I made Fancy Lunch for Frances!

Today I had Frances over for lunch. I decided to make something really beautiful and refreshing and summery and that we would eat it in the new alternate dining area in our apartment, since our new layout has doubled our common space. Frances was the first guest to eat at this table.



I found two recipes I liked: Chilled Mango and Cucumber Soup, from Gourmet Magazine (by way of Epicurious) and Lemon-scented Quinoa Salad from www.101cookbooks.com.

Here they are, annotated of course:

Chilled Mango and Cucumber Soup:

Ingredients:

2 mangoes, peeled and pitted (2 pounds total)
2 seedless cucumbers (usually plastic-wrapped; 1 1/2 pounds total)
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Finely chop 1 mango and 1 cucumber and set aside. Coarsely chop remaining mango and cucumber and purée with 1/4 cup water (I used No-Chicken Broth instead) in a blender until almost smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in finely chopped mango and cucumber, onion, lime juice, and 2 cups cold water (again, broth). Place bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir until cool.

Just before serving, stir in cilantro and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt.

Soup can also be chilled in the refrigerator until cold, but it will take about 2 hours.

I garnished the soup with sliced avocado, a dollop of Greek yogurt, and a few thinly sliced scallions. AND, just to be crazy, instead of just throwing on some fresh cilantro, I made a little cilantro oil by putting it in the blender with olive oil. It was very pretty. Just look:

And now for the salad:

Lemon-scented Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 can garbanzo beans, or dried equivalent
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped

Tahini Dressing:
1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped
1/4 cup tahini
Zest of one lemon
scant 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons hot water
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Rinse the quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa and water until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

While the quinoa is cooking make the dressing. Whisk together the garlic, tahini, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Add the hot water to thin a bit and then the salt.

Toss the cooked quinoa, beans, cilantro, red onion, and half of the dressing. Add more dressing if you like and season with more salt to taste. Serve garnished with a bit of cilantro.

Serves 4.

I changed a couple of things here. Cooked the quinoa in No-Chicken Broth instead of water and added maybe 1/2 tsp turmeric. Pan fried the chickpeas a little bit with one clove of garlic. Added some Bragg's to the dressing to give it a little more flavor. Also threw some scallions and pine nuts on top.

It was a nice hearty compliment to the fruity soup.

This is what it looked like all laid out on the table:


These are two very simple but delicious dishes that would be easy to take to a picnic or barbeque.

I made pickles!

Last week at the Carroll Street Farmers Market I saw some really cute Kirby cucumbers (a.k.a. pickle cucumbers) and I decided to embrace my inner "Little House on the Prairie" and give pickling a shot. It took a trip to the Food Coop to get all the needed spices for the pickling mix, but it was surprisingly easy. Preserving foods sometimes makes me worry a bit that I'll give myself botulism/something equally bad, but as long as you follow the recipe, you should be fine! If you're really worried, get yourself a courageous friend to taste them first.

This recipe is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I don't really have any notes since pickling novices such as myself should not futz with recipes.


Three-Day Pickles

Mark says you can also use carrots, radishes, celery, fennel, pearl onions, cauliflower, peppers, turnips, summer squash, eggplant, peaches, or beets.

2 pounds Kirby cucumbers
6 TBS salt
2 cups white or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Pickling spice (see below)

1. Wash the cucumbers well, scrub them if they're spiny, and cut lengthwise into halves or quarters or slice. Put the cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the salt; toss well.
2. Let sit in the sink or a bowl for about 2 hours. Rinse the cukes and pat dry with paper towels; put in a nonmetal bowl.
3. Put the remaining 1/4 cup salt, the vinegar, sugar, and pickling spice, along with 2 cups water, in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then let cool for about 5 minutes. Pour the mix over thecukes and let cool to room temperature. (Add more vinegar or water if the cucumbers are not covered.)
4. Transfer the cucumbers and pickling liquid to airtight jars or containers; store in the fridge for at least 3 days or longer for stronger pickles. They will keep in their pickling liquid for up to 3 weeks.

Pickling spice

2 3-inch cinnamon sticks
10 bay leaves
2 small hot dried red chiles or 1 TBS hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 cup mustard seeds
2 TBS allspice berries
2 Tsp whole cloves
2 TBS black peppercorns
2 TBS coriander seeds
2 Tsp cardamom seeds
2 TBS dill seeds

1. Break the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and chiles into pieces.
2. Roughly chop (or crush with a heavy skillet) all the other ingredients, leaving most of the seeds whole.
3. Stir to combine the spices and store in a tightly sealed container for several months.

