Traveling Europe in search of the best cheese for her then job, Katherine McLaughlin particularly liked Spain and it’s cheese. About ten years ago, she decided to open her own shop devoted to Spanish-only farmhouse cheeses. She stocks a number of goat, sheep and cow milk varieties, as well as local artisan olive oils, and wine to go with cheese tastings.

I stumbled upon “Formatgeria La Seu” in the “Time Out Barcelona” book I’d purchased for the trip. (Fantastic book for anyone going to Barcelona!) The day I navigated my way through narrow streets to her shop, she was stocking after being closed in August. Although I wasn’t able to enjoy her taster plate of three cheeses and a glass of wine, we had a wonderful time chatting. It was very interesting to hear all about the start, growth and challenges of being a shop owner in Spain. She also marked the best restaurants and tapas bars in my book! So if you like cheese and plan to be in Barcelona, visiting Formatgeria La Seu is a must.

Posted by Lynn Gowdy at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Where was I today? Driving down the street in Haro (pronounced ah-row), a small hub town in the northern La Rioja wine region. It was about 4:00 p.m. I look to my left and say to my husband, “Stop! Pull over, quick!” I jump out and walk over to an open garage. In it are six ladies, ranging from 40 to probably 70 years of age. They had an impressive operation in action roasting what they told me were piquillo peppers.

I just walked right into the garage. They all looked at me curiously, wondering what the heck I was doing. In my broken Spanish, I explained it was very interesting to me and that I’d never seen anything like their contraption. I was immediately welcomed and got the tour.

These ladies grow the peppers then roast and jar them to sell each fall. They are washed then placed in a metal cylinder over a very hot fire which is continuously cranked to evenly roast the peppers tossed about inside.

Emptying the Contraption

Next, two women peel the charred skin and remove all seeds. They made sure to tell me not to use any water as it washes away the flavor. The final prep stage is to slice them.

Sliced Peppers Awaiting the Jar

Stumbling upon this operation definitely made my day!

Posted by Lynn Gowdy at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

They've been around the block, (not Pamela but maybe Suzette) birthing in Brittany (France). There are numerous variations including sope (Mexico), injera (African), crespella (Italy), pannekoeken (Denmark), pfannkuchen (Germany), dosa (India), palacsinta (Hungary), filloas (Galacia, Spain) to name a few. I've had them here and there in the US, the most memorable at Lutz Cafe in Chicago.

I didn't know the savory style is traditionally made with buckwheat flour and sweet with whole wheat. Suzette prefers sweet but Pamela, neither! She stepped out on her own and made them with a mishmosh of flours so she could go either way. And let me tell you, they are great!

All kidding aside, Pamela's Gluten Free Baking and Pancake Mix makes ambrosial crepes.

Continue reading "Pamela Or Suzette?" »

Posted by Lynn Gowdy at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Those of us who live in Northern California are lucky, especially if you are interested in quality food. We have easy access to so many wonderful artisan food producers and growers. CSA (Consumer Sponsored Agriculture) box choices are aplenty, fresh and seasonal at your fingertips, and passionate people with visions scattered about.

Three women are just such passionate people whose visions came to fruition. Dubbed the “G.O.A.T. Girls”, they know a few things about goats and goat milk products because they are truly pioneers in what they do, with years of experience behind them.

These successful ladies are Laura Howard (pictured above with Jethro) of Laloo’s Goat’s Milk Ice Cream, Jennifer Lynn Bice of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, and Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove Chevre. They’ve recently come together in a campaign to educate consumers about the multitude of health benefits and wide variety of goat’s milk products available to us, and that goats are green. The start of this campaign is at

Continue reading "What the G.O.A.T?" »

Posted by Lynn Gowdy at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)