The Kalamata Olive has to be one of my favorites... it's tangy just to perfection. I like other olives too... the basic black olive, the Spanish olive, and another favorite is the Italian Castelvetrano olive. I always have no less than 10 jars of various olives and pickles in my fridge. At Christmas Eve dinner at my son's house, I saw a bowl of Kalamata olives and green olives. Of course, I had to have a few. Now, I'm not a person who likes spicy foods (medium salsa can be too hot for me), but I grabbed the green olive and expected the "standard" green olive taste. It was stuffed with jalapeno. It caught me by surprise! It wasn't that hot (ok.. it was a tad spicy for me) and I think it would be a great addition to a Mexican meal. I could eat them again.
I put olives on pizza, with pasta, in salad, with meatballs, as they truly go with just about anything. They are best with cheese, good bread, and a bowl of olive oil. That is a meal in itself.
Imagine the surprise of this olive aficionado when I went to the food market in Aix en Provence. Sure, I had heard of the Niçoise olive, but my heart literally skipped a beat when I saw the variety of olives available at the market! Oh my goodness, if I lived there my refrigerator would be packed with different olives from the market.
We ate so many delicious foods from the Mediterranean region. Of course, with the delicious olive, comes the most fruity olive oil. It was so nice to have a bowl of olive oil and fresh bread. So many of the foods were standard fare when I was a little girl. With 2 grandparents from Greece and one from Cyprus, olives and olive oil are pretty much a daily addition to our meals.
Having written all of this, I think that I might have to get out my Lebanese and Greek cookbooks and get some ideas for dinner.
This is a photo of delicious paella, stuffed grape leaves (domathes in Greek). It was from the market that was about a 10 minute walk from the airbnb. Shopping for the day, not week is something I love to do when there... at home, not so easy to do.
Look at the variety of olives! This isn't even all of them. There were more but I wanted this photo.
One of our many meals from the market. We tried so many different middle eastern spreads. I like them all. The Greek Tzatziki is one of my favorites. I could eat it by the spoonful. I might make it today!
Olive oil is so delicious. If you have never been to an olive oil tasting, I suggest you try it. You might be surprised at the different varieties. Plus, it is so healthy for you too!
