An awesome gift

Our kids surprised me with an awesome gift: a sampling of high quality olive oil and vinegar from Emerald Coast Olive Oil in Panama City Beach, Florida. You can find them online here. And they ship -- so I know where I'll be headed once I use up my stockpile!

The main type of fat in olive oil is monounsaturated - a healthy dietary fat. A diet including unsaturated fats, like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, instead of saturated fats and trans fats, provides certain health benefits. Olive oil may help lower the risks of heart disease and cancer (particularly organ cancers), lower total cholesterol, and decrease low-density lipoprotein (LPL) cholesterol - the bad kind. Vinegar can help regulate blood sugar levels, is high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, and may also reduce pain and inflammation.

These are the three samples of olive oil I received and I have tasted each one. Yep, literally finger-licked a sample from each bottle. Each is very smooth and rich with its own unique flavor. And the lime one - oh my gosh - so limey! Delicious. 

Due to the popularity and scarceness of high quality, 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), many grocery store varieties have as little as 15% EVOO and are then diluted with low quality olive oil or even other types of oil, but still labeled and sold as EVOO. (whaat?) These, from Emerald Coast Olive Oil, are the real deal - pure and unadulterated. I know it will be very hard to go back to the grocery store variety after being spoiled with these!

Here are the vinegar flavors I received. Yep, I tasted each one as well.
The depth of flavor is amazing - so rich and sweet and wonderful.

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I will be using my olive oil and vinegar mostly for dressings and toppings so I can fully enjoy their exotic flavors. I figure, when I cook with olive oil and vinegar, I'm usually adding other spices and flavors and likely won't be able to appreciate the unique flavors of these special ones.

First up: a dressing made with Persian Lime olive oil, Strawberry balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper, drizzled on baby spinach, topped with feta, fresh strawberries, and slivered almonds. Three words: To  die  for.

Special thanks to my wonderful children for this awesome gift!

Easy Gift Idea

Do you still need an inexpensive cute gift idea? This is super quick and easy and tastes delicious.

Make a batch of your favorite Mug Cake or Cookie recipe to share. Pinterest has individual recipes for every cake, cookie, and muffin imaginable but here's a way to give a jar or container full so your gift recipient can just scoop out an individual dessert or share with friends without getting 14 ingredients out and measuring each one. Tied with a cute ribbon and a handmade recipe card attached, you can make gifts for friends, teachers, or office mates in less than an hour.

What you'll need:

any baking mix desired: cake, cookie, muffin, quick bread
1 box angel food cake mix - you will only use a portion of this
Bisquick baking mix - 1/2 to 1 cup
optional dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, or any other dry desired stir ins
containers or jars with tight fitting lids
scrap book paper or construction paper for recipe tags
ribbon or rafia

What you'll do:

Empty one package of desired baking mix into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of dry angel food cake mix and a scant 1/4 cup Bisquick baking mix for each egg the baking mix calls for. Add 1/2 cup or more of coordinating stir ins. Mix well. Spoon this dry mix into jars or containers for gift giving. Make a tag with the name of mix and recipe for individual servings. You may have to taste test your mix to get the proper amount of water to add and the correct microwave cooking time. Cake mixes need a tad more water than say cookies or brownies. One "recipe" can fill several mason jars or other cute containers to make more than one gift.


Here are two tried and tested versions:

Carrot Cake Mug Cake

boxed carrot cake mix
3/4 cup angel food cake mix
1/2 - 3/4 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

I used a Betty Crocker 15.25 oz box Super Moist Carrot Cake. The above recipe filled 3 pint sized mason jars perfectly.

Recipe for attached card:
Add 4 heaping Tbsp dry Carrot Mug Cake Mix to your favorite mug. Stir in 3 Tbsp water and zap in microwave for 40-45 seconds.



Double Chocolate Chip Mug Cookie

pkg chocolate chip cookie mix
1/4 cup angel food cake mix
1/4 cup Bisquick cake mix
3 Tbsp cocoa

I used a Betty Crocker 17.5 oz Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix pouch. The recipe above filled 2 pint sized mason jars with a bit of space at the top that I just filled with a few extra chocolate chips.

Recipe for attached card:
Add 4 heaping Tbsp dry Double Chocolate Chip Mug Cookie Mix to your favorite mug. Stir in 2 Tbsp water and zap in microwave for 40-45 seconds.

Be sure to if mention your gift contains nuts in case of allergies.