Friday, January 8, 2016

Be The Lenoir!!!!! Franklin's Cheap Sangria





I haven't had many people in my life who understand me. For that reason it is sometimes difficult for me to see beyond myself as I am still trying to grasp the reality of my own dysfunction. If I don't know what the issue is with someone else I create my own scenario as my anxiety and my insecurities kick in and I wage war upon myself with every single fiber of my being. 



My anxiety is my dragon. It dwells inside and and strengthens as my thoughts wander off somewhere down a long dusty road in my soul. I can't see the direction nor the crossroads but I seem to take the narrowest of paths that lead to nowhere only the self mutilation of my heart. Why can't I just stop somewhere and ask directions? There aren't any. You see you have to chart out your course ahead of time when you have anxiety. You have to make sure you won't end up somewhere you don't want to be. You have to have a comfort zone and surround yourself with those that have a calming effect on you when you feel you just have to dip away but shouldn't. Everything has to be structured and go as planned. If you have to take a detour it can awaken the dragon and cause a huge shift in the space time continuum.....well maybe not that drastic but that's what it feels like when you have anxiety. Like your ship is sinking and you want to jump off. Fuck the life jacket just JUMP!!!!






Many of my friends here in Key West don't know I worked as an apprentice winemaker in Texas because here I am just a wine drinker. I worked at Dry Comal Creek Vineyards under Franklin Houser and one of the best consulting winemakers in the world Dr. Enrique Ferro, founder of Ferro Family Wines. I learned a lot about charting your course from Dr. Farro and Mr. Houser. There were very few detours in the winemaking business. I worked in the fields, the lab, in the office procuring juices, the tasting room, I helped bottle and I managed sales and the best part was I learned the business from the ground to the bottle to the glass. I learned how to blend varietals to create an immense Meritage. I learned how to season barrels for port wine production and know just when it's time to add the right elements that enhance the process. I gained the expertise in choosing varietals when outsourcing juices for further development. But the most important thing I learned that taught me the most about myself was about Pierce's Disease (PD). PD is primarily caused by the glassy-winged sharpshooter (that's a bug) that carries a bacterium and feeds on tender tissues of the vine and much like anxiety does to human beings it destroys the plant from root to fruit. It will take out a vineyard with only one exception being the Black Spanish grape, better known as the Lenoir which appears to be Pierce's Disease resistant. The vines can become infected with the disease but still survive and produce the most incredible wine grape that is now used in many of the US crafted port wines. That is me!  I am a Lenoir! I can be infected with negativity, sick with anxiety that has crippled me but still rise to produce a high quality product that is revered by many as one of the finest wine grapes that are high in acidity and tannins, difficult to manage but smooth on the palate with strong legs and a tremendous bouquet.

So with this being said I am a survivor, and every day I have to learn to have strong legs, incredibly strong resistance and a smooth and easy finish much like a bottle of fine Red Lenoir. Be Strong and Be the Lenoir! Cheers!

Tasty Tastings Everyone!

Franklin's Cheap Sangria

Ingredients

  • 1 6 oz can frozen concentrate limeade mixed with one can of water
  • 1 6 oz frozen concentrate orange juice mixed with one can of water
  • 1 liter chilled Grapefruit Soda
  • 1 bottle Dry Comal Creek Black Spanish Red Wine

Recipe Info

  1. Blend frozen limeade and orange juice, add bottle of Black Spanish. Put in freezer until slushy. Add chilled grapefruit soda just before serving. Garnish with orange and lemon slices.



















Monday, January 4, 2016

The Goddess Speaks: "Nothing Quite Like The Feel Of Something New"



Happy New Year Everyone! I survived ten days of being out and about.

Now I am perplexed. I met someone very special a couple of weeks ago, mind you it was an interesting scenario, it didn't go further than conversation and I could slowly feel the wall around my heart being chipped away like a sculptor as he starts working on a new piece of stone. Things take time, things with me just can't be rushed. I am an introvert that only comes out when her inner Goddess is summoned to glorify her existence. I always hide behind my camouflage of smiles in public when deep down I would rather be sitting at home writing my heart out, cooking for those I love, dancing around the house to the deep beats of NIN, immersing myself in a mindless movie to forget my awkward social anxieties or holding someone so close after making love and I can feel their heart beat in time with my own. 

You see I am a rare breed, suffering from both anxiety and depression from PTSD is like living inside a personal hell. It takes a special person to see it for what it is and hold my hand through the storm and reassure me it'll be over soon. I am a runner and a pusher, I run away when taunted and never take the time to justify my reactions so i push you away so you don't find out my secret. It is easier for me to hide then walk into a room with my head held high and my light shining bright. I've shined like the north fucking star these past few weeks. Something or someone lit me on fire and it felt good. Then it stopped, out of nowhere, no reasoning, no explanation. Dead silence like a deluge of water that extinguished the raging fire with no warning. WTF!

Maybe I need to jaunt about town tonight and drink a cocaine rimmed espresso martini to allow me to dance my demons out like a coven of seductive pagans during a full moon. Maybe I should just stay home and over think this shit some more placing the blame solely on me as I have done so many times before. When someone doesn't take the leap of faith to get to know another's soul it becomes their loss. 

In some cases I wish I could be like the person Trent Reznor's lyrics "I'm drunk and right now I'm so in love with you, and I don't want to think too much about what we should or shouldn't do. Lay my hands on heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car. Nothing quite like the feel of something new," Maybe that is the only time I feel alive, Maybe meaningless, random encounters are the answer as so many of my sistas have told me. Unattached emotionally, physically satisfied but still void of any depth...that's not who I am. I am a one man woman. The stress of multiple engagements would send me over the edge like a broken cuckoo clock stuck on midnight. 

Relationships are like wine, it takes time to develop legs, intensity, depth and substance.

Much like an avocado I start out hard and in need of being slowly ripened. Give it some time and you find the soft meat under the thick skin is as smooth as butter and the heart is big.


My recipe is for my Avocado Poblano Soup. This can be served hot or cold kind of like me.
Tasty Tastings Everyone!!!


Sheri's Heart Avocado Poblano Soup


Makes 10 servings
1 pound poblano chiles, washed, seeded and coarsely chopped (skin on)
2 carrots, washed, peeled and roughly chopped
1 white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
1/2 gallon (8 cups) fresh chicken stock
2 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled (pebbly-skinned brown-black Hass are preferred)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup heavy cream
Pepper, to taste 
Salt, to taste
Corn tortillas, cut in strips and fried in hot oil, for garnish
Instructions: In large stock pot, sauté poblanos, carrots and onion in canola oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add flour, mix well and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add chicken stock and mix well. Simmer over medium low heat for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add avocado. Puree with wand blender or in batches in blender. Add cilantro and cream, and blend until thoroughly mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm or chilled, topped with fried corn tortilla strips.