I had heard of Simnel cake, probably even eaten a slice or two at some point, but there are lots of religious holiday sweets. Like the Three King’s Cake with a ceramic baby Jesus baked inside on the first day of Epiphany and the gaudy donut-shaped cake with green, purple, and gold sugar for Shrove Tuesday. (Apparently these two cakes are actually the same.) There are Advent stollens, hot cross buns, egg bread.

As it turns out, Simnel cake has evolved into an Easter confection, but there was a time it was served on Laetare Sunday (“Refreshment” Sunday), the midpoint between Fat Tuesday and Good Friday. It was a little treat for the Lenten-weary. It was also known as Mothering Sunday. Servant girls would get to visit their mothers on this day and bring a cake. They’d decorate the cake with eleven almond paste balls to represent the faithful Apostles (poor Judas didn’t make the cut) and little spring flowers they’d pick en route.

David was preparing for Laetare Sunday at St. Luke’s, and here he was with a fistful of random recipes. But I wouldn’t give the poor bakers in our parish a recipe I hadn’t tested first. Once I did a little research, I realized this cake not only needed testing, it needed serious updating!

Many of the recipes called for archaic size pans. Some recipes contained serious errors. Did the recipe writer really mean to call for 1/2 cup golden raisins and 3/4 teaspoon currants. Was I really supposed to bake the cake for 3 hours? 2/3 cup grated citrus zest? My mouth puckered painfully. A lot of recipes insisted on making your own almond paste. Others called for candied cherries and citrus. About now all I can think of are fruitcake jokes.

So I went to work. I didn’t want to cheapen a cake so rich in tradition, but I didn’t want to turn off potential bakers with weird ingredients, odd pans, and unnecessary steps. I also didn’t want them to waste their time making a cake people might admire but politely refuse.

I started with the pan, developing a recipe that would work in a standard 13- by 9-inch pan. I replaced all the candied fruit with a mix of golden and dark raisins and dried cranberries, and for the candied citrus I substituted a reasonable amount of orange and lemon zest. Rather than rely strictly on eggs for lift, I added a little baking powder to the mix. I left the almond paste layer baked in the middle of the batter but opted for almond flavored butter cream rather than a second layer of cloying almond paste on top of the cake.

I garnished the cake with the traditional almond paste balls but I increased the number to twelve because I think Judas was no worse than the other failed disciples, and much like the cake, the theology needed a little update too.

When the woman asked what I was looking for, I looked up, mouth dumbly agape, and said, “I dunno.”  Totally inept.

And then, as chance would have it, I discovered Cypress Grove Chevre in Arcata, California. Fortunately for me I got an interview with founder and master cheese maker, Mary Keehn. (Fortunately for you, they want us to give away a terrific cheese sampler package.)

Working with dairy scientists, cheese experts and the knowledge they’ve accumulated over a quarter of a century, Cypress Grove has written “The Secret Life of Cheese: The Ages and Stages of Soft-Ripened Goat Cheese.”  This secret life, says Mary, has to do with “proteolysis,” a technical term for the thickening of the layer between the rind and the cheese curd. Over the course of several days and weeks the layer thickens. The thicker it is, the stronger the taste of the cheese. Whether you prefer young ripe, or mature soft-ripened cheese or a more aged, ripened cheese – that’s all a matter of personal taste.

Like many cheese lovers, I’m not sure what to drink with a particular cheese. Cypress Grove to the rescue. Their staffers got together one New Year’s Eve, Mary recalls, with cheese, nibbles, wine, and beer. The following is the fruit of their labor:

Young Cheese
Wine: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc,Demi-sec sparkling wine
Beer: Light Wheat Beer
Food: Pistachios, Marcona almonds, honey, Fuji or Pink Lady apples
Serve On: Baguette, thick cracker

Ripe Cheese
Wine: Pinot Noir, Rosé
Beer: Pale Ale
Food: Jamon Serrano, prosciutto, aged salami, currants, Fuyu persimmon
Serve On: Nut/fruit crackers, Olive Bread

