Olive That! Tasting Bar - Whitby, Ontario

If you haven't been to an olive oil tasting bar (read: THIS olive oil tasting bar!) then it's about time! As a foodie I thought I knew everything there was to know about EVOO but what I sampled, smelled and learned today has forever changed the way I think about olive oil! 

Val & Tony Vagopoulos , the lovely owners of Olive That, in Whitby Ontario were so gracious in welcoming me to their beautiful Artisinal shop today.  To my surprise Val had also laid out a tasting tray for us, think of it as a mini crash course of a few of her extensive varieties of delicious fresh, fragrant, and fruity olive oils as well as a couple of balsamic vinegars. As I warmed the little cups of oil between my palms, sipped and slurped just as she instructed I listened attentively to her speak passionately about her love of olive oil. 

Olive That is a tasting bar, that means you can taste everything on site, just grab a cup from the stacks of mini cups found at an arm's reach throughout the store, or maybe a little cube of fresh bread in the beautiful jars then help yourself to a tasting of fresh olive juice from the stainless steel vessels in which each oil is carefully stored in protecting it from the elements.

This afternoon as I made my way around the store tasting many of the different varieties of olive oils as well as infused olive oils, one of the things I took note of was that regardless of pungency or infused notes of flavour they all share a similar attribute of being surprisingly "light" and by that I mean very delicate in the mouth, contrary to the "other" stuff labeled as (Extra Virgin Olive oil) which is heavy, greasy and all you're left with is this viscous mouthful. I'm told this is how olive oil (or olive juice!) should very much be like.

I've been fortunate to have learned over the last couple of weeks and also reminded of today how olive oil is a delicate juice that does indeed have a shelf life,  which as I'm told is between 6-8 months. Only through having access to vital information like the crush date will you be able to estimate the freshness of your olive oil and enjoy it in the best possible form. This really make you rethink the freshness of supermarket olive oils or those bottles sitting around forever in dusty gourmet shops.

Along with the sensory test through sampling the wonderful olive oils and allowing the mouth to detect those fruity and herbaceous notes ending in that peppery finish at the back of the throat the owners of Olive That pride themselves in providing detailed scientific information about every batch of olive oil in their store, you'll see the little laminated cards on the front of each stainless steel vessel and the staff are always more than happy to explain what the numbers mean. 

We're so fortunate to have Olive That in the heart of Durham (as well as a second location in downtown Unionville) for all of us to enjoy from the general Toronto, and surrounding areas!

Oh and while you're there don't forget to check out the divine assortment of balsamic vinegars! I couldn't resist walking away without the 18 year old traditional, aged espresso, and aged maple balsamic ..  next time I'm going for the white!

And for my readers who know me so well by now, you guessed it!!  .. There will be recipes to follow, very soon! 

Easy Healthy Changes

Recently I've incorporated some healthy foods into my diet, and I'm excited to share them with you all!!  These days there is so much info out there that it's hard to really keep track of it all and incorporate everything that's "Good and healthy" into one's diet so I've decided along with the lemon water which I posted last year to add  a couple of more foods that are easy to consumed on a daily basis or at least a couple of times of in a week !

Starting with this awesome oil I picked up from our very own St.Lawrence Market here in Toronto, it's a rich pumpkin seed oil extracted from the pumpkin seeds that grow high up in the Austrian Mountains.

When I opened the bottle the aroma just hit me, it's so intense but not bitter and it tastes AMAZING! Check out the colour, you'll know it's good for you just by looking at it!

I received a pamphlet with my bottle to read all about the health benefits, and it's absolutely a must for men as well to ward off prostate cancer, so if you have the means to find some of this stuff  please give it a try.

It's a great dipping oil, or you could take a tablespoon before bed as the man from the shop advised me, he claimed you'll never need to take multivitamin again!

(his words not mine, and I'm not telling anyone to stop taking their vitamins!)

