tasting notes

i enjoyed my first beer in 13 months with dinner last night. bryan had picked up a few pale ales for me on sunday, and i decided to enjoy one with dinner after some talk on another blog re: post pregnancy beers.


i had my choice of a new glarus hop hearty I.P.A (local to Wisconsin) or a bell's brewery two hearted ale, also an india pale ale, and relatively local as well (michigan). the new glarus was outstanding, but was overly hoppy for my first beer back in the ring, so i chose the two hearted ale. ahhh, it was refreshing, and quite good. i'm definitely reaching for the new glarus next time, though. that one was kick ya in the pants good.

for dinner, i fried up some italian sausages we ordered from peapod, which were handmade at a butcher in illinois (the ingredient list reads: pork, spices, salt - my favorite kind of ingredients list). to the sausages sizzling in the cast iron i added onions, garlic, green peppers, and zucchini; when everything had cooked sufficiently i dumped in the last of a bottle of white wine that had been hiding at the back of the fridge, as well as some fresh tomatoes, and ended with some fresh parsley. i served this over spaghetti tossed simply in olive oil, and topped with parmesan cheese (oh cheese! you are back!). easy, flavorful, and oh so beer friendly.

the dairy has been going well with oliver. i have been taking it very slow, and limiting my dairy intake to one serving or so per day (and maybe a mini york peppermint patty, too). i have not yet had a glass of cold milk. i'm trying hard to take it slow, but it is taking a lot of effort. i can feel the restraint; and i know that if i slip over the edge, i'll fall way, way down. :)

we take ollie in to see a new pediatrician friday. i am hoping this one isn't as crazy as his current one. the last visit was the nail in the proverbial coffin with him. we wanted to ask about starting him on rice cereal since he's nearly at that age, has started waking up MORE during the night to eat (indicating to me he's a hungry monster), and, let's face it, he's a big boy. the initial packet of information the nurse gave us indicated that this would be fine, but when the doctor came in, he told us no way. i won't go into all the details but here are the highlights of what he told us: he shouldn't get solids until he starts to crawl, or he'll just get fat ("he has to WORK for his food" were his exact words); he shouldn't get rice cereal at all, or he'll just get fat (the doctor took the time to explain that is why kids are fat today); he should start on vegetables, and there's no need to wait between introducing different foods; and that the reason he eats so much is because he is thirsty, not hungry, and that once he's had 32 ounces in a day, we should just give him water. i won't address why this is all crazy; it's fairly obvious and i'll just get upset. but as ollie is the size of an average 6 month old, i think it's high time he gets rice cereal. so it's probable that regardless of what the next doctor says, he'll be getting some this weekend, though i can't foresee TWO crazies in such close proximity.

WFD: pork loin. we got a nice fat one from peapod. and green beans, since we have some we need to use. not sure what we'll do with the pork, but it'll probably be something basic: dijon, wine, stock. the contessa knows what i'm talking about.