Nosey Goat Camelot

Nosey Goat Camelot is an award winning goat milk cheese from Ontario's Niagara Peninsula.

Nosey Goat Camelot is a semi-firm cheese, with a washed rind made from pasteurised goat milk. It has a golden colour washed rind and a firm wheat colour paste with eyes dotted throughout. It has a strong earthy aroma as a result of being aged for two months in a cellar. The paste's texture becomes quite creamy on the palate with a delicious lingering goat milk flavour.

Nosey Goat Camelot is produced by Upper Canada Cheese Company a small artisanal creamery located in Jordan Station in the heart of the Niagara wine region of Southern Ontario. Lauren Petryna is the skilled cheesemaker behind Upper Canada Cheese Company celebrity cheeses including Niagara Gold, Guernsy Girl, Comfort Cream, Nosey Goat Camelot and Nanny Noire.

Upper Canada’s Nosey Goat cheeses are made with the milk from a rare herd of Lamancha Goats pastured at Gord and Melanie Wood’s Idllywood Farm in Keene, Ontario in Peterborough County. Lamancha goats are perhaps the most distinctive goat breed. They are easily recognizable by their very short ears. They are also known for their high milk production, and the high butterfat content in their milk.

http://www.uppercanadacheesecompany.com

Photo source: http://wecanhearyafarms.webs.com/

Chèvre d'Or

Chèvre d'Or is a soft pasteurised goat-milk cheese shaped into a small 150 g (5.3 oz) disk. It has an almond coloured natural rind with spots of white mold.

Chèvre d'Or is a living cheese. It is not wrapped and can ripen slowly, gaining in character. The texture also develops from creamy soft to flaky as the cheese ages. Naturally the flavours also develop from smooth to powerful. After three weeks it becomes dry and crumbly.

This chèvre is best served at the end of a meal. It pairs well with a white Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc when the cheese is young or a more robust red wine when the cheese is more mature.

Chèvre d'Or is produced by Sèvre et Belle, a small cooperative that was founded back in 1893, in the village of Celles-sur-Belle in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.

At Sèvre et Belle, the principles of artisanal production are kept alive. In the manufacture of dairy products, the cheese makers use the ladle 'molding' technique: where the curds are collected using a ladle and placed in straining molds. The molds are then turned over three times by hand and then curds are removed from the molds.  The salting, maturing and packaging processes are carried out with the same meticulous precision.

http://www.coop-sevrebelle.fr

Le Pizy

Le Pizy is a soft ripened pasteurised cow-milk cheese from the Lanaudière region of Quebec.

Le Pizy has a soft, mild, salty butter flavoured paste and an ivory coloured bloomy rind that emits hints of whey with a slight mushroom aroma. Le Pizy is a small circular 200 g. (7 oz.) flattened cheese wheel.

Le Pizy is produced by Fromagerie La Suisse-Normande located in St-Roch de l'Achigan, Québec. La Suisse-Normande operate a lovely goat farm and this gives them greater control over the quality of the raw cheese.  The fresh cow milk used for Le Pizy is supplied by their neighbors’ herd. La Suisse Normande are familiar with food, health and care given to the animals and the neighboring cow farm has the same values and the way it conducts its farm.

La Suisse-Normande produce several artisanal type cheeses among them Le Sabot De Blanchette and Le Barbu two of my favourite Quebec chèvres.

http://lasuissenormande.com/

Cake aux Tomates, Basilic et Le Pizy

Here is an easy delicious recipe for a tomato, basil and Le Pizy cheese loaf. It is called "Cake" inspired by the recipes "Les Cakes de Sophie" by Sophie Dudemaine. I think these cakes are great in the summer time served with salads and they are ideal to take along for a picnic.

Cake aux Tomates, Basilic et Le Pizy

Recipe Ingredients

3 eggs

150 g (5.3 oz) of sifted flour

1 small 8 g yeast envelope

80 ml (1/3 cup) of olive oil

125 ml (1/2 cup) of milk

100 g (3.5 oz) of grated gruyere cheese

200 g (7 oz) of Le Pizy cheese

2 red tomatoes

1 tbsp of olive oil

8 leaves of basil

2 pinches of salt

2 pinches of pepper

Directions

- Preheat oven at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).

