Moldiness of cheese is in direct proportion to the cost of said cheese. Always. Velveeta, for example, lasts forever.

Judy, you are so right. Velveeta has a shelf life that rivals the Twinkie. And it does not have to be refrigerated... creepy... yet so good...

Amen to that. I am afraid of the things that ought to be refrigerated and yet . . . are not. Why is that? I like it when they have them stocked in the grocery store twice . . . once in the dairy section and once on the shelf! Make up your mind!!

WHERE'S MY OKRA! SHARE!

That's one good-looking dinner... don't the tomatoes neutralize the calories in the fried okra?

I love how you can hear Roy purring on the video!

Love the video....and the okra.......so domestic....even if you are 10 days behind in living your life!

Laurie,

I laughed out loud looking and the pictures from our prom in your 80's hair section. All you needed was the pic of the guys with their mini-mullets to show the fine pickins at our high school.

Velveeta is practically health food compared to some other things. I used to think I was a bad mother because I didn't feed my children healthy meals three times a day. If I managed three times a week, that felt like an accomplishment!

But I didn't feel so bad once I found out that my sister-in-law allowed her young son to snack on Cheez Whiz straight from the squirting apparatus on the can.

I have so much to submit to the divorced soul chicken soup people, thank you for sharing the info!

And cheers to wine, cats and cheese (albeit moldy).

You are such a hoot! Next paycheck, I'm ordering your book!

You're both cute! Heeheehee, make love to the camera!

Awwww, that Roy-boy. He's one loving cat! Love hearing him purr into the camera.

Your summertime supper looks awesome. I love all veggie dinners. But only in the summer for some reason.

We've been missing you.

Okay, I totally and completely agree with the fact of Roy being cute.... but okra. Sorry. To all of those who have never tried fried okra...... it's a tricky food. It's smells heavenly when it's cooked as most fried foods do, but it is deceptive! It's more like a booger snot rolled in cornmeal and flour and fried till crispy on the outside and snotty on the inside. I try it every so often just in case I may change my mind but this has yet to happen........ and I live in Georgia so I'm exposed to its trickiness often. And, another bit of advice...... never ever ever sit next to someone eating it BOILED! Laurie may agree with me on the boiled part!

But, it does smell great!

Oh man. A fried okra dinner. HEAVEN! Why didn't I think of planting okra?!?!? I've got the tomatoes...green beans, corn, cucumbers....no darned okra. Maybe I, too, should visit the Farmer's Market.

Roy *is* cute. And Okra is good.

You are the mighty guru of all things good.

We are not worthy.

Slight correction -- that would be Easy Cheese, not Cheez Whiz.

fun video...so weird hearing what your voice sounds like after reading your blog for the last couple years. Nice voice, but I had imagined you sounded more like Demi Moore. Who the hell knows why.

I'm SO glad that I'm not the only one who coos to my cats and asks them questions. Roy (and you) are just too cute!! And what a motor Roy has.......purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Hearing about that book makes me almost wish that I was divorced!! I have some horrible stories about an ex-fiance. Does that count??

Wow, this is the second post about fried okra that I've read today, what are the odds. I think it's fate; I guess I know what we're having for dinner. I love the idea of sliced tomatoes on the side, but I'll have to also make some of my Gram's cornbread. Yum! Even if it will raise the temperature in the house an extra 5 degrees (no air conditioning here).

And I really love your blog. You're a gem of a person!

Oh, listen to Roy purr!! I am a sucker for that Roy. :)

Awww, Roy is so cute. But that whole okra thing? Ew! JMHO of course.

Liza {who refuses to think about what might be turning green and fuzzy in her 'fridge}

I once had a giant crush on you and wondered what our life would be like together. But I HATE OKRA. It is Satan's Breakfast. Forget it. I'm moving on to some other knitting blogger.

Hi, Laurie. Hey, you're a southerner, so you know a lot about about okra! Us East Coast peeps (I live in NYC) seem to have trouble with okra--I see Mary in Boston is struggling, like me. For example, after spending a MONTH looking for fresh or even freakin' frozen okra in NYC grocery stores, I finally found a package of fresh and cooked me some succotash. But my recipe came from a New Yorker, so I don't know if it was legit. Do you make succotash? How?

puurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Roy is so cute! And it was fun to finally hear your voice. Your laugh is very contagious.

