We were excited to receive a shipment of all the flavors of Smucker’s premium line of preserves, Orchard’s Finest.

We reached for the blueberry preserves—we rarely see a jar of blueberry preserves or jam—and ate it from the spoon.

It was a bit too sweet to mainline, but we grabbed a carton of plain Greek yogurt and made the most delicious blueberry yogurt. And another. And another.

Which gets us to today’s tip: Mix your own fruit yogurt with preserves and plain yogurt. It’s “fruit on the bottom” style, only your fruit will be on the top.

Why do it?

Our favorite cheese course: four different
goat cheeses. Photo courtesy Payard.com.

What’s your cheese passion? Are you singing the blues? Do you clamor for Cheddar? Do you pine for Parmigiano-Reggiano?

We have a passion for goat cheese (chèvre). While variety may be the spice of life, nothing makes us happier at the dinner table than when the cheese course comprises three or four different types of chèvre.

The next time you put a cheese plate together, focus on your cheese passion. You can do it by milk type:

Or go by cheese group. For example:

 
We could go on forever, but you may prefer to browse through our Cheese Glossary for ideas.

Then, combine the cheese course with some lightly dressed salad greens and a cheese condiment or two.

You’ll be in cheese heaven.

Here are more of our favorite cheeses and cheese recipes.
  

Also called Oaxaca chocolate, Mexican chocolate is a cinnamon-scented sweet chocolate accented with cinnamon. Some varieties include clove, ground almonds and/or nutmeg.

Mexican chocolate is used primarily to make hot chocolate, but it’s also an ingredient in pork rubs, as a seasoning for beans, and of course, in Mole Poblano or Mole Negro.* You can also just eat it like candy, bake with it, make ice cream and do anything else you’d do with chocolate.

The Ibarra brand is a large commercial brand and can be found in the U.S.

But for those who want the best Mexican chocolate, take a look at the artisan product—handmade and stoneground—from the Rancho Gordo-Xoxoc Project. An American company and a Mexican company are working together to help small farmers continue to grow the indigenous foods of Mexico.

The result is rich, dense, 70% cacao chocolate: intense, delicious and rustic with hints of smoke.

You can buy it at RanchoGordo.com.
 
*ABOUT MOLE (moe-lay): Each region of Mexico has its own mole recipe. One of the most famous, mole negro from Oaxaca, uses the base mole ingredients—roasted dried chiles, unsweetened chocolate, almonds and spices—plus peanuts, plantains, cloves, cinnamon, onion, garlic, sesame seeds and five different chiles. Mole poblano, from Pueblo, uses the base ingredients plus tomatoes, raisins, bread, lard, anise, cloves, cinnamon, three different chiles, garlic, sesame and other ingredients. The sauces accompany beef, chicken, enchiladas, seafood and turkey, and are served with rice and tortillas.