Ever since I can remember, I’ve bought this parmigiano reggiano (parmesan) cheese from Costco. We’re Italian, it lasts a long time and we like to have it on hand. So, my daughters grew up thinking nothing of it. Doesn’t every house have parmesan?
UNTIL… my daughter’s boyfriend opened her fridge and saw this HUGE hunk of cheese and acted horrified. Why do you need that big piece of cheese, it’s ONLY you? What are you doing with that?
My daughter said her first reaction was to become defensive. Grab the parmesan. YES, protect the parmesan! She started to explain, than thought, “WAIT, it’s normal, what’s HIS problem! Why shouldn’t I have this?”
I didn’t know this happened until the other day. I was heading to Costco and asked my daughter if she needed some parmigiano reggiano cheese. It used to be around $12.99, now it is $17.99. We need to treat it like GOLD. Inflation is real.
That’s when she said, “I have a funny story to tell you about my hunk of cheese.”
We both laughed!! I said I was PROUD of her for defending the parmesan.
Lately, I’ve been in a pasta mood. I found this pasta noodle, I love it. It’s called, “Fusilli Corti Bucati.” If I go for a different noodle, other than spaghetti, I go for the bow ties or orecchiette. THESE are so wiggly, just a fun noodle shape.
If I had this noodle when I was young, I could see myself flinging one of the noodles at my twin brother. When he would get angry, I’d say, “It’s not my fault, the noodle flew off my fork!” Now, that would be FUNNY! We did goofy stuff like that.
So, here’s to pasta, Italian heritage and defending parmesan!!
We ALL have our pantry staples, right! What do you have that we might laugh at?
Brilliant Viewpoint 
I don’t think you can have too much cheese.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agree and this cheese can be sliced and eaten or grated and put on pasta, etc. Win/win! And it lasts a LONG time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Given today’s access to options from all over the world, it seems like a crime to have been raised on the Kraft “green can” variety. Now my go-to cheeses are always blocks from the deli instead of packages from the refrigerator section. So many to choose from; a culinary adventure! But I agree – it’s hard to argue with the versatility of fresh Parmesan, plus it lasts a long time. A sprinkle on just about anything makes the “anything” better.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Weaning oneself off the Costco (or in my case Sam’s Club) size purchases when there is nobody else in the household is a real problem! I can state with pride that I have not purchased the Big Box size of Kraft grated parmesan but have instead treated myself to the smaller grocery store size or already grated/shredded real parmesan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are right, with most items at Costco, unless I can share with my family members, it just doesn’t make sense.
LikeLike
Oh I miss Costco. The closest one to me is in Seville, Spain, where I visited years ago but not to Costco. I like orechiete as well. My pantry item is also noodle, like buckwheat noodle. My grandma used to cook noodle for us first thing in the morning, so it’s comfort food for me. I also have fermented bean curd in the fridge, particularly the ones with red rice: https://www.thespruceeats.com/red-bean-curd-p2-695268
I can used it everywhere 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the link. What did your grandma make noodles with for breakfast? A soup? I like that idea. I haven’t tried buckwheat noodles, I will look for them and the bean curd.
LikeLike
By the way, was just looking at the Spruce Eats website, it’s really nice! Thanks for that.
LikeLike
Yes, I love cheese and makes pasta dishes and lot of others tastier. It’s not always I get to eat expensive ones also sometimes not available. But anything that is good, and a tasty will do 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, we can always find tasty things that are economical.
LikeLiked by 1 person