Just wanted to mark the start of summer with my traditional exhortation: grill haloumi and eat it.

If you want a bit more detail, haloumi is a firm, salty cheese from Cyprus made from goat and sheep's milk, with a texture like a very dense mozzarella. Unlike mozz, however, haloumi has the singular virtue of not melting under high heat. Instead, like other proteins, haloumi will acquire a nicely browned crispness, which is great in a pan but outstanding when cooked over an open flame.

05 May 2011

Ha! Victory has been had in the war on finding the Middle-Eastern products I adore... I have found my Labneh, right here in Sonoma even, at Sonoma Market (http://www.sonoma-glenellenmkt.com.) Much to my surprise, I found it at a most abundant location, as opposed to the less-than-luxurious environments I had imagined trekking to Oakland or Berkley to a Middle Eastern specialty market and being pushed around by the regular customers as I have in the past. Those living in L.A. can relate if you’ve ever shopped at the fabulous Elat Market (http://www.yelp.com/biz/elat-market-los-angeles) on Pico Blvd. (Best Bulgarian Feta, btw.) But today in Sonoma is about both victory and convenience. Right on! So, what came next? Lunch.