Strikes and Rumors of Strikes

Forget those pesky French students. Seattle garbage workers are threatening to go on strike.

Their demands are pretty reasonable from where I sit. They want safer working conditions, better overtime pay and better health care (and doesn't everybody who doesn't work for Costco want that?) I say, "Hey! They're garbage workers. Give those guys whatever they want. What? You want to deal with everyone's trash? They're freakin' heroes. Give 'em a raise and while you're at it, throw in iPods with free downloads and a pound of Starbucks peacherry a week".

We're very "green" here in Seattle. Our family is typical as regards waste management. We recycle plastic, paper, tin and glass. We reuse a lot of stuff. Our yard waste is picked up every other week and turned into mulch. We compost kitchen scraps. We have one small garbage can for weekly stuff that can't be dealt with otherwise and one large can in the garage that gets emptied every few months. But the point is that we do have garbage that even I, in my most inspired Martha Stewart moments can't do anything with and I expect it to be hauled off. Unless Mayor Nichols wants a weekly gift basket of all my skank, he'd better take care of those guys.

This does, however, put me in mind of a terrific recipe for using up odd bits of cheese. One less thing to toss out.

Fromage Fort
(That's French for "strong cheese". But you knew that).

You'll want a food processor for this. Whiz up a few whole cloves of garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Then put on the grater attachement. Collect whatever odds and ends of cheese are moldering in the deli bin. Cut off any hard or moldy bits. Run it all through the grater. A mix of hard and soft cheeses is best.

Remove the grater attachment and toss in a tablespoon or so of cream, depending on how much cheese you have. Whiz it all together until the cheese mixture is fairly smooth. Add a splash of marc, if you have it, or regular brandy if you don't.

Scoop the whole mess out into a container with a tight lid and refridgerate for up to a month. Makes a delicious spread for crackers or crostini.