooking Class

Tonight was the first night of Vietnamese Cooking class. Van and I took this class a couple of years ago, but it was so much fun and such a good deal that we decided to take it again. The teacher gives us all the recipes for the day, then everyone splits up and cooks 4 dishes in small groups, and then we all have a big meal at the end of the class. Van's job was to chop the herbs for the Bun Bo Xao (Stir-Fried Steak on Rice Noodles), and I made Banh Dua (Coconut Balls).
Van chopping:
Making the Banh Dua:
The finished product:
It is a pretty good deal, about $10/person/night. You get recipes, instruction on how to make it, and a homemade meal with out dirtying your kitchen. I love cooking class. :)

Beach, Bike, and Hookah

Brooke and I had quite an eventful weekend.
On Friday night, we tried a new restaurant, The Marmalade Cafe. We arrived around 8:30 pm and the place was completely dead. There were maybe 6 filled tables in the restaurant with 50 tables. Brooke had the salmon asparagus farfalle and I was given the cheese ravioli (I actually ordered the chicken ravioli). The food was, at best, average. Although we had fun going out, there are too many restaurants in SB for us to ever go back.

On Saturday morning, while I played video games, Brooke went to the pool and swam an amazing 1600 meters nonstop. Later in the afternoon we went to East Beach. Brooke got a couple hours to lay in the sun while I played beach volleyball in the 91 degree heat. In the evening, we went out with another couple to Cafe Zaytoon. The Middle Eastern cuisine was good, but the atmosphere of the dining area was more outstanding. We sat in the outdoor patio surrounded by flowers, fire pits, and a lemon tree. And what meal would be complete without a strawberry margarita-flavored hookah and belly dancing....








































On Sunday, we got up early for a bike ride with our friend, Lu, who just got a new road bike. Lu pedaled casually the entire way while Brooke and I struggled to keep up on our mountain bikes. Dreading another embarrassing ride with Lu, we went shopping for new bikes. The guys at FastTrack were great, very nice and very helpful. Brooke got a great deal on an aluminum-framed Trek 1600. Being last year's model, it was $400 off the retail price. She also got a pair of SpeedPlay X5 pedals and Sidi Genius 5 shoes. I can't justify buying a road bike yet. But if Brooke beats me in our next ride, you can expect another post about a trip to the bike shop.
See more about our Sunday morning ride in Brooke's training blog (linked in the right side bar)

Hiking at the Sedgwick Reserve & dinner with friends

This weekend Van and I had the opportunity to go hiking at the Sedgwick Reserve.
It was the ten year anniversary of the land belonging to UCSB (I think) and to celebrate
they invited the public to come to a BBQ and to go on guided hikes.

A view from the road on the drive in.



They had tri-tip and chicken on the grill.

There was also what I think was a Petanque court there. Van and I played a couple of games, although I am not sure we played correctly. Even though my form might not have been as exciting as his, I won!




While on the hike, our guide pointed out an Oak tree full of holes with acorns inside. Apparently, a family of Acorn Woodpeckers lives in this tree and store their acorns in the holes they peck.


That night we had plans to go over to a friend's house (who happens to be a fabulous cook) for dinner. She prepared an amazing dinner for us, I wish my pictures did the food justice.




This was the best French Onion soup I have ever had!





For dessert we had creme brulee, freshly flamed (see the torch in the back), with berries and home made whipped creme. I have never had creme brulee this way before, but is was definitely delicious!