Linda in VA

Love the Roy! My cats have very quiet purrs, so I usually have to do the chin-check. More than one person has asked *if* they purr, and they do! Just, quietly.

My grandfather used to ask their cat, "Got your motor running?" Of course, he was a mechanic, so that made sense.

As for the close-up, yes! Cats are always ready. I put one of Pan on my blog recently (I think the address will show up properly this way):
http://knit-read-cats-hockey.blogspot.com/2007/05/for-cat-people.html

You can have the okra, I'll eat the Blue Cheese, yum, the REAL Blue Cheese though. My mother never let us throw food away, we had to cut off the mold and pretend like we never saw it and eat it anyway. Is that child abuse?

I could tell some crazy food stories but I should come up with a good divorse story for the Chicken thing. Does it matter if he was more of an Jackass than a chicken?

Roy will be watched tonight, damn firewall.

It was cool being able to hear Roy purring! Cute, yet dignified, that's Roy.

Now I have to go follow the link to your fried okra recipe--but I'm not sure if I can get my entirely non-Southern ('cept for me) family to try it.

Ok, Roy is cute, but we must see the other cats in action as well! And I must confess to be in the apparent minority of Southerners who don't eat okra (although everyone else in my family does). I must also confess that the video has ruined my imagining you running around with a Renee Zellwenger (or however you spell her last name) Texas/Southern accent! You remind me alot of her - I think it is the hair.

-Kat a Louisiana gal in Texas, who cross stitches and occasionally knits

Freeze yer cheez dahlin :) It won't hurt it and it won't grow mold. Or ice worms, but that's another story!

i hear you can freeze your cheese too. good luck with that

Know what's really funny? After I watched the "Roy" video (which was cutiness itself), YouTube suggested that I'd be interested in watching related video starring ...

... Cat Stevens.

I love Roy's fang. He's the coolest.

Are you sure we aren't related? Can I adopt you? I, too, am about 10 days behind on my actual life, and damnit! I'm at WORK so I can't click on your video right now and hear you talk and the cat purr. Can't wait to hear what you actually sound like!

My only exposure to okra is that a grad school roommate from New Orleans gave me a gumbo cookbook for being in her wedding and it has an idiot-proof recipe for making a REAL pot of gumbo, including the correct way to make a roux - got it right on the first try. I don't actually LIKE okra, but man! is it cool to watch it hit that roux and make all those stringy-things!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Roy!!!

That was totally worth waiting 5 days for ;-)

I think I heard him purr. He is beyond adorable.

My friend has a theory that those that buy pre-shredded cheese have officially crossed the line into poshness. Just how much did they pay you for that book!? ;)

It used to be that the only veggies that I didn't like were Brussels sprouts and okra. Last winter, I discovered that I like Brussels sprouts. Now, okra is the only one. I just can't get past the texture. I don't like oysters either.

But Roy is adorable!

Oh my god Neil - you're giving up because of the okra? seriously? I'm sure you have a couple of weird things you like...had any gefilte fish lately. Now that shit is weird. Parts is parts, I like to say...

Love the live-action Roy! I have a loud purrer as well. He also drools massively when he's *really* happy. It's kinda gross, but endearing.
:)

Mmmmm- okra. Yum. I'll have to get me some soon.

So glad you're catching up. We missed you! (and your meat-undergarments-of-questionable-nature)

Okra YUMMY YUMMY!!! Fresh sliced tomatoes DOUBLE YUMMY!!!

Love Roy's curled upper lip heehee :o) THANKS for the essay contest info - will most def enter a few essays!

So cute! Roy making Elvis-face and purring! Awww.

I love me some fried okra. Last Sunday I had fried green tomatoes for breakfast. Good eats. That Roy . . . he is coverboy material.

