UnWINEd Grand Opening

I had a great time taking photos and lending a hand at the UnWINEd Grand Opening last weekend. UnWINEd is Anchorage's newest boutique wine shop and when Joshua went in to sell them advertising a few weeks ago a short chat turned into a career change.

They were so impressed with his wine knowledge combined with his advertising and business management experience they recruited him to be the store's resident wine expert, or sommelier. One of the owners was recently telling me how happy he was to have my husband join their team. He felt the way Josh explains wine is a unique service he doesn't think you can get just anywhere and a key component to the store's future. I told him I was just so pleased to see him doing work he's passionate about. And it doesn't hurt that I'll have to help him with his homework (read: tasting).

At the Grand Opening celebration there were tasty treats, tons of customers and even the mayor came down to do a ribbon cutting. The owners hope to cultivate a store where you can find unique wines that aren't distributed everywhere else in town. They also carry a variety of gifts such as cork purses and jewelry, specialty foods including tapanade and flavored olive oils, and a plethora of wine-related accessories.

I'm excited to see the store grow and have a connection to such creative, hard-working business people in Anchorage. If you live in Anchorage, I hope you drop by sometime to check it out.

 Anchorage Mayor Sullivan cuts the ribbon to commemorate the Grand Opening of UnWINEd, with the store's owners at his sides.

Fresh pressed: Homemade fruit juice

We've been on a homemade juice kick at my house. We picked up a juicer at Costco in early July and have been making cranking out homemade fruity (and sometimes vegetable) concoctions ever since. We've been working on injecting more fresh fruits and vegetables to our diets. Orange-mango juice is my current favorite. Pineappe-orange-strawberry is amazing. Pear-apple is pretty delish too. Carrots are surprisingly sweet and drinkable, and produce way more juice than you would imagine. Don't overthink it, try apple-carrot juice. A leaf of kale in fruit juice can turn the whole thing green, but the taste is still sweet and yummy. 

Why make juice?

1. Homemade juice is packed with nutrients. Plus, there are no chemicals, preservatives or added sugars. Just the natural stuff you drop in the juicer. 
2. You can make a mean martini with the juice of your favorite fruit. Try a grapefuit-tini.
3. If you're the kind of person who takes a light breakfast, a tall glass of iced juice can really add a punch to your morning.
4. Make lemonade out of lemons: It's easy to find out one bad apple literally did spoil the whole bunch in Alaska where our store-bought fruit isn't always the freshest. But you can salvage bruised, or less-than-crisp fruit and vegetables by making them into juice.
5. It's SO much more delicious than the store-bought stuff. And think of how impressed your next out-of-town guests will be when you serve them fresh orange juice at breakfast.

The drawbacks?

1. It's kind of a pain in the patootie to clean, but do it right away before any sticky pulp dries to make the job easier.
2. All the pulp can be a menace to your sink, I recommend using one of those little drain screens you can pick up for about $2.
3. Fresh fruit can be expensive, especially up here in the 49th state. Keep it on the cheap by adding just a small portion of exotic fruit favorites to bargain granny smith apples or ordinary oranges sold in bulk.
4. It doesn't keep. The shelf life of fresh juice is only about three days, but you can avoid waste by only making what you'll drink right away.
5. High calories and sugar. Remember, just because you drink it doesn't mean it doesn't count. If you're watching your calories, make sure you look up how many calories and natural sugars are packed into fresh fruit.

Random notes: 
 In case you take a stab at making juice yourself, there's a few weird things you might want to know.

1. Homemade juice is thick, almost like a smoothy. Don't be afraid to water it down with a little mineral water and ice.
2. It's frothy. Yep, you might see a weird foam on top. There's nothing wrong, but you can skim it off or use a straw if it bugs you.
3. No pits. Don't ever put stems or pits in a juicer unless you like broken appliances. Then it's OK.
4. No skins you wouldn't eat. Take a peeler to your oranges, grapefruits, mangoes, pineapples, etc. The white white of the orange is OK, but the actual orange-colored rind is bitter. Skins on apples, strawberries, plums, peaches, nectarines, etc. are fine. Don't waste your time peeling those.
5. Grape stems are OK. Yep, there's an exception to every rule, and in juicing you can throw a whole bunch of grapes in -- still on the stem. There are nutrients in that stem. (Check instructions on your individual appliance to make sure it's grape-stem approved.)

Enjoy!

Halibut fishing in Homer

Happy Friday everyone! I wish I had as amazing plans for this weekend as I did for Memorial Day. For our anniversary gift to each other, Josh and I went on a half-day halibut fishing charter in Homer, the halibut-fishing capital of the world.

We got a little sea-sick on those wild ocean waves, but still managed to both catch our limit, two halibut each. I actually pulled three, but threw the first one back in hopes of a bigger one. It was amazing. It seemed like every time I dropped my line I was reeling it back up with something heavy at the end of my line.

My bait was stolen many times, but the amazing charter crew were quick to re-bait our hooks. In fact, they did most the work, from finding a great fishing spot, giving a quick lesson on catching halibut to baiting our hooks and cleaning our catch! It was pretty cool to get all the fun of fishing without the work of gutting and cleaning them. Not to mention I would have a clue where to start filleting one of those big, sideways fish. There was an amazing young women on the crew that probably blew some stereotypes about seasonal fishing workers, but you wouldn't doubt her skills if you saw her wrangle those fish or wield a knife.

