PADRON PEPPER PLANTS are now for sale. but you’ll need to keep them indoors for a few more weeks, until the evening temperature remains at 50 degrees. Plant them in a pot or in the ground in a sunny place, and start harvesting peppers in July.
If you haven’t tried Padron peppers yet, pick them when they are about 3 inches long. Sauté them in olive oil, turning them so each side cooks and blisters. Toss with sea salt and eat as a snack. Warning: They are addicting, and about 10% are hot, which adds to the fun of eating them.
Chabichou du Poitou is in stock – One of the great cheeses of the world with a delicate complexity of flavors. This young cheese sports a wrinkled rind and is sweet-cream fresh. Tender, flavorful and scrumptious, it is excellent on its own with a cracker and some olives.
WINES FOR SUNNY WEATHER
Nortico Alvarinho 2019, Minho ($14.99) 100% Alvarinho (called Albariño in Spain) is grown in schist & granite soils in Portugal’s Minho River Valley. Notes of citrus are bright and refreshing with saline hints due to the vineyard’s proximity to the sea. Mineral-laden traces of stone fruit add to Nortico’s complexity. Dry and clean on the finish, pair this tasty white with any type of seafood or cheese board.
Ferraton Côtes du Rhône Samorëns 2019 ($14.99) 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Cinsault, fermented and aged in vats. A solid value, this versatile red wine offers up notes of cherry fruit and white pepper spice. Lively and bright on the palate, it is smooth and supple with balanced acidity. Medium-bodied with silky tannins, it pairs well with vegetarian dishes, pork or poultry. Or sip this tasty red around the patio.