Ceviche

Last night I had Martha and KC over for dinner and I made ceviche, rice and beans, and a tomato and basil salad. I bought a pound and a half of fresh, headless shrimp and one big slab of Chilean Sea Bass. It took about 2 hours to clean and prep the shrimp and fish. Then about another 30 minutes or so to squeeze 6 lemons, 6 oranges, and about 8 limes. It takes a lot of time but it's definitely worth it. After I cleaned and cut the shrimp and fish I threw them in a bowl with all of the citrus juice. While these were soaking I cut up 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange pepper, 2 jalapenos and half a red onion. I add all of this to the bowl with the seafood, covered it with saran wrap, and put it in the fridge and marinated it for 3 hours. No cooking required - the citrus juice "cooks" the seafood. The beans and rice were the typical kind but I added salt and chili powder and the salad came from my back yard! Fresh basil and 3 kinds of tomatoes that I picked 3 hours before dinner, plus I added small cubes of mozzarella. All that plus some avocado for a garnish, great white wine that KC brought, lots of Corona with lime, and plum tart with vanilla ice cream from Martha, made a great dinner.

I WENT ZUCCHINI CRAZY!!!

Recently, on a drive through the country with my mom, I picked up a whole bunch of zucchini at a roadside farm stand. They were all just so enormous and fresh and impressive looking, I couldn't resist buying way too many. And then I had to figure out what to do with all that zucchini. Fortunately, this was not a bad problem to have, because zucchinis are very versatile vegetables. I made Buttermilk Summer Squash Soup, Zucchini Pasta, AND Zucchini Muffins.

I'll start with the soup. I found this recipe on www.101cookbooks.com, which I have been using a lot lately. It was pretty simple, and the result was quite delicious. Here it is copied and pasted, with minimal commentary--I actually stuck to the recipe for once. You might think it strange to use buttermilk in soup, but this is actually something I learned from my mother, who makes a similar zucchini soup on Christmas, except hers is seasoned with curry.

Buttermilk Summer Squash Soup

a generous splash of olive oil or (3T.) knob of butter
3 large shallots, chopped (I used more--I always go crazy with shallots.)
a couple pinches of fine-grain sea salt
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
3-inch sprig of rosemary
1 1/2 pounds yellow or green summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices/chunks (used both)
3/4 pound potatoes, un-peeled, cut into 1/4-inch thick pieces
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups lightly flavored vegetable stock or water (used No-Chicken broth here)
2/3 cup buttermilk

garnish with: fresh herbs, toasted almonds, a generous drizzle of olive oil/ melted butter, and/or some crumbled feta

Heat olive oil/butter in large thick-bottomed pan over medium heat. Stir in the shallots, salt, red pepper flakes, and rosemary. Saute until shallots are tender - a couple minutes. Stir in the squash and potatoes, and cook until the squash starts to get a bit tender - a few minutes. Stir in the garlic, remove the sprig of rosemary, and then add the stock (or water) to the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. (Pay attention to this last detail. I think I blended my veggies before the potatoes were soft enough... Didn't end up being a big deal, just made for a more textured soup.)

Puree with a hand blender. If you like a silkier soup feel free to pour the soup through a strainer. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk, taste, and adjust the seasoning - adding more salt if needed. I like this soup topped with a bit of crumbled feta, some toasted almonds, a drizzle of olive oil, and a small pinch of red pepper - but it's perfectly good straight with no fuss on top. (I garnished with feta and scallions! YUM.)

Serves 6 - 8.

Ok now on to the pasta. I kind of made this up. Not even really a recipe. Just julienned a bunch of zucchini, sauteed them in some olive oil with garlic, tossed them with some pasta and some homemade sauce--Mama Vallese's recipe of course. Didn't take any pics. But try it! A fun way to dress up your pasta. Bet it would be good with pesto too.

And now, last but not least: the muffins.

I am not much of a baker. But these were so easy! The recipe is from www.simplyrecipes.com. Literally the first thing that came up when I googled "zucchini muffins" but it was perfect--they came out moist, perfectly risen, not too sweet.


Zucchini Muffins


Ingredients

• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

You don't need a mixer for this recipe.

