You probably haven't heard of The Faster Times; it's a new online newspaper that hasn't been up and running for long. They have a pretty extensive food section, though, and their columnist on snacking is none other than Melissa Clark, one of our favorites.

In an article from June she wrote about seven ways to snack on a really good ricotta cheese, starting with pure and simple ricotta "marbles" and moving on to scrape-out-the-last-bit-with-a-Triscuit-and-make-a-canapé.

Do you have a favorite ricotta you like to splurge on once in a while? Here's how to make the most of it.

We've mentioned all the things you can do with ricotta cheese before (there's this post on the top five, or a top ten list for ricotta salata). But this article is devoted solely to simple snacks. We're talking things like a spoonful of ricotta with a broken tortilla chip in it, drizzled with hot sauce (Day 4: "South of the Border Ricotta").

Clark is devoted to Salvatore Ricotta, which is a local New York ricotta made in Brooklyn. And we'd agree that most of these snacks are good because the cheese itself is exceptional, so go buy something rich and delicious and enjoy it one of these seven ways...

• Ricotta Here, Ricotta There, Salvatore Ricotta Everywhere, from The Faster Times

Related: Recipe: Easy Ricotta Gnocchi

(Image: Faith Durand)