The Cheese Companion

Dear Class,
I read The Cheese Companion by Judy Ridgeway. This book is really good and delicious and interesting (obviously). You should really read it even if you don't like cheese. Or if you want to find out more about cheese. Yum!

This book is really awesomely cheesy and delicious. It is diveded into 2 parts. The first part is about the story of cheese ( like the history of cheese, how it's made, cheese in different parts of the world, recipes of cheese, things like that). The next part has a directory of more than 116 types of cheeses around the world (there are 117 in all, I counted just now) from Appenzal to Wensleydale. I've never tasted most of the cheeses in here but I really want to.

Here are the first 3 paragraphs of an article on Gruyere cheese, a cheese that's a lot like Emmental (Swiss) cheese. And it's also one of my favorite cheeses. Yum.................................

There is no doubt that Gruyere originated in Switzerland, but its use is so widespread in France that the french might might be forgiven for thinking it is their own. Indeed, a great deal of this cheese is even produced in France now, but genuine Gruyere can easily be identified as it has the word "Switzerland" stamped all over the rind.

Swiss Gruyere is made from unpasteurized milk in the farming regions surrounding the town of Gruyere in the canton of Fribourg. It is quite a large cheese with a slightly oily rind which looks a little like wrinkled almond skin or a small honeycomb.

The paste is firm, but slightly softer then Emmental and it feels smoother in the mouth. There are a few small holes scattered through the delicate yellow paste. in older cheeses the paste firms up and turns a slightly grayish yellow. The cheese smells farmyard-like with honey and nuts. The flavor is similar to Emmental with strong peaty tones and a zingy aftertaste.

Here is a recipe for Feta Stuffed Bell Peppers, also from my book.

• 4 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
• 2 medium tomatoes, quartered
• 10 ounces feta cheese, cut into small cubes
• 2 ounce can anchovies, drained and chopped (yum)
• 1 cup black olives, halved and pitted
• 8 teaspoons sugar (if you leave out the anchovies then leave out the sugar)
• Olive Oil
• 16 fresh basil leaves

1. Place a tomato quarter, some cubes of feta cheese, some chopped anchovies, some olive halves, and 1 teaspoon sugar into each pepper half. Drizzle with olive oil and place basil leaves on top.
2. Broil the peppers over medium heat until they are soft and the skin begins to char, about ten minutes.

And finally,

the first paragraph of my book.

History (that's the subheading)

No one knows exactly when or where cheese was first made. Like so many inventions, cheese-making was probably discovered by different communities at about the same time. We do know that sheep were domesticated around twelve thousand years ago and that cows were raised in Ancient Egypt. It seems reasonable to suppose that cheese came into being soon after these animals were domesticated for their milk.

And, (finally) here are my reactions, questions, connections, etc. for this book.
My first reaction was yum.........delicious.........
My secound reaction was yum......
My 3rd reaction was yummmm
My 4th reaction was yum.

I think you get the point now.

Okay, my first (and last) connection was that this is really similar to the other cheese book that I used when I was making my cheese book. (Read it sometime!)

My opinion was that this book is cheesy, delicious, cheesy, fun, cheesy, interesting, cheesy, and delicious.

I can't really do a prediction so I will come up with a random one: I think 1000 years from now cheese will be made from whale milk.

Questions: Why is cheese called cheese? Why is cheese so good? Why is cheese so cheesy? How was cheese REALLY made when they first made it?

Visulization: eating mouthwatering Brie cheese (especially the white mold rind)
If you haven't tried Brie you should REALLY try it, it's so good!! Plus the rind is edible. Tastes like cream cheese but a tiny bit harder but still spreadable. And try REAL swiss cheese (actually Emmental) It's dark yellow with the word Switzerland stamped on its rind.

Eclipse

Dear Ms. English and class,



I am reading Eclipse, it is a great book! In the book Eclipse i just read where Bella had come over to Edward's house. Bella has a rule that the Cullen's can only give her hand-me-downs because she does not want Edward to spend money on her because the only thing she wants is Edward. When she sat down on the bed Edward was back in a flash with a crystal glass heart that was his moms before she died. Edward gave it to Bella and she loved it.

Edward wants Bella to marry him before she is turned into a vampire. Bella and Edward got into a fight because she does not want to get married when she is 18 like she is right now. Edward said he will not turn her into one right now because she might not be the same Bella or love him the way she does now. Bella does not want to have a fancy wedding with people so Edward said he would just take her to Vegas to do it.



Bella asked Edward if he had the ring yet and he did. She did not want to see it at first and Edward said OK but then she was begging him to see it. When she saw it, she made sure it was a hand-me-down and it was Edward's mothers wedding ring. The ring was a long oval, set with slanting rows of glittering round stones. The band was gold -- delicate and narrow. The gold made a fragile web around the diamonds. He stood up with her and she breathed " Oh No" he got on one knee and proposed to her, Bella whispered " Yes". They went out to the garage and Alice was angry which seemed odd to everyone. Bella talked to Alice, Alice said she saw a vision of her going to Vegas to get married without her. Bella loved her and she told Alice about the wedding. Alice begged her to let her do the wedding with people. When Bella could not take any more of the pleading she said " Fine."


One of my first reactions was Edward has a bed in his room but does not sleep since he is a vampire and that was a bit odd to me. A question I have is Why doesn't Bella want a real wedding or stuff that was bought for her? I predict that Bella will have a wonderful wedding, and the fight will turn out good. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed my blog!



Sincerely,

J.A.

seat of stacy sames

Dear class,
The book I am reading is called " Seat Of Stacy Sames ". My grandma gave it to me when I was 6 years old, Since then because it was a chapter book and I was six I just started to read it. So far its about a 14 year old girl named Stacy Sames, ever since she was 6 she cheated by using a rock that is called THE RAINBOW CHEATER ROCK! She always got an A on test because of THE RAINBOW CHEATER ROCK, even if she did not know it at all.

Your maybe thinking how did Stacy find the rock, well let me tell you. It all started when Stacy was camping with her best friend Amy Jefferson, They both wanted some rocks to throw at Amy's three big brothers ( Chase, Jeff , and Ricky ).So they went to the clay part of the junk yard and picked some cool shiny rocks. By the time they got back they were running out of breath, they started to pick from the pile. Stacy's first rock was black and almost perfectly round. She chucked it at Chase and search for more in the pile, she reached down in the pile and picked the lightest and saw the rainbow colored rock slaped in her hand.Thats how she found it.

So far the only two CROPQV'S I have are a prediction and a opinion. My prediction is... I think Amy will give up on their friendship and just find another good friend two brag about. My opinion is...I think that its not fair to cheat if nobody else can to.

thank you,
EA

Penguins

Dear class,

The book that i am reading is called Penguins, it is a non-fiction story.This book tells me about what penguins eat, what they do, and how they are endangered .This book can tell you a lot about the most famous penguin.This book can also tell you about how they wash up. And how much they weigh.

I had a few questions while i was reading this book , one of my question was why do penguins spend half of their life on land then in the ocean? My other question was do penguins only eat fish?

This book remind me of the movie "Happy Feet." Like how they eat fish and all the different type of penguins. The weirdest penguin is called the Sothern Rockhopper penguin. Yhe Sothern Rockhopper is the penguin with red eyes. It is not any different it is just like the rest of oter penguins.

sincerely
SW