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add these dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture. Fold in the walnuts and dried raisins or cranberries if using.

2 Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

I made Lemony Chickpea Stirfry!

Lately I just want to drench everything in lemon juice. It just makes everything taste better, right? Maybe it's because it's summer and I crave things that taste citrusy and fresh. Regardless, I was in a lemony mood the other day, and I found this recipe on 101cookbooks.com. This was delicious and very easy to make. Don't be dissuaded by my lengthy tofu tangeant.

Ok here it is, with copious comments:

Lemony Chickpea Stirfry

2 tablespoon ghee or extra-virgin olive oil (I used the latter.)
fine grain sea salt (I used a couple Tbs of Bragg's instead.)
1 small onion or a couple shallots, sliced
1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned is fine, if you don't want to cook up a pot of dried chickpeas)
8 ounces extra-firm tofu
1 cup of chopped kale
2 small zucchini, chopped
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
I added: garlic, soy sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee/olive oil In a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in a big pinch of salt, the onion, and chickpeas. Saute until the chickpeas are deeply golden and crusty. Stir in the tofu and cook just until the tofu is heated through, just a minute or so.

Ok extended interruption: I cooked the tofu separately to get it golden brown and crispy. I'll share my method with you because--don't want to brag but can't lie--I've been really good at cooking perfect tofu lately.

The first thing is to get as much water out of that tofu. I used a method mentioned in the blog before: wrapping the tofu in a paper towel and piling a few heavy books on time. Sounds crazy, but it works. Leave it like that for a little while, maybe 20 min. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in the pan. Add a couple minced cloves of garlic. The heat should be high. Then unwrap the tofu, pat it dry, and cut into small cubes. Throw them in the pan, making sure each piece has its own surface area. Splash on some soy sauce. Sprinkling on a little nutritional yeast also helps it get crispy, but it will come out fine without it. Let a sizzle a little, then check a couple pieces. When they're brown on the bottom, stir it up so another side cooks. Don't drive yourself crazy flipping every little piece. Just keep stirring them around--every side doesn't have to be exactly the same. Keep sizzling and stirring until it looks golden brown and perfect. DONE. Set aside in a bowl. Now back to the rest of the recipe...

Stir in the kale and cook for one minute more. Remove everything from the skillet onto a large plate and set aside. In the same skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of ghee/olive oil, add the zucchini and saute until it starts to take on a bit of color, two or three minutes. Add the chickpea mixture back to the skillet, and remove from heat. (Now add the tofu.)Stir in the lemon juice and zest, taste, and season with a bit more salt if needed. Turn out onto a platter and serve family style.

I made a strawberry custard tart

Hi, I'm new to the blog - Martha invited me. Today I made a strawberry custard tart. I used the recipe from this website: http://www.cooksrecipes.com/dessert/custard_tart_with_fresh_berries_recipes.html

I didn't make quite enough graham cracker crust, my custard comes up above the crust by about a half an inch. I also didn't make the glaze the way they suggest: instead I pureed some strawberries in my food processor and added about a tablespoon of sugar and orange juice. It's cooling in the fridge at the moment so I can't comment on how it tastes yet. But I tried the custard mixture before it went in the fridge and it was pretty good. It may look nothing like the photo from the website but I think it will still taste great.

Lazy Risotto ! by A

The other night I came home from a long day and was craving risotto. I don't know why, but lately I have noticed that risotto has usurped the title of "best comfort food" from my old placeholder, mac and cheese. I crave that creamy rice like all the time. I made a joke to Sarah one time about wanting to go home and curl up in bed with a nice bowl of risotto. Doesn't that sound nice?

The problem is, risotto always seems time consuming or a bit intimidating, two things which comfort foods should not be. But this dish I ended up concocting is pretty fast and easy. It began with a google search for "arborio rice recipes" which lead me to this recipe for Parmesan Black Pepper Arborio Rice Pilaf. This dish was attractive because it promised risotto-like results without risotto-like preparation. But I wanted to include some vegetables, and perhaps do something with the piece of goat cheese that was sitting in my fridge, so I turned to google again, and found a Jamie Oliver recipe for Spinach and Goat Cheese risotto via the food blog Cheese Plus Everything. I used bits and pieces of these two recipes and concocted a really tasty dinner. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
(I didn't put amounts for most of these, because it's really up to you....feel it out.)

