good quality of life = good quality olive oil

You may think I'm crazy, but the more I think about it, some of the very best meals I've had, have been because of the olive oil!

This obsession of mine all began in..well, I guess Madrid!
Probably the moment the plane first flew over Spanish soil and I looked out my winder at the dry looking land spotted with little tree bushes that looked pretty dead and barren, feeling a kind of sadness for the browny sparse countryside (it was an intensely hot mid summer day)...and I asked Rodolfo...what are all of those trees?

His eyes got big staring out the window and he held his breath for a moment in unexpected pleasure.

Rodolfo:"They're olive trees!!!
and they're were 1000's of them!

I grant you, the R man is a little more obsessed with olives then your regular Joe, so I didn't take him completely seriously when he had this look of rapture in a return to a homeland he'd never been before, but that is exactly what was going down....the land of olives was about to be discovered!

A specific memory comes to mind, when I think of connecting really good food forever with a certain incredible smell and flavor, an experience only truly known in the lucky houses and restaurants of the Mediterranean ....OLIVE OIL!

We had the good fortune to be invited to stay at the home of one of Rodolfo's best friends parents home while visiting Madrid.  They happened to be out of town, so we had the apartment to ourselves, which after 6 months in dusty African Hostels was a godsend in itself. Upon entering the apartment, Rodolfo simply stood in the middle of the kitchen with this great big smile breathing in and out, saying, "smell that?  Do you know what that is??  Do you?  Olive oil!"

It's a fragrant but fine hint of olive, but it seems like it soaks into your pores, into your nose, like the smell form of a hug.

We had this same feeling in Turkey at restaurants where a meal is some variety of ocean life or vegetable slowly simmered in olive oil and herbs and served cold later in the day with bread. 

Nothing is better! NOTHING!  and it's so simple, and so good!  It's amazing!

So....
incorporating our experiences with olive oil from abroad and inserting into our daily meals..oh so fun! 

The deep rich yellow colored olive oil we purchased in a large tin in Istanbul is only used cold, not for frying but for salads...every time we get it out, it's like a little mini treat.  I love popping the cork off and getting a delicious whiff of the oil before pouring it on a salad.

A new thing in Chile is making higher quality olive oil, which only makes perfect sense, considering how great their quality of olives are!  Yeah, it's pricey, but they're definitely heading in the right direction!  One more attribute calling our names to make the big leap south!

So yeah!  Want to make a little change in your daily life that will benefit you in a great big way?

Go ahead and buy that pricey olive oil!  Try something new!  Make your own homemade dressings!
You won't regret it!!!

My current favorite salad dressings:

The classic:
Pouring a splash of balsamic and olive oil and then a pinch of salt on top...so the salt sticks to the oil'd leaves.

The Frenchy version:
In an old jelly jar, I combine...
mustard/or vinegar
honey
olive oil
salt n pepa
shakey shakey, pour over, toss!
I think I first picked this one up from Jamie Oliver...I love that man....it's good!

My current meditterranean obsession for dipping veggies into:
straight up tahini (usually used for hummus, but straight up, OMG!)
olive oil
salt n pepa
dried mint or dill
I just splash a bit of each into a bowl, no stirring required and dip my veggies straight in!