growing goji berry Updates

growing goji berryBread and Olive Tapas

Delicious and satisfying tapas to make are simply chunks of bread with marinated olives. This is an authentic Spanish small plate. Here's what you'll need:

Bread
The best bread to use for bread and olive tapas, in my humble opinion, is any fresh baguette - easily found at your local supermarket or favorite specialty bread store.

My favorite bread comes from Le Boulanger, here in the USA. They make wonderful fresh breads that come in lots of great flavors.

If you want to get fancy and have the time, read this delicious recipe for a wonderful olive bread that you can make yourself with a bread-making machine. Bread is a staple of many tapas recipes. Making bread for tapas can be done well in advance and will taste great when you serve it with the olive marinade in these bread and olive tapas - yummy!

Olives
A couple of facts about olives. They come in all shapes and sizes (kinda like my friends and me!) and the color is determined by the ripeness rather than the type (they turn black as they ripen).

Spain is the world's largest producer of olives and tends to export them in brine, which does little for the taste unless you are in love with salt. The best way to handle that is to soak the olives to get rid of the brine, and then keep them in an olive oil marinade (see the recipe for Marinated Olives below). They'll keep for up to 6 months in your refrigerator.

Another solution, particularly if you are short for time, is to go to your favorite deli that does marinated olives and pick up a jar or two. Having said that, it's hard to beat making your own marinade.

Marinated Olives
Soak the olives in water for about a half hour to get rid of the brine. Dry them on paper towels. The amount of marinade you make up depends on the quantity of olives. Here's a guide to help you figure that out.

What you'll need:
- 12 oz olives
- Zest of a lemon
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 2 cloves crushed garlic- Black pepper
- Olive oil

Mix up the above ingredients with a couple of spoonfuls of virgin olive oil, then add the olives and coat them. Next, leave them for an hour or two before transferring to a sterilized storage jar. Then top the olives with your favorite olive oil to cover all of them. Pop them in the refrigerator for at least a week, and serve at room temperature. This is one of those recipes you can definitely make ahead to serve at any time.

Some tips for the marinade:

• Use as much or as little garlic as you like.
  
• Use whatever herbs you want
• Add honey or orange juice for variation
• Add 4 fl oz Vermouth to make something a bit different
• Don't add salt - the residue of the brine adds enough saltiness

Serve your torn chunks of baquette or other bread on a pretty plate along with your marinated olives. Too delicious for words!

Enjoy!

Sara Gray is an avid lover of appetizers and has created a great website called Easy Appetizer Recipes where you can find delicious ideas for all kinds of hot and cold appetizers, raclette grilling, tapas small plates, snacks, chips and dip ideas, and appetizer soups.

Gourmet Foods Are Everywhere

The number of companies selling items labeled "gourmet" is increasing rapidly, particularly gourmet food items. At one time, getting gourmet food meant going to an expensive, upscale restaurant and giving over a week's worth of pay for your dinner! Now, you can get gourmet foods from your local grocery store and from countless online retailers, and even through several direct sales companies who come into your home to give taste testing parties for you and your friends. Home taste testing parties are extremely fun and you get to try the foods before you buy, which makes it easier to decide what you want.

What exactly is "gourmet" food, and how is it that everything from soup to nuts to brownies have been given the label "gourmet"? The actual definition of the word gourmet isn't food at all; it's: a person who is devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment, especially good food and drink. We typically refer to foods themselves as gourmet now, rather than the people who enjoy these good edibles!

"Gourmet" seems to have become the catch-all phrase used to describe foods that taste good, and that are considered to be of higher than average quality. We also might label foods gourmet if they are hard to find.

Does your grocery store offer gourmet-to-go? These are dinners you can take home and serve instantly- that are designed to taste like you made it yourself. Roasted chicken and seafood dinners are commonly offered through the grocery gourmet food section. Gourmet in this case simply means it's going to taste good- and the idea is it's better than your typical fast food stop.

Actually, gourmet foods are all around us, and they give us great and simple gift giving opportunities! People often bring food to house warming parties, or to give the host when invited to dinner. Grab a gift basket of gourmet goodies and your host will be extremely appreciative of the gesture. If you bring dessert items, you may even get to taste them after dinner is served!

Packaged gourmet foods, like nuts, snacks and cheese make great gifts for all types of occasions. They typically come pre-packaged in attractive packaging, and many can be found in gift baskets which saves you time since you don't have to wrap them before giving.

Some foods labeled gourmet are actually boxed mixes that you then add other ingredients to, or cook with, in order to create the finished product. You can find gourmet brownie mixes, sauces and marinades, and even soups. A popular cooking show on the food network often uses these packaged items to make "almost homemade" meals- but the use of these gourmet packaged goods make it much faster to bring the dinner to the table- giving you more time to enjoy with your family and less time standing in the kitchen.

From coffee to dessert- and everything in between, you can now enjoy gourmet versions of all your favorite foods simply by looking up gourmet foods online or making a quick stop to your local grocery store's gourmet section.

Debra L. Dragon writes for http://hoppyshopper.com about Gourmet Foods and a variety of consumer interest topics.

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