Who would have thought that in the capitol of the state most known for its cheese production, there would be such a void of places where a person could buy artisanal cheese? I’m talking about the varieties you find at the smaller vendors at the farmers market, or that you would otherwise have to drive out into the country to their individual farms and factories to get. Ken Monteleone and his crew have saved us from this terrible oversight by opening Fromagination, a specialty shop that carries fine cheeses and their “companions” (crackers, olives, wines and beers, etc.) from around the state.

The store opened last week and their grand opening, which will feature talks by area cheese makers and the introduction of 30 cheeses from around the world, will be on October 22. There’s already significant interest in the place, too, as the New York Times has been by to check it out, in addition to our own august institution, dane101.

I love organic food. I try to buy as much locally produced organics as possible both because they're delicious and because I believe it's important to support local, sustainable agriculture. There are many, many people who believe the same thing, both in and around Wisconsin. We dutifully haul our canvass bags to our favorite co-ops and farmers markets and load up. Some folks use CSAs and have a closer relationship with the farms that provide the food. Regardless, those farms are important to everyone, whether they know it or not.

"We have everything we own put into our businesses, it's touch and go, if two food chains open up down the street, you are done. It's not a fair fight. The Madison Originals organization helps us make it fair," said Barbara Wright, president of Madison Originals and owner of Mediterranean restaurant, The Dardanelles. During my lunch interviewing Wright along with Madison Originals Magazine editor, Amy Johnson, many values and goals of Madison Originals were passionately divulged.

A month after it's debut, Dane101 revisits Madison's newest market for an inside visit with owner Megan Ramey

Madison native Megan Ramey always knew she would be opening a business of her own one day. The question remained: how was she going to combine her passions for fashion, hospitality, culinary, and the unique Madison community into one? Simple: an urban lifestyles store. Something very new, and unique that the city of Madison has long been awaiting.

Her idea for a modern, sophisticated convenience store sparked as Ramey made her daily pedestrian commute to work. She realized there really was no all-in-one, contemporary store for the young urbanite to make any necessary purchases. Daily, Ramey was finding herself wanting something "quick and fresh to eat," but there was "nothing that catered to young professionals."

People always tell me that I use a heck of a lot of salt when I cook. But when they get the finished dish, they forget all about the terrific amount of salt I added. Salt brings out flavors, it enhances food. It is one of the main four flavors: sweet, bitter, sour and salty. There are scientists who claim there is a fifth flavor "umami," but I am not buying it.

With the weather outside less than delightful, we thought it would be nice to rerun Amanda's winter warm-up solution from October.

As the first week of October comes to an end, I finally close the door on hot summer days filled with ice cream and cold fruit smoothies. Walking down the streets of campus today, I took closer notice to the new colors of the trees, and the leaves falling to the ground. Yes autumn is now here, and these next few weeks are sure to be the best of the season. This is the time when it is not too cold outside, yet not sweltering hot: perfect. Nonetheless, we have already seen our share of cool weather for the season, and although this week is expected to be a warmer one, cold weather is on its way.

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients." These strong words from pioneer food television personality Julia Child are undoubtedly words lived by the many members of my community: Madison "foodies".

Throughout the last two years that I have lived in downtown Madison, I have become quite acquainted with the diverse, unique, and abundant aspects of culinary creativity present. The food enthusiasm in Madison is without a doubt plentiful. From the weekly farmer's markets, to the world of cuisine on State Street, there is something for everyone with a passion for food. My personal experiences with the city's culinary wonders include: venturing to the local Italian delicatessen Fraboni's to buy fresh mozzarella and delicious sorbet; spending endless Saturday mornings at the farmer's market buying fresh, local produce, cheese, and hot and spicy cheese bread; strolling through a weekend of "The Taste of Madison", sampling falafel and cookie dough egg rolls; World's Largest Brat Fest, need I say more?; being an active member of the Dietetics and Nutrition club and adding another eager "foodie" to their culinary committee; being a co-fundraising chair for the Food Science Club and previously helping with their product development team; supporting and dining at the Madison Originals restaurants; constructing a feature for Dane101.com implementing food in Madison and cooking ideas for back at home; and being an avid reader of all food relations in Madison Magazine.

I love Madison's love of food. What I love even more is the efforts of so many in Madison to celebrate this city's devine love of food.

Tonight commences the first annual Restaurant Week right here in Madison, Wisconsin. The event will be lasting all week, Sunday January 28 through Friday, February 2! For the next six days, an array of restaurants in Madison and the surrounding areas will be offering specialized menus to all of its customers. For only $25 per person restaurants will have three delightfully delicious three course meals for customers to choose from. An appetizer, entree and dazzling dessert from some of Madison's most prestigious restaurants! The details of these menus can be found at Madison Magazine. (I highly suggest that reservations be made!)

