March 28, 2009

Did you know that Texas produces her own olive oil?  I didn't!  Not until last year when I noticed that Dallas foodies were freaking out about this new olive oil from the Texas Olive Ranch southwest of San Antonio. They have 40,000 olive trees there, and produce the most delicious olive oil.

Texas Olive Ranch

It has a wonderful fresh olive flavor, but isn't too sharp like some good olive oils are.  You know the ones…they make you cough after you taste them?  That isn't desirable to me in olive oil, but we all have our own taste, right?

I hadn't tried the Texas olive oil until Central Market was sampling it recently, and I got a taste and immediately grabbed a bottle, after I wiped away the oil dripping down my chin and licked my fingers!  At $13.99 for a 16.9 fl oz bottle, it's definitely not pricey for a great olive oil.

Besides Central Market, in the Dallas area you can find the Texas Olive Ranch olive oil at Tom Spicer's and Flavors from Afar.  You can also buy it in person in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.  The web site says online ordering is coming soon, so all of you outside of Texas can order this scrumptious olive oil.  This is my oil of choice now for hummus, pesto, salads, you name it.  If you have the opportunity to try it, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that a great olive oil can come from Texas, not just from Spain or Italy!

~BigSis

March 26, 2009

I'm literally making a batch of hummus every week. I didn't make one last week though, and guess what? I was a little bit low in energy and my workouts weren't 100%. I don't think that hummus is a miracle food – although it is really healthy – but I think it gives me a great boost of protein that I need. Last week I guess I was on more of a salad kick and didn't have good balanced meals at night, so back to the hummus I go!

I used my usual Healthy Hummus recipe, and tweaked it a touch. I had some dill and chives left over from last week's Potato Ho Down Dilled Potato Pie, so they went into the hummus, giving it the great green color. I used 5 cloves of garlic, crushed and sauteed as always, and the juice of 2-1/2 lemons. I clearly like my hummus really lemony and garlicky. I also like to use a great flavorful olive oil in it, even though it doesn't take much. My favorite right now is Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I'll talk more about that incredible product next time.

Dill Chive Hummus with Green Dippers

All this green hummus needs is some lovely green veggies to scoop it up with.  Besides my hummus addiction, I'm still nursing my asparagus obsession, and probably will until it gets too expensive.  I found great asparagus at Central Market for $1.50 a pound, and also got some fresh sugar snap peas.  I blanched them separately for just 3 minutes, and shocked them in salty ice water before draining and drying them off for a week of tasty dipping!

~BigSis