CHEESE. No, I’m not talking about my sense of humor. Or maybe I am? (We’ll see). Lately I’ve become obsessed by three different cheeses. I say “different”….now, but that might be inaccurate – at least two are from Spain.  Allow me to do a bit ‘o cheesearch; I mean, research, and enlighten you.

First, I love cheese. I’m sorry if you’re a vegan and I hope you won’t hold this post against me, (please feel free to hold a wedge or cube or slice of cheese against me, though – I will gladly take that cheese and eat it). I was actually vegan for a full year, my favorite cookbook ever (EVER) is Veganomicon, and I LOVE nut cheeses like cashew ricotta, but alas I probably do not share most nondairy convictions.

Anyway back to cheese, dairy cheese, goat or sheep or cow milk cheese. I am currently going into debt buying several cheeses and devouring them almost weekly: Manchego, Welsh Cheddar, and Drunken Goat. Let’s break it down cheese by cheese.

Manchego  The Cheese From La Mancha. Almost everybody loves them some Manchego, right? Nutty, buttery, grassy. It’s like if a wedge of Romano and a stick of butter rolled around in a spring field and made a baby. Sheep’s milk – I had no idea I loved it! I’m partial to the Curado age, not too soft, not too dry. Sometimes I get out the Manchego and attempt to set up a fancy cheeseboard with a glass of wine, but usually I just hack off a big chunk and gobble it standing at my kitchen counter.

Drunken Goat Queso de Cabra al Vino! I first discovered this cheese at Cartel in Tucson. What is this magnificence? You say someone soaked a wheel of this luscious goat cheese in a vat of wine? And a small wedge costs as much as my monthly subscription to Daily Burn? Fine, fine, give it to me. Give me the drunken goat cheese! I’ll burn off the fat doing HIIT workouts in the morning.

Collier’s Welsh Cheddar Actually it’s Collier’s POWERFUL Welsh Cheddar, and that’s no lie. This cheese is like a kick in the face. A kick in the face that you will enjoy, my friends. It’s sharp, it’s a knockout, it’s dry but creamy, it’s tangy but toasty. The miners of Wales – the colliers – know what cheddar should be. And the best part? There’s wee crunchy salt crystals in this cheese. How does it get any better? Salt crystals in the cheese.

All these fromages are in your grocery store’s fancy deli section and if they’re not, then I’m really sorry. You should probably stop saving up for a new car or paying off your credit card debt and find a way to buy these cheeses right now. Oh I’m kidding! Do not even get started – you won’t be able to stop. Excuse me I think I still have a piece of Manchego left over from last night’s cheese binge.

“Weichkaese SoftCheese” by Eva K. / Eva K. – Eva K. / Eva K.. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons