A Milestone Made of Cheese

Above: some highly adult utensils to add to my idiot joys.
Below: graduation gifts for the latest batch of Boise State's Poetry Masters (and Laura who just deserved a big bag of treats).  I should have been blogging.  I don't even remember the recipes I used precisely, but I know the cinnamon roll cookies were a basic butter sugar cookie dough rolled with yet more butter and a brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.  The rice krispy squares had peanut butter and white chocolate, the cookies on the bottom right were oatmeal+dark and white chocolate chip, and the brownies in the upper right corner I think had Reeses chips in them.

This was before it got to be burning hot in Boise, so having the oven fired up all day wasn't so bad.

Bags o' treats for delivery:

And onto the present...ish.   Went to the Farmer's Market yesterday for probably my last time while living here.  I still remember the first few times, alone, with my mom, or with new friends, on my bike, bringing home flowers, fruits, soaps, and jams.  Our market is exceptional.  I prefer it by far to even Los Angeles' renowned market on 3rd and Fairfax.  Here, local means local, "no dogs" means "yes, please bring your delightful pups!" and the merchants are happy, reasonable, knowledgeable, and passionate about their goods. 

Where I bought my rainbow chard:

Part of the haul: kohlrabi (edible greens), rainbow chard, goats' milk cheese, beets (also with edible greens to be used later).  Not pictured: apricots, fresh raspberries (eaten), and fresh mini bread loaves.

Had my first ever goat cheese experience yesterday!  Jessica and Gracie were sampling goat cheese, and it just looked too fantastic.  I'd heard individuals with lactose intolerance could tolerate goats' milk cheese, but I've had such horrible experiences with cows' milk products that I couldn't get myself to try.  Til then...

It was so wonderful!  After several years of only vegan cheese and other crap-turds formed to look like cheese, I can't begin to describe how amazing it was to bite down on a natural hunk of potent, rich, real cheese.  And lucky me, I got to have my first goats' milk cheese be from Rollingstone Chevre, described as some of the best cheese outside of Europe.

I had to buy just a little sliver of the "Idaho Goatster", to serve later with the chard, beet greens, and kohlrabi greens.

For dinner, I roasted these gorgeous beets and the kohlrabi (turnip-like) with just garlic, salt, pepper, and a touch of maple syrup for a deep sweet crust.

Served over fresh mushrooms with scallions and red onions and hunks of avocado.  Sometimes it's amazing what vegetables can do, and what avocado can do with them.