Cheese me

Cheese. Any kind, any age, any color, I'll try it. Just about any origin too.

Last weekend I bought an aged goat cheese from Blue Mood Blend at an Upstate NY farmers market in Brighton. It looked like a mossy stump on the outside, complete with bark. Inside it's a hard cheese, similar to parmesan or reggiano in texture and color, and in taste similar to parmesan and swiss. And the strange thing is, no goaty aftertaste. My family didn't care for it, but I'd love to try it over pasta.

Tuesday I bought a fresh goat cheese at the Harvard Square market, made only 12 hours before. Light and lovely, it just sort of melts in your mouth. And again, no goaty funk. Some cheeses are so strong it's like a goat hook in your mouth. Yuck! I do like a bit of goaty cheese too, but some of them are a bit overpowering.

I sampled the cheese at the booth before buying and got some instruction on the proper way to enjoy it - a bit of bread, fresh basil, slice of tomato, and a drizzle of good olive oil. It's light and lovely

I think the cheese was at the booth of Olio di Melli, an olive oil vendor that I would never normally stop at but the blackboard had cheese listed and pulled me in. I also bought a canteloupe, 2 tomatoes, and a red pepper. There was no basil to be found.

Wednesday I stopped at the Davis Square market on Wednesday I was on a mission for basil. Again, all sold out, but I did get a big bunch of baby bok choy for $3.50. Maybe I need to find a basil plant and buy a grow light so I can have fresh herbs...

6.365.2009 Checking the curd

6.365.2009 Checking the curd
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

I'm checking to see if the curd is set for the mozzarella cheese I'm making. I would have liked to post a shot where I'm stretching the curd, but it was too hard to get a decent shot and stretch the curd at the same time. This is my third try at making mozzarella, and made pizza with it.