This Week's Tasting Plate: A lot of good reasons for cheese

As I was pondering what to write about this week, a few different possibilities came to mind. The arrival of spring, the Tupac hologram and 4/20 were all in the mix and probably all of equal relevance to cheese and interest to you. Then I remembered that it's Earth Day on Saturday. So now you have the munchies and a charitable donation motivating you to come by.

The Dairymaids are participating in the Give 5% program, where 5% of our sales on Saturday will go to conservation groups in Houston. To lure you in for cheeses for trees, we brought in the new Asher Blue from Sweetgrass Dairy. It's a beautiful raw cow's milk round with a natural rind and an earthy, salty flavor.

We also have Cow Girl Creamery's first aged cheese, Wagon Wheel, which is a great melter and might remind you of an Asiago or Fontina. You will probably recognize Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and Sottocenere, our decadent Italian truffle cheese, which will also be on the plate. We'll have the cheeses all week, even if you don't make it Saturday, but remember, a lover of great cheese is also a lover of planet Earth.