They call it stainless steel. But your once-shiny knives, bowls and pots end up with greasy, yellowy splotches. What gives? And what to do?
Posts with tag olive oil
Tip of the Day: Clean stained "stainless" steel
Continue reading Tip of the Day: Clean stained "stainless" steel
Tip of the Day: Be smart with olive oil
While it's tempting to just buy the largest jug of olive oil possible and keep it in the cabinet for months, there are better ways to deal with purchasing and storing this key ingredient.
Italian olive oil scandal
Well, the reputation of Italian products has been suffering lately, and this latest news on olive oil doesn't help. Apparently a counterfeit olive oil ring was busted. They had been exporting "soya beans or sunflower seeds - some of it genetically modified - mixed with beta carotene and industrial chlorophyll" all dressed up as authentic Italian olive oil.Police arrested 39 people and confiscated 25,000 liters of the fake oil. The authorities say the good news is that proper checks and new labeling laws are working to catch these counterfeiters. However some people in the Italian olive oil industry are worried that consumers will compare Italian products with the recent fiasco of Chinese exports. The prosecutor who ordered the arrests did say that the oil wasn't harmful, but that it was produced in facilities which weren't checked by the health department.
Unfortunately some people are always going to be on the lookout for ways to make a quick buck. All we can do is hope to not get caught up in it, or that it won't hurt us if we do.
A daily glass of olive oil keeps the doctor away
Mariam Amash, a woman living in an Israeli village, recently astounded officials when she filed for a new identity card, declaring an age of 120 years old. She says she was born in 1888, when the Turks still ran the holy land. Her secret to long life? Walk regularly and drink a glass of olive oil every day. Al Dente did the math and figured out that she has consumed at least 43,800 glasses--roughly 2,737 gallons of olive oil. Studies have found that the monounsaturated oils in olive oil not only help reduce blood cholesterol, it also "cause less production of the bile acids in the digestive tract that promote colon cancer development." Additionally, it is less likely to generate free radicals in the body than other fats, it strengthens the anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fats and blocks the activation carcinogens. With all the olive oil she's consumed over the years, it's no wonder she's lived such a long life.
[via Al Dente]
Spaghetti with Rosemary
As I mentioned in a previous post, I love everything Rosemary. And I'm always looking for new ways to make pasta (especially since I've cut down on pasta in general and heavy sauces specifically), so I'm always happy to find a recipe where I can combine the two.
Like this recipe for Spaghetti with Rosemary from The Silver Spoon cookbook. Does that look great or what?
For the record, we never called it "pasta" when I was growing up. Never. It was always "spaghetti."
Campus olive trees unite CalTech students
Last Friday, students at CalTech put away their high tech pursuits and joined forces to harvest all the olives that grow on the school's 130 olive trees. This is the second year they've been picking the olives and the first year that they school went all out to throw a campus-wide harvest festival, complete with three-course family style Italian meal.
It got started last year when the university president spotted two students picking some of the olives. He promised them a home cooked meal if they could devise a way of making oil from the olives. They came up with a mechanism and the campus interest grew. The rest, as they say, is history. For those of you live in the area and want to try out some of the CalTech olive oil, it will be available in their bookstore in about three weeks.
[via Metafilter]
Make a perfect, flaky pie crust with olive oil
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Pie crusts are a tricky thing. I admit that I don't have a whole lot of experience with them and when I have tried to wrestle a cohesive sheet of dough into a pie pan, I've often settled for something far less than perfect. I'm okay with that though, I fill it with something delicious and call it rustic. It works for me.
But having read the Oregonian's food section today, I think I may have just learned the secret to a perfect pie crust every time. Olive oil. Danielle Certoni had always admired her mother-in-law's apple pie, and when the in-laws came for Thanksgiving, she asked her to make it. When she went into see how it was going, Danielle was surprised to discover that the secret was olive oil instead of butter or shortening. Apparently, it's quite common in other food cultures and produces a light and flaky crust without needing the same delicate treatment that we've come to expect that pastry needs. I don't have any pies on my cooking schedule, but the next time I need a crust, I'm turning to this recipe. If you make it, let me know how it turns out!
The picture is of an actual Olive Oil Pie Crust. It was posted on Flickr complete with recipe and entertaining narrative of how it came to be.
A Taste of Italy: Food & Wine in 60 seconds
Think you know a lot about Italian food? Think again. - Speaking of Italy, plan your next trip to Rome, Sicily, or Milan.
- Did you know that Sting and his wife made their own olive oil and honey and that it's coming to America?
- The perfect tomato sauce.
- An A to Z guide to Italian grapes.
- Italy's best restaurants?
- 100 hours of solitude in Venice.