arborio rice (I used a half cup of rice with one cup of liquid for one large portion - make sure to adjust proportions if making a larger serving....you already know that.)
some garlic
some onion (I used a red onion, any kind is fine.)
olive oil
unsalted butter
fresh or dried mushrooms (optional)
mushroom/vegetable/chicken broth (BUT broth is only needed if you are NOT using dried mushrooms. You'll see why.)
spinach
goat cheese
Parmesan cheese
salt+pepper
fresh lemon juice (optional)

If using dried mushrooms, rinse well in water and then place in large bowl with a good amount of hot water to rehydrate. Set aside. Then chop up your garlic and onion. Heat a mix of butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion+ HALF of the garlic (and a good amount of salt and pepper) and saute until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rice; stir to coat for about one minute.

IF using dried mushrooms, now is the time to strain 1 cup (or whichever amount, depending on how many portions you're making) of the water. The water will now be fragrant and mushroom-flavored ! (Keep soaking the mushrooms in more water if they are not hydrated fully yet.) Add broth to the pot. (If using other stock (pre-made mushroom/chicken/vegetable) just measure out the correct amount and add it.) Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until stock is absorbed and rice is creamy and soft with a little "chew" at the center, about 12 minutes. (Feel free to add more broth as the rice cooks to make it more creamy and risotto-ish.)

While you wait for the rice to cook, heat olive oil in a pan and add the rest of the garlic. Add spinach and fresh mushrooms (if using) and saute until cooked.

Once your rice is cooked, remove from heat and stir in the sauteed vegetables, add more salt and pepper to taste, and a nice grating of Parmesan cheese. (If using dried mushrooms, make sure they are hydrated, and chop + add to mixture now as well.)

Stir in goat cheese (start with a little, add more to taste) until it melts and combines with rice mixture. Serve hot in a big bowl with some more Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice on top.

Pour yourself a glass of wine and curl up in bed with it!

I made Strawberries and Dumplings!

I was first introduced to Chicken and Dumplings at Carver's Applehouse in Cosby, Tennessee while on my friend Jesse's BBQ bachelor party road trip. If you don't know, Chicken and Dumplings is a stew with chicken and vegetables with scoops of dough cooked in/on top of the stew. After I crossed back over the Mason-Dixon, I discovered this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and last fall my sister and I spent a lengthy, but worthwhile, afternoon cooking what is truly an amazing recipe. When it is cold again and you have some time and want something delicious and cozy to eat, you should make it.

Of course, June isn't chicken and dumplings weather, but it IS strawberry season and knowing how delicious Smitten Kitchen's chicken and dumpling recipe was, I had no choice but to try out her strawberries and dumplings recipe after going a little strawberry crazy at the food coop last week.

Serves 6

1 quart (about 2 pints or 4 cups) strawberries, trimmed and thickly sliced
1/4 cup sugar
juice of half a lemon
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup whole milk (I went all out and bought unhomogenized milk -- it comes with cream on top!)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Accompaniment: Heavy cream (I didn't get heavy cream since I didn't want to buy so many full fat dairy products, but I would recommend getting it, or making whipped cream or adding Greek yogurt. I had the leftovers the following day with low fat plain yogurt and even that was tasty)

mmmm. fresh strawberries.

Stir together strawberries, sugar and lemon in a 4-quart heavy saucepan and let stand, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 15 minutes. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Heat the milk and butter together until just the butter melts. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth. Gather a golf-ball-sized portion of the batter onto a small spoon, then push the dumpling onto the stew using a second spoon. (Smitten Kitchen says this gets you 16 dumplings -- I halved the recipe but I only got six dumplings...maybe golf balls are smaller than I think they are?)

Tightly cover the saucepan and reduce heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, until dumpling looks dry on top, 15 to 18 minutes; the dumplings will have doubled in size. Let stand off heat, uncovered, five minutes, then drizzle with heavy cream right before serving.

I made Cold Sesame Noodles!

This is another recipe that I made quite a few months ago. Even though the leftovers are long gone, I do remember quite clearly where the inspiration to make these noodles
came from.

It was a Wednesday back in the winter at one of Nick+Faryl's wonderful "LOST"-watching parties, and we had ordered Chinese food. We'd gotten into the habit of doing a "blind vote" to determine what kind of food (pizza or Chinese) to order for dinner. A blind vote is conducted as follows: everyone closes their eyes except for one person, the "leader" of the blind vote. The leader then poses the two sides for voting - "Who wants pizza?" - and then all in favor quietly raise their hands, with no fear of judgment by others or any chance of outside influence on their choice. The leader silently counts up the votes and continues - "Who wants Chinese?"

