June 8, 2014 by Andrea

Momentum Can Be Dangerous

It started with the palm tree out front. The branches were overhanging the walkway to the front door. I figured if I was hitting my head on the fronds everyone else was too. What should have been five minutes outside today turned into almost two hours for both Bob and I.

While Bob worked on the camera by the front door I cleared the walkway of the overhanging palm fronds. Then I thought to trim the bush by the garage that scrapes Bob’s car every time he goes in and out. Then I decided to chop it really small – it was a little unwieldy and things grow insanely fast here. Of course, if I cut the bush by the drive, I need to cut back the hibiscus that was way taller than me. Of course Bob mentioned the bush on the property line so we went to cut that one back. This left the two bushes that were overgrown around the air conditioner. None of this sounds like much but once we actually got to it … It was way more work than we anticipated when we originally started today.

This is a lot of vegetation. A lot. Hopefully the county will take it all away this week.

We also started working our way through the Savor Sarasota restaurant week this week. Tuesday we decided to try The Melting Pot. I’ve never done fondu before and it was a nice change. I loved the cheese fondu and the chocolate but the main course was okay. Not my favorite, but still pretty good.

We also could not wait for our cheese box next week so we headed down to the cheese shop and created our own little cheese plate. Since I usually pick out the cheese I let Bob pick this wee’s cheese. We went with a French goat cheese, a French cow’s cheese, a Kentucky cow’s cheese and a Swiss cheese from Switzerland. We really loved everything and opened a nice wine to go with it. I also broke out the Inna blackberry jam that is pretty perfect with cheese.

This was the nice way to cap the busy week that started with graduation and ended with FCAT scores coming in. Very busy week. Now I just need to sleep off the yard work from this morning.

June 1, 2014 by Andrea

Sunday Dinner

I know I’ve posted something like this before, but this has to be one of my favorite slow meals. I have favorite quick meals – tofu pad thai, french toast, – but for a take-half-the-day-to-make meal, pulled pork sandwiches are right up there.

Since I have not been creatively cooking much the last few weeks, I decided I wanted to spend a day in the kitchen and putter. I picked up a pork shoulder the other day and seasoned it with salt, pepper and chili powder. I seared it then added veggie broth and hard cider before covering and popping it in the oven at 250 for about four hours. (turned once) It does take a while, but it is wait time not active work time. Which gave me plenty of time to make all the stuff that goes with it.

I got the basic recipe for my focaccia rolls from my favorite vegan cookbook. Yeast, warm water (I use a tablespoon of yeast and 1.25 cups water), three tablespoons of oil, three cups flour (one cup whole wheat, 2 cups regular), 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix all together, knead and let rise. After about an hour, punch down, knead a little again and then I cheat and just pull the dough apart with my hand and make the rolls. I try to keep them relatively even in size, but they are home made so not exactly perfect. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 and we have bread for the sandwiches.

Basic tomato cucumber salad. Add sherry vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic and oil together and you have the dressing. I let it marinade while the pork cooked to help meld the flavors. It worked.

Rosemary sweet potato fries. I stole the basic recipe for these from one of our Hello Fresh boxes – cut up the sweet potatoes (in this case, two), chop some rosemary and garlic and mix everything together with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes (I did this while the pork was resting and being pulled).

Onions. Caramelized onions. Possibly my favorite (and most pain in the neck) part of this whole meal. Contrary to many, many recipes, onions cannot be caramelized in twenty minutes. These little dears take an hour to do right. Start with butter or oil and let it get hot in the pan. I added two large onions (vidalia in this case) sliced thin and let them cook over medium low heat, stirring every now and then so they don’t burn. About 25 minutes in the look like the picture above and that is when I turn the heat to low and stir a little more frequently. The house smelled so good all the cats and Jessie were hanging around looking for tastes.