- Pass the tomatoes under boiling water for a few seconds.

- Peel, seed and dice the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes with 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes. Let dry out and cool down.

- In the meantime, cut "Le Pizy" into small pieces; mix them into the tomatoes along with the chopped basil.

- In a large bowl, whip the eggs, flour and yeast. Slowly incorporate the olive oil and the pre-heated milk. Add the gruyere cheese and mix well. Incorporate the tomatoes and Le Pizy mixture and stir until well blended.

- Pour the batter mixture into a non-greased loaf pan and place in the oven for 45 minutes (or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan).

Serves 5 – 6
 

Romance & Cigarettes

Romance & Cigarettes is a 2005 offbeat romantic comedy musical written and directed by John Turturro.

The film has quite a stellar cast; James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise, Deadman Walking), Kate Winslet (Titanic, The Reader, Mildred Pierce), Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Pulp Fiction), Steve Buscemi (Fargo), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), Aida Turturro (The Sopranos) and singer Mandy Moore.

Romance & Cigarettes is not your usual drama about a troubled marriage. It attempts something original by melding light opera with soap opera into a modern day musical. It is a dark and passionate comedy about one man's journey into infidelity and redemption. The hero, Nick Murder (Gandolfini) is a Queens, NY iron worker who has been married for years to Kitty (Sarandon), who works as a seamstress and is the mother of Nick's three daughters (played by Moore, Parker and Turturro). While Nick loves his wife, he is seduced by the sexy red haired lingerie salesgirl Tula (Winslet). When his wife finds out about the affair, she becomes enraged and kicks him out, forcing him to decide what he really wants from life and what's most important to him. During the movie, the characters periodically turn to their favorite songs to explain their emotions, lip-synching along with the original recordings.

There is a scene during the film with a slicked back Christopher Walken performing Tom Jones' "Delilah". It's quite fun! Walken had a notable music video performance in 2001 with Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice".

Some of the other songs featured on Romance & Cigarettes' soundtrack include; Engelbert Humperdinck - "A Man Without Love", Dusty Springfield - "Piece of My Heart", Bruce Springsteen - "Red-Headed Woman", Cyndi Lauper - "Prisoner of Love", Elvis Presley - "Trouble", Buena Vista Social Club - "El cuarto de Tula", James Brown - "It's a Man's Man's Man's World", Vikki Carr - "It Must Be Him" and original performances by Mandy Moore with Aida Turturro and Mary-Louise Parker of "I Want Candy"  and also James Gandolfini and Susan Sarandon singing "The Girl That I Marry".

Romance & Cigarettes is quite the work of art; it breaks out of the Hollywood movie mold with originality that is bold, cheeky and liberating.

Sarah Vaughan - Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix)

 



American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan recorded "Whatever Lola Wants” back in the 50’s. What makes this version so special is that it has been remixed by Gotan Project who distinctly gives it their unique signature sound with sultry tango beats and the incorporation of the rustic romantic accordions.

Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris, France consisting of musicians Philippe Cohen Solal of France, Eduardo Makaroff of Argentina and Christoph H. Müller of Switzerland.  This Gotan Project Remix of Sarah Vaughan's "Whatever Lola Wants" appears on the Verve Remixed 2 compilation released in 2003 on Verve Records.

 

"Whatever Lola Wants" is a popular song that was written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross for the 1955 Broadway musical Damn Yankees. The song is performed by ‘Lola’, who plays the role of the Devil's assistant, a role performed by Gwen Verdon who also stars in the role for the musical film "Damn Yankees" that was released in 1958.

"Whatever Lola Wants, Lola gets" has been recorded by many artists through the years among them; Petula Clark, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, Mel Tormé and Sarah Vaughan.