LOVE the live action Roy vid. He's adorable, as are you taking that video of him. My coworkers now *know* I am nuts laughing in here alone. oy vey. I try to keep our cheese and fish in the bottom of the fridge, in the back. Yeah, it's a scary place in most fridges, but it's the coldest spot and i read somewhere that keeping it on the top or on the door was bad because those are warm places. And never actually touch the part you're not eating. Supposedly that makes it mold faster and I don't want to think about why... of course, that whole freezing thing would probably be lots easier, huh.

Well, I'm guessing you'll have no less than 10 stories published in that book! Hooray!

Roy is adorable. I loved his heavy breathing! ;-)

cute cute Riy!
I never thought to video my cats. Maybe I should try it.
Glad to hear your okra is no longer lonely.

hee "Good Eats" was all about okra last night...such timing. And MORE VIDEOS!!! (please) That was faboo!

You have such a cute voice to go with your cute self and your cute cat(s). It takes for-freaking-ever to view a YouTube (or any other) video on dial-up, so consider yourself honored that I waited for all the cuteness. So. Damned. CUTE!

Turn up the video WAY LOUD so you can hear Roy purring!!!!

Despite not being single, I am the only eater of Parmesan in our house due to cow's milk intolerance, so it has to keep. I buy a pre-packed chunk from the supermarket and, on the recommendation of a UK food writer, once it is out of its plastic, I wrap it tightly in cling film and then tightly in aluminium foil and it does seem to keep till I have finished it. I would also second the advice to freeze cheese. Parmesan rinds can be frozen too, then put them into soup (eg minestrone) when you make that as an additional flavouring. (I've only actually got round to doing that once)
Love the cute cat.

Fresh tomatoes, fried okra, a pan of hot cornbread with butter, glass of sweet tea ... yee-haw! Yeah, I'm originally from Atlanta, Ga, so I know what a good Southern dinner is all about.

And ya' already know I'm sitting here shoutin' Roy Love! Roy Love! He is an angel.

At least I am not the only one who films her pets and giggles a little (in my case a lot) while filming. I even have a child to film and still, I film pets too.

I wish we could have okra up here then I would know if I should be saying eeeuuwww to fried okra or yummy!

Awwww....love the Roy!!!

Best summertime meal EVER:

A sandwich made of: a sun-warmed tomato right off the vine on white bread with mayo. mm-mm-mmmmm

(okay. Best summertime meal consists of TWO sandwiches. I tried to be coy and delicate, but no. TWO sandwiches.)

Laurie-
I cheered out loud when I saw a new post-is it weird that I miss you when your gone?
My son's father (my ex) made this great OKRA dish I know you will love! It is sooo nice to be on good trems with him - it only took 5 years.

-OKRA (smaller ones work best) remove the top
-Red Onion Cut into big chunks
-Grape Tomatoes
-Put into a bowl and salt and pepper and coat well with Olive Oil
-Heat pan to med add a bit more olive oil
-Add Veggies and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes (the okra should still have a crunch)
-Throw in your favorite fresh herbs-cook for 1 more minute
-EAT!!! This is great cold too!

Awww, LOVED the Roy video. Of course, here I am, sitting with Lola Pie the brown tabby who is drunkenly purring at me. The only reason there is no video of her is because I don't have a camcorder. I do, however, make friends listen to my cats purr when they call me on the phone. It's one way of winnowing down a wide circle of friends. ;-)

Thank god I'm not the only one who videos my cat! PHEW! :)

love the video of roy! i kindly request videos of all the kitties! (with narration, of course.)

Oops, I forgot to add...I bought a $400 audio recorder primarily so that I could record my cats purr and meow, in high-quality sound. Yeah, I'll tell other people it was for other reasons, but we know the truth. I join the chorus of those asking for videos of the rest of the kitty-cat clan. How 'bout some lint-rolling action, too?

Awwww- cute Roy action!
I'm sitting here with my new siamese kitten Pho purring up a storm on his newly-commandeered corner of my desk.
(He LOVES his Kitty Pi, by the way...or "The Pho Bowl" as we call it around here- thanks for the idea, Laurie!).
I hear you about the cheese. I had that single-girl trouble too. I used to buy it in smaller custom-made hunks from the cheese counter -made me feel tres french!
And if you ever feel adventurous, cleaning up the fridge reaaaallly carefully (inside with vinegar/baking soda, everything removable with hot soapy water, gasket with a little bleach added--don't forget the gunk lurking under the veggie drawers) can help reduce the mold factor too. Spores LOVE it in there and just hang out waiting to attack our cheese!