The BBQ sauce is the altered form of Grandmom’s recipe. In this case I used some of the hard cider left over from braising in place of water, but otherwise I left it alone. Ketchup, maple syrup (the real stuff, not the fake stuff), butter, apple cider vinegar, onion, garlic, chili powder, season all, pepper, BBQ seasoning and ground mustard. Just let it boil for a minute and you have it. (One of these days I will remember to look at the amount of each and post it – for now its twice the Ketchup as maple syrup and just enough water to make it sauce instead of syrup (usually about the same amount as the syrup) and spices by taste.

I paired this with a nice honey apple cider (yes, hard cider) that actually worked well with it. I am absolutely not claiming this as health food, good for you or low calorie. But it is good. Very good. Mom said it was better than eating in a restaurant and Dad cleaned his plate – high praise indeed. Bob has leftovers for lunch this week and I’m contemplating next week’s Sunday Dinner … unless I make Bob take me out for one of the Savor Sarasota dinners – it is restaurant week here so all kinds of good, special menus.

Could not resist. They are just so darn cute.

Hope everyone has a great start to June and the unofficial start of summer. Keep cool.

Gallery May 26, 2014 by Andrea

You Don’t Go to Disney to Relax

The moon, starts and tides aligned this weekend as Erin finally made it to Disney. A huge thanks to Mallory for arranging this and doing what none of us down here have been able to do – just go to Disney. There were rumors that she didn’t want to actually go to Disney – ever […]

May 4, 2014 by Andrea

Catching Up

It has been a little bit of a weird couple of weeks. Work has been both great and horrible at the same time as it’s testing season. It’s horrible because all I do all day is test one kid after another and I can’t do anything else except think about all the work piling up on my desk. It’s great because I get to talk to my students a little more than I use to and I can avoid the computer and phone because … well … I can’t have access to either while testing.

So this means the pets have had to entertain themselves the last few weeks. Jessie is suffering from one walk a day syndrome and the cats … well …

they are darn cute but very needy. Tigger has been singing the song of his people at 3:30 am and Gracie remembers that she wants cuddles at 5 am. I adore them, I really do, but I actually slept in the other room the other night just so I could sleep. Yes, I tried closing them out of the bedroom, but between Jessie (who we let in) and Leia (who knew???) it was worse then the other two. So, I made use of the spare room and actually slept.

Which did not prevent me form getting Bob’s cold. He got the nasty-totally-drain-you bug and then lovingly passed it on to me, so I’ve spent the whole weekend in bed or on the couch, generally with two or three furry creatures surrounding me. I’ve managed to start planning the Chicago trip and have a few things nailed down and am now also looking at a Disney weekend since Miss Erin will be coming down (thank you Mel, you have my eternal gratitude for getting her to come down! Dinner is on us!) I’ve also picked up the iPad version of Hearthstone just because. It’s a card game of a sort and I was pretty sure I would not like it. Boy was I wrong. I’m hooked. Bob even joked that I was way more into it than he is and he’s right. It’s nice that I can sit and play for a few minutes between resting or for a few minutes here and there. Since it’s on the tablet, no strain on my shoulder and it doesn’t require money or long tine commitments. And really, it’s just kind of fun.

I’ve been going between my a HelloFresh and Blue Apron boxes the last few weeks. They really have saved my sanity for dinner prep. And while the picture above is a a HelloFresh dinner, it was so incredible I had to post it. Thai Beef Lettuce wraps. Substitute quinoa for the beef and you can probably make this a vegetarian version.

Lettuce leaves (I think they were butter lettuce) – for wrapping

Cook 12 oz ground beef in pan with 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce. Cook until beef is cooked through then add 1 small can of water chestnuts and two cloves of garlic, both chopped up. Stir to combine and cook about a minute.

While the beef is cooking peel a carrot and then use the peeler to make ribbons from the carrot. Cut into strips one red bell pepper. Chop about three or four sprigs of cilantro leaves; combine all of that in a bowl with the juice of one lime and a little salt and pepper.

For playing, fill the lettuce with a scoop or two of the beef mixture and top with the carrot mix and a few chopped peanuts. Warning, this is not first date food – it’s messy but oh so good.

