Self-sowed Melon

I do gardening with home-made compost.

Compost is composed of decomposed organic materials.
As the materials decompose, heat is generated. Unwanted weed seeds and bacteria are killed with this heat. Theoretically.

Somehow my compost doesn't become hot enough to kill seeds.
Past years, I witnessed plants like potatoes, tomatoes, and even chili pepper emerged from compost which was scattered on the garden.

This year, I found yellow squash look-like plant was growing in my vegetable garden.
I don't have any recollection of throwing yellow squash seed since I eat them all, but I have no objection growing it in my garden, so let it grow.

After a while, it didn't look like yellow squash.

Watermelon...?
I waited more and found out...

It happened to be cantaloupe melon!
I grew melon from a seedling some years ago but never saw it self-sow.

I cut it into half and tried.

Not much meat...and a little sour... but it definitely tasted like melon!

Lunch with Benanti

Benanti is a winery on the foot of Mount Etna, Sicily.

The history of wine making in Sicily is long, but overall impression of Sicilian wine had been high-yield, low-quality wine.
It was the end of 20th century some wineries started to focus on the higher quality wines, and Benanti is one of the pioneers of high quality Sicilian wine.

Giuseppe Benanti believed in the potential of the land and began investing in vineyards in 1980s, that were almost neglected by his father's generation.
Since taking over the business from their father Giuseppe in 2012, twin brothers Salvino and Antonio pushed the quality of wine making even higher.

There was a lunch event with Mr. Salvino Benanti in San Francisco.

Etna Bianco 2016
This wine is made with Carricante.
Clean mineral and quince. Savoriness from lees contact.

Etna Rosato 2017
Grape is Nerello Mascalese.
Fresh red fruit like cranberry. Refreshing citrus.

Etna Rosso 2015
A blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio
Cranberry, strawberry and decayed rose.

Nerello Cappuccio 2015
Floral and red fruit.
Texture is smooth and easy to drink.

Nerello Mascalese 2014
Red berry, rose, spice, smokiness and incense.
Big wine with a sense of decency.

Serra della Contessa 2013
Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio from a single vineyard.
Just ripe red fruit, not overripe. Finish is long.
Elegant on the nose and richer on the palate.

Rovittello 2013
Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio
Fresh and dried red fruit. Good tannin and long finish.

These are all good food wine. Especially with pasta, of course.

Rum Festival in San Francisco

Rum Festival is an annual event held in San Francisco.
This event includes tasting of rums from all over the world, cocktail competition and seminars.

The winner!

For people, especially for those whose first encounter with rum was Rum and Coke, rum can mean cheap, mediocre spirit (in Rum and Coke, flavor of coke is overpowering so low-quality rum can be used).
However, the quality of rum has been improved recent years and there are more and more premium products, and I got to taste some of them at this event.

Rum is a versatile drink which can be made into a craft spirit by choosing the ingredients, condition of maturation or material of container carefully.
Many small producers are focusing only on these premium rum.


My favorites were Diplomatico and Plantation.
I also found a unique producer who is relatively new to the spirit world.

John Drew Brand is a producer from Florida.
Jonathan Drew is a founder of renown cigar company Drew Estate.
After selling the company, John Drew Brand, new business focusing on craft spirits, was established in 2015.

Dove Tale Florida Rum
This rum is made with Florida sugarcane molasses, distilled and matured in Bourbon barrel for 2 to 4 years in Florida.
Sweetness of caramel, butter and vanilla.
JC thinks this would make good Hot Buttered Rum.

Dove Tale Puerto Rico Rum
This is made with the same molasses as Florida rum, but distilled and matured in Puerto Rico. Believe it or not, it's cooler in Puerto Rico than Florida, therefore the spirit is aged longer, 4 to 6 years.
It has more fruit and spice than Florida Rum.
It's interesting to compare these two rums which are made with the same ingredient and matured differently.

Rum is a spirit usually used in cocktails, but these premium rums can be enjoyed as straight.

Liberty shirt

I probably have a poor man's mentality.
At meal time, I save my favorite dish aside until the last and when I buy something, I hesitate to use it immediately.

This fabric is Liberty I bought years ago.
I planned to make my cloth, but it's so beautiful that I couldn't bring myself to put scissors to this fabric. I don't know if it was because I was afraid that I might have destroyed it, or I wasn't sure the best way to use this fabric. Anyway, that's who I am.

However, I also understand that leaving this beautiful fabric on the shelf is a total waste, so I finally decided to make a shirt for myself.
The patters is from Japanese sewing magazine "Style Book."

The design is too flashy...?
Well, I'll wear a jacket on it so it should be fine.

Many of colorful cotton fabrics at fabric stores are not suitable for garment construction unless otherwise it is meant to be for cloth making.
Those fabrics are usually too stiff and don't create nice line as a garment.
I didn't know this when I started sewing and I learned costly lesson after a pile of failure.

Unlike them, Liberty has variety of designs and their soft textile makes beautiful cloth.
It is indeed expensive but in my opinion, it pays off.




Liberty is so beautiful that even the leftover can't be thrown away.

I made pocket chiefs with it.

Tasting wines from British Columbia

Production of wine is spreading to all over the world: you can find new wine regions which weren't known for wine until recently.
China is becoming a big wine country, not only as a consumer but also as a producer. Jean Charles Boisset is collaborating with Indian winery. Chile is expanding its wine production to the southern limit, which is the area thought to be too cold for wine production.
Stories of these new movements are found often in wine news.

Meanwhile, there are regions which has been producing wines but don't get enough attention to match its quality. There are also people who support these areas and promote them to get recognition which they deserve.

Kascadia is a wine merchants with a focus on British Columbia. It is a young company and held a tasting event (probably their SF debut?) the other day.

British Columbia is a wine producing region in western Canada. The history of wine making in British Columbia is said to start when missionaries arrived in Okanagan area in 1859.
Being at the higher latitude, I expected that the majority of wines would be white (in fact Canada is known for Icewine made with Riesling or Vidal), but I discovered great red wines from this region at this tasting.
Many of the wineries in British Columbia are located in Okanagan Valley DVA (Designated Viticultural Areas). Okanagan Valley is in the rain shadow of Cascade and Columbia mountain ranges, and the climate is desert-like. Bordeaux varieties grow well here under the long day length.

Painted Rock Estate Winery was founded by John and Trish Skinner in Okanagan Valley.
They saw the potential of this area and planted the first vines in 2005.

Cabernet Franc 2015
Red fruit, potpourri, vegetal. Gentle tannin.
One of the best sommelier in Bordeaux called this "exciting wine."

Syrah 2015
Full-bodied with powdery tannin and soft acid.
Fruitiness, spiciness and savoriness. Great wine.
By itself, this wine was my favorite out of three.

Red Icon 2015
This is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon.
Red and black fruit, flower, spice and herb. Tannin is soft.
Good food wine. This big wine shows its elegant side with spicy food.

Mr. John Skinner was at this tasting. He had a great personality and the great stories to tell.

Another wine which was memorable was Perseus Merlot 2016.
Plum, mint, spice and ripe pyrazine. Silky tannin.
Their Pinot Gris was very good, too.

Vista D'oro 2008
This is a unique fortified wine. Fresh walnuts are soaked in the port-like wine for long time.
Nutty, sweet wine.

There were other wines from Meyer Family, 50th Parallel Estate and The Hatch. It was dark and I couldn't take pictures but they were all good wines.

It's always fun to explore something new, but rediscovering something being taken for granted and almost forgotten is just as exciting!