Love Me Some EVOO!

    Hey my friends! It's been too long! I wanted to share what is on my mind this Friday which is a few recipes that Extra Virgin Olive Oil takes all the credit for making so perfecto! So, you probably here about olive oil and its benefits on the food network or other cooking shows. Truth is olive oil is so great for you! In fact, I rarely ever buy butter anymore unless I am baking. I have come to substitute olive oil for everything, and I want to share a few recipes with you on how I do that!

Cooking With EVOO

It's not very helpful to us if we are using EVOO in cooking, but not using it properly to receive all the nutrients! To make sure we are getting all those great polyphenols everyone speaks of we must heat it to only about 400 degrees that is a pretty low smoke point for sauteing... Once we go over our smoke point, we no longer have all the benefits of EVOO in our food!  So, keep the sauteing and cooking on medium.

Too Much Of Anything Isn't Good For You

Just like drinking red wine, there is a limit. Olive oil is a really healthy fat that helps with your skin, heart, and just easy on the gi tract; however, a little goes along way. If you typically have a hard time with portion control, note this: Fat should consist of 30% of your daily intake. Also, if you tend to pour oil heavy in the pan then try a aerosol can especially designed for oils to be spritzed on your food! I know Harris Teeter and most specialty grocery stores carry them for about $20. Great kitchen investment!

~Recipes Using EVOO~

Herb Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This is a great way to get creative for those especially weary of trying the greenish yellow liquid that is not butter. So, if you swear up and down you don't like EVOO, I promise you, you just haven't found how you like it! This is a great way to bring extra to flavor to traditional EVOO.

Basic Vinaigrette

This takes 10 minutes! I absolutely rather eat a bare salad then put some of the junk that people call salad dressing! There is sooo many calories and chemicals in salad dressings, even the ones that have less this and more good stuff. Nothing beats a homemade vinaigrette! So, once you get this basic vin down, you will be adding shallots and red wine vin or lemon juice and poppyseeds.... make it your own! There are so many wonderful combos for a great homemade salad dressing!

Garlic-Herb Marinated Olives

This a quick recipe that will have your party guests thinking you are so sophisticated... well, you may be but this recipe is so simple! Add some pita chips and its an appetizer! Or what I love to do is hit up the Harris Teeter Olive Bar if you have no time and add some fresh mozzarella with it and its a great snack!!

I hope you enjoyed these tip and recipes on what to do with your bottle of olive oil! If create some yum vinaigrette we can feature it on the blog!

All You Need To Know About Stock!

     So, I didn't really know what stock was for until I went to culinary school. My mom makes a great chili and vegetable soup! She uses water to increase volume in her soups. Stock can add a lot of flavor that you wouldn't get otherwise. It can make a recipe so flavorful without adding salt and calories in general. At college, we always made our stock, naturally. However, looking at the stock's  ingredients these days in the super market is crazy to me. They have added so much extra junk that is going to harm you more than help you. I want to help you make your money well spent at the grocery store.

Ways To Use Stock:

• Boiling pasta

• Poaching an egg

• Soups calling for water

• Sauces calling for water

Main Ingredients For Stock:

• Chicken Bones (if Chicken stock)

• Beef Bones (if Beef stock)

• Onions

• Celery

• Carrots

• Tomato Paste

• Herbs

Quality Stock Brands:

Medford Farms

In Oregon, there is a really cool farm that not only makes great stock with real ingredients such as celery, onion, carrot, tomato paste, and herbs. This farm also takes in troubled kids and let the m come to work in the farm. The non-profit program is called Kids & Critters Inc.

Organic Imagine

This brand has a really neat website! They will let you build recipes with their products, and they also have online coupons you can print out. Imagine understands the value of organic vegetables in their products.

Harris Teeter Organic

This is my favorite super market! I do so well with their double back and triple back coupon honorings. HT have a wide variety of all-natural and organic products; their new organic stock is one of them! This is totally different then just Harris Teeter brand. 

Kitchen Basics

There website is very informational including the history of stock. This brand understands that they cannot consider themselves quality when they add artificial flavorings and bulking ingredients.

Rachael Ray

Ok, this one I'm pretty surprised about simply because Rachael Ray irritates me with throwing salami in this and that. Her stock is not organic, but it does not contain artificial flavorings and bulking agents.

     So, why doesn't Progresso and Swanson make my list of quality brands?Progresso has added yeast and artificial flavorings. Swanson contains less than 2% of vegetables when vegetables are one of the main ingredients in a natural stock.

Hint: When you are reading labels in a grocery store, and you sometimes come across a label that is hard to read. Somehow the font is different, the color makes your eyes jump, and you get tired with the big words.... The company does this on purpose! They are hiding things from you. This is no mistake. They are marketing geniouses!

     If you find a brand that is not on here, flip it over. Check the ingredients! If you find bulking agents such as wheat gluten, salt, milk and/or egg yolks, you are not holding a quality container of stock in your hands! Cage-free, Free-range, and Low sodium are all clues that this brand cares about their consumers! Read your labels my friends! I hope I have made your stock purchasing easier. Enjoy your grocery shop findings!