Mango Salsa

430.  Cool, fresh, satisfying; these words describe fresh-made mango salsa.  When a break is needed from the standard tomato based salsa, fruited salsa is perfect.  Fruits that work well would include mango, peaches, plums, or pears.  When the fruit is softer or more ripe, the sugars develop in the fruit making the sweet/savory balance so much better.

"Salsa is something I never get tired of.  How could I, when there are so many different flavor combinations to try?"

~ Megan Myers

Tomato Bruschetta

421.  Tomato Bruschetta is a lovely appetizer, a first course, tapas, or light meal.  It is also complimentary to any Italian meal and is so satisfying.  From the crunch of the toasted bread, cool tomatoes, fresh basil, hints of garlic and pulled together with olive oil.  Each bite is a delight.

Bruschetta is delicious!  Simple, satisfying and each bite is like the first bite!

"I'm into very colorful food.  Obviously lost of flavor, but I think we eat with our eyes first, so it has to look great.  The presentation has to be great."

~ Giada De Laurentiis

Vegetable Chicken Bake

394.  This recipe is a Keto friendly version of lasagna, though, without the noodles.

 It is layered with vegetables and meat of your choice.
 I have used chicken, ground beef and Italian sausage crumbled and adapted them to the recipe.

And if pasta is welcome, it pairs perfectly with any type of pasta noodle.

"Italian food is all about ingredients and it's not fussy and it's not fancy."

~  Wolfgang Puck

Brussel Sprouts Crostini

375.  A lovely and unique appetizer to serve is Brussel Sprouts Crostini.  Found originally on Giada's Recipes on Food Network.  Just following the simple steps in this recipe creates a beautiful bite.

 I was thrilled to find Brussels sprouts on the stalk.  They were fresh, green and a delight to work with.  Each sprout was crisp and was easy to work with and no discard.  Most bags of sprouts must be trimmed and have little leaves removed.

The roasting process was so simple and I used parchment paper on my baking sheet.  What did we do before parchment paper?  It makes baking and cooking with ease.

 The crostini I used was bought and had an herb garlic flavor. They were small and crispy and were a perfect size.  It is difficult finding french bread that is skinny enough for a small bite.  But if you can find it...I would use fresh bread any day, sliced, rub with olive oil and toasted till crisp.

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The recipe came together quickly and was a beautiful start to a lovely meal and they are so attractive as an appetizer.

"Brussel Sprouts are misunderstood - probably because most people don't know how to cook them."

~ Todd English

Lucero Olive Oil

277.  Our trip to California took us along back roads and out of the way places.  While driving off-highway, we came to a town called Corning.  Signs all around advertised this town as the heart of Olive Oil production.  Billboards calling it the "Olive City" and the "Home of the Queen Olive".

We love olives and olive oil, using it in many recipes, so we stopped off to "taste" olive oil and ultimately bring home various bottles of the lovely golden liquid.

The company we chose to visit was called Lucero Olive Manufacturers.  What a gem of a place!

We were taken on a tour of their Olive Mill filled with large vats of olives and olive oil in various stages.  

We were then invited into their show room to "experience" their olive oils. 

 A tasting room...how delightful!  Our guide explained how to taste olive oil correctly:

Fill a small paper cup with oil.

Set the cup in the palm of your hand and slowly roll it around your palm.  This will warm up the oil to your body temperature.  The warmth releases the aromas.

Next, smell the oil to take in the scents.

Then, slurp the oil; this is done by sipping a small amount of oil into your mouth while “sipping” some air as well. (When done correctly, you will make that impolite noise that would cause you to be scolded when you were a child!) Slurping emulsifies the oil with air that helps to spread it throughout your mouth - giving you the chance to savor every nuance of flavor with just a small sip of oil.

Finally, swallow.  You will experience stinging in the back of your throat and the flavor will explode.

This was such an enlightening and rewarding experience.  We were encouraged to try them all...each one was so uniquely lovely.
Our guide began to explain about the flavored oils with mandarin orange, lemon and meyer lemon, basil, garlic and yes...chocolate!!  She also told us about the wonderful balsamic vinegars all imported from Italy.

Then, she said, "Would you like to try the balsamic and oil on ice cream?  It was delightful tasting vanilla ice cream drizzled with cherry balsamic and chocolate olive oil, and ice cream with mandarin orange olive oil which tasted like a creamsicle.

Their showroom was surrounded with a variety of oils, balsamic, bottled olives and bottled condiments such as tapenads, spreads and mustards.  Everything was set out in samples to taste...and everything was delicious!

We purchased their Gold Medal Winning Lemon Olive Oil, Sevillano Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Chocolate Olive Oil.  It was hard to decide...we wanted everything!  But we had to be able to fly home with all our treasures.

Outside the showroom was an olive tree, in the courtyard over 100 years old

We drove along the olive groves passing thousands of trees covered with olives.

This expedition was one I won't forget.  Wishing I could live closer to this olive wonderland!

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~MILLER'S TASTING NOTES of the Sevillano Certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This olive oil is mild, with "earthy" flavors and a fruity finish, like apricots and bananas. Even with a softer finish, it will stand out among other oils due to it's unique flavor. 

Tuscan Grilled Chicken

275.  It's summer grilling time.  We have dear friends who live in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  They recently visited us and came bearing gifts.  Wonderful infused oil from the "Olive Twist".  This is a great store where there are multiple choices of olive oils and balsamic.  You can visit the website here:

The Olive Twist.

The flavored oil we received was the Organic Tuscan Herb EVOO.

 

We enjoyed it on toasted Italian bread, and recently I marinated chicken with this liquid gold.  I just butterflied several chicken breasts, placed them in a zip-lock and sprinkled liberally the Olive Twist oil, salt and pepper.  Then refrigerated the chicken for 1 hour.

Once the chicken has absorbed the flavors, just grill as you would till chicken is fully cooked.

 It tasted so delicious!  

 If you live near Fort Wayne, Indiana or have an Olive Twist store near you, you just have to stop!  Or, like me, use the convenience of the internet and order on line.  You can enjoy this wonderful product no matter where you live!

"Italians...seemed never to die.  They eat olive oil all day long...and that's what does it."

~William Kennedy