Idiazabal

Posted on May 19, 2018 by melsmosaic

In a previous post I mentioned The Fox & The Crow in Fort Collins. They not only have great food, but also quite the extensive cheese selection. That means they also have non-cow cheese!

Went in these to see what I could find to have as just a fun appetizer for a dinner. After some discussion, I was offered a sample of the Idiazabal, a sheep’s milk cheese from Spain. It was amazing! Just semi-hard and had a unique smokiness to it. Far too good. Had to be careful not to buy too much of it. Would also be perfect paired with some Pinotage!

Had to do some quick research on it, as well. Did not know there is a cheese.com site… it confirmed my taste of smoke and gave me more info. Great stuff. Can’t wait to grab more.

The Fox & The Crow, Fort Collins

Posted on May 19, 2018 by melsmosaic

Since I shop at Sprouts a lot, I see all the other stores in the Scotch Pines Shopping Center at Drake and Lemay. I had already checked out Elevation 5003 Distillery but then saw a ‘new’ place next to them. Well it turns out that it was just a restaurant/deli that moved from the other side of the shopping center so they could expand. This place is The Fox & Crow.

Went for lunch on a nice afternoon. Walked in and grabbed a menu. Overwhelmed! So many choices. After many minutes, I finally went with the Figgy Piggy — Prosciutto di Parma and whipped chevre with mixed greens and fig spread ($9). I also opted for the salad instead of the chips for $2.

This was delicious! The sweetness of the figs paired perfectly with the slight saltiness of the prosciutto. Then the chevre was spread along the bread like mustard. Heaven.

They also have wine on tap there(!!), that rotates (we also offer 5 taps of great rotating local beer, one tap of cider AND 4 taps of premium wine). I went with the Pinot Noir, which was fairly light. Enjoyed all this while sitting outside on a sunny day. Can’t wait to return and try so more stuff on the menu, like one of their meat and cheese boards.

Marinated Beans with Celery and Ricotta Salata*

Posted on May 13, 2018 by melsmosaic

Recent cooking magazines have had so many great spring salad recipes in them.

Even if the title doesn’t sound like something I can totally eat or the quick glance of ingredients doesn’t seem right because of my lactose intolerance, I always see how I can alter it. So many times olive oil can be substituted for butter, or there is only a splash of cream that can be nixed.

This one sounded so good, and was so quick and easy! And in this one, for instance, it calls for Ricotta Salata. I thought of ways to change that content. I have, in less than a week, made this recipe twice. Once with no cheese, and once with goat (or Chevre) cheese. Both were awesome!

So, this recipe is Marinated Beans with Celery and Ricotta Salata from the May issue for Bon Appetit.

Note: the recipe is for 8 servings, and it’s a hefty 8

Ingredients

4 15-oz. cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, navy beans, and/or black-eyed peas, rinsed
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped thyme, plus more for serving
Kosher salt
4 oz. ricotta salata (salted dry ricotta), crumbled (used Chevre from
Trader Joe’s)
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Toss beans, celery, oil, vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. thyme in a large bowl to combine; season generously with salt.
Just before serving, transfer beans to a shallow bowl and top with ricotta salata, pepper, and more thyme.
Do Ahead: Bean salad (without celery and ricotta salata) can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Non-Cheese:

Cheese:

Definitely keeping this recipe around and will make it several times this summer. Just so delicious. I also nearly doubled the amount of celery to add more veggie content.

Servilleta

Posted on November 17, 2017 by melsmosaic

If you speak Spanish, you might be thinking napkin. But, if you look around the cheese section at Trader Joe’s you might know I’m talking cheese. Found this one recently, which is a goat cheese, aged in cloth (which I am sort of thinking is where they got the name) for at least four months.

It has a subtle bite and is more firm than the ‘normal’ goat cheese. It can be easily cut, as in it doesn’t squish. Nice to serve on crackers, with veggies and to pair with wine.

Salud!

Baby Goat

Posted on April 16, 2017 by melsmosaic

As you might have read several times in my blog(s), Trader Joe’s is one of my two favorite grocery stores (Wegmans being the other). The other thing you might have read is that I am a lactard (thanks Caroline for giving me that term, as you are also one), but can eat goat or sheep’s milk (cheese).

While strolling through TJ’s recently I was just really wanting some cheese. Stood there staring at the cheese section for several minutes then my eyes fell upon these ‘baby goat’ (as I like to call them) cheese discs. They are just the goat cheese logs divided into smaller pieces, or as they more appropriately term them Medallions. Each package is 1oz., very nicely sealed and there are about 5-6 per container. Of course I can’t remember the price, but I’m fairly certain it was less than $5.

Handy to have around and they will definitely be making it to my kitchen more frequently.

