With Damjan back in Melbourne, I have been left to entertain myself on the weekends. There is a little Saturday farmers market near my house, which I had not yet visited during my first nine months of living here. I finally got around to it and was really pleased with all the yummy food stalls.
One of the stalls was selling goat’s cheese. They had around 10 different samples to try. I am a sucker for food samples. I first tried the black pepper goat’s cheese. Then, the chilli goat’s cheese. Then a piece of cheese that looked like chocolate, which turned out to be chocolate, planted there to occupy children while their parents tried the more sophisticated cheese samples.
‘Hmm,’ I murmured. ‘Yum!’ I nodded approvingly.
And then, without realising it, I had gone beyond the ‘acceptable time period one can loiter in front of a food stall without buying something’. So sheepishly (haha), I bought a round of garlic and herb goat’s cheese. I also ended up buying a giant slice of almond orange cake and a round of sourdough.
Although the cheese round wasn’t large, I did not think I could consume it within the two days, as recommended by the stall holder. Luckily, my favourite cook book of 101 one-pot dishes came to the rescue with ‘Chicken with Goat’s Cheese’.
I went to Sainsbury’s to buy chicken, tarragon and vine-ripened tomatoes. I was lucky. Vine-ripened tomatoes were half price.
I was less fortunate with the chicken. A few days before, I had resolved to buy free range chicken only. All my ethical friends did this, and I wanted to be ethical too! Alas, the ‘normal’ battery caged chicken meat was on sale and it was a sixth of the price of the free range meat. I could not bring myself to pay that much extra. It was a lot of money. I felt pained. So I bought the remains of the sad chickens.
(I have since gotten back on the free range chicken bandwagon but that is another story.)
Now that I’ve done ‘Chicken with Goat’s Cheese’, I am now 15% through the 101 recipes.
I recently started buying free range eggs instead of cage eggs. Also I don’t eat KFC any more.
I’m a little ethically confused when it comes to chicken. As far as I can tell, chickens wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the fact that people like to eat them.
so what’s with the chocolate withdrawal you were talking about earlier? did you feel alright eating the chocolate cheese which turned out to be chocolate??;)
Hi Rohan. I love KFC. As you know, I don’t eat it often, but when I get a mini-treat, my eyes dart around the restaurant, revealing my guilt. I’m a bit scared that someone from the office will see me, point and shout ‘Unsustainable! Unsustainable!’
I think you’re right, that the chickens wouldn’t exist without the demand from people. I’m not sure they like existing, if the sum of their existence is to be jostled around for 42 days before being eaten. I do wish we could grow chicken flesh without the associated brain!
Hi Yap. It was a shock, getting a mouthful of sweetness instead of the rich goaty cheesiness! Actually, and this is rare, I was disappointed that it wasn’t cheese. The chocolate wasn’t that good quality.