lummi island wine tasting 11/1/19

click on photos for larger images

Friday Breads This Week

Fig Anise – Made with a sponge that is fermented overnight, then the final dough is mixed with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. Honey, dried figs and anise bring in all the flavors of the mediterranean. After the final dough is mixed the dough itself is also fermented overnight which adds a lot of depth to the flavor to the final bread. A great flavorful bread – $5/loaf

Barley & Rye w/ Pumpkin Seeds – Made with a levain that is fermented overnight before the final dough is mixed with a nice mix of bread flour and fresh milled rye, barley and whole wheat flours. Some buttermilk makes for a tender crumb, honey for sweetness and toasted pumpkin seeds add to the flavor and texture. – $5/loaf

Pain aux Raisin – made with the same laminated dough as croissants. The dough is rolled out, spread with pastry cream and sprinkled with golden raisins and dried cranberries soaked in sugar syrup, then rolled up and sliced before baking.  – 2/$5

(breads must be pre-ordered by Wednesday for pickup here at the wine shop at our Friday wine tasting, 4-6pm. Planning a visit to the Island? Email us to get on the mailing list!)

 

Halloween Sunset

We have been enjoying stunningly clear weather this week, under a cold zone of high pressure. Looked out the window just before dinner tonight to see this amazing sunset unfolding to the west, marked by the slow progress of a tug and tow headed north. I grabbed the camera and headed across the street for a better view, but could not get far enough to capture the tug in the photo. So we have the barge in sight with Orcas Island to the left.

You should be able to click on the photo to see a larger version. Pretty nice, this place we call Home!

 

 

 

Mar a Lago Update: Animosities, Partialities, Influence, and Interest

Both the history and the practice of impeachment, especially of the President, are more about politics than justice. Apparently the Framers were aware of this possibility, and their way of handling it was to make it a political process rather than a strictly legal one. Therefore it is not surprising that the few times it has arisen with regard to the President it has happened when strong polarities existed between the major parties on other issues which both sides felt were important and upon which there was little common ground. As Alexander Hamilton put it, “political considerations would come into play including animosities, partialities, influence, and interest.”

Andrew Johnson was Lincoln’s VP for his second term, and became President after Lincoln’s assassination about six weeks into the second term. Back in those days the Republicans identified themselves as the party morally opposed to slavery, and many had more sympathy with the recently freed slaves than with the defeated Southerners they felt had started the Civil War. Lincoln died with no specific plan for Reconstruction, but Johnson thought Lincoln had intended to extend clemency and reunify the country as soon as possible.

But many felt more specific steps needed to be taken to prevent former slaves from being re-indentured in various ways. The final straw was Johnson’s firing of his (formerly Lincoln’s) Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in violation of the one-year-old Tenure of Office Act (which Johnson had just unilaterally repealed), which prohibited Presidential firing of Congressionally approved Cabinet Nominees. The resulting impeachment process in the House and trial in the Senate (which did not convict) seem largely about the challenges of coping with the aftermath of the Civil War.

Similarly, the Clinton impeachment process was largely an artifact of Republicans’ refusal to accept that a Democrat was Occupying Their Oval Office. The Nerve! Efforts to dig up Dirt on the Clintons (they Hated Hillary from the very beginning) began shortly after Clinton took office, going from Vince Foster’s death to “Queen Hillary’s Health Plan” to the never-ending Whitewater Investigation, which morphed into the Starr Wars and the bizarre taped phone calls between Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp. Somewhere in that process we recall someone asking Bill Clinton “why do they hate you so much,?”  to which he replied something like, “because we beat them.” To which he added philosophically, “it’s just politics.” Some people felt it was okay to grill a President about private affairs. Most did not.

Which brings us to today’s decision in the House to proceed with a formal inquiry into the possible impeachment of the Tweetster. The first thing to note is that this inquiry is not a “trial” in the usual sense, and it was never intended to be. It is a tool built into the Constitution as, for lack of a better term, a “ritual” acknowledgement of deep divisions in our society about our values, our goals, and our beliefs, and an inability to accept that a lot of other people believe exactly the opposite. Assuming the impeachment goes forward, it is extraordinarily unlikely that 20 Republican Senators would ever vote to impeach. Remember, it’s not about justice, it’s about ritual cleansing, like a National Enema: not much changes, but you have Gone Through the Motions. The Impeachers never win, and after a while all of us chimps will put down our clubs and go forage for food. But it probably won’t taste good to anyone and may be hard to digest.

Washington Post Tweetster Lie Count to date 13,445 as of 10/10/19

 

 

 

 

 

 

This weekend’s wine tasting

Ronan by Clinet Bordeaux Blanc ’15     France       $15
80% sauv blanc, 20% semillon; fresh and appealing aromas of yuzu, grapefruit, white flowers, and passion fruit; flavors of citrus, white fruits and warm spices are fleshy yet crisp and clean.

Bodegas Ayuso Estola Reserva ’15    Spain   $10
Tempranillo/cab sauv blend; Warm aromas of spices and ripe fruit; wide and round palate, easy drinking, great buy!

Crios Malbec ’18   Argentina      $13
Bright, dark red. Red currant, black cherry, ripe strawberry and spices on the nose; sweet red fruit flavors with notes of earth, licorice and menthol; creamy fruit firmed by smooth tannins…a terrific value.

Shatter Grenache Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes ’17      France       $19
From Old Vines in Roussillon’s black schist soil; nose of dark fruit with a hint of espresso; velvety texture with black currant, spice and cured meat flavors with a touch of coffee; firm structure, supple tannins, excellent acidity and overall balance.

Seghesio Angela’s Garden Zinfandel ’17 California     $19
Aromas of wild blueberry, briary raspberry patch and baking spice give way to a palate of juicy, ripe blackberry and black plum. Soft tannins, a rich mouthfeel and focused acidity lead to a long finish.

 

Wine Tasting

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