Please join me on Friday, May 21 @ 8pm for a special tasting of Olio Taibi Extra Virgin Olive Oil and for “an evening of Italian luxury indulgence.” All About Italy will feature wine and cheese tastings, Italian luxury cars, live music, and even a fashion show! I will be presenting Olio Taibi’s Nocellara and Biancolilla EVOOs. Don’t miss this special night of Italy’s finest!

The event will take place at Montage on 75 Arlington Street in Boston. Online tickets are sold out but you can still get in by showing up (early) at the door with $40 cash. I hope to see you!

Today only (Monday, May 10), Olio Taibi organic extra virgin olive oil from Sicily will be a featured deal by GROUPON in Boston! Only $25/bottle and free shipping anywhere in the country. This is a unique opportunity to try both olive oils, Nocellara and Biancolilla. Get some for you at home, and gift some to your foodies friends and family.

Check out the details here. Tell your friends! Hurry, supplies are limited.

This video clip featuring Jamie Oliver, the renowned chef and food activist, is an extremely powerful call to arms. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Watch this with your children, your parents, your family, and forward this to anyone that you care about.

“Diet related disease is the biggest killer in the United States right now here today. This is a global problem…We need a revolution.”

Jamie has dedicated himself to saving America’s children, who now have a shorter lifespan than their parents due to preventable diseases related to what we are eating and feeding our kids.  If you haven’t signed Jamie’s petition calling for a Food Revolution, please do so now.  The NYTimes Magazine featured an article on Jamie’s efforts to revolutionize the way children in Huntington, West Virginia, the unhealthiest metropolitan area in the United States, eat.  His television program about this effort will air next Friday, March 26.   Check out the trailer here.

Thank you for sharing this with me, Angelisse.

This March, there are two great opportunities to support the Lexington Farmer’s Market.  On Saturday, March 6, you can join author Debra Samuels at her home for a Korean Dinner night.  Tickets are limited so reserve your seat in advance.

Also, on Mondays in March, dine at Via Lago from 5 to 9pm and 20% of the proceeds will benefit the Lexington Farmer’s Market. Please join me in supporting this great organization.  Buon appetito!

Happy New Year! May 2010 bear lots of health, peace and prosperity to all.

2009 has been a splendid year and I am proud to announce nothing less than three new additions to the outstanding list of world-class food artisans that have added Olio Taibi in their select list of ingredients:

• Tony Maws Chef/Proprietor of “Cragie on Main” and James Beard Nominee for Best Chef, Northeast
• Kevin Rafferty of Toscanini’s, makers of “The best ice cream in the world” as recognized by The New York Times
• Lourdes Smith of Fiore di Nonno, maker of the most spectacular handmade fresh mozzarella and burratine that anyone can find west of Italy. Now filled with Olio Taibi.

In addition, I am thrilled to announce that on Tuesday, January 5th, 6-8pm I will be atCentral Bottle in Cambridge, MA for a three-way tasting of Olio Taibi. We’ll start with the special Central Bottle blend of Nocellara and Biancolilla Organic Extravirgin Olive Oil, then we will sample the delicious burratine filled with olive oil, and we will finish it all off with the Olive Oil ice cream from Toscanini’s. I cannot imagine a better way to start 2010. Please join us for this one of a kind event.

Special thanks to the magic Maureen, Dave, Liz and Nick of Central Bottle for making all of the above happen. You guys deserve the Sicilian honorary citizenship!

I’m still blogging at The Olive Oil Blog and welcome recipes and comments.  For those of you on FoodBuzz, please buzz me. I am also on Twitter @theoliveoiblog. Soon, I’ll also be on Facebook. Stay tuned!

All the very best for 2010!

Giuseppe Taibi and the Taibi Family

www.oliotaibi.com
theoliveoilblog.com
*new* twitter.com/theoliveoilblog
*new* foodbuzz.com/foodies/profile/theoliveoilblog

A bottle of Olio Taibi EVOO makes a great holiday gift for any food lover!  And now, you can get a FREE bottle of Biancolilla EVOO on amazon.com.

BUY THREE NOCELLARA EVOOs AND GET ONE BIANCOLILLA EVOO FREE, here’s how:

To obtain this promotion, put three Nocellara EVOOs and one Biancolilla EVOO in your shopping cart.  At checkout, apply the promotional code OTBUYTHR and the discount will appear.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoying good food with loved ones is in my DNA so this is my favorite holiday. This year we are excited to be hosting Thanksgiving at our new home in Lexington, MA.

