August Heat Wave and the Cheese Drought

The heat has finally broken in Middle Tennessee, at least during the morning hours. With highs in the mid-80's and lows in the 60's at night, we can finally sleep without the air conditioning on. The sky has been overcast at sunrise over the past few days, but I don't think we've had anything more than teasingly scattered raindrops in over a month. Still, my lawn remains green. Our first year in this house and we've let the crabgrass run wild, much to my retired next-door neighbor's chagrin. But crabgrass is a beautiful thing when there's a stretch of dry days, because it lives on while everyone else is pumping water from the Harpeth river to save their fescue.

At work the other night, I asked around to see if anyone liked pierogies. I was unable to find anyone from the South that had ever even heard of them! You know, similar to potstickers, but with potato filling. The responses went something like "Potstickers, what are those?" and "Polish people, they have their own food?"

In their defense, though, Nashville nurses at my hospital who work the nightshift full-time typically have diets which consist of Taco Bell, Chinese take-out, and pizza. So they are really only exposed to Mexican, Asian and Italian cuisines, along with the occasional American burger joint such as Sonic. Oh, and Starbucks. Columbian.

So I went grocery shopping at Kroger to look for farmer's cheese to fill my pierogies, which when mixed with sugar makes a sweet cheese that reminds me of crepe filling. Anyways, I found one little 8 ounce package hidden away for $4.99. I was dismayed. Being from the North and having spent much time in Wisconsin, farmer's cheese was as easy to obtain up there as grits and salt-cured ham bodies are here. The package said "Made in Wisconsin." I've seen cows grazing in fields near my home. Surely some of them are used to make dairy products.

I guess I will have to settle for potato and cheddar cheese (from Ohio) pierogies until I find a good cow willing to donate to my cause.