Ringing Out the Old and Bringing in the New!

A message from Glenda reminded me of the numerous ways people recognize the end of the year and usher in the new year.

Traditions/rituals to end the year

• Drinking bubbly around midnight
• Eating grapes  at midnight (while standing on a chair, if possible)
• Eating seafood
• Attending a house of worship just before midnight
• Attending a party
• Hosting a party
• Attending a public New Year's Eve Celebration (e.g. opera house in Sydney Australia, ball drop in New York City)
• Thorough cleaning of the entire home
• Silent meditation

Traditions/ rituals to start the year

• Eating greens (collard, mustard, kale, turnip) 
• Eating  black eyed peas
• Eating chitterlings
• Crossing the street with luggage
• Wearing yellow underwear
• Have a male be the first to enter your home
• Sweeping dirt out the door
• Have money in your pocket

Growing up, we often prepared snacks to eat New Year's Eve evening while waiting for the start of the New Year, if we stayed awake until midnight. A favorite snack to prepare was brandied wieners. My mother has perfected her recipe; my sister and I  learned the recipe as result of observation and asking questions.  We have convened via phone or text messages to answer each other's questions about modifications to the recipe.  The house underwent a thorough cleaning on New Year's Eve and no clothes washing  was allowed on New Year's Day. We did wash dishes, however.

I still do a thorough housecleaning that wraps up by nightfall on New Year's Eve. It has sometimes made me so tired I was asleep before midnight on New Year's Eve. My cousin Antoine tells me that his family has a seafood feast on New Year's Eve.

This year I will be staying close to home.  The bottle of bubbly is chilling ( I chose a 2009 sparkling wine from Stone Tower Estate Winery to  bring in the new year. It's a blanc de blancs). I also  have green grapes chilling that will be consumed at midnight.  New Year's Day dinner preparations are underway too. A bowl of dried black eyed peas is soaking; I will make Hoppin' John. A mix of collard and mustard greens is also on the menu.

What traditions or rituals do you or you family employ to recognize the end of one year and the beginning of the next? Share your comments below.

Wishing each of you a 2015 filled with abundance and joy, Happy New Year!

Be well,

Technicolor girl

image created by Ink+ LLC

Back to School - week 4

I admit, I was looking forward to this class because the world of sparkling wines and champagnes was a bit of an unknown to me. Molly, the instructor made it fun and easy for me to navigate  this rarely explored territory.

Only the Champagne region of France may refer to its sparkling wines as champagne.  All other areas refer to their  sparkling wine with terms such  Asti, prosescco, cava, sekt  sparkling wine and cremant.

Fun facts:

• A monk developed the wire cage that is often placed over the top of a bottle of champagne. The monk's name was Dom Perignon
• Sparkling wine (especially champagne) while fermenting are moved slightly over a period of time to an downward position to ensure the  fermentation yeast  gradually moved to the top of the bottle.  This manual adjustment process is called riddling.
• A woman developed the riddling the riddling rack. Her name was Veuve Clicquot .
• The term "pearlage" means bubbles (in a beverage such as sparking wine or Champagne).

After discussing sparkling wines the class focus turned to other reds including Beaujolais, tempranillo, and garnacha. The timing was auspicious because it was National New Beaujolais day.

 
Molly shared with the class the story behind the iconic black rooter that appears on the bottle of Chianti produced by members of the Consorzio del Chianti Classico. Read the story here.

Due to technical difficulties, much of the class was lecture and tasting. The instructor promised to send slides to the class for review at home- she kept her word.  Class started a bit later than usual (the weather that evening was horrible and delayed everyone's commute). I order to wrap up at a decent hour the instructor promised to cover the remainder of the evening's syllabus in the next class.

Tonight is the last class before the exam. The instructor will cover the balance of last week's class, sweet and fortified wines, spirits and do a review in preparation for next week's exam. 

Yes, exam. Where did the time go?  I've already received an email from Capital Wine School requesting confirmation of the spelling of my name for my certificate - that's what I call a vote of confidence!


Be well,

Technicolor girl