Veronica Foods, our importer of high quality extra virgin olive oils and balsamics has been selected again to help feed the Olympic athletes and the press this August in Rio. (The other time was the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.) They have received a request to send over a wide selection of Ultra Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oils and UP Balsamics to the games this summer, the same olive oils and balsamics we provide. Congratulations, Veronica Foods!
What I love about summer is the abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits, and corn is at the top of my list as a favorite. The small golden kernels add a nice sweet juicy crunch to any summer meal. When the weather is too hot to cook, a salad is usually a good way to go. In our house, we make all kinds of corn salad variations. This fresh summer corn salad made with zucchini, tomato, and avocado is made even more flavorful with the persian lime extra virgin olive oil, giving it a citrus touch, and the serrano honey vinegar adds a subtle heat.
What you’ll need:
6 ears of corn, shucked
1 medium zucchini, diced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
2 tablespoons Persian Lime Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Serrano Honey Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Here’s how:
In a large bowl, mix together persian lime olive oil, serrano honey vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add corn, zucchini, tomatoes, avocado, onion, and cilantro to the vinaigrette. Combine all the ingredients until evely combined. Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!
This salsa recipe is quick and super easy. The chipotle extra virgin olive oil gives the salsa a nice smokey flavor.
What you’ll need:
One 15 oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
1/4 small red onion
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. chipotle olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. honey
sea salt to taste
A great spring pasta dish. The pesto is made with arugula and walnuts instead of the traditional pesto made from basil and pine nuts. A robust intensity single varietal olive oil is highly recommended when making any kind of pesto.
Lemon, thyme, garlic, and a medium intensity extra virgin olive oil are mixed together, adding an earthy, lemony flavor to the chicken and potatoes.
What you’ll need:
1.5 lbs chicken breast
1.5 lbs small red potatoes
1 large onion
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (medium intensity)
2 lemons, one for juicing and other for slicing
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablepoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
salt & pepper to taste
Here’s How:
Preheat oven to 400°. Cut chicken breast into cubes and place in a large bowl. Then cut small red potatoes in half, slice an onion, and add to the chicken. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Then add the mixture to the chicken and potatoes. Stir until everything is well coated. If desired, add more salt and pepper and stir. Pour mixture in a 9 x 13″ backing dish and spread it out evenly. Slice a lemon and add each slice in between the chicken and potatoes. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes until chicken is cooked through and potatoes turn a golden brown. Enjoy with a spring mix salad!
*See video for a visual.
Our citrusy vinaigrette recipe using our blood orange extra virgin olive oil.
Some of you may be familiar with the 60 minutes segment on fraudulent olive oil. If you have not seen it, here is the story that aired on 1/3/16.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-agromafia-food-fraud/
Although olive oil fraud is not new, it reveals that large-scale fraud is still persistent in the olive oil industry. In the U.S., the lack of standards and testing conducted by the USDA and FDA makes it easy for poor-quality olive oil to flood the U.S. market. The fraud is so great that even respected nutritionists and food shows are telling the public not to cook with olive oil when fresh, high-quality olive oil has the highest smoke point of any cooking oil in the world! High phenol content and low free fatty acids protect against harmful chemical breakdown when cooking on high heat up to 400°F.
At So Olive, we have been teaching our customers what high quality olive oil should smell and taste like and how it differs from olive oil sold in grocery stores. Why does our olive oil smell and taste fresher? Our store is part of the Ultra Premium (UP) certification program.
Before our olive oil can be UP certified, our olive oils are produced using strict quality standards from tree to bottle. Each drop is double tested by an independent third party laboratory (most accredited lab in the world) and it must go through a full panel of accredited tasters to receive the UP certification. Click here to see how our standards compare to current standards.
Our olive oils cook better, tastes great, and is good for you. We ensure that you will get the real deal.
