Bella’s Blog

Bella’s Cheese News

Hi again to all my cheese loving friends.
I really appreciate the letters you’ve been sending and I try to respond to all of them, but typing is difficult unless I use my nose and that’s not what my nose is for! But my people are back from Italy now and I’m having them type this for me.

So, yes, they’re back from the Slow Food Cheese Festival in Bra, Italy. But while they were away, did they write? No. Did they call? No. Did they bring me any cheese? NO!

Instead they tell me a story about how they stopped off at this little Italian restaurant in the foothills of the alps and found Toma cheese on their cheese plate. Now understand, I know Toma cheese from Point Reyes. Mmmm – very tasty. And those nice grassy aromas, the taste of the cream, the just-right saltiness. Just the thought of it makes my nose twitch.

But what do I know about an Italian Toma? Nothing! Because, again, they didn’t bring me any cheese!
And they tasted three types, one with peppers, another more aged with smoky tones and one very much like the Point Reyes Toma. Humph! I should be the judge of that. They should have taken me with them, or at least brought back some cheese. Their big clumsy noses are no match for mine.

But no, I have to listen to them talk about the Swiss and French Tommes and how similar they are to the Toma instead of smelling it and tasting it myself and telling THEM what it’s really about.

Oh well, I did get some really nice cheese in my bowl this morning, but I’ll have to tell you about that in my next blog. Right now all this talk about cheese is making me hungry and I just heard the refrigerator door open! Smell ya later…

Bella and the Yummy Cheddar

Hi, Bella here again – at last!
Would have written sooner but my people have been travelling and I still need a little help with the computer.
Anyway, they recently returned with A LOT of cheese! I think they were in some place called Vermont, but I tell ya, the cheese was from Heaven!
I could hardly believe my nose, it smelled so good. The one I just tasted was a yummy cheddar. So many lovely smells that I could hardly eat it. Well, okay – that’s not true. I gobbled it up.
But the part about it smelling good was true. And it tasted even better.
They said it was extra flavorful because it was a raw milk cheese, but they can’t fool me – I know it was made from cow’s milk. I can smell after all.
But it was extra tasty. Oh boy, I hope I get some again soon. Hey – the fridge door just opened! Gotta go! Smell ya later…

Note from “Bella’s People”:

The cheese in question is an aged cheddar from Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont.
It is made with the raw milk from their own herd of
pasture fed Brown Swiss cows.
And Bella is right, (as usual). It’s amazingly delicious.
Available here in our store and in our gourmet gift baskets. 😉

Bella’s Blog: The Tricky Peanut Butter

I’ve got to tell you, sometimes human food can be a bit strange at first. Take peanut butter, for instance. Man that stuff really gums up your mouth. But I like it anyway, even though it does make me a little thirsty. This is a rare treat for me because they don’t open these jars as much as they might sample cheese. But when they do, and I can finagle a bite or two, it is pure heaven.
So when Terry got this new kind in for her gift baskets recently I was eager to try it. I did my happy dance and everything. It’s called Compartes and it has a little bit of sweetness to it, hmmm, (sniff, sniff), that’s honey in there! And crunchy little salt crystals. Hey! There’s something else! That’s my flea control pill in there! Oh well, I won’t be scratching for a while. And the taste combination wasn’t that bad. Maybe the song should be “a spoonful of Compartes Peanut Butter helps the medicine go down.” Ha ha. Hmm, maybe I can get some more. Ooh – gotta go! – smell ya later…

Bella in the world of Gift Baskets

Hi, I am Bella, the Fancifull Dog, or as I like to be known: The CCO (Chief Canine Officer)
My owner, Rene Cosola, had to relocate to Sweden for a while, so I got to come live with Terry and Wally, the owners of Fancifull Gift Baskets. Boy, am I one lucky dog. There are so many wonderful smells around here to keep me busy.
You see, I have a ridiculous sense of smell. Terry tells me that 40 percent of a dog’s brain is dedicated to the olfactory senses, that they can literally smell the one rotton apple in two billion barrels of apples. So, whereas Wally may think he can smell cherries and fresh grass in his glass of wine, I can tell him what animals frequented the vineyard, how much rain it had, and what grows nearby.

Of course they don’t let me sample the wine, but I do get tidbits of other things from time to time, and that makes me do my happy dance. You see, if I use my “cute puppy look”, which consists of tilting my head just so, opening my dark brown eyes wide, and raising my ears a bit, it gets them every time. Zoolander’s “Blue Steel” has nothing on me. They just can’t resist throwing me a bit of organic cheese or some FraMani Salami (one of my personal favorites). If I have to, I can dance on two feet and turn around in circles! Well, a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

I have learned so much the two years I’ve been here, I can’t wait to share it with you. Today, for instance, I got to taste a fabulous cheese that they carry here when a bit “accidentally” fell on the floor (read again about “cute puppy look” above). It’s from the Sierra Nevada Cheese company. It has a mild flavor, but I noticed that it finishes a bit stronger, with a nice little bite. I would melt it on my kibble, but you may want it for vegetables, a sandwich or as part of a cheese tray with a bit of salami.
You, you’re lucky. You can unwrap it and do all those things yourself. It’s not so easy for me, and don’t even ask me how I’m writing this blog. (sniff, sniff) Ooh – that smells good – gotta go! Smell ya later…