The Best Olive Oil I've had Yet!

Every Sunday in La Jolla California there is a wonderful farmers market and the best part is that it's right around the corner from my sisters house. It's irresistable, filled with local flavour and really wonderful produce. Between the little creperie,the fresh tamales and the amazing steel drum barbecue....well you get the picture! You can eat lunch, have dessert, decorate your home and dress for a night out on the town before you've ever even begun to shop for your produce!

On this last trip  I made an wonderful new discovery! After running around taking pictures of all of the beautiful flowers and fruits, I found my sister and my mother standing in front of the most delightful display of glistening olive oils! The really darling gentlemen behind the table was very busy flirting with my 83 year old mother and my sister, so naturally I was intrigued! I discovered that his name was George Petrou and he is the owner of Petrou Food services, which produces the best olive oil that I've ever had in the United States!

He was wonderful, and really knowledgable about the various oils and their uses. It of course didn't hurt that he grabbed my hand several times and proclaimed that I was "just lovely".....and that taking a teaspoon of his unfiltered olive oil would allow me to keep my radiance way past my 100th year! The unfiltered oil is just so good, like the finest fresh butter, but so much better for you. I also bought a bottle of bread dipping oil, made with George's fresh olive oil, his own vinegar and fresh herbs. I've been enjoying it drizzled on fresh tomatoes with red onion, olives and fresh French Feta cheese! As I was paying for my purchases, George looked soulfully in my eyes and gifted me with a bar of the best olive oil soap that I've ever used. He told me  that  using it would keep my skin young, moist and beautiful forever. WOW!  I'm hooked!  If you want to try these oils ,just go to www.petroufoods.com  and place an order.   If you want to find George, just go to the La Jolla Farmers Market on Sunday mornings. You will be charmed, but don't get any funny ideas....he's all mine!

The Best Olive Oil I've had Yet!

Every Sunday in La Jolla California there is a wonderful farmers market and the best part is that it's right around the corner from my sisters house. It's irresistable, filled with local flavour and really wonderful produce. Between the little creperie,the fresh tamales and the amazing steel drum barbecue....well you get the picture! You can eat lunch, have dessert, decorate your home and dress for a night out on the town before you've ever even begun to shop for your produce!

On this last trip  I made an wonderful new discovery! After running around taking pictures of all of the beautiful flowers and fruits, I found my sister and my mother standing in front of the most delightful display of glistening olive oils! The really darling gentlemen behind the table was very busy flirting with my 83 year old mother and my sister, so naturally I was intrigued! I discovered that his name was George Petrou and he is the owner of Petrou Food services, which produces the best olive oil that I've ever had in the United States!

He was wonderful, and really knowledgable about the various oils and their uses. It of course didn't hurt that he grabbed my hand several times and proclaimed that I was "just lovely".....and that taking a teaspoon of his unfiltered olive oil would allow me to keep my radiance way past my 100th year! The unfiltered oil is just so good, like the finest fresh butter, but so much better for you. I also bought a bottle of bread dipping oil, made with George's fresh olive oil, his own vinegar and fresh herbs. I've been enjoying it drizzled on fresh tomatoes with red onion, olives and fresh French Feta cheese! As I was paying for my purchases, George looked soulfully in my eyes and gifted me with a bar of the best olive oil soap that I've ever used. He told me  that  using it would keep my skin young, moist and beautiful forever. WOW!  I'm hooked!  If you want to try these oils ,just go to www.petroufoods.com  and place an order.   If you want to find George, just go to the La Jolla Farmers Market on Sunday mornings. You will be charmed, but don't get any funny ideas....he's all mine!

California Dreamin!

Southern California is a food lovers paradise! Usually when I arrive in San Diego, the first road trip on my agenda is a visit to Chino's Farm in Rancho SantaFe and Aniata's Cheese Shop on Del Mar. A visit to Chino's is an unbelievably memorable experience.

