A new favorite white

2008 Falanghina Ocone Taburno

Room temp is better on this one than chilled. Italian whites always hit me with a lot of sparkle up front and then make a quick getaway, but this one has a body that lingers with real beefy minerality.

From the wine librarian:
"Falanghina is one of Italy's most prized ancient varieties. Its name derives from the Latin word for the stake that supports the vine, which suggests that it originated at a point so early in viticultural history that staking a vine was a new technology, perhaps reserved for special grapes. It is now widely grown in Campagnia, a region well known for its mineral-rich volcanic soils. (Taburno is in the province of Benevento in the Campagnia region.)" -Importer; Certified Biodynamic

Teff Brownies

The first time I tasted teff (a few weeks ago, in peanut butter teff cookies), I thought "this is meant to go with chocolate" (but really, what isn't meant to go with chocolate?). Its hearty, dense, nuttiness was a shoe-in with loads if cocoa. Unlike the gluten free cookies we've tried lately (Bob's Mill mix, our own PB teff cookies), and don't get me started on GF breads, the sandy texture of most things baked sans gluten is less discernible here. Brownies fundamentally don't rely on flour as much as, say, muffins, so the transition is a smoother one for a gluten free sweet.

1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/3 cup teff flour
1/3 cup rice flour
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons agave nectar
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

chocolate chips to top (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 glass pan. Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Mix until completely combined. Pour into bowl, spreading to the edges. If you want, you can add more chocolate by sprinkling chocolate chips across the top. I didn't and they were still plenty chocolatey.

Bake 25 minutes, or until the edges are brown. Don't overbake them, or they will be dry.

Zucchini Fritters

I've made these before with breadcrumbs, but here was a successful experiment in making them gluten-free.

1 large zucchini, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 c quinoa flakes
1/4 c rice flour
1/4 c minced onion
1/8 t white pepper
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/8 t garlic powder
1/4 t dried parsley flakes
1/4 t sea salt
1/2 c sunflower oil for frying

1. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, egg, and 2 T olive oil. Stir in quinoa (uncooked), rice flour, minced onion, garlic and spices. Mix well.
2. Shape mixture into patties.
3. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium high heat until hot. Fry patties in oil until golden brown on both sides.

Makes 10 cakes.