New York, the city of cities, has once again stepped into the big issue arena and slammed down a ban on trans-fat oils used in cooking. As one of the first to ban smoking, N.Y. has played this dirty game before.

If you are unaware trans-fats basically add another hydrogen molecule for what I like to call “super-fats” which can be impossible for the body to break down and end up storing themselves in fatty tissue. These super-fats lurk in almost all processed food items, most likely in your cupboard infused in the Skippy peanut butter. The idea is that this hearty oil increases the shelf life of packaged products and also creates a certain sensation of taste hunted down by fatty food fanatics. The facts are clear; trans-fat is not good stuff.

I love peanut butter: chunky or smooth, it always pleases me. Never having made homemade peanut butter, I wondered what it would be like to experience such an endeavor. What is it like you ask? Delicious and easy. I simply mixed 2 cups of unsalted peanuts with 2 tbsp canola oil and 1 tbsp Splenda in the food processor. Depending on your preference for creamy or chunky, blending it for 5 to 10 minutes is crucial. I made my mostly creamy with a few surprise chunks. It definitely turned out tasty.

Enlighten your Palate: Mis en Place

Madison is such a unique city, and ever since I've moved here I've been eager to explore the many different aspects of food surrounding such a beautiful city. Each and everyday I am interested in learning about some new type of food. Whether it be squash, chocolate, tomatoes, or ice cream, I'm always wanting to learn more about the many diverse flavors, styles and techniques of cooking. Thus I have decided to develop a new column, titled as above, "Enlighten your Palate". Every article will evolve around one particular ingredient, cuisine, or idea about food. Most of the time the food will also have some sort of intimate connection to our beloved city. I will try to research information about my current curiosity and then provide you with my own opinions and culinary creations. I would definitely love it if opinions and suggestions about article topics were thrown my way.

...please be sure to consult the Dane101 archive of Dane County Farmers' Market profiles, which was created today. Begining in early May, Dane101 has published profiles of vendors at the market, and we will continue to do so throughout the season. These profiles include the name, website (if one exists), and a little bit of info about the particular vendor; hopefully it is a decent representation of what is available at the market. If you are interested in writing profiles (or about food in the area), please contact us.

It's been a few weeks since we posted a profile, so be sure to check out this weekend when we get back into the swing of things.

A tremendous pile of sugar snaps, the tasty pea and edible pod combination, sat on the right hand table of Sue Vang's booth at this Saturday's Dane County Farmers' Market. The other two tables featured small bags of various greens and herbs, as well as radishes and onions. Vang grows these vegetables and others at her farm on Highway 14 in Oregon.

Vang spoke with Dane101 yesterday near the end of this week's market, explaining that she grows more than sixty items at her farm, highlighting their strawberries, sugar snaps, and lettuce. Her booth is located just about in the middle of the first block of North Carroll Street. For visitors to the market starting at State, and moving in the typical counter-clockwise direction, it is about one-sixteenth into a circuit of the Square.

Though sugar snaps dominated the table this week, Vang previewed some of her upcoming items. "Right now, the green beans are coming up, and sweet onions, and squash, like zucchini and patty pan, all that," she said. Like many vegetable farmers at the market, Vang cycles through a large variety of items, planting to keep fresh items ready throughout the season.

Hooks Cheese Company cheesemaker Tony Hook has been making cheese for 35 years and been selling it at the DCFM for 12 years. It all started back in 1970 when Tony Hook began apprenticing at a small cheese factory in Barneveld and got his cheesemakers licnese in 1972.

In 1976 Tony and his wife Julie formed Hook's Cheese Company in rural Mineral Point. They started off with Wisconsin's signature cheese, Cheddar and soon expanded their cheese empire to include the cheeseships of Colby, Monterey Jack and his neighbor, Marble Jack.

One highlight of Tony Hook's career came in 1982. As their brochure explains,

Prior to 1981, Gordy Kopke spent most of his life as a construction worker. Then one day he says, "I got tired of paving the Earth and decided I would do something beneficial."

He decided to return to his roots and start a farm. He knew he didn't want to spend his life "working with cows," so he planted greenhouse tomatoes. Soon Kopke's Fruit of the Bloom farm was growing a variety of vegetables and selling them each summer at the Dane County Farmers' Market.

It was in 1984 that Kopke says his mother, an avid gardener, suggested he grow some flowers in his greenhouses. He says, "it took on a whole life of itself." The flowers became a part of production, and by 1991 he had eliminated vegetables all together.