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11

Aug

Organic Panic

Jacob Gaffney  in Organic, Health, Food , , , ,

InterWined met last week with the owners of the excellent wine shop, Organico, located in the Lake District to talk about organic wine. Like InterWined, Organico, closely follows developments in organic viticulture (ALL of their wines are organic) as well as other green issues related to the industry, such as the transportation of wine in […]

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3

Jul

Mostly-Organic Gingerbread Ice Cream

Sean Sellers  in Organic, Blow the Bank, Desserts , , , , , ,

InterWined Food
Each week, InterWined.com pairs one great wine with one great meal and publishes the results along with the recipe in a little feature it likes to call ‘Blow the Bank’.

This week as part of a two-day 4th of July spectacular, ‘Blow the Bank’ brings you a bucket of Mostly-Organic Gingerbread Ice Cream.

Mostly-Organic Gingerbread Ice Cream

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream”. Sure, it’s a cliché; but one look in my freezer will prove that at least the first part’s true. Regardless of the weather or season, when it comes to my culinary affections, ice cream always reigns supreme and leaves me wanting more.

Need proof: on a recent trip to visit my sister in Rome, what was top of my list of things to do? See the Trevi Fountain? Tour the Vatican? Nope; it was find a gelateria. And, yes, I did see the Trevi Fountain and tour the Vatican, lest you think I’m some sort of cultural heathen. It’s just that I did both with a cono of gelato in my hand. (In fact, the best gelato in Rome comes from a gelateria very close the Vatican. Seek it out.)

From Japanese Yukimi Daifuku on the streets of London to a single scoop of vanilla pressed into the top of sugar cone and served my grandmother’s kitchen in a scene ripped for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, I love ice cream. I’ll scream it loud and scream it proud.

The Web is awash with quick and easy recipes for gingerbread ice cream. The problem is most involve simply adding a bit of gingerbread crumbs to some bog-standard brand of ready-made vanilla in a loose and free-wheeling interpretation of the word ‘recipe’ not even worthy of the back of a packet of Hamburger Helper and a Campbell’s Soup tin or whatever other cultural reference implies adding one ready-made food to another and calling it a quick and easy recipe for anything in the name of ‘fast food’. If you really want beef stroganoff and don’t have the time to prepare it, buy it ready made and order it from a restaurant. If that sounds somewhat unforgiving, it’s meant to do.

InterWined is all for quick and easy recipes — few of us have the time for anything else — when quick and easy means simple and straight-forward to prepare. Not fast for the sake of speed. Recipes shouldn’t be fast at the expense of quality or flavour. Without those, there’s little point in following a quick and easy recipe much less eating quick and easy food, outside of staying alive. And I, for one, have never been terribly keen on things that double as songs titles for the Bee Gees. Don’t even get me started on that joke that started the whole world crying. Seriously, how bad did that joke have to be? Can you even call it a joke if all it does it make people cry?

Not-entirely InterWined’s Own Recipe for Mostly-Organic Gingerbread Ice Cream is definitely no joke. Based on a recipe for gingerbread ice cream from KitchenAid, it might not be as fast as some on the Web, but it is certainly quick and easy to prepare without sacrificing flavour or quality. This is premium ice cream made with organic milk and free-range eggs and infused with freshly-baked gingerbread cookies from the start to ensure that the ice cream, not only took on the colour of the cookies, but evenly absorbed the full, rich flavour of the gingerbread. One bite of this and you’ll never do quick and easy ice cream for the sake of quick and easy again.

Not-entirely InterWined’s Own Recipe in Full*

Gingerbread Ice Cream

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25

Jun

This Ain’t No Dairy Milk or Hershey’s Kiss

Sean Sellers  in Organic, Health, Food , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A recent visit to London’s Cyberandy came with more than simple sugar rush; it also came with a jolt when my eyes spied a range of fairtrade, organic chocolate imported from Austria.

With labels announcing such exotic flavours as “Bacon Bits”, “Tofu and Sake”, “Banana Curry”, “Beetroot and Galangal”, “Candied Cranberries and Ceps” and “Lemon Polenta”, […]

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18

Jun

Getting Rid of Goulash

Jacob Gaffney  in Red Wines, Organic, Cabernet Sauvignon, White Wines, Chardonnay , , , , , ,

Today marks the first and, hopefully, last day I eat Hungarian Goulash.
Now, in a completely unrelated matter, two wine reviews for one Spanish producer. Actually the second wine would pair nicely with Goulash, I suspect. But I’ll never know (see first line of entry).
Family-run wine producer Albet i Noya has been around for awhile and […]

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2

Oct

Surprise in the organic orchard — a healthier worm in the apple

Jacob Gaffney  in Organic, Health, Food

But don’t get confused! The “worm” in this case, isn’t really a worm. And the ability of this so-called “worm” to fend off diseases was not because of the organic status of the apples, but rather differing genetic codes. This research opens up the slippery slope logic that one day a vaccine for the common […]

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27

Aug

Dude, Where’s My Summer?

Jacob Gaffney  in Organic, White Wines, Bacchus , , ,

The organic 2006 Limney, made by Davenport in Horsmonden, is a bargain at about £8 from the Organic Delivery company. Bone dry, light and refreshing. Zippy citrus (this might sound trite, but it’s true. Swear.) and light body make it perfect for a hot summer day; even though, this bottle was consumed huddled outside, late at night, in the pouring rain: 8.5. Made from five white grapes: Ortega, Faber, Siegerrebe, Bacchus, Huxelrebe.

