Bargain Cheese

Our local grocery store has this thing they do that I love. They mark things down, sometimes just a little, sometimes 90% off, usually about half off. I find these lovely orange and yellow "Manager's Special" labels and go kind of crazy. I know exactly where in the store they hide all the discount bins. Our menu for the week depends on what bargain specials I find.

So the other day, I'm poking through a bin of bargain deli items and find this white cheese. It looks okay, no moldy spot or weird looking fuzzy bits inside the wrapper, so I take it home to try it out.

Best cheese decision ever!

It's Sartori Montamoré cheese. It melts into a creamy goo of scrumptious delectable cheesiness. Slightly sharp (like parmesan and swiss had a baby) a little sweet, sort of nutty, and creamy when cooked, it was absolutely delightful. I ate way more than I should have, especially when we used it to make a stroganoff sauce for meatballs and noodles. Recipe forthcoming on Thursday. It was that good.

So, books, like cheese, sometimes get marked down as bargains. I can't resist if the cover looks at all intriguing. Usually it only takes a few pages before you realize why the poor book has been relegated to the bargain table. But every once in a while, you get a real gem.

Back in the late '80s, Science Fiction Book Club had a book on clearance for about $3. Titled "The Colour of Magic" by Terry Pratchett, it caught my eye. I'd never heard of him, but the book sounded like it might be fun and $3 isn't much so I gave it a shot. I adored that book and bought every other book I could find that he wrote, especially his Discworld series. He was like Douglas Adams on Prozac, a happier, gentler kind of satire. Sadly, he passed away a few months ago. The world has lost another comic genius.

Have you ever bought a bargain item that was worth every penny and a whole lot more? Tell me about it in the comments!

And speaking of bargains, if you haven't snagged a copy of Nexus Point yet, the ebook is only ninety-nine cents.