UPDATE: Recently I've become aware of the use of hexane (a chemical) which is used to extract oils from seeds and other forms of vegetation.  I contacted the Styrian Gold company to ask about the method of extraction and if hexane is part of the "process" of extracting oils from these Austrian pumpkin seeds. To my surprise they were not able to give me ANY information about the process or if hexane is or isn't used which is a real shame.  I expected one should know the entire process A-Z when it comes to your product and that they would at least have made the trip over to Austria to see what goes on over there however it doesn't seem like they are interested in that so I'm just letting you all know. I'm also not going to be able to continue replenishing my supply and being their customer until they can tell me for sure.

UPDATE: I managed to speak with the owners (lovely couple!) at the Home & Garden show earlier this winter of 2014 and they mentioned their recent visit to Austria and the process of extracting the oil from the seed, which is all done with salt water and pressing, no chemicals (no Hexane, no nothing!) which is such great news for all of us. So go ahead, grab and a bottle and enjoy!

Next up: The walnuts! Rich in omega 3 and one of my all time favourites! I wrote about them in this post here back in Autumn  

Just don't forget to soak them a couple of hours before eating.  If you enjoying having a snack while watching your favourite tv show in the evening then as soon as you wake up set some of these out in a bowl on the counter (I store my walnuts in the freezer) and top them up with some cool water and by evening they'll be ready, just drain and enjoy!  So crunchy, so good!

This one is actually two tips in one, but we'll start with the vibrant olive oil.  Lately I've been learning quite a bit about olive oil from a fabulous local shop that opened up in the GTA (General Toronto Area) by the name of Olive That! They claim to sell the freshest olive oil on earth, it's stored in large stainless steel barrels and you're able to sample all their fresh olives oils before buying (wouldn't an olive oil tasting be a fun thing to do with someone special or a bunch of girl friends?! ) 

Some of the crucial information I've learned about olive oil is that it should be treated more like a juice (juice of an olive fruit) and it has a shelf life of between 6-8 months. It also MUST have a crush date (when the olives were crushed) to understand and estimate the shelf life of the oil, stores are supposed to be able to provide you with all that information and if not then DON'T BUY. 

This really makes me rethink where I'm buying my olive oil and already I've stopped purchasing it from regular supermarkets. 

On to the next healthy food, yogurt or greek yogurt. Studies have shown that consuming yogurt before a meal will prevent fat from being stored in parts of the body (especially the abdomen) - this was mentioned on the Dr.Oz show a while ago.

In our Middle Eastern diet we eat a lot of yogurt already, from breakfast to strained yogurts, as well as a yogurt drink which is just watered down yogurt with a pinch of salt. Perfect accompaniment to the main meal of the day!  

From yogurt to kefir.. in case you're worried about not getting enough probiotic ( like me, always forgetting to take pills and really don't keep track of how much yogurt I'm eating on a regular basis) thankfully there is a solution: Kefir!

I heard that Kefir has 3 X the probiotics of yogurt and taking 1 tbsp a day is all you need.  I bought a container and took a tbsp a day for an entire week, at that point it ran out and now I'm about to pickup my third container next time I'm at the grocery store.

Such an easy tip that has put my mind to rest regarding consuming enough probiotics, and while you're at it give a couple of drops to your pets too (dogs/cats!)

I'm in the process of researching Kefir and even considering purchasing the kefir grain cultures to turn my own milk into kefir, much more economical!  Head over to Cultures of Health if you want to learn more about Kefir and how to make it.

Before reaching for the pasta, or even rice try switching it up with Freeka, it's a Middle Eastern green wheat that has had the husks burned off and this process infuses the grain with a smokey and delicious flavour when cooked.  It's dry, and you can find it almost anywhere now since it's taken off so well over the last year! 

We talk a lot about quinoa too here, and I've incorporated buckwheat flour as well as spelt and even kamut flour into my pantry so far.  

Spelt flour is fabulous in cookies and breads and the other day I threw 1/3 cup of kamut flour into my regular  pancake recipe, it was great! 

We all know all about the health benefits of fish, and unfortunately those of us who don't live near the ocean or have access to fresh clean fish don't always meet our dietary requirements (I'm very guilty of that) 

Growing up we ate fish on a regular basis, it was a family affair where we all sat together picking the flesh from the bone and constantly being reminded by our parents to "Be careful of the small bones". When our tummies were full of the delicious fish everyone had to wash up really well or else our hands would smell fishy for the rest of the week! At the end of the ritual my mother would bring out a tall glass bottle of a lemon "cologne" that my father used to buy from his trips abroad and we'd all line up to get a couple of drops sprinkled on our palms which we'd rub vigorously together. 