"Whatever Lola Wants" is also the title of a light romantic comedy film, released in 2007. The movie directed by French Moroccan Nabil Ayouch and stars Laura Ramsey who plays the title role of 'Lola'. The movie is about a young woman who dreams of being a dancer but has to work as a New York City postal worker to make ends meet. Lola decides to travels to Cairo to find and reconcile with her recent boyfriend but ends up pursuing a passion for belly dancing and finds 'Ismahan' a legendary Egyptian dancer played by Carmen Lebbos to be her instructor.

Le Barbu

Last week, I had the opportunity to go to the Lanaudière region of Quèbec with my sister Pauline and our maman. Our first stop on our journey to discover Lanaudière, was in St. Roch de L'Achigan to visit the Fromagerie La Suisse-Normande. This artisanal cheese producer is the maker of one of my favourite Quebec goat-milk cheese Le Sabot De Blanchette.

The farm and cheese production is owned and operated by husband and wife team Frédéric & Fabienne Guitel. Fabienne is a Swiss native and her spouse is from Normandie, hence the name "Fromagerie La Suisse Normande". The cheese production is done on the premises directly across the street from their goat farm. Visitors can view the artisans making the cheese from the glass windows inside the cheese shop.  It was a wonderful visit, where we were welcomed by a lovely friendly lady who introduced us to several Fromagerie La Suisse Normande cheeses.

Le Barbu is a delicious artisanal pasteurised goat-milk cheese with a soft paste and a white bloomy rind. Le Barbu has a fresh mushroom aroma with a lingering floral and woodsy flavour. The texture is slightly chalky but creamy on the tongue with a fairly pronounced nutty goat-milk taste. This chèvre comes in a small 90 g. conical form.

Le Barbu pairs well with a Sauvignon Blanc or California Chardonnay.   

                                                 

http://www.lasuissenormande.com

Clematis 'Jackmanii'

Clematis 'Jackmanii' is a hardy perennial climbing vine with large purple blooms. The jackmanii species is a hybrid clematis which was derived from crosses between Clematis lanuginosa, Clematis viticella and Clematis hendersonii introduced in 1862 by nurseryman George Jackman from Surrey, England.
 

The Clematis Jackmanii will grow to a height of 2 to 3 meters (7' to 10') and a spread of 1 to 2 meters (3' to 6'). Its showy blue-purple flowers will bloom from late June through July.  Clematis generally prefers full sun, but the Jackmanii will tolerate part shade. It is a fairly easy maintenance plant as long as you make sure the roots of the plant are kept cool. Always shade the base of the clematis by planting a low annual or perennial and protect its base with mulch. The yearly blooms on the clematis occur on the plant's new growth, therefore prune back the plant in early spring to 1' to 2' from the ground to guaranty an abundance of showy purple blooms.

Rogue River Blue

A year ago this week, at the 2011 American Cheese Society Convention, I had the opportunity to taste Rogue River Blue cheese from Oregon for the first time. I quickly became a big fan!

Rogue River Blue is an award winning blue cheese, which is wrapped with chestnut leaves that have marinated in pear brandy. This raw cow's milk, natural rind, blue cheese is aged between eight and twelve months and has a moist creamy texture with crunchy granular bits. The flavours are quite complex with notes of burnt cream, coffee, ripened berries and a lingering sweet note of pear brandy. Heavenly!

Rogue River Blue pairs well with a German Gewürztraminer, a Cabernet Franc, a desert wine or even a pear brandy.

Rogue Creamery is one of the USA's oldest dairies, in operation since 1935, located in the beautiful Rogue Valley of southern Oregon. Rogue Creamery has been known for a while now for producing repeat award winning blues and cheddars and the unique Rogue River Blue.

Rogue River Blue Awards;

World’s Best Blue Cheese – 2003 World Cheese Awards, London, England

Best in Show - 2009 American Cheese Society in Austin, Texas.

Best in Show - 2011 American Cheese Society, Montreal, Canada

http://www.roguecreamery.com

Meet the owners and cheesemakers of Rogue Creamery.

Episode #2 Rogue Creamery from Everyday Wonder Productions on Vimeo.

