Day 88 - Biodynamic wine, slow food, charcuterie plate, truffle oil, and prickly pears

Lots of memorable outings this week and lots of pictures to share, so much I want to say, but in order to get the blog updates (I'm several weeks behind) I'm going to be brief, Jen-brief that is, and that's not too terribly brief!

Day 88

The girls enjoyed the swings at Benzinger Winery while their aunt and uncle were wine tasting and learning about biodynamic wines.  Later they got some playtime at the playground in the middle of the Sonoma town square with Grandma and Papa while the rest of us did some window shopping and prickly pear harvesting. The girls could not be convinced to try the prickly pear.  We had a foodie’s dream lunch at the El Dorado Kitchen that can't go unmentioned.  We stumbled upon it in a convoluted way, too crazy to explain here and it was even connected to the winery we had just visited, though we didn't know that until after we had our meal.  The restaurant is a participant in the slow food movement (slowfood.com- good, clean, fair) and Bran had been hoping to find a slow food restaurant for lunch. It was probably one of the best lunches out I have ever had.  Bran, Jen and I shared charcuterie plate, roasted cauliflower and cheddar pizza, and roasted beet salad.  To top it all off, the manager sent out an order of truffle fries on the house.  As much of a foodie as I am, I have never tasted truffle oil and did not know what a charcuterie plate was.  A bonus for me today was a 3 mile run by myself through my old neighborhood.