- This month's recipes: Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Soup with Cheese Panini, Lemony Rice-Parsley Salad, Tuna, Olive, and Bread Salad, Watermelon and Arugula Salad with Walnuts, Ham and Cheese Stuffed Veal Chops, Rosemary-Grilled Chicken with Mushroom Sauce, and a Prosecco-Saba Cocktail.
You have to EAT to get flatter abs
We want to believe that there is a magic pill that will melt the fat off our bodies. We even hope there's some secret formula that nobody else knows. In the end, however, in our heart of hearts, we always know that "the formula" for staying trim is no formula at all. Quite simply, we have to exercise more and eat less.
Right?
Well, not exactly. According to various bits of research done here and there and compiled by AOL Diet & Fitness, it seems that for one particular trouble spot for a lot us, abs, eating more might be key.
Hold your horses, Soon-to-be-Taut Tonto. You can't just go eating everything in sight, thinking that the more potato chips and bacon you cram down your throat, the tighter your abs will be. There are specific nutrients in foods that seem t help fight ab fat. Unfortunately, potato chips isn't one of them. What are they? There are five things, and the matrix above is just a few suggestions for ways you can incorporate these into your diet that will get you to flatter abs:
Watermelon Summer Salad
Today, it's approximately 2000 degrees outside (around 2100 in my apartment), and I don't feel like turning on my oven or even eating anything hot. I think a salad would hit the spot, and this recipe from Jessica over at AllRecipes sounds interesting (and by interesting I mean "hmmm...I never thought of putting those things in the same salad").
It's the Watermelon Summer Salad, and besides refreshing, cool watermelon, you also get feta cheese, black olives, and sliced red onion. However, Jessica tells us not to be scared by the ingredients,. They work well together. Full recipe after the jump.
Breakfast Food Porn: Fried quail eggs on crostini
Simple yet spectacular - that is how Adrienne from Nosheteria describes this dish, and I couldn't agree more. Comprised of nothing more than lightly fried, sunny side-up quail eggs, a small piece of toasted crostini brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled with fresh chives, salt and pepper, I'm sure this breakfast dish tastes as wonderful as it looks.
Her recommendation of rounding out the meal with nothing more than a 1/2 grapefruit and strong coffee is quite brilliant too, as the addition of meat, sauce, or some other side item could overwhelm the perfect simplicity of this dish.
Sunday Food Porn: Roasted Baby Eggplants
I know, Jaden has been showing up in our food porn category a lot lately, but if you take a look at the pictures on her website, there really is little wonder why. I absolutely had to draw attention to this recipe though, as her latest creation includes one of my favorite foods - baby eggplants, which are drizzled in olive oil and roasted in the oven, then topped off with Caponata, parsley, and freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Though that alone sounds absolutely divine, she also recommends other toppings you can use instead, including another of my favorite flavor combinations: pesto sauce with chopped parsley, roasted pine nuts and shaved Parmesan cheese.
The world's healthiest foods
Health magazine has picked the five healthiest foods that you can get from five different countries. The list isn't complete, of course (I'm not even sure if these are the healthiest foods in the world), but it's a quick guide to the healthy foods that a few different countries have given us.
Spain has given us olive oil, Japan soy, Greece has given us yogurt, and lentils come from India. I've never had kimchi, from Korea, but that's on the list too. You can get recipes for each food at the link above as well.
So readers, what about the United States? What healthy foods have we contributed to the world? And no, Ring Dings don't count.
Fava Bean, Asparagus, and Arugula Salad with Shaved Pecorino
We usually turn to fellow bloggers for our food porn shots, but this salad at Epicurious.com looked so tasty that I had to share. The ingredients are simple: just combine asparagus, fava beans, arugula, sliced Pecorino Romano cheese, and a mix of olive oil and balsamic for the dressing. They also suggest that you can use shelled edamame in place of the fava beans, though I would be inclined to add both, myself. You can check out the complete recipe at their website via this link.
Buy your own EVOO, direct from Rachael
Rachael Ray will never again have to explain to her viewers what "EVOO" stands for because it is the name of her very own brand of extra virgin olive oil. The olive oil is being "specially produced in Italy for Rachael" and is almost guaranteed to turn "dish from so-so to 'Yum-o' in no time," so not only can you use in all of Rachael's recipes, but you can look at her smiling face on the bottle's label. Rachael's site notes that the oil is a certified Product of Italy, made from only Italian olives (just in case you were wondering if they imported theirs before processing for some reason). It is sold in 17-oz. ($8.95) and 34-oz. ($17.95) bottles.
Of course, she may not have to spell out "extra virgin olive oil" every time she mentions EVOO anymore, but don't be surprised if she starts including the web address of her online store in its place.
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