mélange
“...having bowed to the inevitability of the
dictum that we must eat to live, we
should ignore it and live to eat...”
― M.F.K. Fisher, An Alphabet for
Gourmets
Alchemy
“Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn, old
wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read.”
― Francis Bacon
Watch a French housewife as she makes her way
slowly along the loaded stalls… searching for the peak
of ripeness and flavor… What you are seeing is a true
artist at work, patiently assembling all the materials of
her craft, just as the painter squeezes oil colors onto
his palette ready to create a masterpiece.”
― Keith Floyd
On French meals in the brasseries of Paris: “The pommes a l’huile
were firm and marinated and the olive oil delicious. I ground black
pepper over the potatoes and moistened the bread in the olive oil.
After the first heavy draft of beer I drank and ate very slowly.”
- Ernest Hemingway, in A Moveable Feast
Bees contribute to more than $1.5 billion of crops every year
through pollination…
India is the lowest consumer of meat in the world-70% of the
world’s vegetarians are Indians…
Australia is biggest consumer of meat in the world followed
closely by the United States…
We
all
know
olive
oil
is
good
for
us
and
that
it
is
the
cornerstone
of
the
Mediterranean
diet
but
how
do
we
know
if
what
we
are
buying
is
the
real
thing?
Price
doesn’t
always
tell
us
we
are
getting
higher
quality
but
with
olive
oil
it
usually
does.
Stricter
guidelines
are
applied
to
those
oils
touting
they
are
extra
virgin
so
always
look
for
that
and
look
for
glass
bottles
that
are
dark
in
color,
stay
away
from
plastic
and
clear
glass.
Another
way
to
ensure
you
are
getting
a
quality
product
is
to
look
for
the
stamp
of
approval.
For
California
olive
oils
look
for
COOC-
California
Olive
Oil
Council.
For
international
olive
oils
look
for
the
EV
Alliance
or
UNAPROL
stamp,
both
have
a
good
reputation
and
have
high
quality
standards.
Interestingly
we
usually
associate
Italy
or
Spain
with
having
the
most
consistent
and
highest
quality
oils
but
Australia
and
Chile
have
the
most
stringent
standards and are known for exceptional olive oils.
The 25th is Culinarians Day……
A sampling of culinary terms to celebrate being a culinarian……
A la grecque-served in Greek style such as with olive oil, lemon juice
and seasonings…..
Effiler- to remove the string from a bean or to thinly slice almonds….
Mise en place- the preparation of ingredients before you begin
cooking; such as dicing vegetables or measuring spices…
Oeuf- French for egg…….
A simple but delicious recipe…….
Blend 3 cups of Kalamata olives (or any olive really) with about ½ of a
cup of good olive oil; process till you reach the consistency you want;
serve on some crusty bread and pour a glass of wine and it’s all good…
July is Blueberry Month….
Blueberries are number one when it comes to antioxidant health
benefits…..Native to North America their flesh is green only the skin is
blue………
