Queso Cartel

The Power of Connections

We live in a land where beets grow in our garden and lamb mince fills our freezer. And yet people make beet salad with feta cheese, and we have not seen lamb burger on a menu. We discovered some weeks ago, sadly, that there is no goat cheese chèvre in Timaru. (At least, nothing that resembles what North Americans consider goat cheese.) It does not appear as though there is any made on the South Island. And the one location on the North Island that purports to make it seems to be perpetually “out of stock.”

Suddenly we realized we were lacking in something we hadn’t known we were missing. But by venting to a fellow American, our First Friend, we were able to solve our problem in less than two weeks. Said First Friend is amigos with a native Timeruvian and restaurateur of one of our favorite establishments in town, The Oxford. While his restaurant does not purchase goat’s cheese chèvre for its own food preparation, he was all too happy to use his connections to order some for us.

The Spanish cheese, imported from Costa Rica, is delectable. Creamy and crumbly, delightfully tart… We aren’t sure how long this arrangement will last, though, as it sounds as though prices may start rising.

So we are making the most of it. Tonight: lamb burgers with Kalamata olives, mint & goat cheese with a side of beets, pistachios & goat cheese. (Shhhh, don’t tell the kids they ate lamb.) Tomorrow: homegrown warm potatoes with pickled red onions, green olives & goat cheese. We may have to make an extra serving for our Cheese Pimp in gratitude for his service and to showcase a reason to order more chèvre. Thankfully our New York Times Cooking subscription is still active, as we will be looking for more uses for this white gold before the mold threatens. Ideas welcome!