We took home 17.3 lbs. of fillet halibut, ready for summer grilling and much more!

See that pole bend? Those babies were heavy ... plus they had two-pound weights on our lines to boot.

Got one!

Trophy shot.

The day's catch.

Charter Captain Josh is doing his last summer after six years of seasonal charter work. He just graduated with a degree in nautical engineering with which he hopes to design boats.

Friday Fun: Revival of the lemonade stand

May Day was also Lemonade Day in Anchorage last weekend.

We went on an epic bike ride on a lesser-known (read: hilly and muddy) trail last weekend that dropped us off at Westchester Lagoon. After lapping the water we were began plotting where to find a little refreshment when we came around the corner and found a real, live lemonade stand.

Adorable kids were standing on the edge of the trail hollering like newsies and more adorable little people were serving up four varieties of lemonade. I ordered the stands namesake drink, the Lemon Twist, a mix of sparkling water and lemonade for just $1. It was perfect.

Lemonade Day is a city event to encourage kids to learn about entrepreneurship. Participants get packets to help them start their lemonade stands. The website explains it:

"It is a FUN, FREE, city-wide event where KIDS get to MAKE and KEEP THE MONEY that they earn. Kids of all ages learn to set goals, develop a business plan, establish a budget, seek investors, provide customer service, and give back to their community."

After our cool drinks we continued to the downtown New Sagaya Market for lunch and found a less adventurous (read: difficult) route home.

First taste of food photography

So I've done quite a few wine pictures for the wine blog I co-author with my husband, but this week I did my first professional food photo session. I took photos at Tempura Kitchen in the Spenard neighborhood for their advertising and promotional materials. 

It was so much fun. I think I love food photography, because the food don't mind holding the same pose while I adjust my camera ... The folks who own the place were delightful, and the food was delicious as we found out when we grabbed a quick bite after the session.

I've posted a longer cut of the shoot at my professional site, KernThisStudio.com.

What do you think? 

 

Get your Group-on

Do you already know about Groupon.com? I'm not a big coupon clipper myself, but I actually love this site. It has a daily deal offering 50% or more off select items or services at local businesses. Every day I get an e-mail from Groupon with the daily Anchorage deal, but it's available in many other cities. Since joining in December I have snapped up two amazing deals:

1. 75% off a $500 wine making and bottling party at Denali Winery, a gift for my husband for Christmas. We're going to bottle our own wine with our friends Meghan and Joel, who split the Groupon with us. So basically we're going to bottle 20-24 bottles of custom wine with our friends for only $60 a couple. We couldn't buy that much wine for that price.
2. Half price tickets to the Broadway musical "Avenue Q!" When it was announced that "Avenue Q" was coming to Anchorage, I told Josh, if we went to just one show this year, that was the one I wanted to see. It's like Seasame Street for grownups with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor, including songs such as "What You Do with a B.A. in English," and "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist." I'm so excited to see it Tuesday at the opera house.

While more often than not the deals are things I don't need or necessarily want, it's worth getting that daily e-mail to find out I can do  things I've been hoping to budget in for half price or less. Plus, I'm finding out about a lot of local businesses that I haven't visited in my community and I'm all about keeping it local.

If you haven't signed up for Groupon and are thinking about it, please use my referral link which give me a $10 Groupon credit and more local business love!

Thanks and happy Friday!

Ringing in the New Year

 

We rang in the New Year with friends at Five Star Entertainment's dual party at the Dena'ina Center in Downtown Anchorage.

 Pre-party.

 Dinner at the Marriott.

 Kari and Chaedrick.

Snapshots of fall flavors

Sister cat wants to help chop carrots before a poker night at the Zepeda household. We always take snacks to share.

We've been doing a lot of roasting and crockery cooking in the past couple weeks. I've become a near expert at vegetarian roast.

 

Halloween cookies. We tested out get food coloring for the frosting and it's awesome. Way less messy than the old liquid stuff.

The start of butternut squash soup.

Introducing the newest project: A food and wine blog

Joshua and I are co-authoring a blog called New Castle of the Pope -- the English translation for Châteauneuf-du-Pape, one of Joshua's favorite wines. He is a certified wine sommelier from his restaurateur-ing days. Every time we're out at a wine bar, wine store or fine restaurant the conversation turns to the history of this wine or the special way the grapes are fermented in that one. 

He ends of giving servers history lessons that help them sell and people at neighboring tables help deciphering the wine list.

Joshua seems to have journalistic-like instincts for taking a subject that is often overcomplicated and elitist, and making it simple, digestible. With his breakdowns, I, the girl who used to answer what kind of wine I liked with "mostly whites," feel I can hold my own on the topic.


So the idea is kind of "Wines 101." A primer for those who want to enjoy wine and feel like they know what they're ordering -- and a fun read for those already will versed on the subject.

We're also going to write occasionally about food, because the two are really inseparable. Look for a wine of the week, wine terms, restaurant reviews, pairing ideas, and more. Please check it out and let us know what you think.


Find it here: http://newcastleofthepope.blogspot.com/

Thanks! 


Oh, and don't worry. This blog won't change -- I'll still be writing about my Alaska adventures here.