PLEASANT SURPRISES

Tonight I couldn't be bothered cooking anything new so fossicked in the freezer for one of the pasta sauces that we freeze. I found a very small container of what looked like a Bolognaise sauce and emptied that into a larger container to thaw. As it didn't look like enough I found another small container of what I thought was a tomato based vegetable pasta sauce. I emptied this into the larger container also and as it started to thaw out realised that it was one of Her Indoor's soup mixtures ( beans, broccoli, tomato, carrot, zucchini etc). Thinking 'what the hell' I heated it to have with spaghetti and Parmesan. The result was fantastic. The Bolognaise meat sauce was spicy (I always make it with chilli, garlic and ginger) and the soup was thick and flavoursome. It was a great experience.

Earlier I had chosen a simple red from the cellar thinking that as I only wanted a glass to have with dinner I wouldn't open anything too good. Recently we had been drinking some pretty ordinary Pinot Noir (Montana 'Corbett's Legacy' Waipara Pinot Noir 2008, bought cheap from Blackmarket but supposedly being a fairly expensive wine). Thinking that the Kim Crawford 2007 Spot Label series Marlborough Pinot Noir would be a bit faded and similarly ordinary I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the wine is rich, luscious, fruity and very alive. The one glass I promised myself soon became two and a half. I'll save the rest for tomorrow. To be honest this shouldn't have been too much of a surprise as Kim Crawford wines, especially the ones up the ladder in the range, have fantastic fruit, are very well made and can benefit well from cellaring. I'll look out for more of this 2007 Pinot Noir in case anyone is specialing it out.