What a wonderful week of summer weather! I’m sleeping with the windows open and using a blanket again to keep the chill away. It makes me sleep more soundly and I feel truly refreshed when I get up in the morning. My mind is clearer when not filled with 80 percent humidity. I’m starting to really enjoy the vegetables appearing at the market. Snap peas and baby turnips are some of my favorites right now. It’s a luxury to be able to bike downtown and find fresh, locally grown items. As soon as they’re in my possession, I can’t resist the urge to eat some on the spot. I snap the pea and crunch into it and I find myself already reaching for the next one.
When summertime rolls around, I get great satisfaction out of simple meals centered around good bread and good cheese. Start with a great loaf of bread full of flavor and substance like a five-grain loaf or a flax seed sourdough or even a crusty French baguette. Then add a side of cheese. Along with a few fresh veggies and a glass of meadow tea, and later, some strawberries, it’s all I need to be keep my stomach satisfied.
I admit. As my father before me, I am a cheese lover. I need a little bit of cheese every day. I grew up on Emmental and Gruyere, both Swiss cheeses named after the actual areas in Switzerland where the cheeses are made. My ancestors came from this region and so I always think that maybe my genetic makeup was built on cheese! I remember when we had cheese for supper, we would always “even” the cheese chunk out, which meant slicing off a piece and eating it. My mother often served us soup for supper and along with it cheese and bread. I still have in my cupboard here at home small rectangular wooden boards that we use as plates when we have these kind of simple suppers.
The thing with cheese is that no matter what dish you make, cheese always makes it better. French onion soup, scalloped potatoes or pizza, they just would not be the same without cheese. I am a cheese snob. I can eat grocery store cheese but if I can have something more handmade with more flavor, I’ll choose that instead. I like it sharp, hard, buttery, soft or tangy. I like it blue, yellow, white or orange. I like it plain or with nuts, wine and dried fruits. I like it in chunks, crumbled, sliced, spread or grated. It doesn’t matter. Those of you who are cheese people know what I mean!
So these days, I’m truly enjoying the soft summer evenings, sitting on the front porch, with a large hunk of bread and several pieces of cheese, a glass of wine and some of those just-picked vegetables and fruits: an easy no-cook meal with all of the flavors of summer. And when fall and winter come around, I’ll be making cheese fondue and macaroni and cheese as comfort foods. Wherever I go, I pray I will never be far from a cheese shop. When I lived in Barcelona, Spain, one day I headed out to the Saturday market. As I walked through the streets, I suddenly saw a vision: coming towards me, a horse pulled a wooden cart filled to the brim with wheels of cheese. The driver was truly tall, dark and handsome. His skin was burnished by the sun and wind of the mountains he had come down from. His dark hair fell in wisps around his face and his mustache framed his white teeth smile. His beret sat proudly on his head as with one hand he held the reins and with the other he waved to me. I decided right then and there that if he would ask me to marry him, I wouldn’t think twice. I would jump up on the cart and become the cheesemaker’s wife. Back here in Goshen, a year later, I became the guitarmaker’s wife. And he likes cheese. That’s the good life (la bonne vie)!
Fondus au Fromage (Cheese Melts)
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. plus 1 T. flour
1 c. milk
7 1/2 oz. Swiss cheese, grated (preferably Gruyere)
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
salt and pepper to taste
bread crumbs
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour. Add the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and pulls away from the side of the pan. Remove from stove. Add grated cheese, salt, pepper and the egg yolks, stirring until well incorporated. Pour into a greased rectangular glass pan. Let cool and refrigerate for several hours. Cut into 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch pieces. Coat with flour, then dip in egg white, then in bread crumbs. Let sit in refrigerator for several hours until they are firm. Then fry them in a pan. Serve immediately. These are great as appetizers or served with a fresh green salad.
Originally published in The Goshen News, June 23, 2008
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