Keuka Girls' Weekend

This weekend was perfect. Kath and I made great time on our drive up to Keuka. I was so sleepy, but managed to get us up there in one piece. We listened to great music, caught up on life and started James Patterson's audiobook "Toys". Although Autumn had  begun to tiptoe into Maryland last week, it had already swept through the Finger Lakes and set up shop. The nights were chilly and required blankets and layers. It was the perfect sleeping weather though - there is nothing better than piling on lots of blankets to sleep.

Kath and me at the first vineyard

 Our first morning, we cooked a huge breakfast of eggs, sausages, and potatoes. Not to worry, we went on a long hike to work it all off! 

The group at the second vineyard

 The air was so crisp and clean. I have asthma and something about the air up there made it so much easier to fill my lungs. It wasn't so cold that our noses dripped, but it was just cool enough to keep us comfortable as we picked up our pace. I saw the most darling little chipmunk, but he scurried off before I could snag a picture. 

Gorgeous Dahlia

Hills and hills of vineyards surround Keuka Lake. The local wineries offer a Fall Harvest Food and Wine Tour. We took our Golden Chariot (a Kia minivan) and spent the day sampling amazing foods and wines.

 

I love the richness of the color in this flower

Does anyone know what type of flower this is?

Keuka Lake

The ride between vineyards was full of dancing, singing and general silliness. We stopped at the grocery on the way home. A couple girls stayed in the car, a couple went in and a couple of us got out of the car to stretch our legs in the parking lot. A guy came up to Mary in the parking lot and asked her if we had all just gotten back from a wine tour. She asked why he would say that, and his response was priceless: "Well, those girls are hanging out in a minivan drinking wine." 

Our Golden Chariot

I found the seed in the grape! 

Perfectly ripened grape bunch

Fitting for a girls' weekend, but a very ugly shirt

The views were breathtaking

Fourth vineyard

Artichoke Dip from scratch

Sweet Home Alabama

Cannot wait to make a trip to the pumpkin patch for some Autumn decorations!

He was so peaceful

View on our hike

Sea Plane! 

View from Esperanza Mansion

Driving home

Sunday, we went on our last hike of the weekend and stopped for a leisurely lunch on the patio at Esperanza Mansion. The way a weekend flies by never ceases to amaze me. I can't wait to go back next season! Once the crazy cold retreats, I'll head up there as quickly as possible.

Just a girly type of night

 We made some pork fried rice with jasmine rice, fried egg, onions & baby bella mushrooms.
I got too hungry to take pictures every step of the way. Imagine the same scene with veggies.

Ingredients:
Some Pork or chicken trimmed of fat and chopped into bite sized pieces
Handful of Baby Bella Mushrooms sliced thinly
Packet of Jasmine Rice (fool proof rice cooking method courtesy of my momma)
Vidalia or Red Onion sliced thinly in bite sized pieces
 generous helping of ginger
Soy Sauce to taste
Sesame seeds to taste
two eggs

Fool Proof Rice Cooking Method:
Add rice and water in a 1:2 ratio to covered pot. Bring to boil. As soon as it boils, move it to the smallest burner and put it on the lowest heat setting for 30 minutes. You'll have perfect rice!

To Assemble:
Heat up oil in wok or similar deep pan

Cook food in order of time it takes to cook through

Wait until oil is pretty hot, add meat and use two flat wooden rice paddles...or one rice paddle and one wooden spoon if you don't have two :)

Push the food down from opposite sides of the pan using the rice paddles and continue the motion into the center of the pan keeping the edge of the spoon on the pan and let them meet in the middle. Continue doing that, rotating around the pan so that the food gets cooked evenly.

Pull the meat out of the pan and put on a plate covered in a paper towel to drain some of the grease off. You don't want the meat to get overcooked.

Onions are next, followed by mushrooms. When the mushrooms are almost done,  crack the egg directly into the pan and once it is mostly cooked, toss the rice in and add the cooked meat as well. Mix it all up and season to taste!

I do variations of this with all sorts of veggies. You can add peppers, celery, carrots, scallions, water chestnuts, anything really! Just make sure to add them in the order of time it takes to cook them!

 Stir-fry it all up, and you have yourself a pretty easy  and delicious meal!

When we set the table, we realized all of our nail polish was still out from earlier.We left them as decorations because we liked the colors in the candlelight. 

Someone  snuck into the photo. 

Vivi knows she's not allowed on the kitchen table! She sure is cute though.