Mature Cheese
Wine: Full bodied, aged Zinfandel or Pinot Noir, Single Malt Scotch, Prosecco
Beer: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Food: Granny Smith apples, D’Anjou pear, dates, mango chutney, dried cranberries, fig jam
Serve On: Seeded baguette, savory or sweet Spanish torta crisp bread

One of my first questions for Mary (pictured left) was about storage.  Our family has always unceremoniously wrapped leftover cheese in saran wrap and plunked it in the fridge’s cheese drawer. When Andy and I were in France this summer, we noticed that our French friends stored all their cheeses, unwrapped, in a large Tupperware box which they took out of the fridge in the morning and set in the shade on their balcony in preparation for lunch.  “So,” I asked, “who’s doing it the right way?”  The answer is, we’re both doing it half right. Hard cheeses without a rind, like Parmigiano and Pecorino should be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to keep them fresh and moisture free.  Whereas cheese with soft rinds like aged goat cheese and Camembert should be kept in Tupperware.  That’s because cheeses with soft rinds are covered in white mold which is, of course, alive and needs to breathe.  Plastic suffocates the white mold, a major element of the cheese. Ideally, Mary noted, cheeses with soft rinds are best stored individually in Tupperware about the same size as the cheese.

My next query was all about the ideal serving temperature. Does it really make a difference?  It does—and room temp is the rule.  Eating cold cheese, Mary reasoned, is like drinking cold red wine. “It’s inaccessible to your tongue.” You get the big, bold tastes but not all the subtle, nuanced flavors – the undertones, the aftertaste.  Same with cheese.  It may taste good, but a host of flavors are lost in the cold.

I’ve never had a master cheese maker on the line, so of course I had to ask, “What are your favorite cheeses?”  Of course she eats her own cheeses, and who could blame her? They are, as the French would say, “incroyable”!  But over the past twenty six years, Mary has created fantastic relationships with other cheese makers and is equally enamored of their creations.  She loves the Cowgirl Creamery located in the Bay Area, which she insists is so good I have to make it part of my itinerary when I’m in San Francisco in October for Blogher.  She also loves bandaged cheddar from Beecher’s in Seattle or Fiscolini’s in Modesto.  But you don’t have to be on the West Coast to get Cypress Grove. They’re carried by Whole Foods, Wegmans and most gourmet grocery stores.  They’ll even ship it straight to your doorstep.

I’ll admit I’m a sucker for the success story of a strong-willed pioneering woman, but Cypress Grove is the type of company you wish made all your food.  When Mary started this venture twenty six years ago, she wanted to make the highest quality American goat cheese at a time when people thought goat cheese could only be made in France. At first, she even had her own goats. Ultimately, Mary realized she couldn’t develop all the cheeses she wanted to and still tend a herd of goats. Today, to ensure the quality of its milk, Cypress Grove has “a little truck” visiting small, local dairies and collecting milk.  Every batch from every collection point is lab tested for bacteria, butter fat and protein quality.  Their farmers get paid based on the quality of their product: the better the milk, the better the bonus.  And the cheese (at room temp!) has quality that wows the palate.

Next time I walk into my local cheese shop, I’ll know what I’m looking for, what I can serve it with and how to store it.  I’m feeling so confident that in a few weeks, when I have my house warming party, I’ve decided to make it a wine and cheese tasting.

Now for the good stuff…

Here’s what two lucky winners will get: (keep reading for how to get it)

SOFT-RIPENED CHEESES
Humboldt Fog – 16 oz. Fog Mini
Our signature offering, Humboldt Fog is an elegant, soft, surface-ripened goat milk cheese. The texture is creamy and luscious with a subtle tangy flavor. Each handcrafted wheel features a ribbon of edible vegetable ash along its center and a coating of ash under its exterior to give it a distinctive, cake-like appearance. An American Original!

Truffle Tremor – 12 oz. slice
The classic flavor of truffle meets the velvety perfection of ripened goat milk cheese. Earthy, elegant, and sophisticated, it’s sure to make even the most distinguished taste buds shake!