LOVE THE ROY!! How does so much cuteness fit in such a tiny package??

Not that I don't love Roy (because I do and he totally rocks) but I would LOVE to see close up photos of the quilts in your home.

LOVE ROY!

Hate the hairy cheese.

Here's what you need for you cheese, a Tupperware Fridgesmart container. It is technically for fruit and veggie but works great for cheese. Cheese needs to breathe and fridgesmarts have little vents. I was once a Tupperware lady, I am full of random tupper-info.

Oh, man, I can't believe we can hear Roy purr! That is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cool!

Glad to have you back!

That has completely cemented my love for Roy! Video makes Roy the internet star :)!!!

"Make love to the camera" - you crack me up!

Maybe soon you will say, "Why YES, I HAVE written a fantastic, witty, deeply-moving BEST-SELLER, but what I REALLY want to do, is DIRECT!"

Always happy to see a new post on your blog, Laurie.

And I used to make pickled okra when I lived in Colorado, and regardless of the slime-factor, friends would sit out on my front porch and eat an entire jar without hesitation. Pickled okra and cold beer...good times.

LOVE the home fried okra! None of that frozen pop it in a pan and put it in the oven pretend fried okra. That does Not count!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the snaggle-tooth Roy. He is TOOOO adorable for words, hence the video :).

Live action is always better than still photography...plus you get sound!!! Lots of love to Roy, future pinup cat.

Angie

Oh I am sooooo very glad I read the comments today.

Honestly, you had me hankerin' for some okra. Although I'm a meat and potatoes girl from the Midwest, I do love my summer dinners! I've never had okra before.....then I read about it's deceiving nature. Fried orka = crispy crunchy goodness enveloping a snotty booger mass....never mind.

BTW succotach around here is corn and lima beans.

The video of Roy makes me miss my little Fred, even though I only left him a few hours ago and will see him in just a few more. What a sucker!

Mmmm, fried okra. My mom made the best fried okra - wasn't boogery at all! Hasn't made it for years and I never learned how (thank goodness or I'd be the size of Mt. Tamalpais). :-(

About the cheese moulding: Do Not Touch the cheese with your hands! Cut off what you are going to use, then slice or dice or whateveh. But don't inoculate(sp?)the surface by touching it. Please don't ask me how many years and tons of cheese it took me to figure this out!

Oh yeah, fried okra is food of the gods!!

Roy is deelightful, your voice is wonderful. I hope this is the first in a series from chez fur ball productions.

Moldy cheese...arghghgh, staple of our fridge. I always attempt to scald the knife so the cooties get off of it and don't infect the other foods or the inside of the knife drawer. I was raised on Velveeta and don't EVER remember it going bad...? I can go inside my head and recall the 'squish' of a bite of Velveeta (stuck my teeth together just for a second) and the sort of smear of smell of the orange goodness.

Roy purrrr is his love call to Laurie; his eyes are full of blissss.

Oh the cuteness is unbearable.

I hear ya on the okra! Fathers day I made a mess of fried squash which I have not had in a year or two. I think we ate about 5 pounds of it lol

Nothing says summer like fried veggies and fresh veggies!

Love the Roy video!

You are my voice twin! It actually freaked me out because I couldn't figure out how MY voice was narrating your video.

I love pet vidoes, kid vidoes , any kind of personal thing. My blog went from a knitting blog to a kids mostly then knit blog. Keep the pussy videos coming.

Roy cuteness! How I want to hug him. And good to hear your voice, too.

That okra looks SO good. Okra and tomatoes. MMMMMMM.

Non-Southerners: the trick to getting the snot out of okra is to cut off the ends and dispose of them, then slice the okra, and then rinse it thoroughly in COLD water. Drain it well, dredge in flour, and fry until JUST crispy.

Also, granny used to say that "chees needs to breathe" and she would wrap her cheese in plain brown paper or unwaxed butcher paper. Parchment paper would likely work as well. If I remember to do that I never have moldy cheese.