I hope to be back to feeling better and cooking soon. Hope all is well!

April 21, 2014 by Andrea

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

I had every intention of making lasagna for dinner this weekend. I even went through the pantry and freezer to discover what I actually had on hand. However, when it came time to head to the store, I really didn’t want lasagna; just could not see making it. So I decided to make enchiladas instead. I tried an Indian dish too, but that is for another day.

when I do chicken enchiladas I do a green sauce with them. I’m not sure why but I always do verde for chicken and red sauce for pork. I start with tomatillos and, as usual, I have to explain what they are at the grocery. I don’t buy them often but every single time I’ve gotten then the cashier had no clue what they were. This week they were brussel sprouts. Go figure. But I digress. Six to ten tomatillos, one shallot, one to two jalapeños (seeded). I rub these with a little oil then toss them in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes on on the grill for 10-15. You know they are done when they are blistered and beginning to give up the juice.

I know there is a whole bunch that I should do here, but really, I toss everything into a food processor with a teaspoon of cumin, pinch of salt and maybe another chili. Blend well and done. I don’t worry about the parts that don’t blend – I just remove them as I go.

While the tomatillos are roasting, cook one chicken breast or three to four thighs in a pan with a little water and cover. Just cook through and then let cool before shredding. Also caramelize an onion. It doesn’t have to be fully caramelized, but you want the sweetness to come through.

I went a little more than this picture, maybe a total of 30 minutes. And despite what some recipes say, you cannot truest caramelize onions in ten minutes. You just can’t.

Once the sauce is made, the chicken is shredded and the onions are caramelized it’s time to assemble. You want two kinds of cheese here. Shredded. I use what is on hand, so in this case the sheep cheese from the cheese box this month and the Comte for the top. I’ve used a variety of cheeses in the past and most of them work really well. Just make sure it melts nicely.

This is going to seem like a silly step, but trust me, don’t skip it. Coat both sides of a flour tortilla with the sauce. Yes, both sides. If you don’t bad things happen in the oven. You also want to coat the bottom of your pan with sauce to prevent sticking. Again, don’t skip this. Load your tortillas with onion, chicken then cheese and roll, tucking the ends in as you go.

Repeat until you have a small pan full. I was able to make five enchiladas with three chicken thighs and one onion. And lots of cheese. Lots. Cover with the remaining sauce and the other type of cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Let stand three minutes or so before cutting and serving.

It isn’t the world’s prettiest or most colorful dish, but it is darn good. If it was just me, I’d skip the chicken and add peppers but Bob likes this version so I go with it.

Recipe
6-10 small to medium tomatillos
1-2 jalapeño peppers, seeded
1 shallot
-roast the above then blend with salt and cumin
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon cumin

1onion, sliced thin
Oil for the pan
-cook over medium to medium low heat, turning occasionally

1 chicken breast or three to four chicken thighs
Water to cook in
– cook in covered pan with enough water to steam

Flour tortillas
Two different kinds of cheese, shredded (~3/4 cup each)
– for assembly

April 17, 2014 by Andrea

Hello Fresh vs. Blue Apron

In my seemingly never ending quest to survive testing season with my brain somewhat intact I keep trying new things. I’ve added my 15 minutes of yoga back in each morning (and try to get in a half hour each night) not because it does a ton to get me in shape, but it makes me feel better; less stressed and not as irritable. I try to eat during the day even it if it a few snacks and walk Jessie in the evening. I’ve got a book to read (new neurscience book with a focus on how the brain learns) to read and I am in a better place this year than I was last year. I do attribute some of this to my having taken care of dinner with my boxes.

Right before testing started this month I decided to add to my Hello Fresh boxes with a box from Blue Apron for a few weeks. This way, I have six meals each week taken care of without having to eat out or plan and shop. I also wanted to compare these two services and I think I have enough information now to make a pretty fair comparison.