FRESH CHEVRE
Purple Haze – 4 oz. disk
Our best selling fresh chevre — The perfect mixture of lavender and fennel pollen gives Purple Haze a sweet and addicting flavor.

AGED CHEESES
Midnight Moon – 16 oz. slice
Aged six months or more, this pale, ivory cheese is firm, dense and smooth with the slight graininess of a long-aged cheese. The flavor is nutty and brown-buttery, with prominent caramel notes. Made in Europe exclusively for Cypress Grove Chevre.

Lamb Chopper – 16 oz. slice
Born to be mild, this sheep milk cheese is buttery in color and flavor with a long, complex finish. The texture is smooth and soft-firm, making Lamb Chopper an enchanting table or cooking cheese. Made in Europe exclusively for Cypress Grove Chevre.

And here’s how to get it: To enter, answer the question “My favorite cheese is ___________ ” in the comments section.  You have until noon on Monday, March 8th. We will announce winners no later than 6:00 PM the same day.

UPDATE: Our winning numbers were #8 Liz and #67 Susie Butler Dodd. We’ll be in touch with you for shipping details. Thank you all for playing and congrats to our two lucky winners.

For an apartment kitchen, mine’s pretty darn good. It’s got a big open floor plan and lots of windows, a respectable gas stove, a dishwasher (!), and a relatively new fridge. My complaint, like most cooks, is that there isn’t enough storage or prep space. There aren’t nearly enough cabinets or drawers, and the counter space is just plain pitiful. And unless we get rid of our beloved kitchen table, there really isn’t room for the massive kitchen cart/island that I can’t afford, but deeply believe would solve all my problems.

No, I didn’t dream that I had a big, gorgeous, well-organized kitchen. Apparently my sub-conscious—with the exception of those Justin Timberlake hiccups—is much more of a realist. I dreamt that there was a public library for kitchenware. All you had to do was sign up, get a card, and for NO money whatsoever you could rent out pots, pans, knives, dishes, utensils, KitchenAids, blenders, and food processors. You name it.

In my dream, I walked through rows and rows of rainbow-hued Le Creusets in all sizes, one so big I could have slept in it. Ramekins piled high in teetering towers. Stacks and stacks of nonstick pans all slick and smooth and ready to make the perfect omelet. Nests of mixing bowls with skid-resistant bottoms and perfect-pour spouts. Cutting boards of bamboo, olive wood, and well-oiled cherry. An army of KitchenAid mixers poised to paddle bread dough into serious submission.

When I woke up I thought to myself, Now that is just amazing! I don’t have the money to buy all the kitchen things I want, and I don’t have the space to store them even if I did. And what about all those dishes I want to try that require strange tools? I want to make real crème brûlée, but I don’t want to surrender precious drawer space to a kitchen torch. I could borrow that from the cookware library.

There are so many things I would love to test drive—to use for an afternoon. They fall into two categories: the Aston Martin and the U-Haul. An Aston Martin is something you could never afford, but would love to get behind the wheel of for a few hours. A U-Haul is something you need for a time, but would never want to own.

I would love to chop a few onions with razor sharp Wusthof Ikon knives—I bet I wouldn’t even cry. And I’d borrow a huge tagine on a Saturday to make Moroccan for a crowd. I’d get a loaner set of cake decorating tools like pastry bags and tips when I am feeling adventurous with frosting. And I’d totally rent a spacious copper bowl, because I want to whip egg whites in one just once. Plus, they’re pretty. I’d borrow a tart pan, or better yet mini tart pans—because really, how often do you use those? Oh, I could go on forever.

I hope some rich philanthropist reads this and starts a cookware library near me. But, in all seriousness, think about it: books are so important to the development of good citizens that local and federal governments help fund libraries. But what about food and eating? Given the problem of over-eating, fast food, and obesity in this country—doesn’t encouraging people to cook more (without asking them to plunk down loads of money to do so) make all kinds of sense?

Or am I still dreaming?