Once the vote is done, we open our eyes and the leader announces the verdict. It's pretty thrilling, if I do say so myself. (This is obviously a pretty scientific process for just figuring out what to eat for dinner, but hey, we take dinner pretty seriously.) Try it next time you're with a large group and you need to make a decision!

In any case, on this particular night, the blind voters had selected Chinese, and I was eating a plate containing some of the best Cold Sesame Noodles I think I have ever had. I don't quite know exactly what made these noodles so satisfying and delicious, but at that moment, they were really hitting the spot. Chewy noodles, slightly spicy and sweet sauce, not too oily. I have never really been a cold sesame noodles kinda gal, but something must have changed, because the next day, I was still thinking about those noodles! Instead of taking the subway back up to the Upper West Side, I decided to try to make my own. I did some searching around on the internet and turns out that a bunch of internet cooks were raving about Tyler Florence's recipe. So I made it! This is how:


Cold Sesame Noodles
Tyler Florence
Ingredients

* 1/2 pound Chinese egg noodles (I used some kind of whole-grain udon noodles I think. They work too. But egg noodles are what they used in those awesome Lost-night cold sesame noodles.)
* 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
* 2 tablespoons peanut oil (I didn't have, used olive or canola oil probably?)
* 2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
* 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon red chili paste, such as sambal oelek
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
* 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 6 tablespoons hot water
* 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
* Cucumber slices, for garnish ( I used thin slices of red bell pepper.)
* Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions

Cook the noodles in large pot of boiling unsalted water over medium heat until barely tender and still firm. Drain immediately and rinse with cold water until cool. Drain the noodles really well and transfer to a wide bowl; toss with the sesame oil so they don't stick together. (Or if you're using different noodles, just follow the directions for preparing those.)

In a small saucepan, heat the peanut oil over medium-low flame. Add the green onions, ginger, garlic, and chili paste. Cook and stir for a minute until soft and fragrant. Mix in the brown sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, and hot water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the peanut butter has smoothed out. Toss the noodles with the peanut sauce until well coated. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with the sesame seeds, cucumber slices, and cilantro (and red pepper if using). (You can also thin out the sauce with a bit more water if it seems too thick.)



These are actually even better if you let the sauce chill overnight. The flavors really do "mesh" when given some time to mingle.

THE BEETS

1. http://www.myspace.com/thebeetsbeat

2. My neighbor Amy (Amy S.) likes to roast beets and I am always impressed with the results. For some reason roasting always struck me as a little bit daunting, but it's not, at all. I think I was daunted because I didn't know exactly what roasting meant. Like, I thought roasting was roasting a whole goat over a spit. But apparently roasting also means putting some food in a foil packet with olive oil, which is a lot easier and very different.

So I roasted these beets and made a salad. There is a tiny greenmarket every day on Sacramento Street and it's pretty cheap. Sorry I didn't take a picture of the beets before roasting, they were pretty.


You probably don't even need a recipe for roasting beets, but I used this one: http://www.thekneadforbread.com/2009/03/27/roasted-beet-bread/

I didn't make the bread, it sounds crazy!

Roasted Beets

6 beets
2 tablespoons olive oil
few sprigs fresh thyme (I used not-fresh thyme)
3 crushed garlic cloves (OK without garlic, too)
salt and pepper

1 ) Using a potato brush scrub the beets with the skin on till all the dirt is removed. Cut the stems about 2 inches from the beet off. (I cut my beets into quarters before roasting to make them roast faster.)
2 ) Get a large piece of tin foil. Place the beets on the tin foil.
3 ) Pour the olive oil over top and add the crushed garlic and fresh thyme. Add a little salt and pepper.
4 ) Close the foil to form a packet. Place on rimmed baking sheet; roast in 400F oven until fork-tender, 1 hour.
5 ) Wearing rubber gloves, peel and trim beets; cut into wedges. (I didn't have rubber gloves, and I didn't bother peeling the beets. You probably don't need to.)

The salad was lettuce, carrots, and goat cheese. I used to think I didn't like goat cheese. It always tasted like cold salty tangy creamy vagueness. I realized that it tastes way better and more nuanced if you eat it at room temperature. Recommended!