[Product Review] EDEKA Cheesy Maple Pie

After hitting the shelves just this summer, I was super excited to try this product. No lie, the very notion that something maple-flavoured available in Germany delighted the inner Canadian in me!! This is what the product claims to be: a popsicle (or Eis am Stiel) consisting of cheesecake-flavoured ice cream covered in white chocolate and studded with caramelized walnut pieces. I should have put 2+2 together in the beginning, since the German attempt at "American-style" cheesecakes is by far the worst concoction known to man. How, then, could they be expected to pull off this popsicle flavour?!



Sadly, there's wasn't the slightest taste of cheese in this popsicle, Why the $&*# emblazon CHEESY all over the packaging when one cannot taste cheese in your product?!?! Pshhhhhhhhh. At the very least some maple syrup flavour existed inside the popsicle itself and that paired quite nicely with the crunchy walnuts. But then why not just call the popsicle White Chocolate Maple Walnut instead???!!? To call this popsicle PIE-like when it lacks even a hint of pie crust taste/texture is false advertising, folks!!!! I'm so bent outta shape that I'll end it right here.

Easy Couscous Salad Recipe

Sometime last week I found myself desperately craving my sister's legendary couscous salad. After deciding to take a stab at it........ lo and behold, it turned out quite good! The key ingredient? FETA.



—Boil 2 cups of water and stir it into 2 cups of couscous.
—Let the couscous sit for five minutes, after which it should be cooked and ready.
—Use a fork/wooden spoon to "fluff up" the couscous, making sure that no clumps remain.
—Dice 1 small red onion, 2 tomatoes and 1/2 cucumber into small, equal-sized pieces.
—Cut 200 grams of good quality feta cheese into small, equal-sized pieces.
—Cut 2 stalks of green onion into thin slivers and cut 1 lemon in half.
—Minus the lemon, throw all the ingredients above into the bowl of couscous.
—Add 1/2 cup canned chickpeas and pour 5-10 tbsp of EVOO into the bowl.
—Squeeze the juice of 1 whole lemon on top of everything and then...
—Mix like you've never mixed before! It's as easy as that! Enjoy!
 

CNE 2010 Cheese Tasting — Dairy Farmers of Canada

First off, my face isn't really that oily/spotty in real life, k? Can't argue with Sis though, I do pull a Pac Man Cheeseface. Anyhoodles, Sis and I attended a free cheese tasting at the CNE this year, and I thought it was quite informative. The tasting was led by a teacher from the Cheese Education Guild. Here are the 6 Canadian cheeses we sampled + my notes on them:

• Le Trappeur Brie Double Cream [Damafro] — mushroom-y smell, sweet and creamy finish
• Havarti Creamy [Arla Foods] — a sweet cheese that melts beautifully
• Smoked Gouda [Ivanhoe] — fave fave fave ! I ♥ smoked anything
• Medium Cheddar Caramelized Onion [Empire] — no notes were taken for this one, sorry :(
• Horseradish Cheddar [Ivanhoe] — tasted like liquid horseradish, need I say more?
• 2 Year Old Cheddar [Empire] — mild with a clean aroma, sticky, velvety with an acidic finish

Things I Learned About Cheese:

• take 15-20 sec to taste cheese when you eat it; multiple taste sensations will ensue
• let cheese melt on your tongue and try not to chew it
• buy cheese that requires refrigeration [whoever else hated Babybels, welcome to the club]
• the softer the cheese, the more moisture it has and the less room it has for fat
• contrary to popular misconception, brie has less fat than old cheddar cheese
• Canadian Cheddar is considered the "best" in the world
• to avoid contamination when arranging a cheese platter, serve blue cheese on one
  platter and all your other cheeses on another platter