Cheesey Review: January's cheese of month club

I was anticipating the Mirabo Walnut to be my favorite, because I generally like a brie textured cheese with a rind that has something added to it, whether it is nuts or dried fruit or a ribbon of wine. But in fact, I liked the Five Territories best, because it was the most unfamiliar to me. There were five different types British of cheeses (listed from the bottom layer in the photo towards the top): Double Gloucester, Red Leicester, Cheshire, Derby, Cheddar - pressed in layers to form to form the wheel this wedge came from. The layers easily broke apart so you could taste the cheeses individually or all together. The Cheshire layer was my favorite. It was creamier then the others, and had a distinctive flavor that I had not experienced before. Ironically, Cheshire is believed to be Britain's oldest named cheese first being mentioned in the Domesday Book written at the end of the 11th century.

The Amish Blue from Wisconsin (go badgers!) was quite nice also. Blue is not necessarily the first cheese I would reach for if given multiple options, but this blue was creamy and coated your mouth. It tasted fresh (well as fresh as moldy cheese can taste I guess!), so it did not have that tangy or overpowering taste that poor quality blue cheeses can have from 'bad' mold. This would for sure be a winner on a cheese plate, even in a sophisticated crowd at a party, or atop a bison burger!

The Mirabo Walnut was not what I was expecting. It is a Bavarian cheese that came from Heising, a town which free-range grazes their cows in the Bavarian alps. The flesh of the cheese was creamy and smooth but did not have much flavor to it. The walnuts provided texture but no additional flavor. However, the rind was quite interesting. It provided a 'toasted' flavor to the cheese which was actually quite nice. Many people peel of the rind of a brie type cheese, but in this instance you would be missing out on the most complex part. The rind also really brought to life the flavor and texture of the cheese after a sip of Tempranillo (red Spanish blended wine). This cheese changed more then the other two, with the addition of a sip of wine.

I am excited to try to them again and see how I feel about the flavors now that I have given a once over.

Looking for a new planner?

Because you're tired of having to charge your phone all the time to keep track of your life? Try this Wellness Planner from Moleskine. It's old fashion, so don't forget to buy a pen too!

Wellness Planner

Having trouble staying away from the cookies?

Try the 'Kitchen Safe'. A friend just sent this link over and I found it practical and amusing at the same time. Decide for yourself!

Kitchen Safe Website

Interesting take-aways

Some interesting take-aways from the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting 2013 as printed in SCAN - Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition, Winter 2014.

"Bariatric patients need to be educated to both exercise more and sit less. Among 34 post-bariatric surgery patients, only 12% walked more then 10,000 steps/day and on average spent about 10 hours a day sitting."

"Well trained cyclists who took a supplement of freeze-dried fruit-vegetable juice powder for 17 days saw no anti-inflammatory benefits. Exercise itself was more beneficial for immune function then the supplement. These findings make a case for spending less money on antioxidant pills and more money on health club memberships."

"Having arthritis should not be a reason to stop exercising. Exercise actually helps reduce pain and fatigue associated with osteoarthritis and improves one's ability to sit/stand and walk."

"Are commercial recovery drinks better then homemade ones? That's doubtful. A study comparing a fruit smoothie (made with milk, banana and berries) and a commercial product showed similar outcomes for subjects who endured a muscle damaging exercise test. Both recovery drinks were similar in terms of calories, protein and carbohydrate."

Armenian 'fast food'

I make as many journeys as I can to the Armenian food market in Belmont Massachusetts. Today I happened to ask them if I could buy one lamejun which is an Armenian form of pizza. Normally you have to buy these Armenian pizzas in boxes of 12 but they never seem to withstand the freezer very well so I only wanted one that I would eat for dinner tonight. The young Armenian fella behind the counter hemmed and hawed and then he went to the back and said 'let me see what I can do for you'. His disappearance into the back of the store created a long line of people wanting to check out behind me but I sat patiently and waited for him. Finally he reappeared with one lamejun in a piece of waxed paper and placed it on the counter, saying 'be careful it's warm'. What was going to be my dinner quickly turned into excitement to have it for lunch and I proclaimed to him 'yeah I can't wait to eat this in the car!'

Lamejun is a very thin piece of lavash bread that has been covered with spiced ground lamb, peppers and some tomato. It is baked in the oven until the lamb is cooked and the edges of the lavash are slightly crispy. This particular market, named Eastern Lamejun, makes their own Lamejuns daily,  and having arrived at the store just about noon I was still able to get a fresh one from this morning. So in my car I opened up the Bulgarian feta that I had bought and I sprinkled some on top of the lamejun, And then I folded it in half and I enjoyed, remembering meals from childhood  of lamejuns with my father, brother and grandparents.

**i put the business card in the photo so you could get a rough idea of the size of a lamejun

Eastern Lamejun Bakers
145 Belmont St
Belmont, Ma

Add some spice to your life

A patient gave us this recipe at support group yesterday - it was such an interesting idea! Great for a mid afternoon snack!

1 mango
juice from 1/2 a lemon
2-3 Tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds, shelled (can be purchased at Trader Joes)
Cayenne pepper

1. Peel mango and cut into wedges or dice
2. Squeeze juice from half a lemon over mango pieces.
3. In a saute pan over medium heat (or in the toaster oven) toast the pumpkin seeds until just lightly browned.
4. Put pumpkin seeds in a coffee grinder to grind up or you can use a mortar and pestle to grind them up.
5. Sprinkle ground pumpkin seeds over mango. Sprinkle a tiny bit of cayenne pepper over it.
6. Mix and enjoy!