My sister has told me that  if you're really lucky and if you get up there early enough, that you'll see some of Southern Cal's finest chefs handpicking vegetables for their daily menus. Although I've never seen her, I know that Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame gets daily shipments of vegetables from Chino's and so does Wolfgang Puck. I'm always thrilled to rub elbows with such greatness, simply being there is thrilling! On my last visit, I bought strawberries and the lovely woman who is always behind the counter asked me " American or Frais du Bois?" Jesus...I thought that I had died and gone straight to heaven! I also bought fresh sweet peas, sweet pea greens, three kinds of baby carrots, French breakfast radishes, arugula flowers, mache' , two colours of fresh baby beets and  somehow managed to resist the purple baby artichokes! All of it was organic, and all of it had been harvested just minutes before. On previous visits I have purchased gorgeous French melons, enchanting white pumpkins and fragrant silvery sage!

After leaving Chino's Farm,  it's a short drive up Via de la Valle to Aniata's, the most wonderful cheese shop that I have ever been in. You can find them on the web at www.aniata.com , and they will ship their wonderful cheeses almost anywhere, and thankfully to Ohio! Spending a hour or two in Aniata's is really  FUN!  The owners, are very generous with their knowledge and you can taste anything that you want to. They cut their cheeses carefully and wrap them in paper not  plastic, so that they continue to breathe and ripen. On this most recent trip, I wanted to purchase a cheese that I bought the year before,however I couln't remember it's name. It was a  buttery truffle cheese, that was dusted with spices and my husband who is crazy for truffles loved it. I was in awe when they looked up my name in their computer, and printed out a list of every cheese that I had ever purchased from them. This trip I bought 2 kinds of truffled cheese, an English bleu cheese, a soft ripened cows milk cheese, and at least 3 more incredible cheeses that I can't remember the names of! (But if I called them, they could tell me!)

All of this great food went home, and became the loveliest hor  d'eourve ever. It was so pretty that all it required was a bottle of California merlot, a handsome plate to set it on and a appreciative audience!  The pure tastes of the fresh produce and the exquisite texture of perfectly ripened cheeses were a feast for a palate dulled down by the heavier meals of an Ohio winter.  Ahhhhhh....California dreamin on such a winters day...........

California Dreamin!

Southern California is a food lovers paradise! Usually when I arrive in San Diego, the first road trip on my agenda is a visit to Chino's Farm in Rancho SantaFe and Aniata's Cheese Shop on Del Mar. A visit to Chino's is an unbelievably memorable experience.

My sister has told me that  if you're really lucky and if you get up there early enough, that you'll see some of Southern Cal's finest chefs handpicking vegetables for their daily menus. Although I've never seen her, I know that Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame gets daily shipments of vegetables from Chino's and so does Wolfgang Puck. I'm always thrilled to rub elbows with such greatness, simply being there is thrilling! On my last visit, I bought strawberries and the lovely woman who is always behind the counter asked me " American or Frais du Bois?" Jesus...I thought that I had died and gone straight to heaven! I also bought fresh sweet peas, sweet pea greens, three kinds of baby carrots, French breakfast radishes, arugula flowers, mache' , two colours of fresh baby beets and  somehow managed to resist the purple baby artichokes! All of it was organic, and all of it had been harvested just minutes before. On previous visits I have purchased gorgeous French melons, enchanting white pumpkins and fragrant silvery sage!

After leaving Chino's Farm,  it's a short drive up Via de la Valle to Aniata's, the most wonderful cheese shop that I have ever been in. You can find them on the web at www.aniata.com , and they will ship their wonderful cheeses almost anywhere, and thankfully to Ohio! Spending a hour or two in Aniata's is really  FUN!  The owners, are very generous with their knowledge and you can taste anything that you want to. They cut their cheeses carefully and wrap them in paper not  plastic, so that they continue to breathe and ripen. On this most recent trip, I wanted to purchase a cheese that I bought the year before,however I couln't remember it's name. It was a  buttery truffle cheese, that was dusted with spices and my husband who is crazy for truffles loved it. I was in awe when they looked up my name in their computer, and printed out a list of every cheese that I had ever purchased from them. This trip I bought 2 kinds of truffled cheese, an English bleu cheese, a soft ripened cows milk cheese, and at least 3 more incredible cheeses that I can't remember the names of! (But if I called them, they could tell me!)

