phillystine

cute cheese paper

In addition to pie, Type E requested a “high quality cheddar” for this birthday. As a lover of both Vegemite and cheese, he’s often wondered about pairing the two but wasn’t sure where to begin.

Enter Philadelphia’s gracious and talented Madame Fromage, who loves a good cheese puzzle. She kindly asked around on our behalf and came back with this suggestion: vegemite and cheddar on a cracker, topped with a little pepper.

If Northampton has a DiBrunos or Downtown Cheese equivalent, I have yet to find it, so the classic British cheddars (Keen, Montgomery) were off the table. We went with two locals: Cabot Clothbound and Shelburne Falls 3-Year Aged Cheddar.

Shelburne Falls (left) & Cabot Clothbound

Cabot Clothbound is excellent, of course. The Madame herself says so. However, the Shelburne Falls is also damn tasty, though it’s less classic cheddar and more earthy, tickle-your-throat.

So here’s our lunch. Type E loved it. My review? Pairing cheese with vegemite is a waste of perfectly good cheese.

vegemite and cheese on crackers

PS Note the most excellent cheese paper in the first photo!

There’s an apple pie in the oven right now, requested by Type E for his birthday tomorrow. It’s a big birthday, a multiple of five, so I really wanted to bake and decorate a cake.

Because the cake for the last multiple-of-five birthday turned out so well and was not at all reminiscent of a serial killer:

Happy 30th, Eric!

And there was also that time I smashed the top of my brother’s wedding cake into the door of a Corolla:

the top of Dan's wedding cake, oops!

And when we blinded Hello Kitty and hacked off her ear:

maimed Hello Kitty

I can’t imagine why Type E would rather have a pie instead of a birthday cake.