Before I get to the actual food, there are some differences in the picking and getting your meals. The Blue Apron website is easier to navigate and see what each week’s meals are; Hello Fresh use to be pretty each when I first started, but they did a site redesign a month or so ago and it is much more difficult now. Blue Apron also lets you pick your delivery date (for me, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday) whereas Hello Fresh has one day (Wednesday) for delivery. However, Hello Fresh does let me pick my actual meals. Since I get the classic box I can choose three of five recipes. There is usually one fish dish that we swap out for a vegetarian or other meat dish. I can also change to a full vegetarian week if I want to, but again, the choice of what those meals are is cumbersome to find. Blue Apron does not give me a choice. They have six meals each week and they decide what they are sending you based on the proteins you eat. However, if you take out two of the meats that week, you get a full vegetarian selection even if you don’t want it. In reality there isn’t a big difference in the number of choices you have, but Hello Fresh feels like there is more choice and more control.

Customer service is also a big thing. In this department Hello Fresh has Blue Apron beat by a mile. I have spoken (via email) to each a few times and I always come away from the conversations from Hello Fresh with a positive vibe. They want customers to be happy and are clearly a growing business. They are extremely helpful and and I honestly can’t think of a company as responsive. Yes, I am gushing about them because their customer service department is that good. Blue Apron on the other hand makes me feel frustrated. It feels like they do not care if you are happy or not, or if you stay a customer or not. I felt dismissed when I dealt with their customer service department, not helped. This is also not to say that Hello Fresh has always been able to do exactly what I wanted, but their explanations were more customer friendly than a simple no.

Cost for each is roughly equal. Hello Fresh is a little more each week if you go for the classic box, a little less with the veggie box. Blue Apron is one price no matter what you get each week. The packaging is the same – cardboard box with biodegradable (they say) insulation and ice packs and everything is in the box that you need for three full meals except salt, pepper, olive oil and hardware. Everything.

The first real difference is how things are put together. Hello Fresh has great bundles. Ingredients are bagged per meal and labeled with which recipe they belong to.

Blue Apron has all of the ingredients labeled, but there is no identification as to which recipe each belongs. In the case of some things like garlic and lemons, they may belong to more than one recipe so sorting is more difficult. We are taking about five minutes to unpack and put away the Hello Fresh vs. 25 minutes for the Blue Apron, which isn’t a huge deal, but like the meal choices, it feels like a big difference, especially when your brain is totally fried after work.

But the most important thing is the food and cooking the food. Hello Fresh is exactly what they advertise. They are good quality, fresh ingredients that do last all week. They are pretty simple to put together and the recipes are written for a novice cook. Yes, you need to know the difference between dice and chop, but beyond that little skill is needed. Blue Apron recipes are a little more complex and you should have a little more kitchen skills to follow them. There are more pieces to juggle in the Blue Apron recipes and timing becomes more important. Both take between 30 and 45 minutes to put together and … did I mention they send you everything you need to make these? No more forgetting to get something at the grocery or thinking it is in the pantry when it isn’t. I can successfully cook an entire meal after a full day of testing.

In both cases the food is really good and Bob and I have been enjoying trying different things. Some of the meals from each are basic and some are very different, but they are all well balanced and tasty. While there have been a few meals that we liked but didn’t love, there has not been any that we would not eat again. I will admit that Blue Apron hit it out of the park with a butternut squash, curried chickpea recipe, but overall I am still happier with Hello Fresh. Yes, for what we tend to eat they are a little more each week, but to me it is money well spent. I am thrilled with the quality of the ingredients and the ease of use from picking meals to unpacking to actual cooking. Hello Fresh also sends me a survey each week wanting to know how I liked each recipe. It isn’t invasive and it is a simple rate the dish and would you like to make any comments survey. But it goes along with making you feel like they are a responsive company and they want to grow and improve. I think that is the biggest difference. Blue Apron feels like a well established company that has a solid base of customers and knows it. Hello Fresh feels (pardon the pun) hungrier for customers and wants them to be happy. For me, they succeeded and I look forward to my Hello Fresh boxes each week. I may give Blue Apron another try here and there, but for the most part, I’ve made my choice.