Here in Canada fish was almost always frozen, and very expensive. Luckily there are options though, since most people prefer the nice convenient fillets whole fishes or lesser favored options like mackerel and sardines were decently priced and that's what we bought from time to time. 

So my last tip is to eat more fish, more of those healthy oily fishes (try to avoid anything with a high mercury level) and since we're all living in a time now when our oceans are unstable please try to seek sustainable options. 

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing about these foods. 

Simplicity

Lately I've not had a lot of time to cook, but that hasn't stopped me!  As you all probably know by now that my style is slow cooking (and by that I don't mean using a crockpot because I don't even own) but from scratch home cookin' and of course my beloved Middle Eastern recipes!   Our grandma's spent most hours of their days cooking and out of their kitchens came amazingly delicate and intricate recipes like hand stuffed and rolled grape leaves, different variations of kubbah (which are doughs stuffed with filling and either fried, baked or simmered in rich stews)  and so many more beautiful dishes.

On the flip side there's a lot to be learnt from having really little time on hand when it comes to meal prep. I love Jamie Oliver' 30 and 15 minute meals and Nigella's cooking because what I've learned from watching these cooking shows is that sometimes it's OK to cut  down on steps and still make something fabulous to eat!

Whether it's cooking long and slow or quick there is always something to learn and acquire new techniques and perfect cooking skills.

I made a second visit to Country Cheese (I wrote about my first visit here) and picked up some fun cheeses.  They have these lovely fresh cheese curds on a weekly basis that are flying off the counter (literally.. so gotta get there early!) 

I also picked up an interesting cheese which was flavoured in house, they rub it with a lemon infused olive oil and then roll it in dried herbs.  I forgot the name of the cheese but if you go in there and ask them they'll know what you're talkin' about.  It's such a nice snacking cheese, I love the hint of lemon (I love lemon in everything) but find that it really cuts the richness!  Very addictive. 

I've experimented a little with it in cooking, and like a parmigiano reggiano it's perfect to just grate in last minute. The first recipe I made was a pasta in a plain cream sauce which then I shaved/grated quite a bit of this cheese onto it  A few globes of cherry tomato to garnish the plate and it was perfection!  

It's also a perfect breakfast cheese as you can see we enjoyed with an array of fruit, fresh bread and vegetables.  I put a Middle Eastern spin on this spread, which really is how I like to enjoy my cheese! Give me some bread, olives, ripe tomatoes, cucumbers and I'm good to go!

I will add that this lemony cheese is also PERFECT shaved in large curls over a plate of fresh pasta in tomato sauce.Those herbs are great especially in the dead of winter when I can't get to the supermarket to pick up fresh herbs (not to mention they're so expensive)

This cheese is a keeper!

My last favourite thing when it comes to simple meals and I've written about this before but I'm going to say it again, I LOVE those flame savours by Highliner, amazing fish fillets that cook up in 24 minutes, just so perfect! I now make them twice a week.

Delicious Saturday Meal

Here is our delicious saturday meal - following our big feast on friday (10th of June)

My mother put together a yummy salmon casserole which I called "engagement salmon" because later that night we watched Ina Garten prepare her take on the famous "engagement chicken" and it was very similar to this dish only mum used limes in the salmon instead of the lemons in the chicken but it still had lots of onion and it was delicious !

Along with that we made Chef Lidia's pasta with homemade bread crumbs Mum had a loaf in the freezer so to my amazement she began grating it and then sauteeing it in the olive oil and garlic ... then tossing the fresh pasta in it. YumYum!

This truly was one of the yummiest pasta dishes I've had, so simple but so comforting.

We also roasted asparagus (salt & pepper, olive oil drizzle- bake on 400-425 until tender then squeeze lemon juice on) and made salad. It was a really memorable and great day.

Honey our cat gave me a not so pleasant face when I pointed the camera at her but she's a real sweety :)