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12

Jul

Manic Organic

Jacob Gaffney  in Organic, Health

InterWined.com is a big supporter of Organic foods.
Any fruit or veg that has to fight for it’s own life against pests and disease will be stronger for it. When humans eat these foods (not strong enough to survive us!), we absorb greater amounts of the same nutrients and antioxidants that kept the plants so strong.
While […]

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8

Jun

C02 Zero

Jacob Gaffney  in Organic, Biodynamic, Writer/Actor , , , , ,

During the course of InterWined’s struggle to get together some good wine entertainment, InterWined.com‘s writer, Jacob Gaffney, is sometimes asked to do other things. In this case, Gaffney recently wrote a few articles on Carbon Neutral wineries, published by Wine Spectator magazine (subscription recommended).
So now the Oregon Environmental Council is asking for Gaffney to speak […]

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21

Mar

A Question of MySpace

Jacob Gaffney  in Organic

My brother posted this question on MySpace blog to Peter, the owner of Organico Britain’s first and only dedicated wine shop:
Peter,
You claim to “reject more Organic wines than you buy”. On what basis would an organic not qualify for your store(s)?
Congratulations on the store. Here’s a toast to positive growth!
John
Peter’s Response:
“Good question, John.
When in the […]

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4 comments

19

Mar

Organic Wine (More)

Jacob Gaffney  in Organic ,

Gave a talk many months ago at the opening of Britain’s first (and, for now, only) dedicated Organic wine shop, called Organico. It was a real honour for me and…since then, the owner of the shop and one of the hardest “working” men in the wine business, Peter, has been following the InterWined blogs.
Reading all […]

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13

Mar

Blown Away

Jacob Gaffney  in Red Wines, Organic, Biodynamic, Pinot Noir, Shiraz/Syrah, Carignan, Merlot, Pommard, Sangiovese, Zinfandel , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bonterra 2004 Merlot and Zinfandel, ruby and peppery, respectively. Both full-bodied, but somewhat sweet. Well-priced and easy to drink. The lower blend of Shiraz-Carignan, whatever, cost around £5, and is about as tasty an Organic table can get.

2005 Vida Organica Sangiovese Bonarda blend, from Argentina. This nice little wine sells for £6 at one of London’s more impressive wine shops Planet of the Grapes. It’s peppery and smooth, very ripe with aromas of vine fruits. The label says red current, but InterWined tastes it as raspberry. Fun: 8.5.

2002 Williamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir Pommard: Aromas of blackberry with a hint of vanilla. Tastes of grape lollipop and smoky oak. There’s something floral and vivacious, that is muted out by the folds of jasmine perfume that come and go: 9.1.

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5

Mar

Planet Organic

Jacob Gaffney  in Red Wines, Organic, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz/Syrah, Merlot, Touriga Nacional , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A £6 bottle of Organic Rouge describes itself as ’supple, warming Mediterranean wine.’ From Cotes de Thongue in the South of France, this non-vintage wine is full of red berry, but should have a more robust flavour profile. The wine was more stretched thin than supple, and more hot than warming. Not really the ’sun in the cup’ the label made it seem. The next day, it was oxidized, left with about four-fifths still in the bottle. Undrinkable. If a wine can’t last longer than a day, then what is it worth? For my blog, always under 8 points: 7.7.

The 2004 Quinta do Coa, a Vinho Tinto from the Douro river valley in Portugal, known as Duero in Spain. Wines from the Duero are just sooo good. But this is the first Organic Douro to hit these lips. At £9.25, it’s getting a bit pricey, and while the wine should pack more of a punch, the elegance of the blackberry and hints of bitter chocolate satisfy the mouth, if not the wallet: 8.4.

At nearly £12, the 2004 L’Orangerie de Haut-Nouchet from Pessac-Leognan is easily the best, but that’s expected to go with the price tag. The terroir and elegance were there, but the most important aspect was the harmony. The wine is not too tannic, nor is it too thin. It’s well-balanced and ready-to-drink…with almost anything. But it is 28% too expensive: 8.5.

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28

Aug

A Matter of Taste (Part 2)

Jacob Gaffney  in Red Wines, Organic , , ,

Penfolds Organic blend is a tidy number, £9.

After a week of disappointing Australians, finally a glimmer of hope: ripe fruits, smooth texture, little overt sweetness and a pleasing, yet short, finish. It used to be £7, but as its popularity grows, so will the price tag. 8.7.

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20

Aug

Vin de Table

Jacob Gaffney  in Red Wines, Organic, Shiraz/Syrah, White Wines, Sangiovese, Chardonnay , , , , , , , ,

The Marks and Sparks white Burgundy 2004 and San Tommasi ‘Giani’ Sicilian white; both served at a friend’s finally-off-of-probation celebration. Both were good bargains, excellent and crisp. Both were served cold and felt proper, and tasted too similar, coming not only from different countries, different climates and different soils.

Also, three nights were devoted to three bottles of Bonterra Organic 2004 Shiraz Carignan Sangiovese.

All three bottles were great, with or without food, fresh and clean.

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