May 2010 newsletter

Apart from our house-brand JULIUS Extra Virgin Olive Oil and JULIUS Pure Olive Oil (both from Spain), another popular brand is messapico Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Puglia, Italy in a three litre tin.  It is now back in stock.  From the same company, we also carry the caroli pasta line.

Some of you are already familiar with their speciality cuts, which cook up amazing and are a nice change from the regular shapes.  An intriguing cut is the foglie, meaning 'leaf'.

A typical Pugliese dish is to saute garlic in Olive Oil.  When the Foglie pasta is almost cooked, add to the oil, 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, and just cook until the skins split (2 minutes).  Pour over the drained pasta and sprinkle on a pecorino cheese.  A perfect hot weather dish, and can be teamed with a side salad.

The last few shipments of Pine Nuts, (from the Far East) have been very disappointing.  When I was in Genoa last November, I had the pleasure to meet a genuine exporter of Pine Nuts.  Any day now we are expecting their pinenuts.  The samples that I saw, were everything that one expects from such a costly item.

While on the topic of Genoa, did you know that when they serve their pesto, they also add cubed potatoes and green beans?  And the pasta that they traditionally use is TROFIE.  For your convenience, yes, we carry TROFIE, also a Caroli shape.

Not sure why, but a BIG MOVER the last few weeks has been HARISSA.  Do not forget that we carry a full line of Middle Eastern foods.  Of course we have Greek Feta in a convenient 2 kilo tray.  A great pairing is with watermelon, both cubed and put on skewers.  Canada also makes a Feta, in a 3 kilo pail, attractively priced.

While on the topic of unusual ingredients, another great salad ingredient is HEARTS OF PALM.  Cut into a salad, or rolled in ham ith mustard, another staple in our product list.

April 30 is our year-end, and as I walk the aisles, I am constantly surprised at the many products that we carry and take for granted.  In my grandfather and father's day, staples would have been bins of dried lentils and beans.  How different our groceries are today!

I am off to Italy May 8 for the great food extravaganza, knon as CIBUS.  Held in the city of Parma, every 2 years, all regions of Italy are represented at the fair.  Not sure what I will find, but in the 20 years that I have been attending, I have never been disappointed.

To make my flight connections, I will be spending a night in Bologna, known as Bologna The Fat, a reference to their rich cuisine.  Even though all provinces in Italy have spectacular foods, Emilia-Romagna lays claim to the culinary crown.  Will make notes and report back in the next edition of the newsletter.