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Cheese geekery, Fresh cheese, Recipes, Uncategorized1 Comment

Ricotta – easy as but totally delicious

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Ignite your inner cheesemaker with light and creamy Ricotta. Marvel at the alchemy of lemon juice turning milk into clouds of creaminess you can spread on toast, stuff in pasta with spinach, or combine with eggs as a luscious baked cheesecake. I haven’t made Ricotta in ages after I was frightened off making cheese by a series of spectacular Mozzarella failures. That is, until a recent conversation with my lovely accountant Nina. She didn’t think a failure rate of 3 out of 5 tries was that bad! So my cheesey friends, I’m getting back on the horse, and have returned … Continue reading Ricotta – easy as but totally delicious

Hard cheese, Recipes, Uncategorized4 Comments

Parmesan custards with Anchovy toasts

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Parmesan custard. Not sweet. With toast. Think silken-cheesey ambrosia enveloping salty crunch and assume that alchemy has taken place. This is creme brûlée’s sexy cousin, luring you into the crash of her toast, and she’s a siren of a starter. I’ve been perving these luscious treats in Fiona Beckett’s cheese book for months. I was surprised how easy they were to make, especially for something so special. Indeed I am planning a dinner party right now just in their honor. Don’t worry how insanely anchovy the butter is, the dish needs its salty robustness. Because this custard is delicate and … Continue reading Parmesan custards with Anchovy toasts

Blue cheese, Cheese boards, Goat, New Zealand cheese, Uncategorized, Wine and cheese3 Comments

5 tips for simple, stylish cheeseboards

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Do you get stuck choosing cheese? Follow my 5 tips for a stylish cheeseboard and banish the rabbit in headlights look next time you’re at a cheese counter.  A couple of well-chosen cheeses, an easy wine and some quality bread – superb! Today’s board, through simple, was a great reward after working hard in the garden. The ivory white cheese is Cilantro’s Billy the Kid Goat Cheddar, the orange-blue Talbot Forest’s Waihi Blue. Cilantro Artisan cheese from Hamilton Talbot Forest from Geraldine My 5 top tips to easy cheeseboard 1. Choose contrasting colours, shapes or textures.  I paired fruity, hard … Continue reading 5 tips for simple, stylish cheeseboards

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2013 Cheesefest and NZ Cheese Awards

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Like Disneyland crossed with the Oscars, the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards and Cheesefest were 36 hours of cheese geek heaven! Last week cheese makers, industry folk and cheese lovers paid tribute to New Zealand’s specialist cheeses. And I loved every second of it. 2013 NZ Champions of Cheese Awards Fifty nine companies, 413 cheeses and 74 Gold medals. Twenty eight cheesey experts had sniffed, savoured and spat their way to judging the awards. Who knew cheese judges spit much like wine judges? This was the second year Dutch-style cheeses took out top honours. Another major highlight was Ministry for … Continue reading 2013 Cheesefest and NZ Cheese Awards

Cheesey recipe, Goat, Uncategorized8 Comments

Watermelon, Feta and Mint salad

Lucy from Life and Cheese

On a hot summer day nothing cools like Watermelon and after an afternoon gardening this simple salad with mint and feta brought succor to my parched tastebuds. The recipe is pretty loose, more of an idea really. Crisp, clean melon against salty cream of feta, aromatic mint, pretty and cooling in pink, white and green. I scoffed my bowl of salad, so be generous, the joy of this salad is the flavours and colours playing off against each other. I kept my salad simple, but you can add other ingredients. My brother Matt suggests adding toasted pumpkin seeds, while Nigella … Continue reading Watermelon, Feta and Mint salad

Fresh cheese, Goat, Natural rind, Natural rind cheese, New Zealand cheese, Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Gruff Junction Darfield – perfect cheese for summer

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Bone white, with a layer of black ash, Gruff Junction’s Darfield is perfect for languid summer days when I hanker for young, light cheeses. Paired with a Sauvignon Blanc I want something to serve in the lead up to a barbeque, rather than at the end of a feast. This is when goat’s cheeses come into their own. And Gruff Junction make some of the best I’ve tasted. Their Darfield is a sexy cheese for summer. The pyramid square of bloomy rind opens up to reveal a dramatic seismic line. Named after the town at the epicentre of the September … Continue reading Gruff Junction Darfield – perfect cheese for summer

Cheese boards, New Zealand cheese, Uncategorized7 Comments

J Friend and Co – from the land of cheese and honey

Lucy from Life and Cheese

I love interactive food – food that asks you to savour and share and describe. Food that is not just content to be, but that asks you, and those around you, to discuss its being. It’s why I love doing tastings and the J Friend and Co’s Cheese Pairing Honey Collection is, literally, the bees’ knees for a DIY cheese tasting. J Friend and Co http://nzartisanhoney.co.nz Three glorious, oozy pots of honey, dripping golden delight onto slabs and slices and smears of cheese. This is a great concept. Get a goats, a blue and a Brie, a pack of J … Continue reading J Friend and Co – from the land of cheese and honey

Cheesey recipe, New Zealand cheese, Uncategorized17 Comments

Classic ’70’s Cheese Ball – my nostalgic Christmas nibble

Lucy from Life and Cheese

Christmas is a time for nostalgia and when I want a cheese redolent of Christmases past, it’s not Stilton or vintage Cheddar I hanker for, but my Mum’s classic ’70’s Cheese Ball. This is the cheesey taste of Christmas to me. Rolled in walnuts, paired with Snax biscuits, and a glass of something bubbly, it’s a perfect Noel nibble. Just right for my Christmas barbie last week. My Mum’s recipe uses processed cheese and, to my dismay, I couldn’t find blocks of Chesdale in the supermarket. I was so concerned I rang Goodman Fielder and was told by a customer service … Continue reading Classic ’70’s Cheese Ball – my nostalgic Christmas nibble

Cow, Dairy, New Zealand cheese, Uncategorized18 Comments

Raw milk sales in NZ – superfood or super dangerous?

Lucy from Life and Cheese

The house looked unremarkable, I checked the address and started up the steps. Like a drug deal in a cop show, I’d already paid the money and this was the pick up. The raw milk pick-up that is. In my quest to learn about cheese I’d gone in search of raw milk – the elusive substance that gives French unpasteurised cheeses their oomph. Being a townie I’d never tasted raw milk, and for most of us it is nearly impossible to get. There are heavy restrictions on its sale and dire health warnings coming from authorities. The sale of raw … Continue reading Raw milk sales in NZ – superfood or super dangerous?

Bloomy rinds, Cheese geekery, New Zealand cheese, Review, Uncategorized10 Comments

Beautiful Brie – raw versus pasteurised?

Lucy from Life and Cheese

  With their velvety outers barely containing their silky centres, both Bries were sexy. I was pitting a French raw milk Brie de Meaux against a Whitestone Lindis Pass Brie to answer the cheesey conundrum – raw or pasteurised cheese? I wanted to understand the difference because they both look the same. The same chalky rind, the same oozy centre. I wanted to know is it worth the fuss and the double price tag? Back to the basics – pasteurised or raw Most of the cheeses we eat are made from pasteurised milk which has been heated up to 75° C (167° F) … Continue reading Beautiful Brie – raw versus pasteurised?