More Goat Cheese

I cant stop! Goat cheese is too delicious and I want to try it all! Since Whole Foods apparently has a few different soft goat cheeses in roatation, I will just have to try each one and compare them. I got this one, which has cracked pepper around the edges:

This was alright, but not great. The pepper flavor was weird and Im not a huge fan of pepper anyway. I DID put it on some crackers with the smoked tomato pesto and it was soooo good! It was suggested to me that I should just buy a chunk of plain cheese and then put my own herbs or whatever around it, so that will definitely be something I should look into! What a great idea!

So I had to get a plain one as well! Of course it tastes like the middle of the other ones and I haven't yet decided what to add on to it so for now Im just eating it as is. Its probably not the most flavorful or creamiest plain goat cheese I've had, so unless Im getting an herby one I will stick with another brand.

Full Quiver Farms Strawberry Cheese Spread

As I've said before, I love cream cheese, especially flavored ones. I still have the jalapeno cream cheese from the farmers market and Im trying to decide what to pair that with, but in the meantime I decided to get another one! I was at Whole Foods and wanted some to eat with crackers so I got the strawberry kind.

Its pretty good! I was surprised to find that its whipped... I don't remember the other ones being like that but who knows. This made it surprisingly light and fluffy and it actually reminded me more of icing on a cake! Delicious! Unlike at the farmers market, Whole Foods sells it by the pound, so I think it was actually a little cheaper there.

Maybe people who don't know me very well are wondering "Does she really eat ALL that cheese"? It seems like I should be 500 pounds by now eating all the cheese I write about! The truth is I get very small amounts of everything, and always share it with other people. If I get huge chunks of something I will get bored of it anyway.

Printhie Chardonnay

This is one of the wines I bought a few months ago at a Specs tasting because it was so interesting and different from many chardonnays I've tried in the past. Normally I don't like chardonnays because I think of 2 things: oak and vanilla. I have actually tried quite a few through tastings because it seems to be a popular type of wine, but have rarely found one that has any kind of actual flavor.

This Printhie Chardonnay is completely different though. Its from Australia, and I think one of the things that makes it taste so good is that its actually 90% chardonnay and 10% viognier I believe. There was another Printhie wine being sampled (I think sauvignon blanc) and it too was mixed with a little viognier and it was good as well! It is very creamy without tasting like vanilla, and it actually tastes like fruit. I still have some left so I will take better note of those flavors the next time I drink it.

One of the main things that struck me was the smell. It almost smelled like something was toasted or smokey, and a little nutty. I don't think I've ever smelled this before in a wine so it definitely caught my attention.

When I first tasted this wine at Specs I loved it and had to buy it because it was so unique. At a higher price point than I am used to (around $17) it makes me think that there may be hope for me and chardonnays. I really liked this wine and enjoyed drinking it and tasting it again, but I'm not sure it will be added to my list of wines I love and have to keep on hand.

Rondin Honey Goat Cheese

Mmmm this cheese is amazing! I got this at Central Market because I was curious what a honey goat cheese would taste like. Previously, I had bought a honey goat cheese spread, but the flavors were obviously mixed together in the little tub along with others... and this piece of cheese looks just plain! I was also worried it would be too fakely sweet and its not! Its smells delicious and just tastes like a normal cheese with a touch of sweetness. It is SO good! Like the dill one, this is another cheese that makes a good breakfast! :)

Fiscalini Cheddar

The cheese I am trying tonight is Fiscalini Cheddar... although it doesn't taste very much like a cheddar to me. I'm having a hard time figuring out what this tastes like, as its pretty bland and tasteless. When it warmed up I could taste a hint of white cheddar, but Im working hard to taste it. The texture is ok, but a little rubbery for my taste. Overall this cheese is pretty tasteless and odorless, and since I like a nice robust cheese, I don't think its really for me. Good thing I just bought a small chunk to try. There are too many amazing cheddars out there for me to get this again unfortunately.

Sunset Valley Farmers Market

Since I was in the area this Saturday morning, my boyfriend and I decided to stop by the Sunset Valley Farmers Market. I used to go there every few weeks but haven't been in probably a year or so because it's a little far from me. There are too many delicious foods to mention everything but among my favorites are the pestos, fresh lemonades, and of course the cheeses.

One of my favorite cheese places near Austin is Pure Luck creamery but I didn't see them at the market today. My other favorite is Full Quiver Farm, which makes a delicious array of cream cheeses and as I found out today, hard cheeses as well!

Here are some of there delicious cream cheeses, which are flavored as spinach artichoke, chive, jalapeno, and some fruit ones like blueberry, strawberry, and pineapple. I've gotten a few of these before, but ended up getting the jalapeno cream cheese this time. I was thinking it would be great on crackers, maybe with some jam.

They also have more cheeses which I've never seen in stores before - a cheddar, colby, feta, mozzarella, pepper jack and gruyere. All of the ones I tried were delicious and although they didn't have a sample, we decided to get the gruyere.

There was another cheese place at the Farmers Market that had amazing goat cheese but I forgot the name of it. They had a great blueberry lemon goat cheese that I wanted to get, but at $10 for a small container I had to pass this time. To go with the gruyere and jalapeno cream cheese, we ended up getting 2 really great pestos - Smoked Tomato and Cilantro Serrano which are AMAZING. I definitely need to start going to the farmers market here more.

Goat Cheese for Breakfast

While most people eat cereal or eggs for breakfast, my favorite way to start the day is with cheese. The best cheeses are something soft and flavorful, preferably on a cracker. I've started to crave cheese spreads, cream cheese, and most of all goat cheese.

I feel like the cheese festival made me realize just how many amazing cheeses there are out there, and especially opened me up to the large variety of soft goat cheeses, as I've already mentioned those were my favorites there. Im thinking about getting a variety of a few and comparing them maybe side by side later this week.

Tthe cheese I am currently eating is "Capricho de Cabra Herbed" which looks like a small round chunk of creamy white cheese with dill and lemon zest around the edges. I looove these kinds of cheese and I had never had one with dill before.

Anyway, this cheese was delicious as always, but i wasn't really loving the herbs around the edges. It makes the cheese taste a little too tangy and sour for my taste, but once I got past the outer edge, the inside was pretty good. I actually prefer when the herbs are more robust.