Friday, April 3, 2015

Life Lessons and Recipes - C is for Cheese

I love cheese, whether it is good for me or not. I would of course like to believe it is good for me because I often think I could live on good bread, cheese, and wine.  Of course that wouldn't make for a balanced diet and I do love my veggies!

I'm originally from California and they used to have a commercial for the lottery where this guy would stand at the end of an aisle filled with cheese in the grocery store and say, "I could buy all this cheese."

One day when my daughters were in high school and this commercial had just played, my youngest turned to me and said, "That's you mom!" and she was right because if I ever won the lottery I would so buy all that cheese!

I have stopped buying the regular brands of cheese in the store. I now worry about GMO that they are feeding to the cows, their ill treatment, and what they actually do to the cheese (it tastes like plastic to me). I now buy specialty cheeses from Whole Foods or BJ's that are either organic or from countries that don't allow GMO's in their country.

You would be amazed at the difference in the flavors, so rich and creamy.

Lessons learned: If I am going to eat something that I enjoy that much, I'm willing to pay a little more for it and get the good stuff because I deserve it.

Comfort Food:

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Sauteed Mushrooms 

This isn't the grilled cheese sandwich you grew up with, or at least I doubt it is.
  • Begin warming your cast iron skillet on medium to medium low and pour in about a 1/4 cup of white wine or so (covering the bottom of the skillet). 
  • Slice two or three Criminis (baby portobellos) medium thin (about 1/8 inch thickness or so) and throw those into the skillet. 
  • Add a couple of slices of butter to the skillet and a teaspoon or so of Tarragon and either sprinkle in a little granulated garlic or you can slice up a clove of garlic and toss in. (you can choose to add sliced onion or onion powder)
  • Cook until the wine has evaporated and mushrooms have shrunken a bit and darkened. Set aside on a plate or bowl and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel or clean dishrag and then lightly wipe grape seed oil or olive oil over the pan with a paper towel.. 
  • Start out with good, GOOD, French bread (or homemade bread) slice two pieces medium thin (about a half inch or so thick). Butter one side of one piece and place butter side down into skillet on medium low heat.
  • Slice Havarti cheese about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (enough pieces to cover bread) and place on the bread in the pan.
  • Scoop out the mushrooms onto the top of the cheese. 
  • Butter one side of the second piece of bread and place butter side up onto the mushrooms. 
  • Put a lid on for two to three minutes and then flip sandwich over carefully. Lightly brown on the other side (two to three minutes) . Enjoy with a tall glass of raspberry iced tea! Or drink of your choice.

I often have a bowl of tomato soup with my grilled cheese, it makes a nice pairing.

Sorry, I don't have photos for this one.


Check out the other bloggers participating in the Blogging A to Z Challenge.




PageLines- picture20193.jpgMorgan Dragonwillow is a writing rebel, foodie, urban gardener, recovering perfectionist, poet & author that (mostly) doesn't let her fears get in the way of her passion for writing and creating. She is team leader at @StoryDam, creatrix of  #OctPoWriMo You can find her writing and dancing into a wild and juicy life at Playing with Words. She lives in Marietta, Ga. with her loving and patient partner, their dog that thinks she's a princess, and the cat that reminds her that she isn't.
You can also find her on Google+

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18 comments:

  1. Grilled cheese and tomato soup are a pair made in heaven. <3

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    Replies
    1. Yep, that's pretty much my sentiments exactly! =D Thanks Patricia!

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  2. I also like to eat grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup! Yum :)
    http://www.amaryllisturman.com

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    Replies
    1. It is a great combination! Thanks for stopping by Amaryllis!

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  3. I am fortunate to live in dairy country in upstate New York. We have a couple of sellers of organic cheese in our local farmers market. I also picked up some good cheese recently at a farmers market in Columbia, South Carolina. I still think of living on bread and cheese like Heidi's grandfather did on his mountaintop in the Alps.

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    1. Hi Alana, That is wonderful that you have such great options in your area! I often feel like if I have bread and cheese I'm good. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  4. I don't eat cheese one bit here, so you can have mine. haha But I avoid that gmo crap like the plague, because it is.

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    1. Hi Pat, I can't even imagine not eating cheese but I will gladly take yours! LOL! Glad to hear you avoid GMOs! These days it is getting harder and harder to do. Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. I posted about cheese today, too! I have a kit to try and make my own, but it's been a little tough. I'm going to keep trying because - how cool would it be to make cheese?! I love it so much, I want to be able to flavor my own.

    - Allison
    www.allisonwrites.com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Allison, I have thought about trying to make cheese as well, because as you say it would be cool! I hope you'll let me know how it works out for you when you make your cheese! Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. I live near Amish country...excellent place for natural cheese at reasonable prices. They have a sample line that takes you a half an hour to get through...then you don't need lunch!

    http://www.robynlarue.com/a-simple-life-a-to-z-c/

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    Replies
    1. Hi Elizabeth, Wow, what a sample line it sounds awesome! I used to love the old cheese shops they used to have in the malls because they always had samples on their counters of the most delicious cheeses! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. My "B" blog post for this challenge was about the chemicals in our food. So scary to think our food might be dangerous and our government is one of the few to allow it.

    I've always loved cheese, but only just started to experiment with different kinds. I buy the "under $5" pieces at the cheese section of the market. I'll have to try a grilled cheese with harvarti next ;)

    You can find me here:
    ClarabelleRant

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Clarabelle, I'll be going to check out your "B" post, I feel very strongly about what they are doing to the food in the U.S. and how toxic it is getting. That's why I've gone a little overboard (over 100) growing seedlings for the garden this year so that my family and I will have plenty of fresh and organic produce this summer and fall and I'm even going to start canning (if there is enough) to eat through the winter.

      I love those little nuggets of goodness at the market! Glad to here you are trying new cheeses and I'm sure you will love the harvarti grilled cheese!

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  8. :) Yummy. I'm going to try this. Thank you Morgan.

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  9. Oh, gosh! I'm a cheese-a-holic, too. When I lived in Belgium, I became friends with the local cheese seller. He taught me a lot, and when it was time for me to move back to the USA, we both broke into tears.

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