olive oil – Loving Food, Fashion, & Life

Divine Hot Potatoes

Posted on February 9, 2014 by LFFL

Made with small yellow potatoes, olive oil, salt & pepper, butter, and Parmesan cheese.

This was one of the most quick and simple things I’ve ever made. I love when I find recipes like this. They didn’t last long at all once they came out of the oven. I just couldn’t get enough of them. They became my snacks throughout the day.

These potatoes were SO good that I had to make a second batch of them the very next day. But I used cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan for the next go round. Those didn’t last but a hot second, too.

Boil potatoes in water.

Line potatoes on a baking sheet.

Mash and top with all the fixins.

I did have to add a little extra salt for a tad more flavor once they hit my plate but, nonetheless, I had a good time!

I try not to over-salt things during the cooking process because I can always add more salt after it’s done to suit my taste level. Once you over-salt in cooking, you’ve pretty much ruined it—helpful tip to keep in mind.

Recipe for—Hot Potatoes

So, if you have nothing else to do today, get to know the small yellow potatoes in your local grocery store because you might really want to try these.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Sometimes it’s the least complicated recipes that really can come out the best.

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Cherry Tomato Salad

Posted on February 8, 2014 by LFFL

Made with romaine lettuce, red grape tomatoes, red onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh parsley, jarred pesto, sugar, minced garlic clove, salt & pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

So I decided to make myself a salad. I liked this salad a lot—and it was actually the homemade tomato dressing that won me over.

I loved how I was able to throw all the ingredients into a plastic zipper bag, let everything marinate, and then throw it all on top of lettuce leaves as the dressing. Too simple. And how delicious it was.

Cherry tomato dressing on romaine lettuce.

Cherry tomatoes marinated in dressing.

Let the tomatoes and dressing marinate.

The recipe called for a mix of red and yellow grape tomatoes, but I could only find red—so I doubled up on the red ones. Needless to say, it would have been a little more colorful if I had found the yellow tomatoes, too.

I added twice as much pesto because I just loved the flavor of the pesto. Then, of course, I topped my salad with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese of which the recipe does not call for at all.

I will definitely be making this scrumptious salad again soon.

Recipe for—Cherry Tomato Salad

So, if you have nothing else to do today, make yourself a fabulously healthy tomato salad with the goodness of a homemade marinated dressing.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Homemade salad dressings are hands-down so much better than the store-bought stuff.

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Olive Oil Bottle Spouts

Posted on January 2, 2014 by LFFL

Oh, you might be wondering what in the Sam Hill is so exciting about an olive oil bottle spout. Well, I’ll tell you.

For the longest time I’ve used whatever tops came with the bottles that I bought. Not olive oil bottles that actually come with olive oil in them—but, you know, the empty clear glass bottles you can buy at any discount store and use to put olive oil, vinegar, and whatnot inside.

But the problem I’d always have with these bottles is that leakage would always start happening sooner or later and drive me nuts. Every time I’d go to pour out some olive oil through the spout it would start leaking around the rim. Not when you first buy these, of course, but after you take the spout off a couple of times to refill the bottles it becomes weak over time. Which is dumb—and so far, I’ve not had that problem with these.

But I accidentally found these lovely white spouts at The Container Store. They came 3 to a pack. So, naturally, I had to try them out. I was skeptical that they wouldn’t work any better than the original tops that came with the bottles—but as inexpensive as they were, I figured I’d give ’em a go.

And how wrong I was! As luck would have it—I SCORED! I discarded the old spouts and put these bad boys in their places.

Now I just walk around the house turning the bottles upside down for no other reason than to try to get it to leak—but it doesn’t work. Even when I have no apparent use for olive oil, I’m turning the bottles upside down.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, replace your olive oil bottle spouts with these beauties.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Never give up searching for the one thing that can put the biggest smile on your face. Little things can bring such joy.

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Garlic & Basil Happiness

Posted on July 21, 2013 by LFFL

So my day starts off with me consuming 74 grams of sugar all at once within two small bags of Boston Baked Beans. Who knew? I read the ingredients on the bag AFTER I ate the first bag and ONLY out of sheer boredom.

But I clearly didn’t care, as I consumed the second bag right after I read this. But that’s neither here nor there. Only informational for you readers as I’m not sure how this post will end up sounding with that much sugar in me.

Well, I love cooking with basil, garlic, and olive oil—and I’ve been on a fresh basil kick lately. I bought a bag at the grocery store and 3 different bunches at the city farmer’s market. It smells divine and there’s always something you can throw a basil leaf into.

I also love when the garlic farmer comes to market with his super large humongous garlic bulbs. I love fresh garlic from the market more so than the grocery store. I buy lots of it and put it into everything. As great as garlic tastes in cooking, I hate the after effects it leaves on yourself for the next 3 days. It can be offensive to say the least.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, discover different olive oils, fresh garlic, and basil (preferably at your farmers’ market) and find ways to incorporate these into your cooking.

Take-Away Life Lesson: It’s probably not a great idea to consume 74 grams of sugar within 5 minutes time. It gives you sugarhead.