Inflation Hits Home

There's been a lot of talk recently about rising prices. Gas prices are nearly double what they were a few years ago. Food costs more, electricity costs more, clothing costs more. The dollar seems to be in a freefall against the world's major currencies.

But none of that hurt very much.

Sure my gasoline bill went through the roof. But I'm also driving much farther to work.

This hurt:

The cost of 7 ounces of Kerrygold Dubliner cheese from Ireland went from $4.99 to $5.99 at Target.

There's This Cheese...

It's from Italy. You might have heard of it.

It's called Parmigiano Reggiano.

It's good. Real good. It's not quite "Jesus" good but probably "Mother Teresa" or "Gandhi" good. That's pretty good.

Real Parmigiano is made near Parma by real Italian dairyman with mustaches and big rubber boots. They mold the cheese into big wheels and stamp "Parmigiano Reggiano" around the outer edge. And then they stuff them into caves or barns or somewhere cool and dry and and age them for at least 18 months.

It develops a thin rind around the edges to protect the salty, tangy, grainy goodness inside.

You may have had Parmesan cheese before. You probably opened a plastic bottle with a well known American brand name emblazoned across the front and shook it on your spaghetti. It was okay. It's cheese after all. But it's not the real deal.

Do yourself a favor. Go to your local grocer and buy a wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano (look for the stamp on the rind). The last wedge I bought was priced at 15 bucks a pound. It's not cheap but the best things in life aren't free. And it lasts forever - a little goes a long way.

I grate it fine with the rind on edge. It grates a little rind into the cheese but you'll never notice and you won't waste any cheese. It is so good. Or break off a chunk and let it melt in your mouth (don't bother trying to cut it).

You won't be sorry.

I Guess I'm Not Very Neighborly

Tabitha and I started going to a little church. Little churches are small fellowship/bible study groups within our church. We haven't been involved in one for a few years and felt it was time to get reconnected at church. And meet some new people.

Our little church is reading Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybells, a book about sharing the Gospel. Not in a "stand on the street corner passing out tracts" or "knocking on stranger's doors" kind of evangelism but the "getting to know people and building a level of trust" kind of evangelism.

Two weeks ago, we did an exercise that gauged how much we know about our neighbors. I was embarassed to realize that I know very little about my neighbors. At most I know a few people's first names. No one has been over to our house for dinner. I don't know what my neighbors do for a living. I don't know much and I've lived in our house for three years.

I will admit that I am generally introverted. So is Tabitha. We are busy with our jobs and children. I could probably come up with a dozen reasons (excuses) why we don't have anything beyond the most superficial relationship with our neighbors. I am missing an opportunity here.

Not to cajole people into attending my church, but to build relationships and bring the Gospel.

I might even discover that one of my neighbors likes cheese as much as I do.

A Random Rant

If you are a music producer who wants to make a worship CD for children, use real live children. Don't warp adult voices into children's voices. I can tell and it's not cool. Set aside your desire to make everything musically perfect and give us real kids, singing kid's songs with real feeling. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's actually better when they aren't.

Thank you.

And Velveeta still blows.

Good Grief! Not Another Post About Cheese!?!

Cheese, glorious cheese. As many of you may know, I like cheese. I've stumbled across two that are now among my favorites. The first is Kerrygold Dubliner from Ireland. And then this summer I was introduced to Beecher's Flagship.

Kerrygold Dubliner travels all the way from Ireland to my supermarket. I don't know how they do it, but you can find it at your finer grocery stores. My sister, Judy, has even found it in 2 pound blocks at Costco. While a little more expensive than the store brands it is still relatively affordable.

It is yummy. Dubliner has a creamy white color with a texture similar to an aged cheddar (hard and crumbly). It tastes of grass, oak, parsnips, and sour coffee. I'm just kidding. It has a mild nutty flavor. Judy says it melts really well over pasta but I have not tried it that way yet.

The second cheese is from Beecher's, a Seattle cheesemonger in Pike's Place Market just down the way from the original Starbucks. Beecher's actually make cheese in their store. If you go at the right time you can watch through a big window as they turn milk into heaven .

Flagship is a semi-hard cheese aged for one year. The texture is crumbly but slightly softer than cheddar. It has a nice sharp taste redolent of wind-swept seaside pastures. I don't know what that means, I just made it up. Beecher's will mail you cheese if you send them money or you can do what I did. Give your sister-in-law ten dollars when she goes to Seattle and wait for her to return with eleven dollars worth of cheese. Thanks Elizabeth.

An Amusing Cheese Anecdote

Here is a quote from Grandpa's memoir about some food ordered from Montgomery Ward after World War I:

The second item was a five pound block of cheese. It was wrapped in foil and had a violent orange color. On its wrapper it proclaimed that it was made of sheep's milk, in Belgium. Now my Father would eat almost anything if it was labeled "food," but one taste of this cheese shattered his record! Now, there was a roving greyhound in our neighborhood, which regularly canvassed our back yard for possible snacks. Mother, not knowing what else to do with this "disaster" put it out in the backyard, in the hope that the dog might dispose of it. Which he did: I looked outside the window just in time to see him drag it off to one side, dig a hole, and bury it!

I would say that Belgium is not really known for its cheese. Now if it were chocolate? Mmmmm!

No...Seriously...

... I love cheese.

Mmmmm! Again

Did I mention I like cheese?

Mmmmm!

I like cheese. Not the hokey movie, crappy music, polyester leisure suit cheese. No, I'm talking about the curdled, cut, salted, pressed, and aged kind of cheese. The kind that comes wrapped up in plastic in the grocer's dairy case. The kind that keeps for months in the drawer in my refrigerator. The kind that all the health nuts say is the worst thing I could be eating (not french fries?). The kind the veggies won't eat because some cow had milk forcibly pulled from her aching udders. I love cheese and I love cows for giving up their precious milk so a cheese maker can craft a wheel of sheer creamy bliss.

I'm still a little leery of the stinky soft french kind. I like mine firm, crumbly and aged at least a year, preferably longer. I like cheese that ranges in color from creamy white to very pale yellow. I like cheese that is so sharp it makes my jaw ache a little. I like cheese that satisfies that craving for meat. I like cheese that asks, no, demands to be washed down with a glass of ale. I like cheese that pairs well with chocolate. I like chocolate that pairs well with cheese. I like cheese that pairs well with other cheese.

I hate Velveeta.