Tommette Baies Roses

Tommette Baies Roses is a fresh raw goat-milk cheese seasoned with a pinch of "Herbes de Provence" and sprinkled with pink peppercorns.  The peppery flavour reduces the acidity of the fresh goat milk cheese and leaves you with a delightful fresh and fruity aftertaste.

Tommette Baies Roses is a wonderful chèvre that can be served after a meal or in a salad or it would certainly add character to any cheese platter.

The Tommette aux Baies Roses cheese comes in a small 100g round shaped wooden box. It is produced by Fromageries de l'Étoile located in Haute-Provence, France.

http://www.fromageries-etoile.com/

Amy Winehouse - Wake Up Alone (Live)

A year ago this week, we unfortunately lost one of the most powerful female singers of our time. On 23rd of July 2011 soul-jazz singer Amy Winehouse passed away at only 27 years old. Her unique deep contralto vocals and her eclectic style will forever be remembered.


This performance of "Wake Up Alone" is an excerpt of her "I Told You I Was Trouble" DVD recorded live at London's Shepherds Bush Empire in London, England in 2007. There is an intimate moment during her performance where she lips "I love you" to her then husband up in the balcony.

Check out these other memorable Amy Winehouse tracks performed live; Back To Black, You Know I’m No Good, and Valerie.

Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones Live At The Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago 1981

In the middle of the Rolling Stones American Tour 1981, the Rolling Stones arrived in Chicago on November 22nd before having to play 3 nights in Rosemont Illinois. The band paid a visit at the Checkerboard Lounge to see the legendary bluesman Muddy Waters perform.

It didn’t t take long before Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Ian Stewart were joining in on stage and shortly later Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and Lefty Dizz also played their part. It was a unique occasion that was fortunately captured on camera. This amazing blues night has recently been released in an official DVD release, restored from the original footage and with sound mixed and mastered.

The Rolling Stones were highly influenced by the Chicago blues, the group's name actually comes from one of Muddy Waters songs.
 

Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones - Baby Please Don't Go



Also check out Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones perform Mannish Boy and  Champagne & Reefer recorded live on the same night at the Checkerboard Lounge.
 

Jac Le Chevrier

Jac Le Chevrier is a soft paste, natural rind pasteurised goat milk cheese.

This artisanal cheese is presented in the form of a small cylinder 6 cm (2 1/2") round and 4.5 cm (2") high and weighs approximately 135 grams (4.75 oz.). Jac Le Chevrier has a golden wheat coloured wrinkly rind with a white fine chalky paste.

Jac Le Chevrier has a mild to medium intensity with a delicate goat milk aroma and hazelnut flavour. Its texture is rather smooth and creamy if ripened one month.

Jac Le Chevrier is produced by cheese-maker and farmer Jacques Mailhot on his eco-cert organic farm located in Saint Flavien in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Québec.

http://www.routedesfromages.com/repertoire/detail/413

Louie

Stand-up comedian Louis C.K. has written directed and created this television series entitled Louie. The show is a fictionalized version of Louis CK, a recent divorced stand-up comic, struggling to raise his two young daughters in New York City.

 

 

This comedy series consists of different stories and segments about Louie's life as well as fragments of his live stand-up performances.

Louis CK lets you see life as something ridiculous, vulgar, honest, funny and beautiful.

I highly recommend this hilarious comedy series. "Louie" Season 1 & 2 are out on DVD. Season 3 is currently airing on FX Network.

http://www.fxnetworks.com/louie/

Monte Enebro

Monte Enebro is an award winning soft paste full flavoured pasteurised goat milk cheese from Spain.

The striking blue-gray coloured mold rind made from penicillium roqueforti covers the 2 1/2 lbs. elongated tubular shaped log. The snow white paste is dense and chalky when the cheese is young with a mild tangy flavour. As Monte Enebro ages the paste becomes creamy and runny and the flavours and aromas strengthen and become more pungent.

Monte Enebro is very tasty on its own but it is a delight with a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil or served with fresh figs when young. A more mature Monte Enebro is great served with olives.

