Strawberry Shortcake

This one is a lot like our Easy Peasy Pie Filling post and makes a delicious summer desert.

You can use store-bought spongecake or make your own homemade shortcake:

Preheat oven to 425F.

2 1/3 c. baking mix (like Bisquick)
1/2 c. milk
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Simply mix ingredients until a soft dough forms. Then drop onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Slice the strawberries, then coat with 1/4 c. sugar and two tbsp. of The Spicy Olive’s Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar. Put this on top of your warm short bread and top with cool whipped cream. Yum!

Why not try this with other fruits – how about blueberry peach with They Spicy Olive’s Wild Blueberry Field Balsamic Vinegar!

Easy Peasy Pie Fillings

Store-bought pie filling is full of all kinds of chemicals and preservatives. And if you have kids, you probably know exactly how much sugar it has too!

But pies are the definition of all-American desert, and as summer approaches, so does pie season! What’s a mom to do?!

Make healthy homemade pie filling, of course! Sounds tough, we know. But it’s really oh, so easy. You’re going to wonder why you bought the canned junk in the first place!

Here are a couple examples, but you could customize for any fruit – the possibilities are endless!


Blueberry Pie filling
4 cups fresh blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. Wild Fields Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar from The Spicy Olive

Apple Pie Filling
3 medium sized apples, chunked
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. Cinnamon Pear Balsamic Vinegar from The Spicy Olive

Have you made a pie filling with balsamic vinegar? Let us know what you used and what you thought!

The Spicy Olive Coming to Hyde Park

The Spicy Olive is happy to announce that our second store will be opening in Hyde Park Square in early summer 2013! We will be located at the corner of Erie Avenues and Michigan Avenues. We will feature the same great fresh olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars that our customers have come to love in West Chester. Customers can sample the 20 varieties of olive oils and 30 varieties of balsamic vinegars then we bottle their selections for purchase. At The Spicy Olive, we invite you to taste the difference fresh makes!

Northern Hemisphere Single Varietal Olive Oils

     The fresh olive oils from the Northern Hemisphere are now at The Spicy Olive! Freshness is so important to an olive oil. All the good things that make olive oil healthy for you dissipate and disappear over time. The polyphenols, anti-oxidants and anti inflammatory agents found in olive oil break down over time and exposure to light, heat and air. Think about that the next time you are in a grocery store looking at the rows of olive oil. The consumer has no idea when that olive oil was crushed, usually they don’t know the country of origin and many of the bottles of oil are in clear glass under the bright store lights, the polyphenols and other healthy components are no longer in that olive oil!

     Our Northern Hemisphere single varietals have just arrived from Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Greece and California! They were picked and crushed in November and December 2012. These are the freshest olive oils you can find! The olive oils list country of origin, crush date, polyphenol counts and other chemical indicators that you cannot find at your traditional grocery store. The Spicy Olive is committed to bringing the freshest, healthiest olive oils to our customers. You can taste each variety before purchase so you can find the perfect olive oil for your tastes! Come to The Spicy Olive and taste the difference fresh makes!

New Study Touting Benefits of Olive Oil








The New England Journal of Medicine released a study on February 25, 2013 showing dramatic reduction of cardiovascular events in people consuming a diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil. A total of 7447 persons were enrolled in this study (age range 55-80 years) . Among persons with high cardiovascular risk, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with fresh extra virgin olive oil reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events (30% reduction).

Mediterranean Barley Salad

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup barley
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, chopped & pitted
1/2 cucumber or zucchini, chopped
red onion, diced
2/3 cup chopped parsley
cherry tomatoes, halved
avocado, chopped
feta cheese crumbles
Optional:
blanched, fresh broccoli florets
blanched, fresh cauliflower
cilantro, chopped
garbanzo beans
Dressing: 
1 cup The Spicy Olive’s organic Persian Lime or Cilantro and Onion olive oil
1/3 cup The Spicy Olive’s Honey Ginger white balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard or Roasted Garlic and Champagne(at The Spicy Olive)
salt and pepper to taste
Bring broth to boil in a medium saucepan. Add oil, barley and salt. Cover and cook until barley is tender, 30 minutes or 10 minutes for quick barley. Drain any excess liquid and allow barley to cool. 
Whisk salad dressing ingredients together. Toss cooled barley together with vegetables. Add salad dressing and serve!

Olive Oil and Heart Health

    February is heart health month! This is a great time to look at the wonderful benefits olive oil has to keep your heart functioning properly. So many people are aware that olive oil is healthy, but many do not know why. Here is a short synopsis of what olive oil has in it and how those components benefit your heart health!

    Olive oil is full of polyphenols. Polyphenols are components found in olive oil and some other foods like tea. Polyphenols contain anti-oxidants, vitamins A, C and E, anti-inflammatory agents and cancer fighting agents because they fight oxidation, or free radical change, in the body. These components are most prevalent in fresh olive oil, which is The Spicy Olive’s specialty. All of our olive oils are fresh, the crush date is listed for you to see as well as the polyphenol levels of our single varietal olive oils. 
    The components found in olive oil impact your heart health in three ways. First, it can help lower your “bad” cholesterol levels (LDL). Olive oil contains monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats lower LDL levels and protect against atherosclerosis (plaque build up in the arteries). Secondly, olive oil can help lower your blood pressure. Several studies have shown olive oil intake reduced the incidence of hypertension in adults. The link was found to be associated with polyphenol rich olive oils. Lastly, the antioxidants, polyphenols and oleic acid contained in olive oil protect blood lipids from oxidative stress which slows hardening of the arteries. Enjoy your olive oil, knowing it is doing wonderful things to your body!

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Pecorino Pear and Arugula Salad

1 1/2 tbsp. The Spicy Olive Sherry Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 c. The Spicy Olive Hojiblanca Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small french shallot, finely chopped
4 c. arugula leaves
1 small fennel bulb, sliced thin
1 ripe but firm pear, cored and sliced thin
1 c. parsley, chopped coarse
1 c. shaved Pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese

Combine the vinegar and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk until salt has dissolved. Add the oil slowly to thicken the dressing, whisking constantly. Stir in the shallot.

Combine arugula, fennel, pear and parsley in a salad bowl and toss. Add dressing and toss again. Top with the shaved cheese and serve.

We chose our mild Hojiblanca Extra Virgin Olive Oil to balance out the bite in our Sherry Balsamic Vinegar. If you would like to add more flavor to the dressing, perhaps try one of our more robust single-varietal EVOOs.

Warm Potato Salad

2 lbs. floury potatoes (scrubbed, halved or quartered)
1/4 c. The Spicy Olive Milanese Gremolata Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 c. flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 head celery, inner stalks only, chopped

Bring a pot to boil with water just covering the potatoes. Add salt, then cook over moderate heat for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are just tender.

Drain and cool; peel and cut into bite-sized pieces.

While the potatoes are still warm, toss them in a bowl with oil, parsley and celery. Season with salt and pepper and serve.