Ah, November on Spring Mountain: cooler nights, the aroma of wood fires and thoughts of dinners with hearty soups and being inside to feel cozy.
November also brings the Saffron harvest. It’s in full swing here beside the Still House – daily pickings and nightly hand work gives us a tiny Spring Mountain organic saffron crop. The plants come up every November after a good rain. This has been a perfect season so far.
Monday, Dana & I picked two baskets of saffron crocus flowers. That evening I sat at the kitchen table for over an hour and removed the 3 saffron stigmas per flower. The fragrance is surprisingly powerful. And you end up with a pile of purple flowers and a minute amount of saffron. That’s why it’s the world’s most expensive spice. Imagine your favorite saffron dish with super fresh saffron! We can help.
To make the tedious job go smoothly, Miles opened a bottle of the ‘03 Cabernet for us to sip as I worked on the saffron.
Then he poured a little more for dinner. And a glass after dinner to go with the cheeses he’d picked up in town.
That was an Oh Wow moment! – the cabernet & the cheese were so in tune with each other that I knew I couldn’t wait to share this with you. Charbay 2003 Cabernet and Puits d'Astiers French Pyrenees sheep cheese and a baguette of sourdough bread. Next time you get to pick up some cheese, write down this sheep cheese. Let me know how it goes.
A few moments later we had a real shock - the bottle was empty! That was the first whole bottle of Cabernet Miles & I had opened & finished since last winter! Hello, November! Susan