Food for Thought: Oreganato named as new WSU cheese

The creamery at Washington State University gave the Pacific Northwest a tasty Valentine last week.

On Valentine's Day, the WSU students who produce world-famous Cougar Gold released their latest flavored cheese -- Oreganato.

The cheese is flavored with tomato and oregano, hence its name, which was suggested by Hayley Hitchcock of Bozeman, Mont. She was in Pullman last February and visited Ferdinand's Ice Cream Shoppe, the on-premise retail outlet for the WSU Creamery.

Her suggestion was voted the best out of the hundreds submitted, said longtime creamery manager Russ Salvadalena in a news release.

Hitchcock's prize was several cans of Cougar Gold cheese. But, because the creamery didn't have any on hand, Oreganato wasn't one of them.

Oreganato and the other eight WSU cheese flavors are available online at wsu.edu/creamery or by calling 800-457-5442 on weekdays.

Cost for each 30-ounce can is $18 plus shipping.

Cougar Gold cheeses also are available at some gift stores, through the cheese departments of some grocery stores, Ranch & Home in Kennewick, SunWest Sportswear in Richland and the WSU Tri-Cities campus bookstore.

Save the date

Perfect Harmony, a benefit for the Mid-Columbia Symphony, will be held March 31 at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland.

The event includes a gourmet dinner with each course paired with wine.

There will be live and silent auctions of art, wine and other donated items.

Tickets are $125 per person if bought before March 23.

To buy tickets, or for more information, call 943-6602.

Perfect Harmony is presented by the Tri-Cities Wine Society, one of the Pacific Northwest's first wine tasting groups.

For more information, go to tricitieswinesociety.org/web/ or find them on Facebook.

New read

The book: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Well on a Budget by Lucy Beale and Jessica Partridge.

Cost: $17

Best for: strategies, tips, ideas, and more than 150 recipes for those who are either new to food budgeting or have tightened their food budgets. The authors have also included ways to manage school lunches, entertaining and eating out. Eating both plentifully and nutritiously can be very tricky on a limited budget, but this book provides many answers.

-- Loretto J. Hulse: 582-1513; lhulse@tricityherald.com. To receive a recipe via e-mail each Tuesday register at tricityherald.com and click on newsletters. If you already are registered, click on edit account and newsletters to select Recipe of the Week. This exclusive recipe does not appear in the newspaper.

This story was originally published February 22, 2012 at 12:00 AM.