Moo-Wooed

I've been obsessed with cheese lately.

This all started after Taylor introduced to me wild mushroom empanadas (with Manchego and truffle oil) at Cascal. Prior to that day i didn't even know what tapas were.

The puff pastry was fine, but it was the filling that got me hooked. The combo was simply a mouthful of perfection!

I am talking the thought invades my mind at times. And unapologetically occupies. That is the definition of obsession, i do believe.

Of course, it is not about the food at all. It never is. I miss the company.

At any rate, on any given day, devoidness can hit me like a tidal wave.

According to Dictionary.com, "devoidness" is not a word. How appropriate.

Well, if you ask me, it should be! : )

A couple of weeks ago, i discovered dried wild mushrooms at Trader Joe's - a variety pack of porcini, boletus, oyster, shiitake, and black. Allegedly from Italy.

Now, i've always loved the fungi. But after a week of rumination i was ready to take on the challenge of replicating the combo of mushrooms and melted cheese. Mmm mmm.

By the time i shopped, i had forgotten that Manchego, arguably Spain's most popular dairy export, is made of sheep's milk. (TJ's had one made of goat's milk. Drawn to it, i examined it. Now i wonder how it may differ...) I fumbled and went for Danish Havarti cuz the shade of cream looked lovely in fluorescent. And soft seemed less intimidating. [Insert Freudian interpretation here.]

I know practically nothing about cheese. Which is why i bought books on cheese on Amazon. They're on their way. That's right. Plural.

Have i mentioned devoidness that desperately needs to be filled? And never gets to be filled?...

Tonight i tried the Havarti. First encounter ever. Suffice to say: not what i'm used to. But i sliced some more, and i sliced some more...

And it was as if i never made a dent! The chunk didn't look so huge while sealed in the clear plastic. I learned during my recent research that cheese needs to breathe. But how? Since i didn't have my books yet, i went to trusty Dogpile, my favorite search engine. (How can you not be affectionately biased with a name like Dogpile??)

My search words were gonna be "how to save cheese".

As soon as i was done typing "how to", auto fill displayed a drop-down list of:

how to cook artichoke
how to deshell crab
how to eat crab

and, last but not least:

how to kill yourself

It caught me by surprise. But inside i was laughing. Come on, you've got to find the humor in that!