Say Freeze!

In spite of last week's meal-planning challenges, I'm right back at the drawing board, or rather the dry-erase board,  this week.  I collected my cookbooks, grabbed my grocery store's flyer, made myself a coffee and got started. 

No, that's not what I planned for meals on Saturday and Sunday.  This week I remembered to take stock of the perishables in my fridge.  Since my dry-erase board was handy, I listed items there.  The upcoming week looks like this:

Yup, that says thaw cheese.  Twice.  I know that freezing cheese is not the nicest way to treat one of my favourite foods.  I'm aware that it changes the quality of the cheese.  I still do it.  

• It saves money.  I buy large blocks of cheese when they are on sale.  I haul out the food processor and Hubby shreds the cheese while I bag it in one-cup portions.
• It saves time.  As long as I remember to thaw the cheese (hence the reminders on my meal-planning board), having pre-shredded cheese in the house goes a long way toward getting dinner on the table fast.
• It helps to ensure we eat more home-cooked meals.  Quick meals = less processed, packaged, pre-made food.

I don't do this with fancy, expensive cheeses, but that's mostly because those cheeses aren't in the house long enough to make it to the freezer.  (Another reason for freezing block cheese.  If it wasn't out of sight in the freezer, it would be gone before I needed it for a meal.)

I do wish I had a better, economical option for packing the shredded cheese.  Right now I use off-brand, zip-top, single-use, snack-sized, plastic bags.  Truly not ideal in many ways, but they are cheap, they are the right size, and they fit nicely in the freezer.  If you have an method for freezing shredded cheese that works for you, please let me know.  And let me know if you have any questions.  I'd love to hear from you.

Pintos ‘n Cheese Please – Sister’s Soft, Moist Sunday VIII

My sister has always been a fussy eater. When we started discussing this project she was quite clear about the foods she "doesn't" eat. Add to that the foods she can't eat, and I'm often surprised that I have anything to share here. This week I think I have a winner.

When we were teens there were times when she'd claim she wasn't hungry and refuse what Mom served for dinner. Later, she'd ask to borrow the car and head over to Taco Bell. This week's soft, moist selection is based on Taco Bell's Pintos 'n Cheese. It's quick, cheap and easy. And it's something I'm pretty sure she'll eat.

This Week's Soft Moist Selection

Bell-Style Beans and Cheese

(I used canned, no-fat, refried beans for this recipe. I like that they contain three easily-identified ingredients. Whole, canned beans (kidney, pinto or black) could be substituted. You can mash them, or not, depending on how you feel – given the week my sister has had, I think mashing might require too much effort. Choose a salsa with recognizable ingredients and your favourite cheese and you're ready to go.)

1 can refried beans

Salsa

Grated cheese

- Place beans in a small pot

- Stir in salsa, a little at a time, until desired consistency is reached

- Heat

- Serve topped with grated cheese

Local Cheesy Goodness

July is a wonderful month for local food on Vancouver Island, and Our Big Earth, Brambles Market and EatRealEatLocal.ca have teamed up to encourage us enjoy the bounty. Together they are hosting the "EatRealEatLocal 30-Day Food Challenge" inviting Island inhabitants to sample locally-produced foods whether dining out or at home.

Throughout the month there have been several events highlighting local foods. Sadly, in the midst of all the return-from-holiday/return-to-work kerfuffle, I have had to pass on most of these events. Monday was my lucky day though. I just happened to have the day off, and Natural Pastures Cheese Company was having an in-store demo. How could I resist?

Years ago Dad worked for Silverwood Dairy. On one occasion my sister and I got to visit him at work. Though we weren't allowed in the work area, we were able to watch the action from above. We stood with our noses pressed against a window directly above the milk processing area. I don't remember many details of the work taking place below, but I do remember making silly faces at Dad and his co-workers. Imagine my delight when I arrived at Natural Pastures to find a row of children with their noses pressed against the window watching Master Cheesemaker Paul Sutter set up for the demo. I felt like I fit right in.

As at Silverwood, the public wasn't able to tour the Natural Pastures work area. Instead they opened the large window at the front of the building, and Paul gave an informative mini-demo of the processes involved in making their award-winning Comox Brie and Camembert.

First step, heat the milk to the correct temperature.

Next, add the appropriate bacterial cultures and microbial enzymes and wait for coagulation. Once it has thickened, the curdled milk is cut into small pieces...

... and poured it into a mould. During regular production over 200 moulds are used for each batch of cheese.

The filled moulds are turned regularly.

The result is a lovely, yellowish round of cheese that is then matured and wrapped for sale. (During the maturing process the cheese develops a distinctive, tasty layer of white mold on the surface.)

After the demo there were samples available in the cheese shop. It was difficult to decide what I wanted to buy. After much tasting and consideration this one followed me home, as did a package of Aged Farmhouse.

As you can see, these cheeses don't last long at our house. It's a good thing I snapped this picture when I did.

Of course, the demo only provided a taste of the cheese making process. For a more complete picture, check out Natural Pastures website. There they outline the basic steps of cheese making on a larger scale. Or, if you think a taste of the process (or of the cheese) would be to your liking, there are two more demos planned for this month. On Monday, July 20th Natural Pastures' Dutch cheeses will be featured, and on Monday, July 27th Natural Pastures teams up with Bite Size Specialty Foods for a cooking demo and tasting. The demos take place at 11am, noon and 1pm at Natural Pastures Cheese Company, 635 McPhee Ave., Courtenay, BC.