“Wine is bottled poetry.”

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

Six years ago a small group of wineries in Chester County, PA, joined forces to create the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail in southeastern Pennsylvania. Today the region continues to grow in both acres of vineyards and numbers of wineries. Each winery has its own distinct personality for you to discover as you tour vineyards, taste in cellars, and picnic on grounds.

Black Walnut Winery
Fri 2-8, Sat & Sun 12-6, and by appt.
Chaddsford Winery
Daily 12-6

Kreutz Creek Vineyards
Sat & Sun 11-6

Patone Cellars
Anticipated Opening Fall 2010

Paradocx Vineyard
Su-Th 11-7, Fr-Sa 11-8

Penns Woods Winery
M-Tu by appointment
W-Th 12-6, Fr-Su 11-6
Stargazers Vineyard
Sa & Su 12-5 or by appointment
Twin Brook Winery
M-Sa 10-6 Su 12-6

Brandywine Valley Wine Trail

March

The cock is crowing,

The stream is flowing,

The small birds twitter,

The lake doth glitter

The green field sleeps in the sun;

The oldest and youngest

Are at work with the strongest;

The cattle are grazing,

Their heads never raising;

There are forty feeding like one!

Like an army defeated

The snow hath retreated,

And now doth fare ill

On the top of the bare hill;

The plowboy is whooping—anon-anon:

There's joy in the mountains;

There's life in the fountains;

Small clouds are sailing,

Blue sky prevailing;

The rain is over and gone!

~William Wordsworth

Truffled Deviled Eggs

12 eggs
6 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp white truffle oil
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt + freshly ground pepper
black truffles (optional)
Hard-boil eggs, cool, peel, halve, and carefully remove the yolks; reserve the whites. Combine egg yolks, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, white truffle oil, and lemon juice in a medium nonreactive bowl. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well until yolks are broken up and ingredients are evenly incorporated. Evenly pipe or spoon yolk mixture into reserved egg white halves. As desired, top with thinly chopped black truffle.

Beannachd Dia dhuit

(blessings of God be with you - ScotsGaelic)

Panzanella

• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 14 oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
• 3 oz. Mortadella (Italian bologna), cubed
• 3 oz. Italian salami, cubed
• 1/2 cup diced Parrano or Parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• kosher salt, to taste
• 5 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 6 slices Italian bread, toasted

Toss first eight ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with kosher salt, olive oil and vinegar. Toss. Tear bread into bite-sized pieces, and stir into salad until bread pieces are well-coated. Allow flavors to marinate 15-30 minutes before serving.

Yogurt Honey Health Muffins

Makes 24 mini muffins

This recipe comes to us courtesy of the Renegade Lunch Lady Chef Ann Cooperand her book Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed our Children. The addition of yogurt not only makes these muffins moist, but helps them stay fresh in an airtight container for up to three days and still taste wonderful. If cake flour is not readily available, all-purpose flour can be substituted. The muffins will be slightly denser, but will taste just as good.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons rolled oats

1 tablespoon diced dried cranberries

1 tablespoon diced dried apricots

1 tablespoon unsalted sunflower seeds

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 tablespoon toasted bran

1/2 cup nonfat yogurt

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a mini muffin pan.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the oats, cranberries, apricots, sunflower seeds, orange zest and bran and mix to combine.

In another bowl combine the yogurt, honey, vanilla, butter and eggs and stir until the ingredients are well blended. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to mix, just until all ingredients are incorporated. Take care not to overmix.

Fill muffin cups two-thirds of the way with batter. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Mother Teresa

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious,

do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

Quote from Mother Teresa

Women's History Month (Library of Congress)

MARCH

by Emily Dickinson

Dear March, come in!

How glad I am!

I looked for you before.

Put down your hat-

You must have walked-

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

And the rest?

Did you leave Nature well?

Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,

I have so much to tell.

Ladybug! Ladybug!
Fly away home.
Your house is on fire.
And your children all gone.

All except one,
And that's little Ann,
For she crept under
The frying pan.

Delaware State Bug

The lady bug was adopted as the official state bug of Delaware in 1974 thanks to an intensive effort made by Mrs. Mollie Brown-Rust and her 2nd grade students of the Lulu M. Ross Elementary School in Milford, Delaware. Also called lady beetle, ladybird, or ladyfly, lady bugs help gardeners and farmers by eating tiny insect pests that damage plants. A ladybug can consume up to 60 aphids per day, but will also eat a variety of other insects and larvae (including scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites, and other types of soft-bodied insects), and also pollen and nectar.

~ The spring's already at the gate

With looks my care beguiling;

The country round appeareth straight

A flower-garden smiling. ~

Heinrich Heine

HEIRLOOM SEEDS - over 1300 varieties of non-hybrid seeds including ...

Buy Heirloom Seeds

Burpee Seeds and Plants for home gardens. Vegetables, flowers ...

Gurney's Seed & Nursery

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

The Cook's Garden

Territorial Garden Seed

All through the long winter, I dream of my garden.

On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers

deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my

spirits soar.

Spiced Mixed Nuts

1 pound mixed unsalted nuts (do not use Brazil nuts, coating will not stick to them)

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus more to taste

Position rack in center of oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Scatter nuts on rimmed baking sheet and bake, shaking sheet a couple of times during baking, until nuts are nicely toasted, 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, set small heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in coriander and cumin and toast until aromatic, about 30 seconds.

Remove pan from heat and add butter, brown sugar, rosemary, and cayenne. Return skillet to low heat and stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves, two to two and a half minutes. Keep warm.

Tip nuts into large warmed bowl, pour warm spiced butter over nuts, and add 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt. Stir until nuts are well-coated. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Let cool completely.

Will keep in an airtight container as long as one week.