So I had visions of wowing you all tonight with stories of my culinary prowess...amazing French pastries, homemade pastas and vegetables carved into swans. Oh wait I would have had to try making those things first. Yet alas I have been on a streak of mediocrity in the kitchen. Do you ever have those periods of time where everything you make is eh? I am in the midst of one of those periods and it just seems like everything I make is ok...not bad like oh my god what the hell were you thinking this is hideous to the palette. But not the nectar of gods either. I prefer to hear angels singing when amazing food hits my mouth and that just hasn't been occurring this week. Tonight I made bbq salmon with a corn relish and it sounded like a great summer evening recipe but it kind of all just tasted like bbq sauce. I made a haystack salad which is kind of like a taco salad earlier in the week and it was ok but the salsa was kind of just overpowering. I made chicken chili and it was just kind of bland. I think you get the picture. I am not using a new source for recipes or using ingredients that are cheap or not fresh or cooking with one hand tied behind my back but I am just not feeling it in the kitchen.

Hopefully with the start of the new week my streak of kitchen blahs will soon be over. Here I am now writing a blog and doing freelance writing about food and wine and I just can't seem to get my food act together. So this week I plan on making a tofu stir fry....yes I know I am still on a tofu kick...don't worry I think it will be ending soon. Especially since I have enough leftover tofu carrot soup to last me a lifetime and oh guess what its just ok. I also plan on making pan friend chicken with a cucumber, avocado and tomato salsa. Finally, for dessert this week I plan on making oatmeal coconut cookies. All of the recipes I am trying this week are from Cooking Light as I figure I also need to get out of my Better Homes and Gardens rut.

However, since I can't wow you with fabulous kitchen tales I can provide you with a little entertainment and a recommendation for a new wine bar.

Wades Wines in Westlake just expanded and opened a wine and beer bar. They did a great job decorating it and its very casual and enjoyable as the decor has wine crates, old wine presses and corks everywhere. I know it sounds kind of cheesy but they really did a great job. They have an amazing selection of both beers and wines to try and the staff were really helpful and knowledgeable. They also have a lot of local wines which are always fun to try. Here is the link if you want to check it out http://www.wadeswines.com/Wades/main.html Definitely recommend it!

So I was a Ventura County Fair virgin until this weekend and although I did find the people watching entertaining and the food trucks to be a great source for an article I have to say that other than the Herzog  Wine Garden they did not excel in wine selection. It was actually so limited that they did not carry wine with a name and when I say the wine has no name its not even generic enough to be Charles Shaw or "House Wine." Nope it was labeled pink, white or red. Even in Ireland the country with the crappiest wine they at least had names on them even though they usually only carried a white, pink and red. So I did learn a valuable lesson this weekend if you are on a quest for alcoholic beverages at a fairgrounds....hmm stick with beer. Happy Sunday y'all and hope my culinary rut will soon be over!