All of this great food went home, and became the loveliest hor  d'eourve ever. It was so pretty that all it required was a bottle of California merlot, a handsome plate to set it on and a appreciative audience!  The pure tastes of the fresh produce and the exquisite texture of perfectly ripened cheeses were a feast for a palate dulled down by the heavier meals of an Ohio winter.  Ahhhhhh....California dreamin on such a winters day...........

Thanksgiving 2004

Oh Thanksgiving, what a meal! When I woke this morning, there was fresh snow on the ground, the first of the season! It was the beginning of a wonderful day of cooking and relaxing, sitting by the fire sipping Calvados and snuggling with my husband and my son! The meal was wonderful, and so much fun to create! At about 11:00 this morning, I put about 20 sliced apples into the crock pot with a little olive oil, calvados and a jar of Williams Sonoma pecan pie mix. Then I added a very liberal dose of pumpkin pie spice and turned the pot onto high. The house smelled incredible all day long, like a wonderful apple pie! My parents arrived at about 6:30 heavily laden down with desserts! We started out with bacon wrapped scallops for an hors d'oeuvre, and continued with butternut squash soup with wild mushrooms and laced with calvados. This year, I brined the turkey for about 15 hours in a mixture of maple syrup ,brown sugar, kosher salt and lots of spices and then covered it inside and out with herb butter, and stuffed it with sweet potatoes and chestnuts. As it was roasting, I kept glazing it with a mixture of molasses and cider. It was so moist and it tasted simply wonderful! I made a sausage, onion and chestnut dressing, cranberry relish and brussels sprouts sauteed with bacon, butter and fresh thyme. My mother brought her amazing mashed potatoes (lots of sour cream, butter and salt and pepper!) and I prepared a creamed spinach with roasted hazelnuts and garlic! In addition to all of this ,there were scallopped oysters with cream and sweet potatoes with marshmallows, for my father who loves them!

Thanksgiving 2004

Oh Thanksgiving, what a meal! When I woke this morning, there was fresh snow on the ground, the first of the season! It was the beginning of a wonderful day of cooking and relaxing, sitting by the fire sipping Calvados and snuggling with my husband and my son! The meal was wonderful, and so much fun to create! At about 11:00 this morning, I put about 20 sliced apples into the crock pot with a little olive oil, calvados and a jar of Williams Sonoma pecan pie mix. Then I added a very liberal dose of pumpkin pie spice and turned the pot onto high. The house smelled incredible all day long, like a wonderful apple pie! My parents arrived at about 6:30 heavily laden down with desserts! We started out with bacon wrapped scallops for an hors d'oeuvre, and continued with butternut squash soup with wild mushrooms and laced with calvados. This year, I brined the turkey for about 15 hours in a mixture of maple syrup ,brown sugar, kosher salt and lots of spices and then covered it inside and out with herb butter, and stuffed it with sweet potatoes and chestnuts. As it was roasting, I kept glazing it with a mixture of molasses and cider. It was so moist and it tasted simply wonderful! I made a sausage, onion and chestnut dressing, cranberry relish and brussels sprouts sauteed with bacon, butter and fresh thyme. My mother brought her amazing mashed potatoes (lots of sour cream, butter and salt and pepper!) and I prepared a creamed spinach with roasted hazelnuts and garlic! In addition to all of this ,there were scallopped oysters with cream and sweet potatoes with marshmallows, for my father who loves them!

Friday's Olive Oil Tasting!

