Cowgirl Creamery

Three or four years ago we made a trip out to California for the wedding of a niece. It was one of those first trips without expensive and opinionated children along and we had a great time. On our final morning in Sebastopol, my sister-in-law helped me shop for a travel picnic at Whole Foods. I was simultaneuously introduced to two cheeses: Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove and Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery.

Later that day, as the airline staff passed out revolting and inedible sandwiches (not just my opinion as it turned out), I unpacked my picnic and was soon the center of attention and envy of at least seven rows of seats in each direction. That it replaced airline food was only one of the factors that made that picnic indelible--the other was the cheese.

Back in Wisconsin I rushed to my local WF for more, only to be told that Mt. Tam is only shipped in cold weather so that it arrives in good condition. Starting in October I pestered the cheese staff about every two weeks, and at least some of them seemed just as anxious to lay hands on some Mt. Tam as I was. The Humboldt Fog became an occasional treat and source of mystery--how do they get it to ripen backwards from the outside in?--but Mt. Tam was never available. Eventually, like a best friend breaking the news about an old boyfriend, the cheese staff told me there would be no Mt. Tam for Wisconsin cheese junkies. I moved on, but I did not forget.

If this seems a bit melodramatic for the subject of cheese, I only want you to understand why, last week at WF, the sight of a cake of Mt. Tam (MT TAM!) actually caused my heart to speed up, and even more significantly, caused me to pay an outlandish price in these lean economic times, to take some home with me. I am babying it a bit--making sure it gets to the right temperature for eating. I did have to taste a wedge to determine that it was not at peak ripeness yet. My husband pointed out that it doesn't look good enough anymore to set out at Thanksgiving. I laughed and laughed--what made him think I was going to share? In fact, didn't the death threat if I were to come home and find it gone tell him anything?

I look at it this way--whatever I paid for it is still cheaper than the plane ticket to California would have been, had it come to that. Although I did go on the website, and the creamery tours look mighty tempting---plus we have relatives in the area. I am sure we are overdue for a visit.