New Beer Wednesday 5/23/2012

Last night was a rough one! I had spent the bulk of the morning at the laundromat. My washer decided it had given me all it could over the last 11 years and it stopped working. I had a friend's husband come look at it (he is a certified repairman) and he diagnosed it as the transmission and said he could fix it for about $350. So sorry people who are buying the house! I know I told you I would leave it and I still will if you want to pay him that to fix it but it didn't cost much more than that when I bought it so....I'm not paying that much to fix it for you. Sorry :(
In any case, I still have three children and myself to wash for. Jayme has most of his clothes at his parents house so he washes them himself there. Luckily the laundromat is close by and I haven't had any trouble yet by OMG it is boring and hot and EXPENSIVE!!! I could keep going on but all this was just to say that after I was done there I went to the beer store to find something new to try.
I came home with a lot of new ones. I built my own six-pack but most of those I have tried already and liked so I get one if I have room. It looks like I have tried just about all the singles they have that I am interested in though. I did see a 12 pack that looked interesting. It was made up of 4 different brews from Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland. There was only one that I had tried in the package so I gave two more a test run last night. First up was their "Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale"

I liked this one. It was hoppy, a little more on the grassy side that my preferred but still tasty and refreshing. I will definitely drink this again! I followed it up with a "Snake Dog IPA" which was more to my liking.

I have discovered a lot of my favorite IPAs are heavier on the citrus notes, specifically grapefruit. This one fit the bill!

New Beer Wednesday 5/16/2012

Tonight's selection is Biere de Mars from the Lips of Faith Series by New Belgium Brewing Co. This was a delight. I had never seen it before but there it was today at the beer store with the other bombers. It fit the bill perfectly. It's a ale "brewed with spices" and includes lemon peel and lemon verbena in the ingredient list. For full info click here
I very much enjoyed this. It was light and refreshing and it perked me up a great deal after mowing the yard!!

New Beer Wednesday 5/9/12

A few weeks ago my brother posted on his Facebook page something about Wednesday can kiss his @$$. I asked him what happened and after a lengthy back and forth we came up with the idea to have a weekly tribute to a new beer. Thus was New Beer Wednesday born. Every Wednesday since we have tried a new beer and posted the picture on our Facebook wall.
What's funny is the response! I have had people send me a private message about waiting every week for my selection but they can't participate because of their job and who might see it (I live in the East Texas Bible Belt!) and comments on my picture about how they have looked forward to what I would choose. I invite them to post too and broaden their own horizons.
The best way to try new beers is to find a store that lets you build your own six-pack. That way you can just buy one of each new beer and if you don't like it you won't have 5 more wasting in your fridge. This is for people who aren't your run-of-the-mill Miller Lite/Budweiser/Coors fans. You have to think outside the box.
I thought it might be fun to post them on here too and maybe encourage some of you to join in the mid-week fun. So tonight's selection for me was Stone Brewing Company's Ruination IPA. I have had the regular IPA from Stone and enjoyed it quite a bit. This one is a little different, a little more and a little STONE. They make some great beer there in the city of my birth. Follow the link to the official website info.
I would love to know if you are playing along!

Kinda Sorta Caprese Salad

Once upon a time when I was a skinny mother of one, my fantastic friend Ann had a girls night at her house. She served a classic Caprese salad with the thick slices of fresh mozzarella sandwiched between a slice of Roma tomato and a basil leaf. The whole thing was drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and liberally sprinkled with salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese. It was kind of like heaven on a plate. I have periodically craved it ever since.
At my new favorite restaurant, BJ's Brewhouse, they have a "Tomato and Mozzarella" salad that reminded me of this one. It's a different take on it with salad greens instead of the basil but the taste was amazing. I decided to try to make something like it at home for my mom and I to enjoy. Here's how it went:
The Ingredients

1 ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into bite sized pieces You could also buy the little balls that come in a small container
1 carton of small tomatoes such as cherry or grape tomatoes. I found this amazing package of baby    heirloom tomatoes. Halve them if you'd like or leave them whole.
Balsamic Vinaigrette, to taste
Salad greens of your choosing. I like the Half & Half blend or the Baby Spinach

Mix the cheese and tomatoes with the dressing in a large bowl.

Add enough of the greens to make a tasty looking salad.

Put some on your plate, add more dressing if you want to.

So very good and really easy and quick. If you don't quite eat it all the first time, remove any greens (they'll get soggy) and refrigerate the cheese and tomatoes to add to your next salad.