Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday and Mike took me to Sonoma County. We stopped at Gloria Ferrer Winery and tasted champagne on the patio overlooking the vineyards and had some delicious spiced almonds. We especially loved the 1999 Carnenos Cuvee and bought a bottle.

Next we drove to the town of Sonoma and had lunch at The Girl and The Fig. We were seated on the outside patio-beautiful.

http://www.thegirlandthefig.com/

Mike and I both choose the Bistro Plat du Jour. Mike also got the wine flight to go with it. The first course was a Provencal tart with roasted tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil. The crust was like puff pastry and Mike's wine was a lovely rose. Delicious!

The next course was a lamb burger with arugula, heirloom tomato and smoked paprika aioli. It came with a delicious salad which I'll give you a recipe for later. The wine was a Mourvedre, perfect with the lamb.

Our last course was a choice of profiteroles with raspberry ice cream and a cheese plate. We got one of each. Mike basically ate all the profiteroles and I had the cheese which was spectacular. The cheeses were Fiscalini Bandaged Cheddar & Cypress Grove Bermuda Triangle Cheese and came with some slices of baguette, slices of apple, apple compote and candied nuts. The wine was a Bonny Doon Vinferno, especially good with the nuts. Heaven!

The salad was chickpea, cucumber and feta salad. Perfect with the lamb, cool and refreshing. Easy to make. I asked about the ingredients so I wouldn't miss anything.

The Girl & The Fig's chickpea, cucumber and feta salad

1 can chickpeas or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed or dried and cooked beans
1 English cucumber, rinsed and thinly sliced
~1/4 cup crumbled feta
drizzle of olive oil

That's it. These quantities are approximate. Toss together. Let sit for flavors to come together. Enjoy!

By the way, I've been out of commission lately due to rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia but I am coming back and will return with more recipes.