Cheese ~ Storytelling ~ Authenticity ~ Creativity

Something Tasty: A cheese pairing to try

Grana Padano

Grana Padano is a very popular cousin to Parmigiano Reggiano. Many similarities, but it’s own thing. Here are the stats:

Cow’s milk ~ Raw ~ Northern Italy ~ Animal Rennet ~ Grana Style

Grana style cheeses are named because the size of the curd is cut down to the size of a “grana” (grain in Italian) during cheesemaking. This means a lot of moisture is expelled when cutting the curd- so that’s why these are harder cheeses.

Cattle used for Grana Padano are allowed to have grain in their diet which creates a slightly sweeter and richer milk. This, with it’s minimum age being 9 months (instead of PR’s 12 months), makes it a less crumbly cheese than Parmigiano Reggiano.

It’s also a bit less salty and a little less expensive which makes it great for cooking and snacking. Save the rind and use it for stocks and soups!

Something True: A truth about myself

Flu Game

Here’s the truth.

I’ve had the flu all week, and it’s been brutal. I haven’t been this sick in a long time and thankfully I’m starting to come out of it now.

Writing this is the first time I’ve touched my computer all week, and the only thing I’ve accomplished besides watching an epic amount of Father Brown.

I can normally tell that I’m really starting to feel the winter blues when I start making soup and eating a lot of beans. Normally that happens ~ mid-February but sickness warrants it. There is nothing more comforting to me than a warm bowl of brothy beans.

The one above is my go-to: butter beans and cous cous in bone broth with good olive oil, thyme, a squeeze of lemon and shaved Grana Padano.

It’s hard to rest when you have so much planned. I missed a lot of events and meetings I was looking forward to this week, but the main thing that has bummed me out is I came out swinging ready to make moves with a lot of different projects and had really good momentum till I woke up sounding like Harvey Fierstein.

AND I was probably taking care of myself the best I have in months. Morning pages! Movement! Greens! Hydration! 8+ hours of sleep!

Then I found a post-it I don’t remember writing myself underneath a pile of tissues on my desk. “You’re right on time.”

Life will always happen. Things will get derailed. Wherever you are in your new year goals, you’re right on time.

Farm to Fable: How food shows up in storytelling 

Good Soup in Girls

Soup is the silent star in this heartbreaking scene from the show Girls.

The scene perfectly illustrates how brilliant a scene can be when the focus is on what is not said. A peak example of “show, don’t tell”.

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 “A cheese castle with a soup moat.”

This was supposed to be so whimsical, and it’s so depressing. Time for SAD soup.

www.annemariepietersma.com