So, what’s new? Let’s start with the new special Olio Taibi organic extra virgin olive oil holiday promotion on Amazon that will run through December 31.  Several customers have recently told me that a bottle of Biancolilla or Nocellara EVOO makes a great gift.  It’s perfect for any food lover and can be enjoyed for much longer than a bottle of wine. Now you can buy any three bottles and get one free Biancolilla.  Type the code OTBUYTHR at checkout and share a bottle or two of your favorite organic extra virgin olive oil with your favorite foodie (or treat yourself!). Gift wrapping is available and you will be eligible for FREE SHIPPING.  Here’s what the gift wrap looks like.

What else? It’s been a busy few months. We’ve been settling into our new home in Lexington, Massachusetts and have enjoyed getting to know this fantastic community.  Some of you may have seen my blog post about the Lexington Farmer’s Market or the piece in Lexington’s Colonial Times Magazine about Olio Taibi’s participation in the First Annual Taste of Lexington.  It’s been a wonderful welcome and we thank everyone for making us feel so at home.

We haven’t forgotten about our Cambridge/Somerville friends, though.  Last month, I did an Olio Taibi tasting at Dave’s Fresh Pasta.  And, I’m excited to share that Olio Taibi is featured at the newly opened Central Bottle, the wine and provisions shop in Central Square, started by our friends and foodies extraordinaire Maureen, Dave, Liz and Nick. This is a great addition to the Central Square Cambridge food scene!  The opening was picked up by the popular DailyCandy newsletter and I am proud to report that I were mentioned in it, too. Thanks, Nick for talking us up! Plans are in the making for an Olio Taibi tasting at Central Bottle in the next month or two.  I’ll keep you posted.

I’m still blogging at The Olive Oil Blog and welcome recipes and comments.  For those of you on FoodBuzz, please buzz me. I am also on Twitter@theoliveoiblog. Soon, I’ll also be on Facebook. Stay tuned!

Warmest wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

Giuseppe Taibi and the Taibi Family

www.oliotaibi.com
theoliveoilblog.com
*new* twitter.com/theoliveoilblog
*new* foodbuzz.com/foodies/profile/theoliveoilblog

Olio Taibi Newsletter Archive

I just created my foodbuzz account. To celebrate, I’ll ship a free sample of my family’s artisan olive oil to the first 10 people who Buzz me!

UPDATE: This givaway is now over. I will announce the winners in this blog soon. Thanks everybody for your enthusiastic participation and support. Please subscribe to this blog and follow my twitter updates to be the first to know about the next givaway.

Cradles To Crayons is a wonderful nonprofit organization whose vision statement reads as follows:

Our vision is that one day, every child will have the basic things they need to be safe, ready to learn and feel valued.

I am proud to report that the Taibi family supports such a wonderful organization by donating 1 case of Biancolilla Monocultivar Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the silent auction that will take place today, Tuesday No. 3 at 6:30pm at aloft hotel, 727 Marrett Road, Lexington.

There will also be the opportunity to meet Prof. Raj Sisodia, Bentley University, author of “Conscious Capitalism”.

Music, Drinks, Appetizers, Silent Auction to benefit Cradles to Crayons: Come and network with the Lexington Business Community, members of the Lexington Newcomers Club, LexFun and Lexington Women of the World for a good cause! Feel free to drop off Winter Clothing at the hotel.
Tickets are 35$ or 60$ per couple, RSVP: Lexington@cradlestocrayons.org

SATURDAY:
Winter Clothing Drive: Saturday, Nov. 7 from 9am-1pm at St. Brigid’s Parish, 2001 Mass Ave, Lexington.
Please donate “gently loved-in great condition” Winter Clothing & books (kids 0-13) to keep kids warm in low-income communities/shelters in MA.
Help sorting cloths and reserve a time slot (9-11 or 11-1) for your family by emailing to: Lexington@cradlestocrayons.org
Or drop-off at 42 Ward Street, Lexington by this Friday.
Your support is immeasurable in the crusade to deliver winter wear from the homes of families with means to the hands of kids who would otherwise go without.

Together we can ensure that every child in our state has the chance to feel safe, valued and ready to learn.

