Saratoga Olive Oil Co.

So, quick life update...I'm employed! Yay! After a quick stint without work, I start my job next Tuesday!  Now that I feel a bit more relaxed and know that I will have a steady pay check coming in, I've been doing a bit of shopping.  Not much (don't worry, Mom)... I'm not impulsive or irresponsible, just out purchasing some necessities and enjoying perusing some of Saratoga's locally owned shops.

One of which I had been meaning to stop into for quite some time is the recently opened Saratoga Olive Oil Co. 

This quaint little store is really amazing.  Owner Clint Braidwood opened the space in mid-April, and has created a concept that I have never experienced before.  I visited on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, and was greeted by the owner and his brother who graciously welcomed me and explained the concept of the store and how to navigate my way through the 60+ olive oils and balsamic vinegars.  They have an impressive selection of olive oils from all around the world, ranging from fairly mild to extremely grassy and peppery.  I had no idea that olive oil could be green in color and very spicy...but it was!  They also have flavored oils, with my personal favorite being a mushroom and sage blend. 

After sampling several oils, with bread from the Rockhill Bakehouse, I moved on to the balsamic vinegars.  I really enjoyed the infused vinegars, particularly one with the slightly sweet hint of fig.  I spent a good twenty minutes working my way through different flavors and reading the informative descriptions of each oil and vinegar.

The Saratoga Olive Oil Co. also carries several other oils (walnut and avocado, to name a few), sea salts, olive oil crackers, soaps and lotions made with olive oil and lovely kitchen wares for the olive oil enthusiast.  Everything was reasonably priced and would make perfect gifts for a dinner host or your foodie friends.  I walked out with the mushroom sage olive oil for $12, and cannot wait to try it drizzled over risotto or with pork.

As I was checking out, I chatted a bit more with the owners and they asked me how my experience was...to be honest, it was a bit overwhelming! But in the best way possible. There is just so much to sample.  We discussed having a chalk board for customers when they walk in which acts as a kind of map to guide people through the store.  So, if someone just wants to try light olive oils from Italy, they know where to go.  But I would suggest sampling as much as you can...you may be surprised by what flavors you fall in love with.

Saratoga Olive Oil Co. is located at 484 Broadway.  Check it out!

More information can be found on their Facebook page and in this article from the Saratogian.

The Joy of Asparagus

Three words...I love asparagus. 

I love it roasted, grilled, blanched, raw or gasp! even out of a jar or can, which is how my dear grandmother used to serve it.

So, when I saw these beauts at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday, I had to purchase. 

Please disregard the mess in the background...

Last Saturday, Casey and I bought some asparagus but those were of a much more "slender" variety; the ones available on Wednesday were simply monstrous.  As I picked out my asparagus, (while Maggie, in a moment of amazing behavior, simply sat and waited patiently) a woman approached me and asked if these particular asparagus would be tough because they are so big.  I said I wasn't actually sure...and then I remembered a conversation I had with my family about Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and her discussion of asparagus. She says that size, in fact, doesn't affect the tenderness of the asparagus, but one must only be mindful of size, as it will have an impact on cooking time.  Another common misconception is that the smaller spears come from early harvests.  The truth is some plants (often depending on health and available nutrients) simply produce larger spears.  Interesting stuff, right?

Anyways, I purchased about a pound of this lovely veggie along with some spring garlic and a bag of arugula and headed on my way.  This afternoon, as the sun started to peak through the clouds and the temperature creeped up, I was craving a light and refreshing salad and decided to create a simple dish out of the ingredients I had purchased.

I first washed and spun out the arugula and placed it in a bowl.  I then washed the asparagus and trimmed the tough ends, cutting just about a 1/4-1/2 an inch off the bottom.  I took three of the stalks and using a veggie peeler, created ribbons of asparagus, which I placed on top of the bed of arugula.  To this, I added shredded Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. 

This salad was so yummy! The peppery arugula, tender and slightly sweet asparagus, salty parm and tangy lemon. Just perfect! I plated myself a dish, but then just decided to eat this salad out of the bowl.  I will also admit, I slipped Maggie a piece of cheese...what can I say, I'm a sucker.

What are your favorite spring time veggies?

Cheap Eats

Life takes us all down unexpected paths and mine has currently put me in a state of "transition," as I like to call it....otherwise known as unemployment or job hunting.  So in between sending out resumes I've been on the hunt for cheap eats.  Not just any cheap eats (a la peanut butter and jelly or scrambled eggs...which I've eaten my fair share of recently) but homemade comfort food cheap eats.

