Sunday Picnic & A Gift From A Neighbor

Sunday the temps were in the 80's, the sky was mostly sunny & nothing could stop us from enjoying the day. La packed a picnic, while the Vinho Verde was chilling in the fridge.

Our picnic spread was comprised of various deli meats, white cheddar, laughing cow cheese, a bowl of cantalope, watermelon & Bing cherries, an avacado with a dropper full of 20 year old Balsamic Vinegar, some cherry tomatoes & some bellpeppers. The main attraction was the bread. The bread was a gift from Paul aka 'Papa Squirrel' from the food blog Sqirrel Squad Squeeks.

Funny thing though...Paul & I have been in touch through the interweb & I knew he lived in Memphis too. As it turns out, he lives in our neighborhood too, but what makes it even stranger...he lives one street away, essential on the same block as us!
For all I know he could be poaching my Wi-Fi signal!!

Back to the bread. Paul read in my profile that I am a graphic artist & asked me to make him some acorn icons for his blog. Of course I said sure, but being neighbors & all, I can't take any cash. The only payment I would accept would be wine for the quick Photochop job. We met up at a tasting this weekend & along with a bottle of 2002 Il Circo: Uva di Troia "La Violetta" he gave me a bag of bread from a mexican bakery, that included, a pastry with sprinkles all over it (How did he know I loved sprinkles?), some pineapple bread & the lovely two loaves of jalapeño cheese bread pictured above.

The bread rocked the party that rocks the party. We will definitely be seeking out the bakery he got the goods from.

With our picnic fare we enjoyed a Gazela Vinho Verde. Vinho Verde may be my favorite Summertime wine...only if I had to choose. It comes from Portugal & translates to 'green wine'. It is called green wine because it is made to be consumed young, soon after it is made. It is meant to be consumed so young, that most of the time the producers don't date the bottles. It is not green either. It is a simple white wine, light, with low alcohol & a touch of spritz which is added when bottled by a dose of carbon dioxide. It has a snappy acidity & light floral quality with a faint peachy-ness to it & at 9% alcohol, polishing off a bottle during an early picnic does not render you useless for the rest of the day. There is not a more refreshing Summertime wine, that I have tried at least, but if you think there is, send me a bottle!

It was great way to wrap up the weekend & recharge our batteries for the coming week. Now it is time to start counting down to the weekend again.