Rancho Azul y Oro ~ Surviving the Dream

It's citrus season at the ranch.  There is something so hopeful about bright, cheery fruit that becomes ripe during the darkest part of the year.  One of the orange trees was picked in December.  Every single piece was truly enjoyed -- by New Year's. So now we turn our attention to the lemons -- so many lemons.  What can one do with lemons?  To start, we'll whip up a batch of limoncello -- but the bulk of the lemon is left over.  What then?  We'll juice what remains and put it in ice cube trays, freeze it, and use it for homemade lemonade during the summer or defrost several of the ice cubes to use for lemon juice when cooking. What can one do with limoncello, though?  How much can one possibly drink?  There is so much more to do with limoncello than mere drinking -- "mere" drinking?  Sorry, I didn't mean that. Anyway, our Pinterest/Recipe page is chock full of amazing recipes, so click away and go create something incredible. ...

As the sun sets on 2014, a year filled with many changes, and we look toward 2015 and many more changes and challenges to come, one cannot but be filled with the optimism that the new year brings. Along with that optimism comes resolutions, lists, and goals.  Our first major goal is to stop straddling two cities and move full-time to the ranch and enjoy a more peaceful, simplified life, while taking time to enjoy all the area has to offer, our new friends, and more time watching sunsets, playing golf and exercising, while perfecting our wine and olive oil. We plan to be bottling our 2015 olive oil soon, as well as our 2013 Zinfandel, followed by our 2012 Petite Sirah. The jury is still out on the 2012 Cab.  We plan to adhere to our racking, SO2, and bottling schedule. 2015's plans also include the purchase of a labeling machine, so we can free up hundreds of hours spent in the barn yearly labeling -- despite the hours of fun that trying to line up a label and bottle on a...