Superfood Prep for a Wine Tasting Bachelorette Party

Paso Robles, CA

This postcard comes to you from Paso Robles; I spent this past weekend there wine tasting for my college roommate’s Bachelorette Party.We all arrived on Friday evening to a house we had rented.  Well, by the time I had arrived there were two of the nine ladies drinking wine and watching a movie.  I found a free bedroom and my book and fell asleep before 9pm…an excellent start to a weekend of wine and socializing!The following morning, I woke before the whole house and went for a walk.  It was Veteran’s Day and the Boy Scouts of Paso Robles were setting American flags out along the perimeter of the central square.  I walked along until I found “Twisted & Glazed, a donut society” where I went in and ordered a coffee and an acai bowl.  If you are unfamiliar with an acai bowl, it’s a Brazilian dish that has become popular in the health food craze as the acai bowl is made with frozen and mashed acai palm fruit, the acai berry is touted as a super food.  Acai bowls are generally mashed and frozen acai on the bottom, covered with fruit and granola, and topped with guaraná syrup.  Guaraná is a South American plant in the maple family whose fruit is an effective stimulant containing double the concentration of caffeine found in coffee.  I guess it’s ironic that I ordered a “superfood dish” at a donut shop but I figured I would need sustenance to go wine tasting.We had two designated drivers and split up in the two cars, we went to one winery, and then another.  By the time we got to the second winery, food was needed and luckily, we had planned ahead and packed a picnic lunch.  We spread out our snacks, loaves of bread, cheese, salami, and chocolate and went to town.  We went to three more wineries that day and by 6pm we were beat and ravenous.  Back at the house, the 9 starving ladies all decided to help preparing dinner which consisted of premade stuffed zucchinis, asparagus, a rotisserie chicken, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, a vegetable platter, and a lot more bread…all from Costco.  Let me tell you, it was sheer chaos but so much fun.  We played music from our childhood and everyone helped everyone else, ducking under arms sautéing brussels sprouts, two of us were delegated to find olive oil from one of the neighbors, and others set the table and popped bottles of sparkling wine to celebrate.  All in all, it was a lovely weekend of wine, food, and friendship, despite my strong, not favorable initial opinion of eating a Costco rotisserie chicken to celebrate one of my dearest friend’s bachelorette party. If you are looking for acai bowls in the area, Aloha Coffee and Café on Del Monte in Monterey has them!