This morning I awoke to thuds and crashes, certainly not a fun awakening while on vacation...upon opening my shades, I discovered that today certainly wasn't going to be a beach day, the rain was coming down in torrents. So I did what any intelligent person would do on vacation, I went back to sleep of course! Next time I woke up at 9am, the rain had ceased for the time being allowing me the opportunity to go running and consequently to the marche.
I got home just in time for the rain to pick up again...darn! No long bikes rides or kayaking excursions or hikes today. But that leaves me time to write to you all and have a lazy Saturday afternoon enthralled with my book.
But first a few recaps, let's start with last night's cheese plate which featured two cheeses: Saint Fellidien and Bethmale. Saint Fellidien was another version of my Loire Valley goats, however this one is not really found outside of France unlike a bunch of the others I have mentioned. This cheese resembled what would happen if you smushed a chevrot, it was a thin round disk slightly larger than a hockey puck and soft rippened like a variety of other goat cheeses I've mentioned. Although delish with it's goaty lactic tang, this cheese felt incomplete in a way, why I'm not sure but I can only bet that it needs some more aging and might even taste better tonight but probably tomorrow. Granted as this cheese was larger than the majority of other Loire Valley goats I've mentioned, maybe it's flavor profile is just more spread out where as that of say a Chabichou de Poitou is more concentrated. Now don't get me wrong, this was still a fantastic cheese, just a little less so than its cousins I've discussed over the previous few days.
The other cheese we had last night was Bethmale an aged semi firm washed rind cheese that in the US is delish, creamy, luscious, and buttery. Here, this cheese had much more of a farmy, barnyardy, earthy side to it. Not what I first expected but it sure did taste of its terroir which is always quite a treat!!!
I also thought I'd share with you all the zucchini blossom side dish I made last night. I stuffed the blossoms with an extra virgin olive oil, ricotta, garlic, chive, and basil mixture and baked these babies low and slow till they were golden brown. Yumtastic if I do say so myself!!
Check back tomorrow for more fun cheese adventures from the South of France.
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