The other evening , I had the most surprising and pleasurable experience! I was invited to an olive oil tasting by a new friend of mine, and although I wasn't sure what to expect, I accepted her invitation happily. Sally has a dear friend,Sara who writes for a great little wine magazine in town, and the article that she is currently working on is a comparison of some pretty remarkable olive oils. I was delighted to be able to help with the research, and eager to meet some new "foodie" friends!
When Friday evening arrived it was beautiful, an abundant spring feast with great smells in the air and birds singing endlessly. I arrived at Sara's home, and thought to myself, "What a glorious way to spend a friday evening!" and dove through the door!
Sara and her friends were delightful to meet, but the most fun was yet to occur. Laid beautifully on Sara's dining room table as if they were bottled in flasks of precious gold, were eight of the most intriguing bottles of olive oil that I have ever seen. With them were silver spoons for all of us and lovely plates, napkins and a bowl of water crackers to cleanse our palates!
Sara began to explaining the process by which we would be tasting these luscious oils, first we were to take a tablespoon of each oil and place about 1/3 of it in our palms, rubbing the oil with our fingers until it was warm. Then we to inhale the aroma of each oil and allow the individual fragrances to emerge. Needless to say, this was delightful! I hadn't realized until that evening that olive oils came in so many different varieties and they all have very complex natures, just like really exceptional wines.
Some were fruity, some buttery,other's had the aroma of freshly mown clover hay. There was even an oil that had the distinct aroma of leather and wheat!
As soon as we had experienced enough of the aroma, we were to taste the oil that was left in the spoon, sucking it slowly through our teeth, then allowing the taste to explode on our tongues and eventually swallow, so that we could experience the finish. Incredible...Each oil when experienced in this way, really gives up it's secrets. They were by turns lovely and velvety, resinous and vey spicy. Some slid down your throat like melted butter, others had such a pepery finish that they left you breathless. Each was wonderful!
When the tasting was over, Sara brought out a beautiful platter of shrimp, Maytag bleu cheese and St. Andre, gorgeous red grapes and a lovely Italian red wine. It was the perfect finish to such a lovely evening! Who would have ever thought that tasting eight tablespoons of olive oil could have been such a lovely and sensuous experience! Driving home a passionate bit of opera on WKSU 89.7 kept the experience alive. I've not looked at olive oil in the same way since then. They are so readily available, a bit of molten, fruity gold that we can use as liberally as we choose on so many different foods. For me, the evening was an instant trip to Italy or the sun drenched south of France. For the record, we tasted seven Italian oils, and one exquisite oil from California. I adored the the oil from California. It was sweet and tasted like clover and fresh honey. It's pricey, a commanding 45.00 dollars for the bottle, but absolutely worth it. I probably wouldn't cook with it, but I'd use it to dress a plate of fresh greens, or on some pasta with some fresh tomatoes , garlic and aged parmesan. You can find this treasure at www.longmeadowranch.com
They make two types of oils and the one that you're looking for is named "Prato Lungo". I promise that you will love it! Bon Appetit!

Friday's Olive Oil Tasting!

