Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Olive Oil . Amazing . Everyday



Olive Oil especially Extra Virgin variety, now commonly known as EVOO,  can now be found in most family’s pantries today. When I was growing up it was not the case unless you were Italian or Greek.

Our grandparents were immigrants from Sicily. Olive oil was always in the kitchen, on hand, ready to fry meatballs or cutlets, drizzle on salad; vegetable oil was not in the pantry. My grandmother often used olive oil for other purposes. If we had earaches she got out the olive oil. Stomach ache? Nothing a couple of teaspoons of olive oil couldn’t fix! I am embarrassed to say as children it sounded crazy!

After doing a little research I learned my Grandmother was correct! Olive Oil is more than food staple it is tremendously useful and has many applications. Seems olive oil does it all.



Olive Oil as a Moisturizer

It was stated, beautiful Sophia Loren baths in olive oil once a week! I imagine Sophia knows olive contains 4 different antioxidants which minimizes wrinkles going deep into the skin and reverses skin damage.  She is still fabulous today! So if it worked for her who am I to say otherwise.

Use it as bath oil or moisturizer. Here is a recipe to make it a little more special… infuse the olive oil with flowers from your garden. Fill a glass jar with fresh flower petals or buds, pierce 6 Vitamin E Capsules and squeeze the oil into the jar. Heat 1 ¾ cups of EVOO in micro wave and then pour over petals. Seal and shake jar gently to mix. Place jar in sunny location and turn it over daily for 2 weeks. Then strain to remove all petals and pour in a sterilized container. Lavender, Marigolds, Rose Petals are good choices however do not use flowers that have been sprayed with chemical.

Olive Oil for Hair – Warm a few tablespoons of olive oil in micro wave for 30 seconds and then rub into your scalp and hair. Wrap in a towel for 30 minutes and then shampoo as normal to reveal a beautiful mane of hair.

Olive Oil for Earache – I know…Grandma! Some folks swear by this natural remedy. Very carefully use a cotton swab to apply the olive oil to the outside of the ear cavity to help earaches and excess wax.
 Olive Oil for Diaper Rash – Gently wipe olive oil on your baby’s bottom to relieve diaper rash.




Olive Oil for Polishing Furniture – It helps remove dust and gives a nice shine. Add a teaspoon to a quarter cup of lemon juice, and you have a non-toxic, petroleum free polish to gently clean wood surfaces.

Olive Oil for Polishing Hardwood Floors – You can bring hardwood floors to a shine with a little bit of olive oil and lemon. Use a ¼ cup of olive oil 2 TBS cider vinegar and 3 TBS of vodka. Or 1 TBS of olive oil mixed with 1 TSP of lemon juice. Apply to clean dry mop and wipe on floors. 





Polishing Stainless Steel and Brass – Simply pour a small amount on a soft cloth and wipe in a circular motion to restore a shine to stainless steel or brass.


 Lemon Chocolate Olive Oil Cakeby www.saveur.com/







Oil For Cakes - Baking with olive oil has been done for centuries. It gives cakes and cookies a light texture and can be used in lieu of butter. 1 Cup of butter converts to ¾ cup of EVOO. It does not convert if the recipe calls for a solid form like icing.


Olive Oil for Lanterns – Don’t you love these little lanterns? I can just see them in the backyard on a summer’s evening.

The list goes on to include polishing shoes, fixing squeaky door hinges, removing paint from hands, personal lubricant, treatment for head lice, cleaning up garden tools and exfoliating your skin with a mixture of olive oil and sea salt. With all the uses I have covered in this blog, I will let you in on a little secret… I have 2 favorites.  


Party Favors


Olive Oil as Party Favors - Absolutely love this idea! Plan to use at my next dinner party. Print your own labels to personalize.

 
Olive Oil Soap


Olive Oil Soap – This is a splurge item for me. I have used the soap and body lotion for the past two winters and at times I am surprised at how soft my skin feels. But I should not be because my grandmother skin was so soft to touch. Again…she knew something about olive oil.



Sources and inspiration from Huffington Post, The Daily Green, The Tip Nut, Olive Source, Pinterest and Google Images













Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Jambalaya Soup: Hot Stuff for a Cold Day!

This article first appeared at The Entertaining Kitchen and has been reprinted with permission.

My children come home from school tired and hungry. At the end of the day I'm tired and hungry. And cold. We all crave foods that will nurture our souls and yet trying to feed my family warm comfort food that is not loaded with unnecessary fat and calories can be hard to do. My family does love soup, but they like hearty soups. I loosely followed Emeril's Mardi Gras Jambalaya - I took the idea and his ingredients and made it my own. As a busy mother of three children, I do not have hours to spend in the kitchen and yet I do not want to cut unnecessary corners. I want to prepare a nice meal that won't cost me what little free time I have. This worked wonderfully!

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
1 medium to large onion, finely diced
4 Tbs Olive oil
1 lb chicken breast, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
1lb chicken sausage
1 1/2 cups of excellent quality jarred salsa
2 cartons organic chicken broth
1 cups of rice
2 bay leaves
Emeril's Essence (Recipe follows)


Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly. 
Yield: 2/3 cup
This creole seasoning is fabulous and should be a staple in your pantry!

Traditional jambalaya does not use salsa but chopped or canned tomatoes. I like the ease of the salsa and the additional flavors it brings to this dish. It's also a good way to sneak some extra veggie into my kids' diets!

Directions:

In a large pan saute sausage. (I remove  bite-sized bits from the casing and toss them into the pan) When sausage is nicely browned -- the darker the better -- place into a paper towel lined bowl. Add 2 tbs of olive oil to the pan and toss in vegetables. Cook until nicely browned. Add 1 tsp of Emeril's Essence. When done, add the vegetables to the bowl the sausages are in. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the cubed chicken. Season with another teaspoon or so of Emeril's Essence. Cook until well browned. Add to bowl.

In a large sauce pan cook the rice per directions on the box. When the rice is done add the broth, salsa, bay leaves, meat and veggies. Simmer until ready to serve.




We sliced up and toasted a Parmesan baguette and used it to sop up the broth. Fabulous!



This soup is Amazing Everyday! I hope you enjoy!