Special thanks to:

Sandra Faillace, Dara Brice and Preeta Banerjee

Lexington Cradles to Crayons Committee

Lexington@cradlestocrayons.org

www.cradlestocrayons.org

I am very excited to announce the imminent opening of Central Bottle, the new ‘wine + provisions’ spinoff from celebrated Cambridge restaurant The Blue Room. Maureen, Liz, David and Nick dreamed of opening Central Bottle during their summer trip to Venice, Italy, one of the most magical places on earth. Check out Central Bottles’ great web page where they also put a live countdown to opening day on November 11. Here is a quote from their web page that says it all:

Our focus is on small production, handcrafted, sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines from all over the world. We intend to feature high quality wines that offer great value from responsible producers and offer a well-chosen selection of microbrew/craft beers.  And tasty cicchetti and gourmet food items.

It is our goal to educate and experiment with the marriage of food and wine by demonstrating a few widely accepted guidelines as well as exploring new ones with our customers

In addition to wine, Central Bottle will feature also a line of private label provisions, all hand-made by them, such as cranberry mustard, and caponata (my favorite overall Sicilian food). Wait, there is more. What about olive oil? You guessed right! I am proud to report that Central Bottle has chosen Olio Taibi to be their only provider of organic extra virgin olive oil. The first shipment of Olio Taibi has arrived and bottling is under way. When I went to visit the Central Bottle team I was so energized by their high entrepreneurial energy. They had the ’startup smile’ in their face

Follow Central Bottle on Twitter

Follow Central Bottle on Facebook

Visit Central Bottle Web Site

BOO!!

A video (or more than one…) about the Olio Taibi organic extra virgin olive oil tasting at Dave’s Fresh Pasta will be available shortly on this blog. Until then, enjoy the pictures.

I am pleased to announce that today 10/28 from 5pm to 7pm Eastern Time, I will be at Dave’s Fresh Pasta in Davis Square, Somerville, MA for a free tasting event featuring Olio Taibi organic extra virgin olive oils Biancolilla and Nocellara. Please come and taste my family’s artisan olive oils. I look forward to seeing you and your friends.

Dave’s Fresh Pasta official website

Dave’s Fresh Pasta is located at 81 Holland Street Somerville, MA 02144. Tel. 617.623.0867 email: info[at]davesfreshpasta.com

Google Map for Dave’s Fresh Pasta

View Larger Map

I just discovered this interesting group via Twitter @FrugalDuchess

Posh Frugality Network – Gracious Living for Less

Our friends at Slow Food are extending their membership drive.  A donation of any amount will make you a member. And, as the result of a generous supporter, all donations are being matched dollar for dollar until October 15. Please consider making a donation and joining this important organization.

Olio Taibi is mentioned in the September/October issue of Lexington’s Colonial Times Magazine on a very nice article about the recently held first annual Taste of Lexington at the new aloft and element hotels by Westin in Lexington, MA.

It was a wonderful visit at the Lexington Farmers Market. Enjoy the pictures and the video.

This is Charlie Radoslovich, Head Farmer of the amazing Rad Urban Farmers speaking during the field trip of Kids Cooking Green

Tomorrow, Tuesday 9/22 I’ll be visiting my neighborhood’s Lexington Farmer’s Market in Lexington, MA. I hope to see you there!

Families share ‘Amore’ on Labor Day – Lexington, MA – Lexington Minuteman

Please add your name today. We reached our Labor Day goal of 20,000 signatures and have 10,000 more on paper. Now let’s aim for 50,000! Sign the Time For Lunch Slow Food petition for bringing REAL FOOD in public schools.

It was a wonderful party with great people and authentic food. Enjoy the beautiful pictures.

See album on Flickr

See album on MobileMe

Please add your name today. We reached our Labor Day goal of 20,000 signatures and have 10,000 more on paper. Now let’s aim for 50,000! Sign the Time For Lunch Slow Food petition for bringing REAL FOOD in public schools.

We are hosting an Eat-In at our new home in Lexington on Labour Day to support Slow Food’s campaign for REAL FOOD in public schools. Come join us!

Time For Lunch : Home : Slow Food USA.

Sign the Time For Lunch Slow Food petition for bringing REAL FOOD in public schools.

I will be blogging from here until the end of August!

