Brunch for all!

Hello, and welcome to my last minute, thoroughly procrastinated Mother's Day Edition post.

Better late than never, right?  Sure.  There are quite a few new and exciting things that are already here or are making their way to the store.  I think you'll approve.  We have brought back the Olive Oil soap in Peppermint, Lavender, Manuka Honey, and Citrus Bloom.  I really like these soaps because, in a world where I cannot pronounce most of the 30 odd chemicals that appear in bath/beauty products, they only have 2 ingredients: olive oil and whatever essential oil scents them.  I like simplicity.  Also, did you know that your skin is your largest organ? There's a fun Science Friday fact for you.  Moving on.   We are freshly stocked with Tapenades for your anitpasto, wine and cheese nights.  We have Smoked Artichoke Tapenade, Sun dried Tomato Tapenade, Roasted Red Peppers, and the best jarred Pesto you'll ever eat.  Also, give the Taza Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds or Chocolate Covered Cocoa Nibs a try.

We finally, really and truly, got the Coconut White Balsamic in and this may become my most used Summer Balsamic. Seeing as we just put it out yesterday (and me being a genius forgot to order labels for it, so those will be here next week.  Sorry. I would blame my third trimester "Mommy Brain," but that would be a lie.), I haven't cooked with it yet.  But!  I envision grilled shrimp with Persian Lime Olive Oil and a generous dose of Coconut Balsamic.  I will concoct some sort of frozen drink with it before long.  It goes well with the pleasantly spicy Bakouti Green Chili and Chipotle Olive Oils.  I'm sure I'll come up with more as time goes on.

We're moving into our last round of Northern Hemisphere Olive Oils, as the Southern Hemisphere should be crushing their olives this month and next.  So, if there is an oil you love and can't live without, make sure you get it while you can.  For me, that is the Athinoelia from Greece.  I can't think of when I have reordered an EVOO so often.  I ordered two more cubes, just in case they stop exporting it.  You guys, I'm addicted.  We're about to put out some new faces as well: medium Hojiblanca and "Melgarejo" Frantoio from Spain, robust Coratina "Grand Cru" from Italy, and robust Organic Chemlali from Tunisia.  I'm interested in the Chemlali, as those are the same olives that make our Baklouti Green Chili Olive Oil and that is one of my favorites.  Those will be making an appearance throughout this week and next.

And in order for us to put out new stuff, we have to put some of our old stuff on sale! Look for these guys to be on the 25% off shelf:  mild Sevillano from CA, medium/robust Frantoio from Chile, and robust "Melgarejo" Hojiblanca from Spain.  Oh, and the Mango White Balsamic will be on sale, too.  Get them while they last!

Probably the most exciting new thing is our updated website.  We have a snazzy new "Recipes" tab that contains all of the recipes from this blog!  Check it out.  In fact, two of the recipes I'm giving you today are oldies that you may have missed.  They should not be missed.  I present to you, everything you need for an amazing Mother's Day Brunch: Butter-Garlic Shrimp and Grits, My Go-To Granola Yogurt Parfaits, and Olive Oil Morning Muffins. The muffins, guys, are ah-mazing.  In fact, maybe don't make them because you will eat all of them before they even have a chance to cool.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's start with the Shrimp and Grits.  I love them.  They are easy as can be.  You could set up a grits bar with crumbled bacon, chopped tomatoes, green onions, grated cheese, fried eggs or what have you.  But be sure to include these shrimp.  Your mom will thank you.  The granola is really just a breakfast game changer.  I eat it pretty much every day with plain yogurt, honey and sliced berries. I have been into a coconut chip/almond/dried cherry combo, but you can do whatever you want.  I like coconut/pecan/cranberry, pecan/almond/walnut combo.  I tend to throw in whatever nuts I have stored in the freezer and dried fruit I have in the pantry, add some nice fruity Olive Oil and that's that.  To make the parfaits, layer some yogurt (drizzle with honey if it's plain), berries of your choice, handful of granola, and repeat once more.

The muffins. I have a thing for Lemon.  I have a thing for Olive Oil. I have a thing for all Breakfast Bread-type things.  When one of my favorite food writers posted this recipe a few weeks ago, I knew I was a goner.  For my version, I used our Eureka Lemon Fused Olive Oil, lemon zest, the juice of said zested lemon and Grand Gala Liqueur.  However, you could use Blood Orange Olive Oil, orange zest, and orange juice/Gran Marnier and they would be quite tasty.  I fortuitously had everything to make these muffins lying around the house, so I whipped up the batter in a minute flat only to realize that I had no muffin liners.  I'm not sure how that could happen, as I feel like I buy a new pack every time I make cupcakes and they tend to pile up.  Anyway, I decided to spray my already non-stick muffin pan and figured all would be well.  Here is the ugly truth.  Whatever.  They tasted great.  Make them this weekend, with muffin liners.

 The recipes!

Butter-Garlic Shrimp and Grits

Adapted from Food Network

Grits:

3 c. water

3/4 c. instant or quick-cooking grits

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese (I suppose you could use cheddar instead) (or smoked gouda!)

1 Tbsp. Butter Infused Olive Oil

Shrimp:

2 Tbsp. Butter Infused Olive Oil

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 large cloves garlic, minced

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp. water

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

Heaven

1.  Bring 3 cups of water to boil in a medium sauce pan.  Whisk in grits, salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened (about 5 minutes).  Stir in parmesan cheese and Butter Olive Oil.  Turn off heat, but cover to keep warm.

2.  Pour 2 Tbsp. Butter Olive Oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the shrimp, garlic and cayenne to the pan and cook, tossing every now and then, until the shrimp are pink (5 minutes?).  Add 2 Tbsp. water, the lemon juice and parsley and give them another quick toss.  Season with salt and pepper  Turn off the heat.

3.  Divide the grits into shallow bowls and top with shrimp and sauce. Serve with lemon wedges.

My Go-To Granola

6 c. old fashioned rolled oats
2-3 c. unsweetened coconut chips (found at ONF/Whole Foods in bulk)
3-4 c. chopped nuts of your choice or a dried fruit/nut combo
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. pure maple syrup
2/3 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Blood Orange Fused Olive Oil)

1. Preheat oven to 300.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Dump everything into a large bowl and mix well.

2. Bake for 40 minutes, flipping the granola every 15 minutes, so that it doesn't burn.  It should be lovely and fragrant and nicely golden when it is finished.  Let it cool before putting it in an air-tight container.

This will keep at room temperature for a couple weeks.  However, I freeze mine and grab handfuls out of the freezer bag in the morning.  Which ever you prefer!

Olive Oil Muffins
Adapted from David Lebovitz

1 1/3 c. all purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. Eureka Lemon Fused Olive Oil (or Blood Orange or a mild, fruity EVOO)
3/4 c. milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/3 c. mixed: half fresh lemon juice, half orange liqueur

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line a standard 12 muffin tin with paper liners. (My batch had a bit of left over batter, so I made 6 mini muffins just for fun.)  

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, milk, eggs, zest and juice/liqueur.  

3.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together until combined, but do not over-mix.

4.  Fill the muffin molds 3/4 of the way full (these don't rise too much) and bake until the batter has set in the center and tops are golden brown, about 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and try to let cool before serving/eating them all.

I hope you all have a great Mother's Day weekend, final's week, upcoming graduation season, and generally beautiful spring.  Take care and I look forward to seeing you soon!

Cheers,
Andrea