More seasonal goodies

I couldn't help myself. In addition to the cheese heart, I ordered some rose petal confit and decided to put its first use towards some Tea Rose ice cream, thus adding to my ever expanding flavour offerings at Janicey Goodness (aka my kitchen). It helps that I have a nice view of a faux English Garden Courtyard.

I was a little overzealous with the use of rose water, indiscriminately pouring it into the custard when I thought that wasn't fragrant enough. Olfactory senses numbed, it wasn't until the next day when I realized that my perfumed custard might be....extremely rosy. And surprisingly yellow! (Presumably from the egg yolks) My mistrust in commercially produced (perfectly powder pink) deepens.

Be still my heart....

I couldn't resist. Near valentines day, I sent for a Cheese Heart. It was on sale at Murrays Cheese as well as some adorable jars of rose petal confit. I'm not one to observe this occasion, but it was too cute and the disappearance of my other love (monte enebro) from most cheese retailers around here was enough to push me to the brink of purchase. In my very vulnerable state, all I needed was something (ANYTHING! brunch, pigeons....garbage??!!) to remind me of NYC and I'd go on a virtual Murray's Cheese binge.

Speedily, the Cheese Heart arrived. My human heart raced. Momentarily distracted by the Monte Enebro and dried sour cherries, the Cheese Heart waited patiently in the cheese drawer.

The rind was incredibly velvety and pillowy. The label said that it was a natural for Valentine's Day" In fact, the whole eating experience of this cheese was like a great first date. It looked appealing. It wasn't overpowering, but it was firm (not a pushover). It was buttery smooth. Almost mild, but had enough complexity to hold your interest enough to want more.

(a small) Jamie revival

Sometimes I procrastinate making the week's food on the weekend and suddenly it's midweek and I'm foraging like a raccoon through my fridge, eating pickles and cheese when I really should be thinking about making a pot of something substantial.

This early Jamie Oliver chicken recipe seemed to require just about as little effort as I was willing to put into. So little effort, in fact, you could spend more time eating it than making it or thinking about it. It doesn't even require any babysitting, so It's even better if you want to take a nap before dinner and awake to a delicious smelling apartment.