Cheese ~ Storytelling ~ Authenticity ~ Creativity

Something Tasty: A cheese pairing to try

Merry Goat Round

Firefly Farms Merry Goat Round is a fresh snowy treat- perfect for this time of year. Here are the stats:

Goat Milk ~ Pasteurized ~ Microbial Rennet ~ Aged 3-14 weeks ~ Maryland, US

When it’s on the younger side the texture is springy and light, and as it ages a bit, the creamline develops under the rind to give you those three beautiful textures I love to see pronounced in a soft cheese.

It isn’t overly “goat-y”, which makes it an incredible gateway goat cheese if you’re looking for something mild and soft.

After the holidays and hunkering down with stews and warm delicious meals, this cheese is something I have kept on my counter throughout the day as a light snacking cheese with some sourdough and honey.

Something True: A truth about myself

Luna Luna

Here’s the truth.

The time between Christmas and coming back to New York was a mini Wintering for me, a term coined by Katherine May in her book of the same name that explores the power of rest and retreat in difficult times.

My mini wintering was heavy on the retreat part. Personally, this meant I was away from my phone and definitely fell off on communication with anyone that wasn’t right in front of me; and creatively, this meant focusing on input instead of output- something that is not natural for me.

Inputs like starting new TV shows, reading for pleasure, and going to museums and new restaurants without any “goals” or thinking about how it could benefit my art or business.

Let me tell ya— it sure paid off.

There is an exhibit in LA right now that inspired me so much, the buzz has lasted for weeks. Every time I think about it, I’m reinvigorated with a sense of possibility and wonder.

It’s called Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy.

Luna Luna was an art amusement park in Germany put together by some of the world’s leading live artists in 1987 that, until now, was perfectly packed up and lost in shipping containers somewhere in Texas.

The exhibit has put everything back together (like a Merry Go Round by Keith Haring, a ferris wheel by Basquiat, and a mirror dome by Dali) and explores the history and process of how it came to be in the first place.

You can’t ride the merry go round or carousel or any of the rides anymore, but they do still work.

I couldn’t help but feel the immense creativity in the room of all these artists coming together to do something fun for themselves and others…and the result being quite profound. It was true magic.

Maybe one day there will be a Trust Your Taste Festival. Artists and Foodies all working together to create something amazing. A place where cheese and art meet, where people come to have fun and learn what they enjoy in food and in life.

For now I’m relishing the feelings the input gave me and trying to not immediately discover and work on an output.

But I will say, when you start dreaming of combining all the things you love with the people you love, the possibilities feel endless.

Farm to Fable: How food shows up in storytelling 

Clambakes in Carousel

One of the first musicals I did in NYC was Carousel.

The beginning of Act 2 opens with the song “A Real Nice Clambake” where almost the whole cast just sing about what they just ate.

It does nothing for the plot, is very slow, repetitive, and long, and in my silly opinion, it is just there to stall the show while everyone comes back from their intermission bathroom trip and find their seats without missing anything important. (Yes I have very strong opinions about this song and luckily I wasn’t on stage for it 🙂 ).

However! This song does succeed in encompassing the over-full feelings of a large community meal where you feel satisfied and happy and there’s no way you could really function to do…anything.

So maybe the song is a mini wintering in itself. A slow period of rest that isn’t meant to do anything but reflect, and maybe even enjoy.

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 “Salvador Dali and Keith Herring at a clambake”. Enjoy your surrealist pop art nightmares.

Maybe eat some Merry Goat Round. It’ll soothe you.

www.annemariepietersma.com