Dairy-Free Cheesecake

Posted on January 21, 2017 by melsmosaic

I haven’t eaten cheesecake for ages because of my lactose intolerance. I have just found other things to gorge on post-dinner. I have a few lactard friends who are in the same boat but are on the lookout for options.

When a friend came over for dinner she picked up something that caught her attention at Wegmans (sigh, why can’t one be closer to me, it’s down the street from her). She found a Strawberry Cheezecake (no that’s not a typo) from Daiya, who’s tagline is ‘deliciously dairy-free.’

The ingredients in this, that make it diary free are:

Cheezecake filling (Filtered water, creamed coconut, cane sugar, coconut oil, tapioca starch, non-GMO expeller pressed: canola and/or safflower oil, strawberries, potato starch, vegan natural flavors, pea protein, sea salt, vegetable glycerin, sodium alginate, xanthan gum, lactic acid (vegan), tricalcium phosphate, cultured sugar, agave syrup, fruit and/or vegetable juice (color), vegan enzyme)

Gluten-free crust (tapioca starch, cane sugar, coconut oil, brown rice flour, white whole grain sorghum flour, filtered water, potato starch, non-GMO expeller pressed: canola and/or safflower oil, blackstrap molasses, vanilla extract, milled flax seed, psyllium, baking powder, sea salt, sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum.)

There are a lot of ingredients but all things considered, not too bad. And, considering there was no diary, that was a pretty darn good cake. They have some other flavors, too — New York, Key Lime and Chocolate.

I happened to be at the Washington Health & Fitness Expo a couple weeks ago and Daiya had a booth. They were making some quesadillas so I grabbed a bite. Hadn’t tried their cheese yet. It was a bit chewy. But, if you are craving and wanting some cheese and can’t eat ‘normal cheese,’ you could go this route. Or if you need it for a recipe that you can’t really make alterations in, it should work. Overall, I think I’d rather stick with goat or sheep. I might, however, have to check out their mac & cheese at some point because I don’t know the last time I had that. It might not be perfect, but hey, it I had it with some wine or beer, it could make a very classy meal.

Oh Ewe Cheese

Posted on October 13, 2016 by melsmosaic

Was on just a normal shopping trip the other day so had to stop at Trader Joe’s. That also meant I was required to stop by the sample and coffee counter. They had a cheese sample out, so at first I didn’t think I could have some as the lactard. Then I saw that it was goat cheese, cool. It was a new one — Chevre with Honey. Just a little bit of sweet taste. I used to not like goat cheese but it has gotten so much better. Ok, bad idea to try it… Effective work TJ’s… I left with one of the 8 oz. packages. We’ll see how long it takes me to get more.

Honey Goat Cheese

Posted on April 5, 2015 by melsmosaic

As you might have noticed I’m always on the lookout for new non-cow’s milk cheese. Since I’m lactose intolerant and now know I can enjoy goat and sheep stuff, life is good! Whole Foods had quite the displays out yesterday for Easter and the one that caught my eye was a Dutch goat cheese with natural honey flavor. I love the proper name — Hollandse Honey Bzzz Chevre. It was pretty good. It was that nice sweet hint in it. For goat cheese not too soft, which is what I prefer. I would say it’s along the lines of a soft cheddar. Worth checking out if you’re looking for something new.

Say Cheese!

Posted on February 19, 2015 by melsmosaic

I’m always on the lookout for cheese I can enjoy. Saw the mention of a new goat cheese at Trader Joe’s in their Fearless Flyer the other day. A goat cheddar (though I realized later it might not have actually been the one advertised — oh well). So, had to check it out. It’s a white cheddar, a bit soft, and lots of flavor. It had a bit of the goat-cheese ‘flavor,’ but definitely a great option for those who are lactose intolerant can’t take cow’s milk cheese. It paired very nicely with red wine, crackers and veggies.

Yodeling

Posted on October 28, 2014 by melsmosaic

When you hear the word Yodeling, there are three things you can do.

1) Look up the definition to be sure you know what it really is, or see if it some new-aged term. To save you the time, per Merriam-Webster, it is to sing by suddenly changing from a natural voice to a falsetto and back.

2) Search for videos that feature this action. Again, saving you some time. Found a great one!

3) Go to Whole Foods and buy Yodeling Goat Gouda! A great cheese for lactose-intolerant folks, those who love cheese, anybody who wants to try something new or just easily Yodle, because they don’t want to sing.

I saw this the other day when I was at Whole Foods and picked some up. It’s great because it’s harder than the normal goat cheese and as the sign mentions, has a bit of a nutty flavor. Also, I’ve not purchase that much cheese there and didn’t realize they cut you as big or small of piece(s) as you want to take home. I got a nice small piece to take with me.