Oh god, I haven’t blogged for ages! I’ve left it for so long that it’s even prompted my mum, who never normally sends emails, to write me a polite little note asking if she can have a new link (wowzas, and get her using the correct web lingo) because she’s not seen an entry for weeks.
Sorry mum. You’re not doing anything wrong on your computer. I’ve just been a bit tardy with the blogs.
I’ve still not been anywhere near a supermarket. But, quite frankly, I’ve completely run out of things to say about avoiding Tescos. Life has gone one without the trollies and endless aisles, and 10 months into the challenge I don’t even think about supermarkets any more.
So instead, seeing as I begun this entry by talking about mothers, I’m now going to write about breast milk cheese.
Yes, such a thing apparently exists, all thanks to a chap called Alex James, who most people will remember as the bassist from Blur, but these days is more at home churning cheese.
After his success with Blur, floppy-haired Alex moved to the Cotswolds, bought a farm house and turned it into a 200-acre cheese farm producing award-winning British artisan cheeses.
And yesterday I encountered one of the for the first time, thanks to the incredibly friendly lady behind the counter at my lovely new local deli, Fresh Basil, in Belper.
I’d popped in to grab some blue cheese, but the choice was so huge I ended up having a bit of a tasting session.
“What kind of blue do you like?” asked my new friend behind the counter.
“The stronger and stinkier the better,” I assured her.
“Ever heard of Alex James from Blur?” she continued.
I treated her to an impromptu and totally tuneless rendition of Song 2 by way of answer, joined halfway through the chorus by the lad working the cakes section alongside her.
She handed me a soft blue cheese called Blue Monday, made by Alex and apparently named after his favourite New Order track.
It was hands down one of the best blue cheeses I had ever tasted, but something was bugging me…
“It’s lovely,” I told the lady behind the counter. “But it’s not made with breast milk, is it?”
We both laughed. Alex James made headlines a few years ago when he talked about attempting to make cheese using his wife’s breast milk, and serving up a breast milk coffee to Gordon Ramsey.
But I’m assured that Blue Monday is definitely made with cow’s milk, so I take home a large chunk (which, 24 hours later, has mostly disappeared). Apparently breast milk is very difficult to curdle, which (thankfully) makes it less-than-ideal for making cheese.