The other evening , I had the most surprising and pleasurable experience! I was invited to an olive oil tasting by a new friend of mine, and although I wasn't sure what to expect, I accepted her invitation happily. Sally has a dear friend,Sara who writes for a great little wine magazine in town, and the article that she is currently working on is a comparison of some pretty remarkable olive oils. I was delighted to be able to help with the research, and eager to meet some new "foodie" friends!
When Friday evening arrived it was beautiful, an abundant spring feast with great smells in the air and birds singing endlessly. I arrived at Sara's home, and thought to myself, "What a glorious way to spend a friday evening!" and dove through the door!
Sara and her friends were delightful to meet, but the most fun was yet to occur. Laid beautifully on Sara's dining room table as if they were bottled in flasks of precious gold, were eight of the most intriguing bottles of olive oil that I have ever seen. With them were silver spoons for all of us and lovely plates, napkins and a bowl of water crackers to cleanse our palates!
Sara began to explaining the process by which we would be tasting these luscious oils, first we were to take a tablespoon of each oil and place about 1/3 of it in our palms, rubbing the oil with our fingers until it was warm. Then we to inhale the aroma of each oil and allow the individual fragrances to emerge. Needless to say, this was delightful! I hadn't realized until that evening that olive oils came in so many different varieties and they all have very complex natures, just like really exceptional wines.
Some were fruity, some buttery,other's had the aroma of freshly mown clover hay. There was even an oil that had the distinct aroma of leather and wheat!
As soon as we had experienced enough of the aroma, we were to taste the oil that was left in the spoon, sucking it slowly through our teeth, then allowing the taste to explode on our tongues and eventually swallow, so that we could experience the finish. Incredible...Each oil when experienced in this way, really gives up it's secrets. They were by turns lovely and velvety, resinous and vey spicy. Some slid down your throat like melted butter, others had such a pepery finish that they left you breathless. Each was wonderful!
When the tasting was over, Sara brought out a beautiful platter of shrimp, Maytag bleu cheese and St. Andre, gorgeous red grapes and a lovely Italian red wine. It was the perfect finish to such a lovely evening! Who would have ever thought that tasting eight tablespoons of olive oil could have been such a lovely and sensuous experience! Driving home a passionate bit of opera on WKSU 89.7 kept the experience alive. I've not looked at olive oil in the same way since then. They are so readily available, a bit of molten, fruity gold that we can use as liberally as we choose on so many different foods. For me, the evening was an instant trip to Italy or the sun drenched south of France. For the record, we tasted seven Italian oils, and one exquisite oil from California. I adored the the oil from California. It was sweet and tasted like clover and fresh honey. It's pricey, a commanding 45.00 dollars for the bottle, but absolutely worth it. I probably wouldn't cook with it, but I'd use it to dress a plate of fresh greens, or on some pasta with some fresh tomatoes , garlic and aged parmesan. You can find this treasure at www.longmeadowranch.com
They make two types of oils and the one that you're looking for is named "Prato Lungo". I promise that you will love it! Bon Appetit!

Mother's Day!

Every now and then you get these experiences that just fly you back to old memories and open the doors for wonderful new ones! Every mother's day since Alex was born, he and Jim get up and make me the most amazing breakfast, eggs scrambled with onion and garlic, mushrooms and tons(literally!) of american cheese! Oh and of course the MAGIC ingredient, really good kosher hot dogs! My very large dog lives with my parents, and it's my job to walk him and feed him everyday (that's his room and board payment!), so I decided to get up and walk him first and then come back for my gourmet breakfast!
So I drove to my parents house, got "Wolfie" and walked into the back yard. There is no adjective available that can completely describe describe my mom and dad's yard. Alex comes the closest I think when he calls it one of the most enchanted places on earth! My father has such a green thumb! Everywhere you look are beautiful things, special plants that you've never seen before, things that I am sure are brought there by the Fairies! This morning though something caught my eye that I hadn't really seen for years.
When I was a little girl, every mother's day I would race into the yard, and my chubby fingers would start to hunt through the ivy and myrtle for the Virginia Bluebells that would poke their lovely faces through spotted, sun dappled leaves. I always picked them for my mother on that day, thinking how perfect they were as a mother's day gift, all cheerful pink and blue.
When I grew up and got married and had a son of my own , mother's day changed a bit as we added our own traditions. Yet this mother's day is a bit different. My parents are older now and will probably be selling their beloved house this year. As my eyes set upon the bluebells, I realized that this was probably my last chance to pick them for my mother on this special day. The little girls chubby hand reappeared, grab a huge fistful of the happy little flowers. Running into the house, sneaking past my mom in the bathroom, I grabbed her little Warterford vase and ran into the bathroom where she was putting on her makeup. "Happy Mother's Day , Mommy" I said and proudly handed her the flowers. She looked at me and smiled and said, "Oh , isn't amazing how they've always bloomed on Mother's Day, ever since Stephen was a boy and used to pick them for me!" Over and over she said, "Isn't it amazing that they always bloom on mother's day!" I was so happy when I saw how much she loved them, and when I left to go home I began to cry.
It's amazing how magical the little things are when you allow yourself to see them, and when I walked through the door of my home I saw Jim, Alex and our adopted son Zack (Alex's best friend!) standing in the kitchen making my mother's day breakfast. We sat at the table eating, laughing and listening to Garrison Keilor on National Public Radio. It was a whole new mother's day memory having Zack with us . We keep Oreo cookies around for him, and our couch is fondly referred to as "Zack's Couch! " He comes and goes in our house as he pleases, walks the dog for us and generally lives here every weekend. Alex has been blessed with the loyalty of his friendship since they were young boys, and there is no more LOYAL friend than Zack. After breakfast he got up to leave and I settled down to do some writing. About 2 minutes later, he came bursting back into the apartment with the most beautiful pink gerbera daisy plant that you've ever seen, and a card. "Happy Mother's Day" he said. " "You may not be my real mom, but you're definitely my mother." I hugged him tightly, and burst into tears.

