SOJOURN – far away from the madding crowd

 WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR…THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!

After uploading this cookie post, my daughter and I took off for a vacation to a friend’s (that’s why you didn’t receive a visit from me at your blog). The visit had been long pending and the winter holidays & the lovely weather gave us an excuse we had been waiting for. After a pleasant drive, we reached our destination and we were greeted by a rather colder weather than we had anticipated. And although the nights were quite chilly, the balmy sun made the day time very pleasant. It was simply wonderful having our breakfast sitting in the lawn, soaking up the sun, listening to chirping of birds and to the tinkling bells around the necks of bovine creatures. Heavenly!

Her old colonial style house was such a beauty – long veranda, big lawn, large rooms with high ceilings, a kitchen garden besides so many lovely plants and peace all around. It was such a drastic change of environ for us especially coming from a buzzing, crowded and noisy city such as Mumbai. We didn’t miss the opportunity to take lazy and aimless walks around the arid and stony surrounding, clicking a few pics here and there.

For enlarged view, click on the pic

For enlarged view, click on the pic

It really was fun in the kitchen too; we cooked up a storm! We dished out this Bengal style Mustard Fish Curry and this Goan Prawn Curry. And then we thought of baking a cake for her newly bought oven. I had in my mind a tried and tested recipe that I have been baking for God knows how long. But then with its impeccable timing, Murphy’s Law struck. The cake that I baked turned out dry and flat and it was perhaps the worst cake of my life! My daughter called it ‘nightmare on a platter’. We tried soaking it up with a syrup but it really wasn’t my day and no amount of ideas could salvage the cake. I was not only disappointed but also embarrassed the way my most ‘perfect’ recipe would be remembered in the history of her oven:-P

Before winding up the holiday, we gave a visit to the Sula Vineyards near Nashik. It was my first ever visit to a vineyard/winery. Sula Winery is the brainchild of Stanford educated Rajeev Samant who quit his job at Silicon Valley to live the ‘rural life’.  After trying his hands at various crops he then pursued his, then seemingly eccentric, dream of making wine in India. Taking help from Kerry Damskey, an eminent Californian winemaker, he kickstarted his dream venture at Nashik in 1997. They planted the French Sauvignon and Californian Chenin Blanc variety and in 2000, Sula released its first wine. The proud moment for the promoter came in 2002 when Wine Spectator (world’s No. 1 wine magazine) did a five page feature on Sula. The winery and vineyard was thrown open to public in 2005 and since then it is one of the most visited wineries in the world. The guided tour gives one a peek into the various steps of wine making, maturing (barrel and tank), bottling procedure etc. The estate now also has a 30-room vineyard resort.

 For enlarged view, click on the pic

 For enlarged view, click on the pic

For info on the various Sula Wines click HERE

Besides spending some quality time with my friend, this chhota break spent close to nature was truly rejuvenating and is recommended to all souls that want to a break from the chaos of city life.

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Thanks for visiting and see you soon again.