With the cold, rainy weather predicted for the next week, I was inspired to make a couple of easy dishes that would last me a few days.  My mom is known for making yummy soups and stews on days like today and taking a page from her book, I fashioned together a little Mexican Tortilla soup from items I had in my cupboard.  

I started with one glove of garlic and one onion (picked up from Saturday's Farmer's Market) and let them saute in olive oil.   I then added about a tablespoon of cumin and a hefty dose of ground chipotle pepper that I had left over from a recent trip to Sante Fe, NM.  I might have gone a little overboard on the chipotle, as my eyes started to burn and nose began to run after I added it to the pot, but at this point, I need some extra spice in my life, so I'm ok with it.

This stuff is the real deal...trust me it will clear your sinuses.  Also what a bargain-my brother and I split a bag and this is what's left of my share.

After letting that saute for 2-3 minutes, I added one can of drained black beans, a 32oz can of crushed tomatoes and 32 oz of chicken stock and let it simmer for 15 minutes to let the flavors come together.  Easy peasy.  About 5 minutes before serving I like to add flour (or corn, depending on your preference) tortillas, cut wedges.  This helps thicken the soup a bit more and adds a different texture.  Top with sour cream, or guacamole or a squirt of lime juice and you're good to go!

Another yummy item my mom is known for, is her granola.  For as long as I can remember, we never bought granola in our house, it was made by hand in massive batches.  Making granola is a great way to save money, especially with the stuff at the grocery store costing upwards of $5 a box.  Now, my version of granola is pretty simple, as I didn't have all of the ingredients my mom likes to add, but really granola is one of those things that once you have the basic concept/ingredients, you can make it however you want.

To start, I added about three cups of old fashioned oats, and a tablespoon of cinnamon to a big bowl.  To that, I mixed in a teaspoon of vanilla, a 1/4 cup of maple syrup boiled by my brother at the North Country School in Lake Placid, NY, and 1/4 cup of canola oil.  Pour the oat mixture onto a non-stick baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  I'd recommend checking it about half way through and quickly flipping/mixing the oats to make sure everything browns evenly.  Let cool and store in an air tight container.  Voila, breakfast for the next week!

Super yummy maple syrup! Love ya Nick! He also makes cheese, and knits..who is this guy!

My mom likes to add ground flax seed, shredded coconut, walnuts or almonds and raisins to her granola.  One note of caution, be careful with the nuts and fruit--add those towards the end of the baking time to ensure they don't burn.  As for sweeteners, you can really pick anything you like.  You could use brown sugar or honey or agave or any combo to meet your desired taste.

Also, if you want to cut down on the amount of oil, you can sub orange juice.  Sounds odd, but it works!

What are your recommendations for cheap eats (either homemade or dining out)?  

I just had to share this photo.  These flowering trees are my absolute favorite!  Just a little sunshine to brighten up this dreary day!

Adventures in Farmer's Marketing...and Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

So, I feel an apology is in order because this blog was created with the intention of journaling our adventures in cookin' up all the veggies in our weekly CSA share (Community Supported Agriculture--for those not in the know) from Denison Farm, and I have yet to actually talk about food from our CSA.  Well, that's because we are currently counting down, with baited breath, for the first week of June, when the first delivery is supposed to arrive--weather permitting, obviously.  If it's anything like last year, it should look something like this:

In the meantime, we will have to satisfy our cravings for local, organic produce by stopping into the Saratoga Farmer's Market, which just reopened in its outdoor space on High Rock Avenue.  Yippe! Our Farmer's Market is really quite impressive, with everything from baked goods, to eggs, to jellies and jam, to cheese, to beautiful plants and flowers, and of course the requisite seasonal produce.  If the weather is nice (or even if it's not), the Farmer's Market is the place to be on Saturday mornings. And it certainly was this past Saturday.  Casey and I walked down to the Market mid-morning, and ran into many familiar faces along with hundreds of dogs and babies.  In a strategic move on our part, Casey and I both left our pups at home in order to avoid a disastrous public scene...we tend to not play to well with others.

Fresh fish in Upstate New York. I heard the scallops were amazing...these are next on my agenda.

