What’s your idea of a great cheese? I prefer a cheese that’s multifaceted, one that appeals to kids as well as adults, something that can be used in recipes or for snacking or dessert. If you think that only imports can be great cheeses, think again! Vermont Shepherd, a 250 acre farm in Vermont, is the oldest maker of sheep’s milk cheese in the US; they began making the stuff before many Americans knew that cheese could be made from sheep’s milk. Their eponymous cheese is, I believe, one of the great examples of artisanal cheese-making in this country. Why? For starters, the sheep who give the milk for this cheese are pastured from April through November, enabling them to eat a varied diet of wild foliage. This is more natural for the sheep, and it gives their milk an especially good flavor (once the snow begins in earnest, milking and cheese making stop until the following spring). The milk for this cheese is not pasteurized. I’m a big fan of such “raw” milk cheeses, as I believe they contain a great range of complex tastes. In addition, the milk and cheese are treated with care and respect. Production of the cheese is limited, and the unrushed aging process happens on wooden boards in a cave with ideal temperature and humidity.
Rosemary, Rosemary - a scent so sweet- - Not only is rosemary a popular and attractive herb - It has a history which is far more entertaining than most television shows these days-
Yup, you read that correctly. It’s “dessert”, as in “sweet at the end of a meal” and “hummus”, as in “chickpea spread”. You’re thinking I’ve got to be kidding, but I’m not. Chef Chuck in New Hampshire has created a new type of hummus, one without garlic or pepper or any of the usual savory flavorings. As is so often the case, the idea of The Original Crazy Camel Dessert Hummus was a happy accident.
My efforts to establish a backyard container garden have not been nearly as successful as my vermicomposting venture. In my usual manner of doing things, I plunged headfirst into container gardening, having only grown houseplants with varying degrees of success in the past. Some of my houseplant experiences have been bittersweet: for a time I was the proud owner of an unfathomably large aloe plant, but it met a sorry end because I left it in direct sunlight on a hot porch a couple years ago – apparently desert plants do not like roasting in midday sun in New England. Lesson learned. Still, growing plants in a reasonably controlled indoor environment is not that much of a challenge if you have enough sun and can remember to dump water on them every now and then.
Traditional coffee like Folders and the popular Spanish brand Nescafe have maintained that familiar, consistent great taste over the years. Despite pesticides and fertilizers harvested in the large, commercial coffee plantations they grow on, it manages to suit an average persons tastes as evident by its sales. In justifying the high prices for organic coffee, many people point to its tastes as one of the main reasons. Does organic coffee taste better than traditional coffee?