So, does anyone think it odd that the Chicken Soup for the DIVORCED Soul contest has, as its first rule:

Contest is open to all legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are thirteen (13) years of age or older.

One would hope there are no 13 yo Divorcees out and about!

The key with cheeses is to buy the medium to hard ones. That way you can just slice off the offending growth and continue enjoying the cheese goodness. This is why I eat my "crack cheese" (which can be purchased at Andronico's, Berkeley Bowl, and Whole Paycheck) immediately. It is soft and cannot be saved once it starts to turn. It's also too expensive to let go bad.

Hey there, I just happen to work at a cheese shop.
Word of advice. Shave your own cheese. Use a potato peeler. Hard cheeses like Parm and the like will get mold on their outside. It's no biggie. Cut it off. The inside is still fine (don't try this with soft cheeses).
A quarter pound of cheese will last forever and ever in tupperware-type dealies in your fridge, and will cost less, and taste better.

Trust me.

1. Roy is so cute!!!
2. The okra is tempting, although I really only like it in gumbo.
3. I don't care what they say, I keep my Velveeta in the fridge.
4. I'm currently in cheese-mourning, because I can't find my favorite stilton-with-dried-apricots here in Iowa City.

Roy rumble purr! Excellent video. My cats like to head bash the camera too, little hams!

clean out your entire fridge (keep nothing that is more than a week old (and i do mean everything, except maybe bottled dressings/condiments). wipe t he whole damned shooting match down with a bleach solution. approximately 1/4 cup per gallon of hot water. don't burn yourself, but hot enough. if bleach is too oogey for ya, see if you can find quaternary ammonia. it's food safe in low enough quantities (something like 1 T per gallon, i htink). as an absolute back up, distilled vinegar. your fridge will smell like a salad, but your cheese won't mold!

Roy is adorable! And, sign me up for the cute man in red bikini pants please :)

Roy is a star! What a handsome, sweet guy he is. Hugs and bacon to Roy.

Frank and I just watched the video - TWICE. You have a lovely voice! I was expecting something more contralto, but it is really lovely and charming!

For the billionth time, your Mr. X was an idiot. I bet his floozy sounds like a fishwife.

Frank was impressed with Roy - "Wow. He's really loud!" - AND the okra. He says he's never had fried okra...so your recipe may come in handy!

Frank about having cats: They're furry, bossy little people with a speech impediment and a lack of thumbs, but lots of love

I don't think the Diet From Hell allows okra. But maybe. If only it allowed tomatoes.

Dang, another opportunity lost: DH and I are entirely too lazy to get divorced, much less to write essays thereon.

Fried? I'll try it. As a matter of fact, I have been looking for fresh okra ever since you first offered the recipe. It is not what you could call a New England staple, you know? I hear I might find it at Trader Joe's and have signed up for their e-mail updates just for the okra report. Yes, you are THAT persuasive (and the whole frying part didn't hurt none, neither).

As for cheese? We were told to scrape off the mold and enjoy. So I do. Velveeta, feta, whatever!

And the purr? Precious!

The video of your kitty is so sweet!

hey laurie...

i just had the best fried okra at big mama's ribs in pasadena! sometimes it's a bit of a wait for food there, but SO worth it.

Roy has a silly purr! (At least that's what I assume the sound was.) Makes him that much cuter!

Ooooookra ! Mmmmm ! As a Southern Gal, non-transplanted, this was (is) a staple in my kitchen. And for anyone reading, this is the BEST and ONLY-est way to eat it. Don't buy it pre-breaded and expect it to be yummy though. It's tolerable, I suppose, but no where NEAR as tasty as fresh. Ditto on the breaded crook-necked squash... and fried green tomatoes... and fish... and anything else breadable and fry-able.

Had venison (FRIED, of course !) last night, Laurie. Just another staple here in Margaritaville (read: anywhere I am, but mainly in NawthWest Missippi -- well, that's how we pronounce it around here anyway). May have fresh crappie tonight, depending on whether my father takes pity on my divorced ass and brings me some.

