Wise Quail

Welcome in, 2013!! I'm using this start of the new year as an excuse to create a food blog. So bold! So innovative! So...passe, right? Perhaps. But I've received several requests from customers about ideas on how to use the array of oils and vinegars in everyday cooking, so here's to a platform for sharing.

Most people know that cooking with extra virgin olive oil is good for your health, but perhaps haven't experienced how it can add a new richness and depth to the average meal. Beyond just a bread dipping oil, extra virgin olive oils can be drizzled over pastas, meats, vegetables, fish, tacos, you name it! We like to think of it as the "Tuscan ketchup". Go to Italy and you will see people drizzling fresh local oil on everything. It heightens the experience of an average meal while being 10 time better for your body than, well, ketchup.

We have a fun seasonal array of local organic vinegars and balsamic, too-- pomegranate, winter ambrosia, champagne mimosa, fig, plum basil (may favorite), oh my! They are delicious on not only salads, but in reduction sauces, a roast, a stew or to brighten sauteed vegetables.

The possibilities for use of oils and vinegars are endless and in this blog we will share some of our success stories for use or even to inspire your own variations. But please, I invite you to share whatever new ideas you come up with as well. You can do this in the "comment" section under each post. Some of our best recipes have come directly from our customers (almond mascarpone cookies with 25 year balsamic?  Ummm, yes please!).

So with that, cheers to the new year, to cooking healthy and local...and as a wise quail once said, "eat right, be healthy, live well and enjoy life".