Have you ventured downtown lately? Say, to Dickson Street? If you have, you would have undoubtedly noticed the entire parking lots being taken up by tents and marquees and large stages, which all suggest that Bikes, Blues and BBQ is upon us. That means our sleepy, quaint Ozarks town is going to be a rumbling Mecca for all things Harley Davidson. We take this time, dear friends, to close our humble store and take a fall vacation. Sadly, we will be closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week in honor of the 18th Annual BBBBQ. Ride on, folks! Ride on.
But, hey! When we do open back up on Tuesday, we have a few new goodies for you to try. First, there's a Passion Fruit White Balsamic. You guys, I got totally brainwashed by watching "The Great British Baking Show", where they somehow manage to work in passion fruit onto every single episode, and I got really giddy when our distributors came out with this new flavor. And I just said, "take my money!" without ever having actually eaten said passion fruit, hence not having any idea what a passion fruit balsamic would potentially taste like. And, boy, let me tell you, I'm glad I did. Those Brits are on to something. It kind of tastes like the Ripe Peach White Balsamic, but with a bit less sweetness and a little zippy twang at the end. It pairs well with any of our citrus olive oils (especially the Persian Lime, wink!), the spicy Picholine EVOO, and the Chipotle olive oil. I think it would be dreamy with any salad, mixed drink, fruit, avocado, straight from the bottle...it's really just a lovely flavor.
We also just put out a new, extremely tasty, Wild Rosemary Infused Olive Oil. Let that sink in. And now let your mind wander toward all the things you can do with that. Especially this fall. I'm there with you. Cornbread stuffing, focaccia, all the soups, roast chicken, pork chops, potatoes! I'll stop. Honestly, I held off on ordering this one for a while and I'll tell you why. I secretly cringe when I see "rosemary" anything on a menu or recipe. I associate rosemary (along with McCormick Lemon Pepper seasoning and Mrs. Dash) with early college cooking, when that was really the only herb anyone used, since they had heard of it, and it overpowered the whole dish to the point of inedibility. I remember picking little brittle shards of it out of my teeth after one particularly rosemary-y chicken my roommate made and vowed to never use it again. But I asked for a sample of the oil from California, tried it, and have come around. Used in the right quantities, rosemary is a very nice herb. And the Rosemary Olive Oil has just the right amount of herbaceous notes blended with a green olive oil to make it noticeable, but not overpowering. We've had it out for less than a week and it's already half gone. It's that good.
Let's see...what else is new? Well, all of our Extra Virgin Olive Oils are new. We only have one Northern Hemisphere oil left, and the rest are all Southerners. And they are delicious! We have a mild Hojiblanca, medium Arbosana, robust Picholine and Favalosa. The Southern Hemisphere had an impressive harvest, and we are reaping the benefits. Sadly, when we order new things we have to let other things go. So, for now, we say good bye to the Gravenstein Apple White Balsamic, the Lavender Dark Balsamic and the A-Premium White Balsamic. But don't worry! We may get them back again some day.
Oh! And we're doing something new with our store hours. Starting next week, we are going to be open from 10:00-5:00 on Saturdays. Stop in and say "hello!" and forgive us for the ongoing construction and for closing this week to escape the bikes blues.
Our sale for this month is going to be the Persian Lime Olive Oil. This one was one of my first loves and, paired with the Blackberry Ginger Balsamic, was probably what convinced my husband that we were not crazy people for wanting to open an oil and vinegar store three (3!) years ago. But, favorites come and go. We got a little wild with the peppery and smokey oils and I always fawn over the EVOOs and, I admit, the Lime fell out of my favor. But, you guys, there is a soup that I make. A humble soup. And it needed the Persian Lime Olive Oil for perfection.
This is the easiest soup, aside from Ramen Noodles, that you could make. It's Carrot Coconut Soup
and I know you'll adore it. You cut up an onion. You peel and slice up a 2 lb bag of carrots. And that's it. Well, that's basically it. Saute the onions and carrots in a generous 4 tablespoons of Persian Lime Olive Oil, or regular olive oil, or butter, or coconut oil, or whatever floats your boat (but try it with the Lime one, wink!) for about 15-20 minutes. Then add it two cans of coconut milk, 4 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock or water (it's a very forgiving soup), and you drop the heat to low and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Use an immersion blender, if you have it, to puree your soup. You can do this with a regular blender, too, but be very careful because hot liquids like to splatter and expand and leave a huge mess all over your counter top when you forget to check that the bottom of your blender is correctly screwed on. Ah, memories. Blend until it's all smooth and thick and luxurious. Squeeze in the juice of one lime, a tablespoon or two of Sriracha, add some salt, if needed and love that soup for all it's worth, because, like the Persian Lime Olive Oil, it's a keeper.Carrot Coconut Soup with Chili and Lime
From Orangette
4 Tbsp. Persian Lime Olive Oil or butter
2 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
2 cans unsweetened, full fat coconut milk
1-2 Tbsp. Sriracha
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots, with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 15-20 minutes.
2. Add the broth and coconut milk, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and the liquid is slightly reduced, about 45 minutes.
3. Puree using an immersion blender, or in batches, (carefully) with a regular blender. Stir in Sriracha and lime, and add salt to taste. Serve along with crusty bread and enjoy!
I hope you enjoy the soup and that you, too, take a vacation this week or go downtown to partake in a smoked Turkey leg and the sight of leather chaps.
Cheers,
Andrea