Anykindahow, I enjoy reading of your adventures in the concrete jungle. Wish I had that jeep of yours. Oh, and the entourage is just too cute for words. I'll have to send you video of my miniature schnauzer "whispering" one day. She was taught due to a "have to" situation: A pet in a "no pet apartment". She also sighs heavily (HEAVILY) when frustrated with me. One day she is going to hyperventilate. I just know it.

Cheers !

PS: Happy First Day of Summer, y'all !

Almost peed my pants laughing at Roy's close up. I thought I was the only one who tortured her cats by trying to get them on video:~)

Laurie, I don't post links to other sites on my website but today I DID mention your site in my post because YOU ARE AWESOME.

Hugs to all!

i just saw Alton Brown's episode on okra on Good Eats. it instantly made me think of you Laurie! and his prep of okra is quite similar to yours as well.

pretty boy roy is ALWAYS making love to the camera.

OH sweet Roy! That was an extra special dose of much needed sweetness in my day, thanks! Love the soft purr.

I just found out that a co-worker just broke up with her fiance, I am going to two weddings this summer, we have two pregnant directors and two new babies at work, and my dad got laid off last week. Further proof the world goes round and round and up and down. I'm just trying to keep up! (and busy being glad that for once my own summer is low-key and even-keeled)

If the cheese is molding chances are your refrigerator is not working properly. I recently discovered this after years of believing the shelf life of everything was rather short and mold on the cheese always. Then the fridge actually died so landlord had to replace it with new. Everything now lasts forever with no mold ever within reason of course, but weeks instead of days. Get a thermometer and see what temps your getting in the fridge. Worth checking into if you're losing food.

My husband desperately wanted a FoodSaver (it vacuum packs food in plastic bags).
I thought he was crazy but bought him one for Christmas a couple of years ago.
It paid for itself the first month in cheese not thrown away. Amazing. (Other stuff freezes better as well, but the cheese in the fridge is just amazing.)

man I love Roy.

Cheez Whiz may last forever as well, but it doesn't keep its youthful freshness forever. We just unearthed an ancient, unopened jar in grandma's basement (I didn't have the heart to look at the sell by date, but I'm pretty sure it's older than the pre-teen grandkids) and it was a deep caramel colour. Mmm!

tasty looking dinner, and good luck with that cheese; we are crazy cat people here in North Africa as well.

I planted okra plants this year just for you okra recipe! It's so good and easy! However, the plants are not doing so well, and I may not even get one okra out of the deal.... So sad I know. It'll be back to the farmer's market for me.

Roy, Roy, Roy - won't you come live with me?? Please? I'll get in a good supply of bacon and some nice roasted chicken along with a nice side of fresh tuna. We'll leave the okra with Laurie though - ok?

Yup! I agree with Laurie in Victoria, Vivian, Gaile and AllisonK. Freeze the cheese. It always works for us. When you want a few slices, it's not that diffcult to slice while it's frozen.

Also...Neil! I can't believe you're giving up on Laurie just because of the okra thing!!! What? You actually like borscht?

So true about the cheese...although I was cleaning out the fridge last week and I came across a chunk of parma-somthing or other that was mold free and thought "Oh look good cheese...I'll totally use that to cook dinner tomorrow." The next day I opened the cheese drawer and, yup, you guessed it...mold had sprouted overnight. Like the cheese knew it's days were numbered.

[delurking]

I just watched that video and I think I fell in love with you. Not to be creepy or anything, but anyone whom that actually deters from asking you out is not worth the time of day.

I loved the video of Roy, what a darling he is!
The other day I got a very cute video of one of our cats cleaning our 2 dogs. Here is the link to YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5B3nFYjxgE
Love your blog, Laurie!

Was it you or Roy drinking the wine?

You are ~such~ a freak. I admire that.

Roy is indeed cute! And your laugh is exactly the way I imagined it, also very cute!

Laurie, can I just say that your voice and giggle are just too prescious for words! And Roy!!! Again, no words. :oD You guys make me happy.

Oh, lordy...I'm a little late for this party, but being a Georgia gal now living in New York, I hate to say YUM on the okra - that looks like how my mom used to make it! Mmmmm....okra....

I love the quilt in the background! And many happy returns.

I love the quilt in the background! And many happy returns.