A Little Swiss Please

I love cheese... well, who doesn't?! It's one of the most divine foods on the face of the planet. There's something undeniably yummy about sinking your teeth into a slice of cheese.... I think this little fellow would be in agreement.... don't you think so?!

Teapot just made breakfast (which I really appreciate since that's my time for writing here). He made me a slice of toast with melted Swiss cheese and a fried egg on top. It was delicious. (Is your mouth watering yet?)

The problem is that cheese is loaded with calories and salt and a bunch of things that make it one of the worst diet foods ever.  Any diet, including Weight Watchers, will tell you that pizza (loaded with cheese), lasagna (loaded with cheese), grilled cheese sandwiches (has cheese), potatoes au gratin (really loaded with cheese), anything au gratin (loaded with cheese) is like a million calories. Even crackers and cheese is not really good diet food..... the only place that I can find cheese as an ok diet food is if you use (bleeeckk!!!) Cheese Whiz on celery....  this combination, in my opinion, should be officially banned from the face of the planet!

A few years ago I went to Barkerville, which is an historic townsite that has been preserved to function as a traditional gold mining community for tourists to visit.  There is a great general store there, in which I love to browse around. They have everything from food, to Victorian style clothing, candies, toys, hunting stuff etc.... my favorite part of the store is the section where they keep the big wheels of cheese. It was there that I first tasted Asiago cheese..... oh God, it was orgasmic!  Teapot and I would purchase a small amount of cheese each day (wrapped in wax paper), and as we were driving home, and while the Daughters were sucking on their candies from the candy shop, I would slice thin slices of Asiago cheese and feed them to Teapot or eat them myself on the way back to the campsite..... I'm not kidding, it was orgasmic! (And the Asiago that you get in the grocery store...yuck... doesn't even come close to the stuff you get in Barkerville. They hand pick each wheel...)

A friend introduced me to smoked Gouda... oh, it was divine.... I ended up turning this whole town on to it, when I insisted that the local grocer bring in smoked Gouda for Christmas. It is imperative that I try new cheeses.... it is also imperative that you don't eat too much blue cheese at one time... as Teapot found out one year when he went to a friend's house at Christmas and gorged on Blue cheese and red wine.... suffice it to say that he spent Christmas night in the bathroom! It is also imperative that you don't eat processed cheese.... it is like eating glue that has been formed into slices and coloured orange. (I can't see how anyone could possibly want to eat that stuff... euuuu...)!

Feta is great on salads.... even if they're not Greek salads.... add a few raisins and awesome!

Try a little Ricotta on the next pizza you make.... oh yum!

And a good block of Cheddar... to die for!

Try this on for size.... Get a slice of homemade bread. Spread butter over it. Then lightly sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese (and not that gross Kraft stuff) and then sprinkle it liberally with Greek spices. (You can make that with: sundried tomatoes finely chopped, dried onion, dehydrated green onion, basil, dried garlic, dehydrated red pepper, dehydrated celery leaves chopped finely, soy or cottonseed oil and a little bit of sugar. Spread it over a shallow pan and lightly roast in your oven... cover and store in a cool dry place.) Then put your bread in the oven (the toaster oven works best) and bake until it the bread is toasted around the corners. Oh it is sooo good... and if you let it dry out and cut it into cubes you can make your own croutons..... which is waaayyy better than the store bought cubes of dung!

But my favorite, all time, eat-fairly-often cheese, (when I can afford it), is good Swiss cheese. Oh yum, there's nothing like a good slice of Swiss to perk you up.... I wish I could grow cheese because I'd have a garden full. Holey cheese is Holy cheese. Absolutely!

I pretty much would pass over anything for a block of really good cheese (and I certainly would give up my socks!) I think the only thing that surpasses my love of cheese would be my wheel and wool.... ok, well maybe my family too. : )

So there you have it.... anyone for a little Swiss?

God! I'll never lose weight this way!