April 13, 2014 by Andrea

April Cheese Box

I’m writing this with the fancy new gadget Bob got me this week. He knows I like to write these posts on my iPad (also a present from him) but the typing without a keyboard does lead to more errors than I would like. It is a different feel than typing at work, which is probably a good thing, but he found a new toy. The man does love his electronic toys.

That is a wireless keyboard that hooks to my tablet with bluetooth. I can sit on the floor, type and see what I am writing and how may mistakes I’m making much easier than typing on the tablet. And since I am very, very use to keyboard typing, this goes faster. And it’s new and fun and isn’t that half the excitement?!?!

But for the cheese … this month Louise put together a great little box. We have two French cheeses and one from Tennessee. I am partial to sheep cheeses so I was very excited about the Ossau Iraty.

With more flavor and nuttiness than most sheep cheeses, this one is a winner and needs to go on the favorite list. Both Bob and I contemplated cutting more after we devoured the first bit we cut off, but I am trying to savor it; lunch this week and all you know.

The other French cheese was Comte from the Jura Mountain region of France. This one was good, but not great until we made a grilled cheese sandwich with it.

It was National Grilled Cheese Day Saturday and what better way to celebrate than a really good grilled cheese sandwich? This one is smooth and subtle and when it melts it is the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Of course, take this as coming from the person who does have a fondness for the processed cheese product that one can obtain in a grocery store. No, it isn’t cheese, but it has its place. Bob was so happy with the sandwich he apparently made one for himself – on the stove – while I was out visiting with Mom and Dad today. I’m not sure I believe him. He has never used the stove before and I wasn’t sure he knew how. But he claims to have made himself a sandwich with the Comte and the Blackberry Farms Blue.

This has to be the mildest blue cheese ever. Louise asked me to try it (she knows I don’t do blue and has placed little surprises in our box on occasion when there is a blue in it that month, but this time she was trying to tempt me. So … I looked at it and decided to try some from the very middle where there is no veining. The texture was amazing – smooth, rich and creamy. The blue taste was very mild, the mildest Bob said he ever had. I was ok until the after taste or the back end of the cheese kicked in – then it was all blue. Not spit it out and grab Bob’s water blue, but it was there. I didn’t pucker my face or anything, but it still isn’t for me. I can appreciate this cheese. It has to be very difficult to make a cheese that mild and that complex, yet that distinctly blue. I may have to see what else this Tennessee creamy has up its sleeves.

Needless to say we had a great little dinner out on the patio with this box. Gracie tried to join us; she tried to convince me in the kitchen that she should have some cheese too, but no, I refrained from this as that would mean Jessie would be looking for cheese too and that is bad for everyone.

She is darn cute though and very hard to resist.

I’m working through our first Blue Apron box this week and have been taking some notes to compare it with the Hello Fresh boxes we love. I’m trying to get through the entire box before posting though – I have a bias towards Hello Fresh since they have been so wonderful the last few months; seriously the customer service is amazing and the food is great, so Blue Apron has a lot to live up to. I’ll try and get that up later this week. Hope Spring is arriving for everyone and the flowers are blooming. I miss my tulips, but will make due with the pretty flowering plant that I can’t spell on the patio.

April 7, 2014 by Andrea

Baked Tofu with Squash and Soba Noodles

Yesterday I mentioned that I wanted to try a baked tofu recipe. I wasn’t totally sold on this concept, mainly for the same reason stated in the post – I like crispy tofu with a soft center and I wasn’t sure how baking would get that crunch. I prepped this last night, substituting chili garlic sauce for the sriracha and peanut oil for sesame oil. I pressed the tofu, cut it into cubes and let it soak overnight.

When I got home from work today I drained, dusted and started baking the tofu.