Mother's Day!

Every now and then you get these experiences that just fly you back to old memories and open the doors for wonderful new ones! Every mother's day since Alex was born, he and Jim get up and make me the most amazing breakfast, eggs scrambled with onion and garlic, mushrooms and tons(literally!) of american cheese! Oh and of course the MAGIC ingredient, really good kosher hot dogs! My very large dog lives with my parents, and it's my job to walk him and feed him everyday (that's his room and board payment!), so I decided to get up and walk him first and then come back for my gourmet breakfast!
So I drove to my parents house, got "Wolfie" and walked into the back yard. There is no adjective available that can completely describe describe my mom and dad's yard. Alex comes the closest I think when he calls it one of the most enchanted places on earth! My father has such a green thumb! Everywhere you look are beautiful things, special plants that you've never seen before, things that I am sure are brought there by the Fairies! This morning though something caught my eye that I hadn't really seen for years.
When I was a little girl, every mother's day I would race into the yard, and my chubby fingers would start to hunt through the ivy and myrtle for the Virginia Bluebells that would poke their lovely faces through spotted, sun dappled leaves. I always picked them for my mother on that day, thinking how perfect they were as a mother's day gift, all cheerful pink and blue.
When I grew up and got married and had a son of my own , mother's day changed a bit as we added our own traditions. Yet this mother's day is a bit different. My parents are older now and will probably be selling their beloved house this year. As my eyes set upon the bluebells, I realized that this was probably my last chance to pick them for my mother on this special day. The little girls chubby hand reappeared, grab a huge fistful of the happy little flowers. Running into the house, sneaking past my mom in the bathroom, I grabbed her little Warterford vase and ran into the bathroom where she was putting on her makeup. "Happy Mother's Day , Mommy" I said and proudly handed her the flowers. She looked at me and smiled and said, "Oh , isn't amazing how they've always bloomed on Mother's Day, ever since Stephen was a boy and used to pick them for me!" Over and over she said, "Isn't it amazing that they always bloom on mother's day!" I was so happy when I saw how much she loved them, and when I left to go home I began to cry.
It's amazing how magical the little things are when you allow yourself to see them, and when I walked through the door of my home I saw Jim, Alex and our adopted son Zack (Alex's best friend!) standing in the kitchen making my mother's day breakfast. We sat at the table eating, laughing and listening to Garrison Keilor on National Public Radio. It was a whole new mother's day memory having Zack with us . We keep Oreo cookies around for him, and our couch is fondly referred to as "Zack's Couch! " He comes and goes in our house as he pleases, walks the dog for us and generally lives here every weekend. Alex has been blessed with the loyalty of his friendship since they were young boys, and there is no more LOYAL friend than Zack. After breakfast he got up to leave and I settled down to do some writing. About 2 minutes later, he came bursting back into the apartment with the most beautiful pink gerbera daisy plant that you've ever seen, and a card. "Happy Mother's Day" he said. " "You may not be my real mom, but you're definitely my mother." I hugged him tightly, and burst into tears.