WELCOME TO WINESCOOP! If you love great food and wine, you have come to the right place. For wine tasting events, see the Gallery or click here. For wine recommendations, click on "Reviews" under the Main Menu. For winemaker videos, visit YouTube.com/winescoop or click here. For news about flowers and fruit, please visit Prayerful Gardens. Cheers!

Life Styles: Robert Sturman: Turning Yoga into Art Just as our joie de vivre was giving way to blood sucking home repair projects, Robert Sturman's stunning image of Tao Porchon Lynch, a 93-year old yoga master appeared in the New York Times. Be re-energized. Be reborn. Here's an excerpt. Published May 19, 2012 - 10:47 AM

Prayerful Gardens: Financial Lexicon to include Stupid and Sloppy Two new words have been added to the historical lexicon of finance under "Disasters": stupid and sloppy. Vultures beware! Neither JP MORGAN nor investors are on the road to ruin. JPM will learn from their mistakes along with investors. Take notes. Published May 17, 2012 - 07:24 AM

Music: Coldplay on a Monday Afternoon After all the heartbreaks, lies and broken promises, listen to Coldplay which is better than Excedrin for the disappointments of life. The playbill inside the music CD contains many stories. MYL OXYL OTO (whatever that means). No. 13 "Don't let it break your heart". Published May 07, 2012 - 03:54 PM

Music: SmartMoney's Jobs Report May 4, 2012 "Though the unemployment rate fell to 8.1% in April, according to Friday’s data, experts say the outlook would be far rosier if it weren’t for a handful of sectors dragging down job growth." One of those sectors is TV, movies and music. More. Published May 04, 2012 - 12:33 PM

Prayerful Gardens: Japanese Beetles & Other Signs of Spring From blueberries to beetles, signs of life are visible in the gardens. The vines are leafing out and the kiwi shrubs are making a strong comeback after weeks of overnight frosts. Within a week, the strawberries will be ripe for picking. We are rejoicing. Here are the pictures. Published Apr 27, 2012 - 11:50 AM

Life Styles: Do the Wedding Samba! Does it feel like old man winter has returned where you are? Chase away the blues with "The Wedding Samba" by Edmundo Ros & His Orchestra. Pop A GOOD YEAR into the DVD player and fastforward to SCENE 14 with Russell Crowe and Madame Duflot mopping up the kitchen floor. Re-energize your spirits dampened by cold weather with the samba! Published Apr 11, 2012 - 04:27 PM

Prayerful Gardens: Seafood Platter for Easter Dining How many people can you feed with salmon in today's Yemen according to Hollywood filmmakers? According to the Bible, 5,000 people in the same region were fed bread and fish and other items prepared over an open fire portrayed in the 1961 film starring Jeffrey Hunter in KING OF KINGS. Consider this 2012 seafood platter (to die for, well, almost) made with red snapper, brown rice, broccoli and garlic croutons. From our humble kitchen to yours, have a blessed and spirit-filled Easter. Published Apr 04, 2012 - 12:57 PM

2011 RECIPES: Kikkoman: What a Wonderful World Why does it take so long to learn how to cook? Two to three times a day, we think about food. Let's do the math. When you multiply three by seven, that's 21 opportunities each week to learn what makes us happy when it comes to food. Food lovers, here is an Asian soup recipe that will help you find your bliss. It is tofu miso soup by Kikkoman. Published Mar 10, 2012 - 11:55 AM

2011 RECIPES: Pork Loin for the Weekend It's Friday. If you have two hours to create soup de resistance, here is a recipe that will feed the entire family for the weekend. Boil cabbage and onions in equal parts of water and low sodium beef broth. Grill, bake or pan fry pork loin country style ribs. Steam cook your favorite vegetable separately i.e. broccoli or green beans. Add vegetables, meat and brown rice to the soup pot. You're done! Published Mar 09, 2012 - 06:12 PM

