Suzy Eats

Al’ard (http://www.alardproducts.com/) is giving away THREE bottles of their ORGANIC OLIVE OIL to a lucky Suzy Eats Reader!!!

All you have to do is visit their website and tell us how you plan to use the olive oil (i.e. what are you going to cook, are you going to give it away as a gift???)

This contest is only open to those in the United States. Three winners will be randomly selected from below and contacted via email upon closing.

Contest Ends on March 28th. Good luck 🙂

Today’s Tuesday Toast is from MimiCooks (www.mimicooks.com). We thought a fish recipe would be perfect. Many types of fish (i.e. salmon) are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which help to lower a part of your cholesterol called triglycerides. There is also evidence that omega-3 fatty acids helps brain function as well.  All of the ingredients in this recipe are fresh and many of the benefits have been discussed in previous posts on www.suzyeats.com (ie cumin, tumeric, garlic). Please let us know what you think of the recipe. 🙂

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This is how I make Sayyadeyeh. There are many recipes for this delicious dish, depending on where you live in the Middle East, but the end product is always delicious and satisfies any fish lover.

Fish Fillet

Fried Onions

Fried Halibut Fillets

Olive oil is similar to wine in that the taste is a matter of a person’s preference. Many factors contribute to why there is differences in the taste, aroma and flavor of olive oils. 

The following factors can impact the taste of the olive oil: type of olive used, soil conditions and location where olives were grown, weather during the “growing” and “harvesting” seasons, ripeness of the  olives, season/timing of the harvest, harvesting method, length of time between the harvest and pressing, pressing technique, AND packaging and storage methods.

The olive is native to the Mediterranean region, and each area around the Mediterranean provides a unique type of olive. Olives from different areas are often blended together and olives from the same area but different regionsare also blended. Both of these methods provide olive oils which are still as tasty and rich in flavor as solo area olive oils. Olives change colors as they ripen. They start as a green, change to purplish, and then become black once they are fully ripened.

As mentioned above, some of the olive oils are “green”. These olive oils are from unripe olives and provide a slightly bitter taste. The moderately green tinted oils are the most common and in most of the foods we eat. These olive oils have fruity and nutty flavors and are usually added to neutral-flavored foods. The best combination of food with a green olive oil is usually a food with a neutral taste since the strong flavor of a green olive oil can really stand out. 

Ripe olives provide the olive oils that are golden, yellowish color.  The olive oil from ripe olives are more mild and buttery in taste. They do not have that bitter, fruity flavor like the greens. These oils are better for foods that already have a strong flavor since the ripe olive oil will not overpower the food. 

Olives just like other plants are also subject to pests. Farmers utilized pesticides on the olives to help prevent the “olive fly” from ruining their crops. If you would like to avoid the pesticides, Suzy Eats recommends using organic olive oil.

We were fortunate enough to receive fresh thyme and sage from Al’ard. We will include these in our review as well. We are very excited to review all of these products.  Stay tuned 🙂

Flirty Aprons is having a sale on their irregular aprons. They are $13 each and FREE SHIPPING if you use the code: Ship4Zero

http://www.flirtyaprons.com/irregular-aprons-list.html