Early October: More Cheese Than Books

 What I read/am reading:

In printed books, there's not much change from last week here at the Bybeeary: I'm still under the spell of American Cheese by Joe Berkowitz, and laughing my way through Andy Greene's hilarious series survey The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s. 

Warhol by Blake Gopnik still sits reproachfully on the table, judging me for not picking it up for nearly two weeks now. I really don't want this to be a DNF, but I'm starting to feel the time constraints of library-booking.

What I'm listening to:

I'm happily engaged with a new audiobook: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. Not at all what I was expecting from this author. Rowling's examination of the small English town of Pagford following the unexpected death of a beloved city councillor, gives me yummy flashbacks to Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. 

What I watched/am watching: 

I watched Season 1 of The Office. Seeing how they all got started was great. What really struck me was the sickly lighting and the even more sickly expressions of the characters, dealing with their boss, Michael Scott. In particular, Pam, played by Jenna Fisher, actually looks like she might throw up. Yes! That's what people look like at work! The Spawn has put Season 2 on reserve at the local library, and I'm especially looking forward to the episode "The Injury" in which Michael burns his foot on his George Foreman grill. He keeps it by his bed so he can wake to the smell of bacon frying. Meanwhile, Dwight, while rushing to Michael's rescue, has a minor car accident which results in a more significant injury, apparent to everyone but Dwight himself. "The Injury" was written by Mindy Kaling. I'm so ready!

Maid, based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Stephanie Land, dropped on Netflix on October 1, and I watched the first episode. It's well-acted and intense. I felt extreme anxiety, and have had to pause for a few days before going onto the next one.

Where I went, what I ate, and what I bought:

The week seemed to drag by, but then finally it was Saturday, and I was off to The Cheese Store in Sweet Springs. I really didn't know what to expect, but I had hoped for a large selection of cheese (Check!), numerous samples of interesting cheese (Check!), and friendly, knowledgeable staff who would discuss the cheeses with me and make helpful recommendations (Check!) I tried several samples, and the one that I regret not buying was a cheddar called Bourbon Maple that started out cheesy and creamy and ended with a delicious flood of maple flavor that intensified. It's been more than 24 hours, and I can't get it out of my mind. 

Meanwhile, here are the items I brought home:

Cheese and jalapeno summer sausage. It's made by a local company called Alwel's, which always blue-ribbons at the Missouri State Fair. Ooooh, so gooood. I almost bought their buffalo summer sausage, and I regret leaving this behind as well as the Bourbon Maple cheddar.

Goat cheese. I bought this without tasting a sample, propelled by memories of Heidi, and I must say that I am full of purchase-regret. Aside from the slightest tang reminiscent of Chobani's plain yogurt, it's pretty bland. I might as well have bought a block of Philly cream cheese. I've been busy scrolling, looking for pairings that will make it more interesting. Suggestions welcome! Today I put some on a baked potato with bits of the aforementioned summer sausage. Not bad, but lesson learned: I need my cheese to be marvelous on its own.

Steakhouse Onion. Another cheddar, shot through with bits of toasted onion and in some sort of delectable alchemy, a taste like rich beef broth. THE WINNER for the day. I ate it at the store, I ate it at home with some Townhouse crackers, and I slid a little into my baked potato/goat cheese/summer sausage lunch concoction. I would eat this anywhere, including at this computer, for I just went to the refrigerator and got another sliver, so as to properly convey its awesomeness. 

Butter Kase. A simple, mild cheesy buttery cheese, a favorite for many years, since I was a little child living in Germany. Sentimental taste buds. I have to admit that I squealed like a fangirl when I saw that it was available.

Bruschetta Jack. This solid, flavorful cheese has tomato, garlic, onion, parsley and basil in it, and it's good, but I would swap it out for that Bourbon Maple in a do-over. 

Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar. Another winner! I love its spicy sweetness and can't wait to try it on a taco. Cranberries, chilies and a subtle smokiness. It's also the most eye-appealing of the group. 

I'll finish this post with a cheese-y memory: 

When I was in high school, cheese fondue was a big deal at parties, and you could usually find my little introvert self hanging over the pot, looking down into that tasty melty Swiss/Gruyere elixir, my long fork with its cube of bread carefully dipping...yeah. Flash-forward a few years, and I began dating a guy who announced that he would be bringing fondue to a party. I couldn't wait. I watched as he unpacked the pot, the long forks, the spirit lamp thingy, and...what the hell!? Oil? Tiny strips of raw steak??? This wasn't fondue! But it was. Apparently I had never learned that there were *two* kinds of fondue. My disappointment knew no bounds. For years, I referred to it as "imposter fondue" or "fon-doo-doo". The guy enthusiastically lowered his meaty fork into the hot oil for the umpteenth time as he caught my eye. "Pretty good, huh?" he said. I nodded. Now bring out the real fondue, I didn't say.