My daughter, Ella, just contributed one of our favorite family recipes to her preschool’s annual cookbook. One of the secrets to this delicious but simple dish is to keep the water used for boiling the cauliflower for cooking the pasta.  For those who might be scared off by the sometimes fishy flavor of anchovies, you will be pleasantly surprised by this delightful dish.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. of bucatini pasta (you can substitute spaghetti if you can’t find bucatini)
• 1 cauliflower cut into florets
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 2 oz. tomato puree
• 4 oz. raisins and pine nuts
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped Italian parsley (much better taste than regular parsley)
• the cauliflower cooking water
• 6 oz. of Olio Taibi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions:

Soak raisins in hot water to plump. Wash and cut the cauliflower into florets, then boil in a pot. Using a strainer, drain and reserve the cooking water. In a saucepan, brown the onion and the anchovy fillets in the oil. Add the raisins, pine nuts, tomato puree and the boiled cauliflower.  Pour in a few ladles of the cauliflower cooking water and cook, mashing the cauliflower with a wooden spoon until creamy. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook the pasta for about 8 minutes in the the cauliflower water. Drain and mix with the cauliflower sauce and half the parsley. Leave to rest for a while and serve warm. Sprinkle the other half of the parsley on top of each portion right before serving.

Variation: use powdered saffron in place of the tomato puree.

Curious note: in Sicily, the name of this recipe is “Pasta coi broccoli”. In fact, we refer to cauliflower as “broccoli” and we refer to broccoli as “sparacello”.

 Enjoy this super-short video snippet from “Il Commissario Montalbano” tv series (in Italian), where the Sicilian inspector is annoyed by receiving a phone call while he is enjoying his “pasta coi broccoli”.

Clare Ferguson’s Olive Oil: Cooking, Exploring, Enjoying, a book I recently discovered at Whole Foods Market, is a great guide that outlines the process of making olive oil and then takes the reader on a tour through the various countries that grow olives and produce olive oil. Of Sicily, she writes:

It was the Ancient Greeks who originally introduced the olive tree to the Italians and it is in the Western Greek colonies of Southern Italy and Sicily, after all, where the best-preserved Greek ruins are to be found and some of the finest olive oil is produced.

She also defines the various labeling terms, providing the consumer with important advice on how to choose a good oil. Ferguson is very familiar with olive oil’s health benefits, and writes:

The Healthy Oil: Olive oil is one of the most delicious and natural of all lipids (fats) and an absolute health bonus. By choosing the lower grades you deprive yourself of some of the health benefits.

She also includes a recipe section that covers sauces, salads, appetizers, main dishes and desserts from all over the Mediterranean. Some of the highlights include a vegetable fritto misto, which is a popular Italian vegetable side dish that consists of mixed vegetables battered and deep fried, and a delicious recipe for focaccia. To all the health zealots, Ferguson notes:

…minimal oil is absorbed if the temperatures are right and, in any case, olive oil does not degrade at high frying temperatures: a bonus since most other oils are damaged in this treatment.

Overall, Ferguson’s book includes great information about how and where olive oil is produced as well as some very tasty ways to use it. Buon appetito!

Our friends at Oldways, a think tank that promotes healthy eating, drinking and lifestyles, have designated the month of May as “Mediterranean Month.” Well-known for their advocacy work around the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, Oldways has outlined a number of ways to get involved and eat Mediterranean, including:

1) A Recipe Contest: share your favorite recipe using at least two Mediterranean Diet ingredients;

2) Mediterranean Menu Ideas: a sample menu for seven days of breakfasts, lunches and dinners;

3) Budget Friendly Recipes and Shopping Tips: suggestions on how to save money at the grocery store and over a dozen inexpensive recipes; and

4) Calendar Tips: tips for how to enjoy Mediterranean Month each day of May.

Although there are only a few days in May left, we encourage you to consider every month as Mediterranean month. So get out there and eat Mediterranean! Buon appetito!

Watch it on

Congratulations to Derek Christeler who ran in last month’s Boston Marathon!  Derek raised funds for the American Liver Foundation (ALF) and teamed up with Olio Taibi to help out with his fund raising efforts.  Thank you to everyone who bought bottles of Olio Taibi to support the ALF.

This was Derek’s first marathon and he completed it in the impressive time of 3 hours 30 minutes.   As we say in Italy, “Bravo!”  Derek plans to run more marathons in the future but in the meantime, he will focus on triathlons.

On Saturday, May 9, I will do an Olio Taibi tasting at the Great Library Network’s first live social networking event. The Great Library Network is a “network of people who live and work in Cambridge who care passionately about the success of the new Cambridge Public Library.”  If this sounds like you or someone you know, please join!

This Saturday’s event will take place from 3.30-5.30pm. In addition to the olive oil tasting, it will feature a book swap and possibly even a preview of Cambridge’s new main public library.

For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Great Library Network site.

UPDATE: The event was a success! Enjoy the pictures from the event on The Olive Oil Blog Flickr photostream.

