what i eat and how i see food changes…
gorgonzola | parmesan | sharp cheddar
Cheese constantly tests my will. We’re so much better when we’re far, far apart.
I spent MLK weekend pet-sitting for P+K. I consumed cheese and beer. No, really. I didn’t feel like dropping dough at Whole Foods because in a pinch my tastes tend toward a $6 pkg of capellini. So, I played my version of Door Knock Dinners. (♥: Pls tell me you remember…)
It’s always interesting to see what someone else has in their pantry. Things I normally wouldn’t or just can’t buy. The cupboards seemed a bit bare this time around. The freezer, though, that’s where I found myself. Me and the Cheese.
I ended up eating Mac & Cheese from a box the first night and a risotto with black beans and turkey sausage, the next. Everything Cheese. Cheddar, Gorgonzola, Parm and more. Cheese.
I hoped that when I got home, I could shake it. I was sick. Coughing from my toes. Ridding myself of all types of things and still eating cheese.
Within days, I was at Trader Joes getting the Goat and shredded bits of Italy’s finest. Pizza. Four Cheese Ravioli with a tomato goat cheese sauce.
It’s funny that I’m fretting. I know how to stop. I worked it out a while ago. But, there are times that going without makes me feel all deprived and brings back memories. The ones growing up where we had Grape-Nuts and all that other not “fun” stuff.
How did I compensate for having another reason to feel different from everyone else? Oh, I ate what we had. All of it. Colby, Wisconsin, New York & Vermont Cheddars, Havarti, Kraft Singles and Boursin when I could sneak it in the grocery cart. Did I tell you about flying home from summer vacation one year with a 5lb block of Gov’t cheese? No? Yeah.
I’d eat warmed* cheese with a side of scrambled egg. I’d nibble straight from the package or in chunks on stoned wheat thins. Made grilled cheese sandwiches and cheesy grits with a splash of hot sauce. My favorite cheesy rice turned into black beans and rice with sharp cheddar. That morphed into my black bean and couscous dish. There’s more, but I’m scaring myself.
I know me. I know me and cheese. I can make it work when I only bring home and cook with a few of those “help, I won’t make it to my next meal” snack packages. Selection sucks, but I get the taste that I’m looking for without eating myself into another breakup. But, I think we’ve gone past that this time.
So, yeah. Cheese, sweetie. We need to talk.
N♥
* I figured out one of those afternoons after school that I don’t really like eggs and used a lot of cheese to try to hide it.