Editorials: The Debate over Brainpower The worldwide rise in IQ scores, according to James Flynn's "eponymous effect" — shows that in one important sense, people have been getting smarter, not dumber, over time. The increase is not in raw brainpower, nor in crystallized skills like arithmetic or vocabulary, but in abstract reasoning: the ability to ignore appearances and reckon in formal categories. Published Feb 27, 2012 - 12:52 PM

Editorials: Storytelling as an Art Form Everyone would be in film school if I had my way. Families would produce videos for YouTube starring the dog, the cat, and the mailman. One person would edit. Another would direct and produce. One person would oversee the budget and purchase the popcorn. Unless there is a writer in the house, there would be no script. Every month would be Oscar Night at home. Published Feb 26, 2012 - 01:43 PM

Life Styles: Oscar Night 2012 It's oscar night again. We're in the mood to celebrate with fine wine. We have the food and fine wine thing down to a science. Why don't we go dancing? Where can we go dancing? "South of the Border, down Mexico way" ... olay! Published Feb 25, 2012 - 05:33 PM

2011 RECIPES: Penne Pasta Soup with Pork Loin There are no short cuts to cooking from scratch. Cooking flavorful meals is as much about science as it is nutrition. Culinary school students learn this as well as what ingredients to use and how much. After graduation, some go on to make cooking magic in restaurants and publish cookbooks. Increase your learning curve in one afternoon with this well-known kitchen secret. Published Feb 24, 2012 - 01:50 PM

2011 RECIPES: Slow-Roasted Rotisserie Garlic Chicken "It's happy hour at the deli" she announced over the loudspeaker at the supermarket. I showed up in under a minute. Spotting the sale-priced birds in plastic bags under heat lamps, we did the unthinkable. We bought a rotisserie chicken WITH THE SKIN ON. You've been there. Priced about the same as a gallon of unleaded gas, it takes ten minutes to reheat at home. Serve with brown rice, green beans and sauteed onions. Bon Appetit! Published Feb 22, 2012 - 09:52 PM

2011 RECIPES: Reduce Stress with an Omelet Here's a recipe for stress reduction without a prescription. Open the refrigerator. Remove three cage free, vegetarian fed brown eggs and pre-cooked vegetables. Focus your attention on colorful foods that will keep you healthy. Think omelet. When you don't feel like cooking from scratch, thank God for chickens and get to work. Got wine? Published Feb 20, 2012 - 03:58 PM

2011 RECIPES: The Asian Side of Cuisine This is SWAI, a mild fillet from Vietnam. Sale priced this week, we decided to try it. What a great catch. It is a mild white fish with a clean, slightly sweet flavor and stays moist during cooking. Serve with linguine, roasted or sauteed vegetables, mesclun and garlic croutons. Garnish with citrus slices. No salt necessary. Delicious! Published Feb 16, 2012 - 09:42 PM

Music: Mourning the Loss of Whitney Houston Heartbreak Hotel: "Here I sit trying not to cry ... look what you did to me. You made me cry." Funeral services to be held this Saturday. Published Feb 14, 2012 - 03:26 PM

Music: Building a Life as an Artist Valentine's Day brings out the best in some people. They send greeting cards and flowers to celebrate love and relationships. A writer will write a poem or verse that can be set to music. If you are an artist searching for your own voice, just like the TV program "The Voice", mentoring is a source that can help you succeed. An eBook is being written by the publisher of this website. Based on decades of experience, it is a guide to help you find success and fulfillment in music and writing. Published Feb 12, 2012 - 03:19 PM

Music: Adele Sings at the Grammy's How do you become Adele 21? As the British sensation prepares for tomorrow night's Grammy Award presentations, three song titles jump off the CD cover: "Rolling in the Deep", "Rumor Has It", and "Set Fire to the Rain". Published Feb 11, 2012 - 01:37 PM

