Olio Nuovo is here! Get it while it lasts!

Taste the olive oil before purchasing. I had heard this, but it is not possible when you shop at a grocery store. Grocery stores want you to purchase their olive oil, take it home, decide if you like it, and keep the oil regardless of your opinion. Honestly, for a long time I wondered if there was any reason to taste olive oils as they had to taste the same. Right? My skepticism was heightened by the results of a study I had heard about. Turns out, when you may not be getting what the label states is in the bottle. A study by the University of California Davis Olive Oil Chemistry Laboratory and the Australian Oils Research Laboratory uncovered a greater than 50% chance the imported olive oil was not what the labels stated. The figure for California olive oil was just 10% (which I find to be 10% too high). (Full disclosure: There are some voluntary labeling standards from the USDA.)

What’s a girl to do? This girl was lucky enough to discover Olive Oil Etcetera in Doylestown, PA. Here you can taste the olive oil and balsamic vinegar offerings prior to making a purchase. I don’t compare much anymore. Upon my first tasting, I became a convert to Olio Nuovo, which is a first press California olive oil available only in the fall. Last year I missed my opportunity and had to make due with a small sample bottle. The balsamic choices have me turned up-side down. First, I was all about the Black Walnut balsamic, now it might be the Fig Balsamic vinegar. 

I don’t know the source of origin for all the oils which are sold by Olive Oil Etcetera but they do carry California Olive oils which, for me, are the right purchase. California Olive oils are as ‘local’ a source for as I can get, have high rates of label integrity, and are sold by a local business owned by two of the nicest people I have met. Make a point to stop by their store and sample their offerings, pick up a gift or two, and meet wonderful people who care about the community. 

Those bottles of olive oil at the grocery store? They are still waiting for me to purchase them and bring them home. 

Lastly, and most importantly:

Currently, when you purchase a bottle of the fig balsamic vinegar a dollar is donated to help Judy the wife of the owner of Vine & Fig Bistro. She is facing the post-surgery battle that cancer brings to people. I don’t know how long this will last, but

Green and Gouda

Last week my coworker was discussing her weekend during which she taught people the techniques of 18^th century cooking. She described a green onion bread that made my mouth water and left me intent on making a pot of soup to go with this onion bread. She was kind enough to send it to me, but I was missing two ingredients. Instead of giving up, I decided to create my own recipe by adapting a quick bread recipe.  I was surprised how small changes  lent themselves to making a delicious loaf of onion bread.

The first step was to select a basic quick bread recipe so I pulled a fruited quick bread from my files to use as the basis for ingredient proportions. My first change was to swap out the fruit for leeks which were in my freezer from a previous share box. Although I had previously sliced the leeks, I decided to chop them so the onion was finer and could be fully distributed throughout the bread.  Next I decided to use the remaining smoked gouda in the bread. Dicing this cheese required patience to achieve a dice no larger than one-eight inch. I had only a half coup of the cheese and I added a bit of the flour to the cheese in order to make certain the cheese spread throughout the bread. My final change was to cut the sugar in half, but how exciting of a change is that?

It is not a perfect recipe (too moist), there are some minor changes still to be made, but it is the first time I have successfully changed an existing recipe. So, for one wonderful weekend there was excitement, great flavors, and great aromas in my kitchen. The only task for me to accomplish is to identify the cheese I want  to use in the next loaf.

National Cookie Month

With today being Homemade Cookie Day and the start of National Cookie Month, I have taken the liberty to post early in the week. Cookies are a favorite treat of mine and I enjoy making cookies as I find the baking process to be relaxing.  The weather is still beautiful with warm days and cool nights. These cool nights signal holiday baking season is soon around the corner. 

Each year the selection of holiday cookies I bake changes, but a few cookies make an annual appearance.  Peanut butter, sugar cookies, gingerbread, and snowballs are on the holiday trays. The specific cookie selection is influenced by family members who tell me they want to eat, as well as what I want to bake, and those recipes which find their way into my hands.

Years ago, a cookie came into my hands and is now baked each year, but this particular cookie never makes it to anyone in my family. (It does not travel or freeze well.) It is a delicious, decadent and beautiful thumbprint cookie. So, these particular cookies I give to friends and, mostly, keep for myself. These cookies are a cherry and coconut thumbprint cookie. The coconut turns a beautiful brown and the accent of a bright red cherry is both beautiful and tasty. They are a bit of heaven in my mouth. If I could only make one cookie each year it would be this one. While it takes a bit of time to roll the dough in coconut and add the whole cherry, it is time well spent as the payoff is amazing. Use your favorite thumbprint recipe or give me a heads up and I will send the recipe I use. 

Enjoy National Cookie Month and try a new recipe and share with friends and family.  May this be the start of the best baking season you have experienced.