Under the Tuscan Olive Tree

Donna, the manager, at The Village Grocer proudly holds a bottle of Toscano "liquid gold". In celebration of our trip to Tuscany in June, we were excited to host an in-store extra virgin olive oil tasting on Friday, September 10 and Saturday, September 11th. Evan has always sold olive oil from Tuscany as well as many others from Italy and other countries. However, we wanted to share our love of Tuscan olive oil by sampling 3 Artisan Olive Oils. Tuscans considered their olive oil to be the best. Each olive tree produces only 1 litre of oil compared to 10-20 litres from trees in the south. Along with the olive oil, we sampled tapenade and Balsamic vinegar. It was a wonderful opportunity to expose one's palate to the flavours of Italy.

We sampled 3 Extra virgin olive oils from 3 different growers. Il Genio is from the rolling hills of Montalbano, the birthplace of Leonardo de Vinci. Its well balanced flavour is ideal for dressing salads, vegetables and anything else that you would like to drizzle on to "add a touch of genius to your dishes".

Although these two bottles of Extra Virgin Olive Oil are from 2 different growers, they both have the LAUDEMIO designation which attest to their superior quality. One is produced by Frescobaldi and the other by Castello Sonnino, just on the outskirts of Montespertoli. Both these oils have a robust, peppery flavour which gives them a bite! This quality is prized by the Italians who favour foods like arugula, dandelion greens and kale compared to our North American palate that tends towards the bland. Great to drizzle on anything to give it a kick of flavour.

We had toured Castello Sonnino on a trip several years ago to Tuscany. We tasted their wines and their "liquid gold" and brought back home bottles of each. We are thrilled that Evan is carrying the olive oil from the castle at The Village Grocer.

Treat your palate to Taggiasche olives. A taste of Italy in a jar.

The Queen of Olives: "Bella Di Cerignola"!

Olive Oil Cake! We first tasted this delicious cake at our Tuscan Bees Abroad Reunion in August hosted by Linda and Terry Chambers in celebration of our trip together in June. Over 40 people gathered in the Chamber's beautiful home and back garden to dine on a delectable Italian inspired menu. As one of our desserts, Sara Marsala, one of our Queen Bees who joined us on the trip, baked us an Olive Oil Cake. Extra-virgin olive oil replaces the butter in a traditional cake batter. So healthy yet so tasty! Thank you Sara for sharing your recipe with us so we all can enjoy this extraordinary cake.

The Recipe:

Olive Oil Cake

2 oranges

2 1/3 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups of flour, plus more for dusting pan

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

sea salt, for garnish, optional

Method:
1. Trim about 1/2" from the tops and bottoms of oranges; quarter oranges lengthwise. Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a 4 qt. saucepan; add oranges.

Bring water back to a boil; drain. Repeat boiling process twic more with fresh water. Put oranges, 1 cup sugar, and 4 cups water into a 4 qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and orange rind can be easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

2. Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 10" round cake pan with butter and dust with flour. Line pan bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Set pan aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Remove orange quarters from syrup, remove and discard any seeds, and put oranges into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the oranges to form a chunky puree, 10-12 pulses. Add remaining sugar, reserved flour mixture, vanilla, and eggs and process until blended. Add olive oil.

Process until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.* Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, approximately40-45 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, whisk orange juice and confectioners' sugar to make a thin glaze. Remove cake from pan and transfer to a cake stand or plate Brush orange glaze over top and side of cake. Let cool completely.

Optional: Garnish with confectioners' sugar and/or salt.

*We baked our cake in a bundt pan in the shape of a sunflower!