In case you missed it, the New Yorker magazine published a fascinating article by Tom Mueller about the big business of fraudulent olive oil.  The article, which appeared in the August 13, 2007 issue, discusses how the rising worldwide demand for extra virgin olive oil has contributed to the widespread practice of adulterating olive oil with cheaper oils such as hazelnut oil, sunflower seed oil and other cheaper vegetable oils:  

“In 1997 and 1998, olive oil was the most adulterated agricultural product in the European Union, prompting the E.U.’s anti-fraud office to establish an olive-oil task force.”

NPR also did a brief  interview with Tom Mueller about this issue.  Mueller is writing a book titled, Extra Virginity: A Cultural and Criminal History of Olive Oil, which promises to be a great read.

The Olive Oil Blog salutes Tom Mueller for his important research and for bringing to light this disturbing practice.

The Boston Globe just published a terrific article on local food bloggers. Cuisine en Locale, one of our favorite local blogs, is written by JJ Gonson whose passion for cooking and eating local is both inspiring and contagious.  For those of you in the Boston area, JJ occasionally hosts an “underground supper club” called O.N.C.E. (One Night Culinary Events).  She holds two seatings, one from 5-6pm which is family friendly and the other from 7-10pm.  Once you check out the menu from the most recent O.N.C.E. in March, you will be counting the days until the next event.  We agree that JJ’s blog could be easier to navigate particularly because it covers a wide range of topics and has a wealth of information, making it easy to miss some of JJ’s gems.

The Poor Girl Gourmet is a great blog whose appeal is immediately obvious in this economy.  Her recipes will leave both your wallet and palate happy.

La Tartine Gourmande is a highly acclaimed food blog that happens to be locally produced.  This is a food blog that’s not to be missed.  The photos are exceptional and the recipes will have you running to your kitchen.  Author Béatrice Peltre is also a contributor to the Boston Globe’s food section.  Check out some of her recent contributions.

Hats off to all the local food bloggers who are taking the time to educate and inspire us to eat well.

Photo by Chef Percaso

This is one of my favorite Sicilian pasta recipes. Trapani is a city on Sicily’s western tip that is famous for its seafood and gourmet sea salt.  As you’ll see, there are only a few ingredients in this dish and the preparation is quite simple, but the outcome is delicious! Serve with a green salad, some warm bread and a dipping plate of Olio Taibi extra virgin olive oil and you’ll be eating just like my family in Montaperto.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp Olio Taibi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 large tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 6-12 leaves fresh basil (6 to be chopped and 6 to set aside for garnish)
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb spaghetti

Cooking Instructions:

Bring a pot of hot water to boil and then turn off heat. Place the fresh tomatoes into hot water for 1-2 minutes (this will make their skins easier to remove). Peel the tomatoes, cut them into quarters and remove the seeds. Dice the skinless and seedless tomatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Finely chop the garlic and basil and combine into a bowl with the tomatoes. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and marinate for 2-4 hours. In a large pot, boil water for the pasta. Follow the cooking instructions for the spaghetti (always indicated on the box or package), drain, and mix with the marinated sauce. Garnish with a leaf or two of basil. Buon appetito!

The World’s Healthiest Foods, an initiative of The George Mateljan Foundation, has put together a great primer on extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) in a comprehensive and well-researched piece that covers everything from EVOO’s history and health benefits to serving and storage suggestions. The most extensive section of the piece is the one discussing EVOO’s many health benefits. These benefits include protection against chronic degenerative disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, breast cancer, and bone loss.

The article also cites an interesting finding about broccoli discovered by Spanish researchers:

“When they stir-fried freshly harvested broccoli florets in various edible oils (extra virgin olive oil, refined olive oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, and safflower oil), they discovered that levels of vitamin C and phenolic compounds were more affected than those of minerals and glucosinolates. Only broccoli lightly stir-fried in extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil retained the same glucosinolate and vitamin C levels as uncooked broccoli. J Food Sci. 2007 Jan;72(1):S064-8.”

So if you’re sauteing your broccoli, be sure to use EVOO!

Hello, I’m Giuseppe Taibi, 4th generation olive oil producer. I import Olio Taibi, my family’s own organic extra virgin olive oil, artisanally made in Montaperto, Sicily. I opened this blog because I feel the need to share my thoughts about the wonderful and somewhat mysterious world of olive oil production and utilization. The Olive Oil Blog will cover news that I find relevant or controversial, share family recipes as well as recipes from both professional and home chefs just like you, and highlight research findings about the many health benefits of olive oil.  I hope to inspire both food for your table as well as food for thought.