Cheese, Glorious Cheese

There was a commercial, once upon a time.  Cheese, glorious cheese, with a big song and all kinds of cheese dishes.  Do you remember that?  They had it right.  Cheese is wonderful, glorious, and thoroughly enjoyable. 

Guess what I ate yesterday? 

I had cheese at all three meals.  Breakfast was, quite simply, and ounce of cheese.  No frills, no hoopla.  Of course, it was not just any cheese.  It was Oregon Coast cheddar cheese.

Those of you not raised west of the Cascade mountains may not understand the fascination with Tillamook cheese.  Unless you have tasted it.  If you like cheddar cheese, in fact, if you like any cheese, take an opportunity to find and taste Tillamook cheddar cheese.  You will not regret it.  Well, maybe you will, because no other cheddar will satisfy afterward.

Tillamook is a town on the northern part of the Oregon Coast.  Not a very large town.  They have a aircraft museum worthy of a visit.  They have the same access to the wild beauty of the rocky Oregon Coast that their neighbors do.  Mostly, they have cheese.  The cheese is made specifically from the milk that comes from cows eating that wonderful coastal grass.  I don’t know if it’s that, or if they have a particularly wonderful culture, or what.  There is no cheddar in the world that can compare with Tillamook cheddar.  Except Bandon cheddar, which comes from the southern end of the Oregon Coast.  They are pretty close.  Not exact, but close.

After breakfast, I realized that eating only cheese all day is not good for my digestive health.  My body does prefer to have a little bit of roughage and a few other things I can only get from my vegetables.  So for lunch I had an uninspiring bit of fried cod (good meals do begin with good ingredients – this cod was not at its best).  But I had steamed broccoli with cheese.  That made up for the less than stellar main course.  The cheese was just gooey enough and the broccoli just tender enough and it was wonderful!

Dinner was turkey cheeseburgers.  I planned to have a little avocado mashed and spread on the burger as a sauce, but the cheese was just gooey enough and just delicious enough, who needed anything else?  Lettuce leaves for the ‘bun’, of course, and the turkey burger itself was made with shredded sweet potatoes and a little garlic powder, as well as ground dark turkey.  Made a very satisfying burger. 

In fact, the burger was so good, I decided to have something else I’ve been missing.  A plain cheese sandwich.  I cannot tell you how much I have wanted a plain cheese sandwich.  Two thin slices of cheese between two lettuce leaves. 

Today I’m back to the basic diet.  I have leftover turkey burgers, which will probably be my staple for the day, as I’ll be travelling again.  This time with the avocado.  So far my physical reactions look good.  My blood sugar was not up or down, my weight did not fluctuate (in fact – I weigh the same today as yesterday, no loss but no gain), and my resting pulse rate is within my base range.  So all looks well.  It’s too early to be certain, but I hazard a prediction – cheese, baby, you’re back!

Steamed Broccoli with Cheese

1 small head broccoli, washed and chopped into bite sized pieces, about 1 cup

1 ounce cheddar cheese, shredded

Steam broccoli until tender – about three minutes in the microwave.  Remove broccoli to a bowl.  Sprinkle cheese over broccoli and toss to blend.  Serve.  Makes 1 serving.