Cheese ~ Storytelling ~ Authenticity ~ Creativity

Something Tasty: A cheese pairing to try

Rollright

I finally got to try Rollright for the first time last week- and I’m obsessed. Here are the stats:

Cow’s Milk ~ King Stone Dairy, UK ~ Washed Rind ~ Spruce-wrapped ~ Aged 4-8 weeks

It is washed, but less funky than you may be expecting, and the spruce bark gets those earthy woodsy flavors around the cheese in a very elegant way.

If you are new to this style of cheese, I highly recommend this as an entry point.

Sometimes washed rinds can get a bit tough and craggy, but this rind is so delicate and the texture is like creamy, velvety custard.

Toast up your favorite crusty bread and go to town.

Kingstone Dairy puts a great emphasis on organic and regenerative agriculture on their beautiful land in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. Check out this gorgeous video by my cheesy friend Sam Wilkin to learn more about it!

Something True: A truth about myself

Thanksgiving Dog Show

Here’s the truth.

I have never had a dog, and I’ve always wanted one.

We had hundreds of cows on the dairy growing up, but no in-house animals except for a dying hamster named Cookie I was gifted from a friend’s older brother in 5th grade, and a millipede I brought home from the LA bug fair once.

One thing I’ve come to love every Thanksgiving is watching the dog show after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I’m decent at judging cows, but I have no idea what judges at the Purina Dog Show are looking for.

I pick my favorites based on how cute I think they are, if they look like they’re having a good time, and the story I make up about how well their name fits their personality.

Of course this always starts thoughts of what kind of dog I would like, and then leads to the great existential question- am I ready/capable/able to have a dog?

And each time I ask myself, I arrive at the same answer- but this time, not for the usual reasons.

In my life now, I’m working from home more, I could afford it, I live in a walkable area, and I have a lovely network of friends that would happily help and watch the dog if I was away.

The difficult truth is- I am still figuring out the best way to take care of myself.

I’m just now really learning how to put myself first sometimes…and I would really like to be better at that before I have to keep anything else alive?

I WILL have a dog one day…but I’m gonna get my own shedding under control first.

Farm to Fable: How food shows up in storytelling 

Gouda + Popcorn + Nuts in Best in Show

Naturally, after a morning filled with parades and dogs and an entire afternoon and evening of food and family, I made my boyfriend watch Best in Show.

In my opinion, it’s the best mocumentary ever made (so far), and Adam had never seen it.

Food is really only featured thrice in Best in Show:

• when Jennifer Coolidge nervous-eats a tub of popcorn outside the dog arena

• when Christopher Guest can’t stop naming nuts

• when Eugene Levy asks Catherine Ohara at a pre-event party “More Gouda, honey?”

If you’ve never seen this movie and after hearing the beginnings of that cast still don’t want to watch it, I don’t know what to tell you.

Now here is my question for you- is Gouda a swanky cheese? Details in screenwriting- especially comedy can do a lot. Does that one little line help us infer the status of the party? Does that mean they are around a bunch of fancy people?

Now I’m thinking about how to combine Gouda and popcorn and nuts into a savory moose munch…

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with great food (maybe some great cheese, maybe some good dogs), quality time sharing stories with loved ones, and the least amount of family drama possible.

Until next time,

Anne-Marie

P.S. - Sunday Scaries

A terrifying AI image to help us all rest knowing AI bots could never replace a real human artist:

This week the prompt was “An award-winning dog jumping over a block of cheese to win a gold medal”

Enjoy your demon dog nightmares.

www.annemariepietersma.com