Eva's Wine Cellar

I'm dedicated to making you girls live a long time because you are all so, so wonderful.

I am not sure if they're English, but that's all we had in Germany and I prefer them, they're softer and milder in taste yet juicier.

aaawww, you see you can be nice too!!

That doesn't explain why everyone in my family, some of whom have very healthy, low-fat diets and exercise religiously and others who eat terrible stuff and are determinedly sedentary, all have cholesterol levels within 50 points of each other.

You may be right about statins making people feel as though they can get away with bad eating habits, though. Probably more than a little truth to that.

But tonight we're having food that is both healthy AND scrumptious! The gazpacho contains no carbs, so we can have baguettes on the side. We'll warm them in the oven first...the combination of ice cold soup and hot fresh bread is heavenly!

I'm glad you're here too, spendius!

Jacques, pour this man another drink!

Can we get back to the wine cellar?

Jacques, I believe Osso needs a refill as well...

Thank you, I'll skip that one, I'm too crabby.
I don't think Spendius is cute.

That's okay. You can be crabby if you want to. We all have our moments.

I'm turning in a little early tonight, though. The heat got to me today. Jacques will take care of all of you. Just remember to tip him! (He would never ask, not even in a subtle way, but he richly deserves it.)

He should be paying to be servicing you ladies.

There's a jest about a bloke who got a job in Follies Bergere quick change room. His mate asked what the money was. He replied $400 a week. His mate said that it wasn't very much. He said it was all he could afford.

It's another gorgeous day in paradise - 72 F and breezy out here at the right coast. Let's have a little California brunch to cool you down...

Those look like good tortillas on those quesadillas..

That's my next adventure (she says with hope in her voice): tortilla making.
There is a plethora of possibilities for using different flour mixes, fats or no fat, seeds, herbs, what have you. But first I need to learn to make some good plain ones.

This is brought on by the fact that I abhor (I told you I was crabby) just about every tortilla I've tasted in New Mexico. The flour ones are the thickly boring Texas type while I like Sonora type tortillas, which are thinner. The corn ones taste "eh". My teenage inner self says ''yuck!". Now, though, I see artisan tortillas for mucho dinero at some markets. I read some time ago that even in much of Mexico people have stopped grinding their own masa, so that taste has suffered. I'll never grind my own masa, but maybe I can pep up the bagged stuff.

Fruit quesadillas? I've never heard of them!

Can it be a "quesadilla" without cheese?

I think the fruit was all on the side..

Not on planet Smegma I heard.

Bad boy.

http://www.food.com/recipe/tropical-fruit-quesadillas-111508

With Brie! Brilliant!

Those look wonderful, Beth. May I try one?

I'm a little recalcitrant on these, but you know that's my way. I'm still hoping for a decent tortilla.

On brie though, that was a friend's easy pasta sauce -- cooked pasta in pan plus brie, a few minutes heat.

Have you finished cooking them? Store bought tortillas should be tossed directly on a burner of the gas range, and flipped as soon as the down side is lightly toasted - or somewhat charred, if you prefer.