Monte Enebro is produced by Queserías del Tiétar. This artisanal cheese dairy is located in Ávila, Spain in the La Adrada area in the Tiétar valley. The Tiétar Dairy is run by father and daughter team, Rafael and Paloma Báez Bravo-Murillo.

http://www.queseriasdeltietar.com/indexeng.htm

'Alaska' Shasta Daisy

(Leucanthemum x superbum 'Alaska')

 

‘Alaska’ Shasta Daisies are attractive large single snow white blooms with soft yellow centers that bloom in June through July. It is a hardy perennial that will thrive just about anywhere and will grow to a height of 60-90 cm (2'-3'). It grows best in full sunlight, but will tolerate any light, or soil condition. The stems are long and stiff which makes beautiful cut flowers and the blooms are long lasting.

This eye-catching Shasta daisy is a popular favourite garden plant as it mixes magnificently in any perennial garden. The plant is attractive to bees and birds and serves as a good butterfly nectar source. 
 

Waldorf Salad à la Bleu d'Elizabeth

A  Waldorf salad is usually made of fresh apples, celery and walnuts dressed with mayonnaise. The salad was created in the 1890’s by Chef Oscar Tschirky for the Waldorf Hotel in New York City. Today many variations of the salad can be found. 

Waldorf Salad à la Bleu d'Elizabeth 

Recipe Ingredients

2 diced sweet red apples

2 stalks of sliced celery

1 cup red seedless grapes, halved

1/2 cup walnut pieces, broken

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

freshly ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne

1/2 cup crumbled Bleu d'Elizabeth

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the apples, celery, grapes, and walnuts. Add the mayonnaise and toss well. Add pepper and cayenne to taste and crumble the blue cheese over salad.

Serves 4

Le Bleu d'Elizabeth

The perfect cheese to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee; Le Bleu d'Elizabeth

Le Bleu d'Elizabeth is an award winning blue cheese made by La Fromagerie du Presbytère. The cheese is made with thermized organic cow milk, it has a thin amber natural rind with lovely blue and greenish coloured veins running through the pale yellow paste that is semi-firm.

Bleu d'Elizabeth has a soft rich creamy texture with a well-balanced salty taste leaving a slight caramel flavour on the tongue. Bleu d'Elizabeth is not an overbearing blue cheese it can be served and enjoyed alone, as an attractive and well appreciated addition to any cheese platter or added to your pasta dishes or salads. Here's a tasty recipe for a Waldorf salad using Le Bleu Elizabeth.

Le Bleu d'Elizabeth is the second gold medal winning cheese to come from Fromagerie du Presbytère run by brothers Jean and Dominique Morin who are fourth generation farmers. The family farm named Louis D'Or (also the name of their other gold winner cheese) is located in Ste. Elizabeth de Warwick in central Quebec near Drummondville. The organic milk used to produce their award winning cheese come from the farm's mixed herd of Holstein, Jersey and a few Canadienne cattle.

http://www.fromageriedupresbytere.com/

Mozzarella di Bufala

Mozzarella di Bufala  is a fresh, stringy textured cheese made exclusively from whole water-buffalo milk from Campania in Central-South Italy. The cheese has a porcelain-white colour and a very thin rind.

Mozzarella di Bufala  has a delicate taste, with a creamy soft texture. I find it is best with a drizzle of olive oil and combined with tomatoes and basil. It can also be added to any vegetable dish, pasta or pizza to add a nice rich and delicious consistency.

Mozzarella di Bufala is very nutritional. Buffalo milk is rich in calcium, high in protein and has a high vitamin content.

Mozzarella di Bufala received the DOC (Denominazione di origine controllata) status in 1993.
 

Heatwave 1980

This past Saturday the staff from La Fromagerie Atwater  and other vendors of Montreal’s Atwater Market conglomerated to enjoy a cold ale after a busy day of work. The atmosphere was quite pleasant with the funky rhythmic beats of Talking Heads being played at the Satay Brothers stand as they were closing down. David Byrne singing "Take me to the river" got some of us talking and reminiscing about bands that we saw live.

