Grated cheese and other favorite things

from my garden

Earlier this week I got to do one of my favorite things: grating cheese.  I had a block of fontina cheese and I decided to shred it.  I sliced a few pieces to use in spicy egg and cheese burritos.  But I had quite a bit left and thought by shredding it I could then use it on a whim for other things I might put together in the kitchen throughout the week.

grated fontina cheese

Well, the idea was nice, but if you're like me you know the temptation grated cheese sitting in your fridge can be.  Every time I opened the fridge door I saw the bowl filled with shredded cheese covered with transparent plastic wrap, and every time I opened the door and saw it, I grabbed a pinch.  Grated cheese is so good!  Doesn't matter what kind of cheese it is -- it's always especially good when grated.  I don't know why.  Perhaps it's the texture of all those little bits.  Perhaps its the ease of just grabbing a little bit or a lot depending on your mood.  Whatever it is, though, it's enough to make it too difficult to leave it alone.  After a few times eating a pinch, I began to take larger amounts, and by evening it was all gone with a final flurry of consumption that erased every little crumb from the bowl.  Yum, yum, yum.  Sometimes I'm the same way with sliced American cheese.  A single slice makes a great snack and once in a while I can't help but have that single slice multiple times per day.  

This happens with other foods as well, though some of those other foods are much healthier to eat in large quantities than cheese.  Applesauce cups come to mind.  I like to keep several multi-cup packages in my fridge, and there are days where I snack on multiple cups throughout the day.  The texture, the fresh taste, the coolness, everything about it is intoxicating to me.

Cherry tomatoes ... ditto.  Cucumber chunks ... ditto.  Chocolate chips ... very ditto.  

I keep all of these things on hand and others as well, and it's a good thing that some of these things are very healthy.  I suppose what they all have in common is that they allow for grazing.  Sometimes eating a big complex meal is fun, but just as often spending a day periodically heading to the kitchen to eat little bits of different things is the best way to eat through a day.

I do that a lot when I'm cooking.  Sometimes on TV or in a movie, someone on screen is cooking and drinking a glass of wine periodically as they work in the kitchen.  I don't really do that wine thing.  For me, it's continually grazing through various foods while I'm busy making something entirely different.  I love doing that.  And I love that I can keep so many of my favorite grazing foods around.  I think I'll go find something to graze on one last time before I head into my pre-sleep routine.  

Have a great evening everyone and thanks for reading, whether it's something informative that I write or just meandering thoughts such as what I've written tonight.