Update on The Big Wax Wheel of Cheese!
Remember that huge wheel of cheese imported from England I bought that cost so much but had never seen plastic (well at least it hadn't been individually wrapped in plastic, it is encased in lovely green wax!) I was very worried about it. I thought it would go uneaten and spoil and be a big waste and another bit of evidence that I am truly wacky!
But, dear reader, it has proved to be my most successful cheese impulse buy ever! I have made with it so far:
1) potato cheese soup
2) mac and cheese
3) cheese and crackers
4) sprinkled bowls of chili with cheese
5) grilled cheese sandwiches
6) spinach and cheddar cheese souffle.
We are not quite half way through it.
The cheese is supremely delicious; it has a really creamy mild white cheddar taste. It hasn't spoiled in the least. When I cut off a chunk, I push the wax, all of which I've kept, back around the cheese, then I wrap it back up in parchment paper secured with two rubber bands and then back into the fridge it goes. I don't let it just sit out on the counter for any amount of time at all.
I am looking around for more cheddar cheese recipes.
Update On Tea!
I found a tin of Twinings English Breakfast tea at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I still have not found a single user tea infuser (hey, that rhymes!). But I did get out my old tea pot (I remember I got it years ago when I was going to do teatime with my kids a la Charlotte Mason. I think that lasted a year.) I have yet to make a pot of tea though. I think I'll drink through my collection of tea in bags first.
Here's an article that echoes my experience (albeit in a very limited way; I am just starting out on this journey). I do find myself thinking differently about food and how to cook for my family.
I just made broccoli cheese soup (recipe here). It was delicious, so long as you don't mind feeling your arteries clogging as you eat, and it uses 4 cups of shredded cheese.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there are a zillion tea infusers on Amazon. Is Amazon too plastic?
We eat so much dairy around here, I've decided to go with the theory that the doctors were all wrong about cholesterol a la Weston Price. It helps me sleep easier! The thing with Amazon is the plastic pillows and bubble wrap, plus the tea infusers are all wrapped in plastic as well. Thanks for the recipe!
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ReplyDeleteNow I am so curious about what Kavindra said and then unsaid!!!!
Deletelol - I tried to change my comment but it got mixed up - the gist is, I am going to check at Ayers in Westover the next time I get my books from library (tomorrow I think) and I bet they have a tea infuser not wrapped in plastic - if they do I will grab one and mail it in cardboard with newspaper.
DeleteI wondered about tins of loose leaf tea. Hope you manage to find a plastic-free tea infuser soon. I was interested in your comments about recycling. I had just assumed that anything we send off for recycling would get recycled! I did a bit of research and this seemed to be a fair summary of the position in the UK: http://www.bpf.co.uk/sustainability/plastics_recycling.aspx. I discovered that a lot of waste from the UK is also exported to China and other parts of Asia, apparently because the growth of facilities to use the waste here has now kept pace with the increase in amounts sent for recycling. The waste does have to be pre-sorted and cleaned though - a local recycling company was fined a few years ago for sending unsorted waste to China and Germany. There was some debate about this export trade in recycled goods, arguing that it deprives the UK of useful "raw" materials vs. seeing it as a useful way of increasing exports. Thanks for encouraging me to be better informed :).
ReplyDeleteI've done a tiny bit of research, but the powerhouse woman who is starting up our Care for Our Common Home Catholic ministry (CCH) did a lot more on this subject. It is very confusing as to exactly what plastic is getting downcycled (it isn't recycling!) and what isn't and what kind of problems it is creating in terms of shipping our refuse all over the planet. We have a private trash company here but apparently there is another company that is slightly better about all recycling, so I am lobbying dh to change companies. Thanks for the post, Kathryn!
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