 

Yes, I did see Talking Heads live and it was quite a memorable experience.

I remember my partner Chris and I, driving down the 401 in his 1964 Chevy pick-up truck to attend one of the biggest outdoor New Wave music concerts of the summer - Heatwave Festival held at Mosport Park on August 23, 1980. Heatwave live performances included Teenage Head, The Pretenders, The B-52's, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello and the Attractions among others. Although The Clash who was also booked to play at the festival cancelled at the last minute, the line-up for the day did not disappoint. Though Heatwave was over 30 years ago, there are numerous songs and moments that will forever remain with me.

What is one of your favourite or memorable live performances?

 

I Love Cheese Graffiti

"Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

The earliest forms of graffiti date back to 30,000 BC in the form of prehistoric cave paintings and pictographs using tools such as Animal bones and pigments."

From Wikipedia 

 

Over the past several years quite a few graffiti drawings and tags by a 'cheese lover' artist, someone after my own heart, have popped-up here and there around Montreal.
 

I find these drawings so charming that I am actually using one of my favourites "I love cheese" graffiti as my own avatar.
 

Here are examples of some of 'I love cheese' graffiti found in Le Plateau, Old Montreal and downtown Montreal.

 

 

Un Chèvre À Ma Manière

A delightful new cheese has arrived at La Fromagerie Atwater that I'm quite excited about. It is a new Québec artisanal pasteurised goat milk cheese called Chèvre À Ma Manière.

My first impression is that it looks so similar to a Saint-Félicien. Chèvre À Ma Manière weighs around 200 grams (7 ounces), measuring 9 cm (3 1/2"), round shaped, it has a pale golden natural mold rind and a very creamy runny white pâte. It is a fairly young cheese with an affinage of a couple of weeks. It has a nice balanced sweetness, sourness and acidity with a pleasant caprine lingering flavour. 

When trying to describe how I feel about this cheese the lyrics of the 1991 song “What Is Love?” by the group Deee-Lite comes to mind; “ How do you say delicious? How do you say delovely? How do you say delectable? How do you say divine?”

Chèvre À Ma Manière is fabricated by Simon Hamel of L’Atelier Fromagerie in Ste-Hélène-de-Chester in the Centre-du-Québec region.

Chèvre À Ma Manière pairs well with a Chenin Blanc. 

Check out: Radio Canada's  Bien dans son Assiette' video and article: "Le gagnant du Caseus de bronze".

Les Métayères

Les Métayères is a semi-firm cheese, with a non-cooked pressed paste and washed rind. It is made from non-pasteurised cow milk. The cheese is aged approximately 90 days.

The milk of Les Métayères cheese is thermised but non-pasteurised. Thermised milk is raw milk that has been heated for at least 15 seconds at a temperature between 57 and 68 degrees C. This method helps to preserve the flavours in the milk and at the same time reduces the number of micro-organisms.

Les Métayères is a mild cheese with a smooth rich and creamy pâte with a subtle fruity flavour and nutty aroma. It pairs nicely with a dry white Italian Soave wine.

Les Métayères is produced by La Fromagerie Du Champ à la Meule located in Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes in the Lanaudière region of Quebec.  La Fromagerie is operated by Martin Guilbault and his family, they also manufacture the popular Victor et Berthold, Fêtard and Laracam cheeses.

Les Métayères cheese was created to help finance the Maison Saint-Gabriel a 17th century school and farm-house run by the Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame. The congregation founded by Ste. Marguerite Bourgeoys is located in Montreal's south-west district of Pointe Saint-Charles. The cheese is named in honour of les Métayères, the name given to the nuns who worked the farm. 

All the cheeses at Fromagerie Du Champ à la Meule come from the milk of Ayrshire cows.

http://www.fromagesdici.com/repertoire/fromageries/fromagerie-du-champ-a-la-meule

Read on my visit at the Fromagerie Du Champ à la Meule