This worked pretty well, but it does take longer than pan frying. It did leave me plenty of time to cook up some soba noodles and onion and squash. I used the reserved marinade for a light sauce (need to double the sauce/marinade for the noodles. I didn’t, but I should have) and put it all together.

This isn’t the most colorful meal I’ve ever made, but I have to say, I was really pleased with the flavors here. There was just enough spice that you felt it, but not so much that it overpowered the dish. I loved the crunchy tofu with the soft noodles. I’m thinking more sauce, add crushed peanuts and maybe carrots next time. And I’ll probably pan fry the tofu, but I am a press and marinade convert. It works!

April 6, 2014 by Andrea

West Palm and Soba Noodles

A few weeks ago Bob saw the trailer for Captain America and indicated he wanted to see it. I like the Marvel comics and the films that come out based on them, but poor Captain America just doesn’t interest me. So, I called Val and asked if we could set up a “play date” so the boys could see their movie … We could do some shopping. It was a date.

So Saturday morning we packed up Jessie and headed over to West Palm. We shipped the boys off to their movie and we went shopping. I desperately needed new jeans. Emmie has commented that one pair I have needs to go because they don’t fit (yes, Emmie, I am still wearing the pair you hated in the fall) and another pair is just plain falling apart. I could also use a few new things for work. So off we went, it was a successful trip and shopping with Val is about one of the only ways I don’t break out in hives thinking about it. Well. Shopping with Val and shopping on line. I even picked up a super cute pair of shoes on line this week … And they fit perfectly.

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This morning Bill took Bob out on the water for paddle boarding. Val and I were going to yoga, but between my joints and her shoulder, we decided it wouldn't be a great idea. But the boys seemed to have a good time.

I also meant to post this recipe a few weeks ago, but just never found the time. I wanted something quick and different. I remembered the soba noodles at Jasmine in Tallahassee and decided to come up with something in that vein. I took peanut oil, soy sauce, honey, sherry vinegar and garlic for the sauce. I cooked the soba noodles and some onion, red pepper carrots and chicken tossed it all together and we had dinner.

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Bob really liked this one and so did I. It was light but had tons of flavor. I keep meaning to make it again, but lately I stare at ingredients and just can't exactly get it together. I am making a baked tofu dish for tomorrow. I have it prepped – just have to toss the tofu in the marinade before work then make it with some squash and noodles when I get home. Hopefully I can get it together to do that.

I also came up with what may be the laziest approach to dinner I can think of. Well, maybe not the laziest, but this might come close. Bob and I love our Hello Fresh boxes. They are like a mini Christmas present every week. The food is exactly what they say – fresh and good quality – and I can get dinner together in 45 minutes. I don’t have to worry about missing an ingredient, not knowing the recipe etc. With this in mind, and knowing what the next six weeks looks like. I decided to try a second company -Blue Apron. I went with a basic four week ‘gift’ so there would be no automatic subscription and I wouldn’t have to worry about canceling at the end of this. I set the delivery date for later in the week, but now we have dinner taken care of. It feels lazy. It feels like I’m cheating, but honestly, I don’t want to eat out all of April and I just know I’m not going to have the mental capacity to get it together. Heck, I stared at the tomatoes on the counter for a good 20 minutes is week trying to figure out how I was going to stuff them. I knew, I had it planned out I just could not get started. So we will see how is works. So far, I’m not as impressed with Blue Apron as I was with Hello Fresh, but it is still first impressions. I’m try to get some pictures of different meals; try.

Hope everyone has a great week! I’ll let you know how the tofu experiment turns out.
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March 25, 2014 by Andrea

It’s Spring (and Spring Break)

It’s spring and while I say it every year, it is definitely true – teachers and staff look forward to the break from school more than the kids do. I, amazingly, finished almost all of the IEPs and meetings, completed my reevaluations and managed to get caught up on most everything. Just in time for testing season to begin. I think I’m testing between 24 and 28 days over six weeks. Sigh.

We decided to stay home this week in part because we couldn’t agree where to go, or where we wanted to go was cold, and because Bob just doesn’t have the time off. So I’m hanging around the house and prepping for my certification exam on Friday.