Mid-September, 2021: Way Late To The Office Party

 A few days ago, I became acquainted with the concept of "batch blogging". It's like "batch cooking", but with blogs. Apparently, it's a thing. Apparently, closer to home, The Spawn does it with his comic book blog. Now I feel as if there is a lack in me because I can't squeeze out multiple posts at one sitting to be scheduled at tidy intervals. Just getting one blog entry out is like warring with the last smears of toothpaste at the end of the tube. Is it because I have nothing to say? No, of course not. I am intrigued, and think I might try out the concept with a mini-post. Okay, enough with all this throat-clearing!

What I Read:

Who Was Frida Kahlo? - Sarah Fabiny. Biography. Kahlo figures prominently in my current audiobook, The Lacuna, so I wanted to read more about her. Fabiny paints a portrait of Kahlo that is as rich and emotional as Frida's art. She does a great job of discussing the symbolism in Kahlo's paintings, and is candid about Frida's health and relationship struggles. The illustrations by Jerry Hoare give this volume in the series an added richness and cohesiveness. So glad I bought this!

What I DNFed:

What She Ate - Laura Shapiro. Nonfiction. This was such a clever idea, combining women's lives with the food they ate, but it just didn't come together for me. I read three out of the six profiles: Dorothy Wordsworth, Helen Gurley Brown, and Barbara Pym. I struggled to the finish with Pym, and decided to take What She Ate off the table. I like the concept and can't stop thinking about it. I wonder if there is some way someone else could give this idea a try.

What I'm reading:

American Cheese - Joe Berkowitz. Nonfiction. I'm not very far along yet, but enjoying every cheese-filled reference. Joe B. has just had his Eureka! moment at the fancy cheese-tasting, and now he's branched out into making his own cheese at home with mixed results: So-so, needs improvement and distinctly horrible. He's also sampling the best and building his "cheese memory palace" cube by savory cube. I'm relating to this book remarkably well, considering that my own cheese tastes are beyond unsophisticated and I've only been in one cheese shop in my entire life. This was in The Netherlands in the 1970s, and my parents sampled several cheeses before coming out of there with a small wheel of I know not what, but remember that it was unpleasantly pungent and we ate it for months. Anyway, can't wait to take another bite out of American Cheese.

The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver. Novel. This book may turn out to be my favorite read for 2021. I love the panorama of disparate settings in the United States and Mexico and I'm in awe of how Kingsolver wove together a story that encompasses world events stretching from the 1920s revolution in Mexico to hideous McCarthyism in the 40s and 50s. Like Zelig, Kingsolver's main character, Harrison Shepherd is a witness to all of it. I'm also fascinated by her creation-within-a-creation -- Shepherd's historical fiction novels, set in long-ago Mexico. Her "book reviews" of his work are so convincing, I found myself wanting to put them on my wishlist. As I mentioned above, Frida Kahlo features prominently in The Lacuna, and she does something so memorable and heroic for Shepherd and his art while he appears to be doing the same for her and her art, that when it was revealed, I nearly burst into happy tears while driving down the road. I'm not finished with The Lacuna yet, and I'm not sure I want to be.

Warhol - Blake Gopnik. Biography. Not going to lie; this one is hard going. Gopnik did an incredible amount of research -- so much so that his end notes couldn't be published in the print volume because it would tack on hundreds of more pages to this already hefty tome. He seems determined not to let any of the research go to waste, jam-packing tangents, incidentals, and minute details into the story of Warhol's life. There is also a fair amount of speculation about Andy Warhol's inner psyche followed with sensible realizations that there is always going to be a barrier that even the most thorough biographer can never cross. For even the most devoted to biography fans, all of this is daunting.  I'm not giving up, though!

What I Want To Read (And Watch!):

Billy Summers - Stephen King. Novel. I'm hoping to audiobook this one.

I am so so late to the party, but after reading Mindy Kaling's book Why Not Me? last month, I finally became interested in watching The Office. One night after work, I found it on Comedy Central. The network typically runs shows all evening until ten o'clock. The first couple of episodes I watched didn't thrill me. Then, in the middle of a season 3 episode, Jim pranks Andy by hiding his phone (with its annoying ringtone of Andy's a cappella rendition of Rockin' Robin) in the ceiling, and it hit me. Now I love the show, and have been sporadically working my way through the series. At some point, I'll go back and start at the beginning. The Spawn found a library book about The Office in our local library system and it's on the way, so I'm eager to read it. My thoughts so far: The Jim and Pam romance doesn't really interest me, although I like both characters individually, especially Jim's never-ending arsenal of workplace pranks. I'm drawn to Dwight, Andy, Michael, Kelly, Meredith, Stanley, Phyllis, Oscar, Kevin, and the HR guy, Toby. Oh, and Angela, the crazy cat person. As for Ryan, played by B.J. Novak -- not sure about him yet.

 I could go on, but I really need to click this post into existence, warts and all.