My love affair with halloumi cheese

Mmm...look at those gorgeous grill marks!

If you’ve never tasted halloumi cheese, you don’t know what you are missing. My life became just a little bit richer the day I tasted this cheese. Eaten warm, it is pure heaven when grilled to a golden brown and crispy in some parts, ooey and soft in others. The flavour of this unripened brine cheese combines with the heat to create a symphony of perfection on the palate, like tasting only the best parts of a grilled cheese sandwich: buttery, cheesy, crispy, warm. This cheese is soft and mild yet has a salty character, and is dense enough with a high melting point so halloumi is perfect on the grill. I sometimes cube it and put it on a skewer with fast-cooking meat (leaving it on too long will melt it too much so you want the rest of the skewered food to cook at the same rate) or just sliced about 1/2 inch thick, and placed on a heated, oiled grill. The texture reminds me of firm tofu, while the salty mild  flavour is reminiscent of feta. I’ve seen it served on top of a salad for a lovely summer meal, but personally I haven’t gotten farther than serving it on a the plate that I bring it in on from the bbq; it’s just too good and goes fast. My family goes crazy for it; I am barely able to be seated at the table by the time it’s almost all gone, let alone explain that it’s supposed to go on top of the other food (they do leave a piece for me because they know better than to deny the chef).

If you haven’t tried this savoury treat, you are in luck because halloumi cheese is increasingly easy to find in your average supermarket. The first kind I tried was President’s Choice brand which has been delish. I just recently bought a different brand that’s waiting to be devoured. Will report back on that one soon. Yum.

Want some food for thought? Enter 'halloumi cheese' into Google and take a look at the images search results. Be prepared to drool a little. 

A new chapter: the end to clutter chaos

So I've had it. I'm so done with looking anywhere and everywhere in my house and seeing nothing but clutter and things without homes strewn on nearly every surface. This is not making me happy, in fact, at times, it makes me feel like an elephant is crushing my chest. TOO MUCH STUFF!!! as the Robert Munsch book says.

Anyone who has ever set foot in my house can attest to the fact that rather than show it off with pride, I apologize for the [perpetually] messy state it's in, almost to an annoying degree. I begrudgingly give tours showcasing my incomplete projects (yes, I will paint that last wall....1 year later), and ultimately lack of organization, which I seem to have passed along to my kids. Sure, it's expected that a house where there is someone at home at least 99% of the time, with two kids and a dog and cat, will look lived in but what I see in some corners, like my dining room currently, is more like something in a style I like to call "frat house chic": cases of empty beer bottles and an extra mattress leaning up against the wall. Niiicce. Might I add that this week I had the pleasure of meeting my older daughter's boy-who-is-her-friend's mother when she came over to pick her up for a movie. She followed me into the house (GASP!!!) and I could barely hear what she was saying for my head was spinning with the thoughts of what she must think of the place!

I chalk it up to two things: a lack of organization and my inability to throw things away! As a keen recycler since I was a child, it pains me with guilt to throw things out - a breakthrough realization that I recently became aware of - but as my husband says, "Some things are just garbage, Nancy." And with that, the light bulb of realization went on and so did my commitment to clean up our act.

So with that, I'm launching a summer series of posts. In reality I know it is not something that will be completed over the summer months alone. Cleaning up 5 years of living in a house + a lifetime of bad clutter-causing habits will surely take more than 10 weeks, however, it's a fun and lighthearted approach to what could be a very daunting project.

My first step, and really the methodology for the project will be to go room by room, identifying those trouble spots that seem to be natural dumping grounds for stuff (Clutter Corners as I like to call them) and really look at why this is the case. For example, is it because the things that get dumped there have no other home? Is it because we don't know what to do with them or don't want to be ruthless and throw them out? Looking at the psychological reasons these Clutter Corners happen will be key to figuring out solutions.

I will do this room by room and then revisit the list to implement solutions for each problem. Then once that is done, go project by project (for me, starting very small so I don't get overwhelmed and leave things half finished is key) and implement the solutions. Some projects will be tiny and will take no time at all. Others might take longer but I'll make sure that I am not biting off more than I can chew.

I hope you'll check in every once in a while to see how it's going. I hope to provide before and after photos, sources for products and instructions for DIY projects, of which there will be many! My ultimate goal is to create a calming and comfortable space where our family can live and function more efficiently. Who am I kidding - I really just want to give house tours without embarrassment!