Don't Miss National Grilled Cheese Month!

Just like I was a day late remembering Earth Day, I learned today that April, now three-quarters gone, is National Grilled Cheese Month. This irks me because A, I love grilled cheese and even though I rarely eat it anymore because it is so unhealthy I would have liked to celebrate and B, it's just one more way I am out of the loop living up here near the northern border of these great United States.

As for cheese, there are many outstanding choices here in Maine, what with all the cows and the farmers and the local family-run markets. It's hard to say which is the best, but two superior brands come to mind: Pineland Farms and Hahn's End. Purchase the former at http://www.pinelandfarms.org/shop/cheese/ and learn more about the latter at http://www.mainecheeseguild.org/old/map/hahns.html.

A fabulous grilled cheese sandwich, which is the only kind to have, made with two slices of whole-grain or sourdough bread and two ounces of cheddar, Swiss or any hard cheese, cooked in a skillet on the stove top with lots of butter since you are going for classic taste and gooey goodness, has about 570 calories. Throw in some extras like bacon or mashed avocado and you can up that total considerably. By using reduced calorie cheese that tastes like rubber, "light" bread that has the consistency of marshmallows, and cooking spray that will further damage the Earth's ozone layer, you'll cut the calorie count almost in half, but why bother?