an ode to goat cheese...

...and probably just the first of many.

I super duper love goat cheese. You're probably thinking of that crumbly stuff you get on salads sometimes. I love that kind too, but my recent (does "for the past 6 months" count as recent?) obsession is a hard goat cheese called Murcia al Vino. If the label is in English it probably says "drunken goat cheese". It's got a purple rind because it's been soaked in red wine, and that gives it a nice bite that goes wonderfully with the slightly more mild flavor of this cheese. Since I tried it for the first time at Borough Market when my parents visited in December, I've had to have a wedge of it in my fridge at.all.times. For serious.

Normally, because of WW I like to keep my cheese consumption low. I could eat a lot more of it if I switched to fat-free or low-fat but I'm not willing to give up real cheese. The great thing about goat cheese? It's lower in points naturally! So naturally, this makes me happy.

Tonight, seeing as how I had about a brazillian points left for my day, I thought I would treat myself to a yummy "dinner". I use the term "dinner" loosely because what I made is more like an hors d'oeuvre super-sized. But it made me happy, and I didn't have to use extra points on it. So I consider that a win-win!

What did you make, do you ask?

I'm getting there!

I thought of this recipe yesterday, but ended up not being home for dinner (surprise surprise, I was at L's house). So tonight was the night! Have you ever had baked brie and cranberries? Usually with some kind of nut in there too? Super delicious. This was inspired by that, but I used my dear Murcia instead. I needed some more dairy for my day and healthy oil, but that's it. So I didn't feel bad about indulging a bit.



Reason number 19257 why I love Whole Foods: the bulk section! I have a stash of dried cranberries and walnuts for salads and things, which I got to measure out myself. It's also pretty dang cheap which is wonderful when you're on a budget and have a spending problem at grocery stores...




I also happened to have a couple frozen baguettes that were just begging to be baked. Tesco is a really wonderful place. They sell a pack of 4 partially baked demi-baguettes for £1. Yes, £1! So I broke one of those suckers out and baked for a couple minutes so it was mostly baked. I took it out of the oven, sliced it lengthwise, and topped first with some sliced Murcia, then with some chopped dried cranberries (1tsp) and coarsely broken walnuts (3). I drizzled with a little olive oil, and baked for a bit (I wasn't paying attention. Remember how I told you the term "recipe" really has no place in my vocab? Case in point.) until the cheese was melted and the bread had pretty golden edges. Wanna see a picture? I'm going to show you anyway.

The before...











...and the after! Doesn't that look deeeeelicious?










Oh and a big thanks to boardie friends for asking me if I ran today! I did indeed! 4.4km in 38 minutes. It was my first day out since my race a week ago, and it was pretty warm outside, so I didn't push it too much.

Basically, today was a good day.