Cheese Tasting: results

Zane and I had a little cheese tasting yesterday for lunch.

Our cheese board included white Irish cheddar, brie, gouda, maytag blue, and havarti... and some crackers and seeded flatbread.

The verdict:

White cheddar- Zane and I both liked this one. Zane thought it tasted a little like parmesan.

Brie- Zane did not like it. I ate it. Brie is not my favorite. In fact it might be my least favorite cheese.

Gouda- Yummy. This was a two thumbs up from both of us.

Maytag Blue- Zane thought it was a little too sharp and strong for him, but he tried it. I love blue cheese. Good thing Zane didn't eat much of it... now I have lots left over to make something with.

Havarti- Zane loves this cheese. He said it was really creamy and mild. I also like this cheese, but it is not my absolute favorite. I would eat the gouda over the havarti.

Cupcakes and Veggie Stock

Round two on the cupcakes went much better thanks to a recipe suggestion from Megan. These were pretty good, but I think I might tweak them a little bit next time and just use hot water in stead of hot coffee.

The veggie scraps that were filling a tupperware in my freezer are now on the stove simmering away and turning into veggie stock. Mmm.

Columbia Drop Cakes

This is one of my favorite recipes from the 1943 edition Joy of Cooking.

Sift ¾ cups of brown sugar.

Beat until soft ½ cup butter.

Add the sugar gradually to the butter and beat until they are light and fluffy.

Beat in one at a time: 2 eggs

Sift before measuring 1 ½ cups flour

Resift with ½t soda, 1t cinnamon, ½t cloves, ¼t allspice, ⅛ t salt.

Add the sifted ingredients in 3 parts to the butter mixture alternatively with ¼ cup water.

Beat the batter until it is smooth after each addition.

Stir in 1 cup broken nuts and 1 cup raisins, dates, or figs.

Drop batter from a teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes in a 375F preheated oven.