Results are in! Billygoat Austin has made the selection, and the winners of the contest are...

Summer's almost gone, and you still haven't taken your goat on a picnic? Well, it's time!

In honor of national goat cheese month, culture's giving away a fabulous summer picnic pack with award-winning Redwood Hill goat cheese, scrumptious Daelia's biscuits for cheese, and Bambu's eco-friendly All-Occasion Veneerware plates and cutlery to eat it off of.

All we need from you is the #1 reason to take your goat with you on vacation.

Huzzah! I have created cheese.

I'm a big fan of Etsy, an online marketplace that features vintage items, handmade goods, and crafting supplies. I guess you could say it's a bohemian take on Ebay. It was on Etsy that I discovered Claudia Lucero and her do-it-yourself cheesemaking shop, UrbanCheeseCraft. Options include mozzarella, paneer, ricotta, queso blanco, and of course, chèvre. I showed Will and he suggested that I try my hand at making chèvre. I cried "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED" in my head, and here I am.  Oh dear.

I've been thinking about pizza lately. We don't give it a lot of coverage in the magazine, which is strange as it's one of the three great American cheese-foods. Along with grilled cheese and mac 'n whatever, it demonstrates a very simple formula: starch + salt + fat = dinner.

Because pizza is ubiquitous (especially as children's fare), everyone has their own opinion on what makes a good slice.  Preferences are typically formed early and harden into obstinacy during the college years, when exposure to out-of-state pizza combines with economic necessity to make students into connoisseurs. This is a good thing, in my opinion. Although everyone else is wrong, especially New Yorkers, it's our differences that create the rich tomato-and-cheese tapestry that is America.

Late one night a few months ago, at my place of (waitressing) employment, a British couple plunked themselves down at our little bar. The bartender that night (Josh, let’s call him) chatted them up for a little while, before, serendipitously, the conversation turned to cheese.

Sidenote: I find it incredible how often this happens without even a nudge from someone like me!

Anyways , this lovely (they were!) couple from across “the pond” said:

“Well you don’t have any cheese to speak of here, now do you?”