'h' is for humboldt fog cheese

Humboldt Fog is an artisanal goat's milk cheese produced by Mary Keehn's dairy, Cypress Grove Chevre, in Arcata, California, about 200 miles north of San Francisco. Arcata is adjacent to Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, and the cheese was named in honor of the ever-present fog for which the area is known.

In the 1970s, Mary began searching for a source of wholesome, healthy milk for her children. Her neighbor owned a herd of Alpine dairy goats, so one day she asked if she could buy one. Her neighbor replied "Honey, if you can catch one, you can have it!" Well, she caught two! Hazel and Esmerelda were Mary's first goats. Mary soon proved to be a talented goat breeder. So talented in fact that her large herd was producing much more milk than she and her family could consume. The surplus led to her exploration of the art of cheesemaking and in 1983, Cypress Grove Chevre was born.

Humboldt Fog is Cypress Grove Chevre's flagship, award-winning cheese and is an amazing goat cheese with a creamy exterior and a texture that becomes more dense toward the center. It is characterized by a thin layer of vegetable ash that runs through the middle, similar to Morbier. Traditionally, in making Morbier, morning milk was separated from evening milk by a layer of ash. With Humboldt Fog, the ash was introduced to add subtle texture and flavor.

In addition to being the foggy home of one of my favorite cheeses, all sorts of interesting things go on in Humboldt County! According to a 2002 Cannibis News article, Steve Bloom, former editor of High Times magazine said "Humboldt is the nexus point of the whole growing movement. It's kind of like Napa to wine. Mendocino and Humboldt are the Napa and Sonoma of marijuana country...the people who left San Franciso and other parts in the 60s came up here and started doing the growing and established the whole growing industry." Their community was memorialized in the 2008 film, Humboldt County.

Hmm. So in what I can't help but believe is related news, Humboldt County is also home to the Kinetic Grand Championship. Which is seriously the most awesome thing in the history of ever. The race is known as the triatholon of the art world and involves all sorts of crazy human-powered art sculpture thingys on wheels that are designed to travel over both land and water in search of Victory and aesthetic glory. Next weekend (said Championship takes place each Memorial Day weekend), people in Humboldt County will be pedaling crazy contraptions shaped like fish or dragons and dressing like bees and martians and having an all around grand time. For real. You really need to watch the videos.

While that's sinking in (and as if that weren't enough), Humboldt County is also home to a Chicken Wingfest, the Arcata Oyster Festival, a Mushroom Fair, AND a Blackberry Festival. Note to self: WHY DON'T I LIVE HERE?!! : )

'e' is for explorateur cheese

How can anyone govern a nation with 246 different kinds of cheese? ~ Charles de Gaulle

Explorateur cheese is out of this world. Invented in the late 1950's, it was named for the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, and the awesome little rocket still appears on the packaging today. Explorateur was created by Fromagerie Petit-Morin shortly after 'triple cream' cheese was officially defined as cheese containing at least 75% butterfat. To put things in perspective, double cream cheese has 60% butterfat, and butter has 100% butterfat. Because it's, you know, butter. A high level of butterfat is achieved by adding lots and lots of cream to the milk and the result is, of course, a rich and gooey delight. Explorateur's soft, creamy interior is coated in a light, velvety rind that breaks open ever so gently to reveal the oozey goodness inside. Its flavor is decadent and mild, with a subtle woodsy undertone. Simply put, it's the dreamiest of cheeses.

In related news, cheese has been linked to nightmares. But you'll be relieved to know the British Cheese Board has refuted this notion. In 2005, they studied the effect of cheese upon sleep and dreaming and discovered that cheese had a positive effect on sleep. The majority of the two hundred people tested claimed beneficial results from consuming cheese before bedtime. In fact, six types of cheese were tested and it seems the dreams the subjects experienced were entirely dependent upon the type of cheese consumed. Post-cheese-consuming dreams were described as colorful, vivid or cryptic but fortunately horror-free.

Just in case you are silently doubting the existence of The British Cheese Board, you can find them on Twitter! It's true! Recent Tweet: Cornish Yarg, a cheese coated in nettle leaves, came from a recipe book found in a farmer's attic-his name was Mr Gray (Yarg spelt backwards!) 11:57 AM Sep 30th from web.

I'm so happy right now. :)

Anyhoo, if you are as old as I am, you may remember the sheer joy and excitement you would feel upon shuffling, bleary-eyed into your 8th grade history class and having your teacher announce you were going to have a film that day. That's what they were called back then - films. And they really were too - films wrapped around a real-live-reel that that would sometimes break or otherwise go awry and would often sputter and skip and crunch along, but still. There was nothing so awesome as knowing you'd soon be sitting in darkness - no lecture, no notes - just you - with your head resting blissfully on your folded arms watching flowers blooming in fast motion or insects mating in slow motion or, maybe, one time, this.