Yes, I have to take a test. Despite my 200 hours of inservice points and everything else I have to renew my certification, I have to take a content area test. I won’t go into details but I am not happy about this as it was the fault of the district and some incorrect information (or they just changed their minds again). I am not happy about having to do this, but it should be fine – I got a 90-something on the practice test. I am brushing up on Geography and Ancient History. Not my favorite subjects.

But as I study this week I have some very cute furry creatures to keep me company.

The kitties have been hanging around the house lately. Even Gracie has not ventured too far. We think it is because of the neighborhood cats that have been hanging around. Whatever it is I am very happy to not be woken up at 2 am when she decides to come home. Now she just wakes me up at 3 for cuddles.

Jessie looks pretty good for an 11 year old dog. She still loves her walks and she adores laying in the sun. The last few days have been too rainy for her to go outside but she will go as often as she can. As you can probably tell from the plant, that was taken a few weeks ago – the bougainvillea has way more flowers on it now! It likes the backyard and the pot apparently.

I love this plant. I loved it the first time I saw it at the nursery. The leaves, the flowers, the color. I had almost given up on it when we moved it to the back. It makes me so happy to see it blooming so fully.

Bob and I did start my vacation right – we did a cheese class at our favorite cheese shop. Yes, we talk about this place a lot, and we are slightly obsessed with good cheese (although in all fairness I’m obsessed with good food, not just good cheese). But cheese is a simple food and the variety is amazing and it just tastes so good (and pairs really well with some wine) that its hard not to love. Well, for me at least.

This cheese class focused on American Cheeses. Not American Cheese or, as much as it pains me to admit that I like it on occasion, cheese product, but real Artisan Cheeses produced right here in the USA. As much as I get into local food movements and knowing where your food comes from, I was surprised at the range of American cheeses. Pleasantly so. We went through ten cheeses from very soft fresh cheese to the I won’t eat it but Bob loves it blue. We found lots to love, but narrowed our take home choices to three.

First is the Oma.

This cheese is from Vermont and the Von Trapp (yes, those Von Trapps apparently) Farmstead. This is the cheese Val gushed over at Christmas and it is still that good. I was surprised when the lady sitting next to me took only one bite of this one – it is really just about a perfect cheese. Mild in flavor, great texture, but with enough character to let you know you are eating real food. I almost asked if I could have the rest of hers, but I thought that might be a little rude.

This little gem is a Wisconsin sheep’s cheese called Dante. Yes, that is a sheep cheese. Doesn’t look like it, but it is probably one of the best sheep cheeses I’ve had in a long time. It has a crumbly texture and deep, deep flavor. The rind looks like wood grain which is pretty darn cool in my book. Bob and I both liked this one so we picked up a chunk that we can eat throughout the week

And last, but not least was this one. This is a Utah cheese (who knew) that is rubbed in espresso and lavender. Barely Buzzed is its name and it is really hard to describe. Obviously if you eat the rind area you get coffee – lots and lots of coffee, but as you eat into the cheese you get more lavender and more put cheese taste. Again, I can’t really compare it with anything else, it is unique.

I did make the chicken pie the other week, but forgot to take pictures. It wasn’t too pretty either. I’ve been doing some cooking, but nothing terribly exciting. Bob is putting up with my vegetarian experiments or tried and true veggie dishes and I occasionally reward him with BBQ chicken or sausages. I’m pretty sure the food portion of this blog is going to be in a sorry state for the next few weeks, but hopefully I can get one interesting dish in before the end of the school year. I also hope to have a few minor adventures to share – we are doing the Wine Walk at the Ca’dzn mansion this week, so if I can get a few pictures I’ll make sure to post them. All in all life is pretty much the same here, and that is pretty darn good.

Hope everyone is making through the (hopefully) last snow storm of the season.

Sixteen Paws

The random adventures of Andi, Bob, and four furry creatures

Category Archives: Food