We spent about 45 minutes wandering amongst the various vendors. Pickin's were a bit slim at some..much of the produce was still of cold weather variety (ie potatoes, carrots, greens), but we managed to pick up a few goodies. I left with a bunch of rhubarb and a scone and Casey purchased a bunch of broccoli rabe and a scone.  Now, scones normally aren't my favorite baked good, but the folks at Rock Hill Bakehouse really do it right.  I tend to think scones are so dry they suck all the moisture out of my mouth and are often as hard as a rock, but these were just perfect.  A little dry but not too much, a touch sweet and a touch of tart from the currants...I think I could have eaten 5. We also sampled a bit of their savory foccacia...one word...AMAZING...I have been dreaming about eating a whole loaf of it for the last couple of nights. 

Casey-enjoying her scone ;-)

Well, last night,  I was craving my favorite late spring/early summer, super, simple treat.  I guess it could be described as strawberry-rhubarb compote, for lack of a better term. If you like tart, sweet, sloppy goodness this dish is for you.  So, with Maggie supervising at my feet, I got to work chopping the rhubarb into 1/2" pieces. I used about a pound of rhubarb for this "recipe." 

I combined the rhubarb with (yes, I cheated) a bag of frozen strawberries.  I must admit for this recipe, I like using frozen berries, I think they just break down a bit better.  To the berry/barb mix, I added a 1/4 cup of water and a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar, turned the heat on and just let it rip. 

Super easy...let the mixture boil and break down for about 25 minutes and let cool. 

It's delish over vanilla ice cream or biscuits. I ate mine this morning over some Fage yogurt.  Perfect breakfast on a beautiful spring morning.

What are your favorite Farmer's Market goodies or early summer recipes? I'm always looking for new ideas!

Vegan Wine…

Who knew, right?  Vegan wine. Well, that was exactly my reaction while perusing the wine list at downtown Saratoga’s Wine Bar. The Wine Bar is a cozy, upscale, bar/restaurant with an impressive rotating wine list, and great small and large plates if you come in hungry.  Some of my personal faves are the Warm Nut Medley, which I keep telling myself I will attempt to make at home, but never do.  This mix of cashews, almonds and pecans (maybe a peanut or two but I can’t remember off the top of my head) come right out off the stove, just slightly warmed, slightly sweet, slightly salty with a touch of rosemary.  So simple, but so delish.  My other recommendation is the Cheese Sampler…because well…I LOVE cheese.  This platter could honestly be a meal for two, it’s a real bang for your buck and it comes with 3-4 hard and soft cheeses, fruit, crackers and bread.

Not the Cheese Sampler, but an impressive cheese plate, none the less.

Anyways, what was I talking about, oh yes, VEGAN WINE.  So, I had the pleasure of joining a few of my lady friends for a couple of mid-week glasses of wine and while debating my options, I noticed a little asterisk next to a few of the wine options.  Gazing down to the bottom of the menu to discover what this little asterisk meant, I read that it noted which wines on the menu were vegan.  Well now, how could there be vegan wine? I’ve never seen any bacon sticking out of a glass. So we started surmising what “vegan wine” could possibly mean, and without coming to any sort of reasonable consensus, we decided it best to ask the bartender.

She described to us that some wine is filtered using materials such as… are you ready for this…it kind of makes my stomach churn...blood, egg whites or fish bladder.  Now, I am certainly not a vegan, nor a vegetarian. I enjoy ice cream, eggs, bacon, chicken, fish, and let us not forget CHEESE, with abandon, but the thought of wine being filtered with fish bladder momentarily gave me pause.  With information in hand, we all went ahead and ordered our various glasses, without being all that mindful of whether the wine was vegan or not.  I guess the momentary wave of nausea didn’t really have any long lasting impact.

So I’ve been thinking about vegan wine a bit over the last couple of weeks and I reached out to my friend Jenny, who’s younger brother Jon worked for a great online wine blog, Cork’d, and is now the Director of Operations at the Daily Grape. I was curious about what his thoughts were on vegan wine.  His response was that, in fact, most wine is actually vegan and those of us who care, actually have nothing to worry about.  Good news! I’ll go with Jon’s words of wisdom because I like him and he’s a sommelier.

If you are interested in doing a little research of your own on vegan wine, and the wine making process in general, you may want to check out this article:

http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2009/10/vegan_vino_sure_but_it_comes_w.html

I welcome your thoughts and comments on vegan….or not vegan wine, and of course new sipping suggestions are always welcome.

Enjoy! And drink responsibly!