Life Styles: Doo Wop for Valentine's Day Sh-Boom! Let's not be blue (Solitaires) this valentine's day. Rather, let's dance under the stars (or on the dance floor) until the real thing comes along (Ravens). If I can't have you (Flamingos), VOO BEE AH BEE (The Platters). Got it? Published Feb 10, 2012 - 10:44 AM

Editorials: The Human Body Can reducing inflammation be the key to good health and a life without cancer? In a new book titled "The End of Illness", Dr. David Agus believes the answer is yes. Should we be hopeful or alarmed? More. Published Feb 04, 2012 - 04:27 PM

Fine Dining: Checking for Gills According to one biologist, the human race evolved from fish. As evidence, she points to shark gills during a beach dissection this week on PBS. There is insufficient data to support the evolutionary theory. So, we're dining on pan fried catfish (created by GOD to feed humanity) with mesclun, raw peppers, red onions, and sauteed portabello mushrooms. Season with garlic croutons. Cheers! Published Feb 04, 2012 - 02:53 PM

Life Styles: Springing for Salmon Spring for sockeye salmon today and become a healthier you. Even when fresh catfish is sale priced at $2 a pound, buy blood red, lean salmon at $8.99 lb. Make seafood a bigger part of your diet and freeze the catfish for later. Think about your heart, your descendants, and the dog. Published Jan 30, 2012 - 01:46 PM

2011 RECIPES: Potato Soup with Broccoli & Cheese After a day of hard labor, nothing beats something from the stove top like potato soup with fresh broccoli. Cream soups during cold weather are so satisfying and easy to prepare. They are a real crowd pleaser. Prep time: one hour. Cook vegetables separately and add cheese last. Bon appetit! Published Jan 21, 2012 - 04:39 PM

2011 RECIPES: Vegetables, noodles and English roast A telephone call ignited a cooking frenzi with vegetables, noodles and English roast. Although she was cooking Tamale Pie worlds away from vegetable primavera, it was enough to shake me out of a culinary fog resulting in stir fry with Yoder's noodles for lunch. Thank you, Myra. Have a great weekend. Published Jan 13, 2012 - 04:33 PM

Life Styles: Half-time with Sockeye Salmon Congrats on today's NFL victory if you're a Giant's fan. What were you munching on during the game or dining on after the game? Grilled salmon, chicken wings, steak or rum balls? Published Jan 08, 2012 - 05:55 PM

Life Styles: Strawberries for Dessert The best way to tell a story is with pictures. It may not seem that way to you. You might even say Facebook is for kids. But, with a light lunch of French onion soup, a chat session and Willie Nelson in concert on the Internet, the evidence is clear. Two people in front of widescreen monitors who share an interest in photography, music and good food will have a near cosmic experience. Bar None. Published Jan 04, 2012 - 12:39 AM

Music: Bringing in the New Year with COLDPLAY "What's the point of saving ideas and songs? It means they have no value (paraphrased). We're not the best musicians. We just throw out everything at the moment." From Austin City Lights, we are rocking in the new year with COLDPLAY one of our favorite digital bands. Tune in to PBS and listen to YELLOW. Published Dec 31, 2011 - 09:10 PM

Fine Dining: Music and Mesclun for New Year's Nothing can surpass the delicious tastes, textures and pretty colors of tender baby salad lettuces freshly harvested, simply dressed, and enjoyed just minutes after they are cut. These luscious salads are called Mesclun today, a French term that originally meant a mixture of tender salads that were wild-harvested to renew the blood each spring. We celebrate this new year's eve with red wine and Mesculun. What more could you ask for? Published Dec 31, 2011 - 05:46 PM

Life Styles: Song of the Mountains 'Tis a dazzling season for Great Performances and classical music this week from Yo-Yo Ma and Neil Diamond who were honored by the Kennedy Center. Presented by PBS, their music brought down the house. Tonight, it was Grascals from Nashville on Song of the Mountains with lyrics like "pig in the ground and the beer's on ice." I give up. No pictures. Published Dec 29, 2011 - 07:06 PM