Tuesday, November 13, 2007

God bless charley horses.


brillo de treviso, ricotta salata, Beecher's honey hazelnut crackers, pear and hazelnut pate

It would seem I'm a bit low on calcium. My calves are finely-tuned calcium-measuring machines, yes they are. But why am I telling you this? Well, in the delicious pursuit of pain management, I tried a new cheese and a new fruit accompaniment tonight. I highly recommend both, but it's the cheese I really want to tell you about. Now, I've had a handful of wine-cured/soaked cheeses, and I'm a huge fan of Drunken Goat, but I've never had a wine-soaked cheese actually smell and taste rather winey. Brillo de Treviso (Italy, cow's milk, on the soft side) is incredible! It smells like a very yeasty red wine (or like wine and freshly baked bread, the yeast smell is that strong). And the flavour? Smooth, yeasty, and fruity. It's like wine-and-cheese all in one bite. Holy cow, go track some down and charley-horse, begone!

In other news, I have been racking up foodie and sewing things to share with you! I'm going to spread it out over several days. I hope you won't mind, but it makes me feel better when I can post a little more regularly, and I'm so busy, it helps to rack up images to post. Anyhow, the sewing projects are partly selfless and partly selfISH sewing, which I can show you more of.

But for tonight, let's talk food. Here's a yummy salad I played around with the other day. The good news is, all of these ingredients are available at Trader Joe's!

---

Persimmon and Avocado Salad

1 fuyu persimmon
1/2 avocado
red and green oak lettuce (I used two small heads for a large salad)
raw pecan pieces
honey or agave nectar
1 Tbl olive oil (approx)
1/2 Tbl Champagne vinegar (trader joe's orange muscat champagne vinegar)
1/2 Tbl orange juice
salt and pepper

Cut persimmon in half. Drizzle lightly with honey (or agave nectar) and broil for about 10 minutes until slightly softened. Cut into chunks.

Meanwhile, make dressing: mix olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, and salt and pepper to taste together in a glass or jar with a fork. Adjust oil/vinegar balance to taste.

Slice the flesh of half an avocado into thin slices/chunks

Coarsely chop lettuce.

Toss lettuce, avocado, and persimmon chunks in a bowl. Pour 1 Tbl dressing over and toss by hand. If necessary, add more dressing to taste. Sprinkle about 1 oz of pecan pieces over the top and enjoy!

3 comments:

SantaBarbarian said...

I'm doing a "blogger challenge" to local SB bloggers..... (and...well...beyond)

I hope you don't mind if I "challenge" you for a little Food Bank donation this Holiday Season!

http://cookiesinheaven.blogspot.com/2007/11/holiday-challenge.html

j_hougen said...

Hi Sarah, I just started looking at your blog, as I was curious who was leaving comments on Lauren's blog... i've looked at some of your crafty entries, and just wanted to say that you are really really talented. Your paintings are exquisite, and I want to know where you learned to embroider- are there good books out there to learn the different stitches? I have been knitting, and weaving (on a floor loom and a triangular loom) for a couple years now, and really want to learn to sew and embroider, if only I had more time... And I know how you feel, missing the Pacific Northwest. The other places I've lived definitely have charm, but nothing beats Oregon.... Jessica

PiDDuE said...

Just a precisation from one that with birth and live in Treviso. The real "brillo" cheese do not exist with this "italian" denomination, the real one is named "imbriĆ go", that mean "drunked" on Treviso language (that is not a dialect but a real language). For a future warranty of original local Treviso product, look the big piece of cheese if there're write "imbriĆ go", in this case the cheese is not only an original one, but one of best selections.
Bye.