Happy Wednesday to you! Guess where I was last night? You will never guess…. I was invited to a special “invited guests only” tasting at Liquid Gold Tasting Bar downtown. How cool is that? Well beyond the cool part, How tasty is that? The combination of atmosphere paired with amazing products and delicious food made the 2 hour tasting a true joy.

I wanted to share a little bit about Liquid Gold and then get into some of the pics and food tasting from last night.

“Olio Fresco”.  It’s Italian for fresh oil.

Pure, fresh, extra virgin olive oils are now in Charlottetown. Here to be sampled, savored, bottled and combined with spectacular balsamic vinegars in an awesome array of combinations. Smooth, buttery, zesty, earthy, rich, deep, moody and delicious.

The oils are pure, single fruits called cultivars, or are cultivars that have been deliciously flavored. In spring/summer, our oils come from the southern hemisphere where the winter crop is harvested between May and July. In the fall & winter, our oils will come from the Mediterranean.

Our balsamic vinegars are from Modena, Italy. They are either dark or white and are traditional, organic or spectacularly flavored

We also carry an assortment of gourmet oils, mustards and glazes, Italian pastas, stuffed olives, sea salts, ceramics, olive wood products, hand creams, skin moisturizers and soaps.

The place is super cool! They had chef John Pritchard serving up some amazing eats with their products. Do you remember when I teamed up with John for the potato festival last year. From truffle oil aioli, flavored hummus, tons of bread( to sample the amazing oils and vinegars to a peach balsamic martini that would knock your socks off – the tastes were amazing.

As I was walking around “chatting with folks” I had so many ideas of recipes with these products. Is there anything better than working with “real” ingredients? In thinking about food, I checked out their site on my phone as I was taste testing and realized they had some nice recipes on their site that almost made me drool.

As soon as I got home, I checked out their site and talked to Mrs. Zesty about the store…. I was impressed.  I then went to their blog and I found a nice variety of recipes that they have posted that use their ingredients…. I think you might like some of them – actually who I am trying to kid – you are going to love them.  See below for a sample.

How about White Truffle Fries w/ Parmesan? or Pomegranate Glazed Salmon?  I know…. makes me excited just to think about it.

Tuna Salad , White Truffle Fries and Pomegranate Glazed Salmon

Totally a fun tasting night…. I could do that every night for sure. great job to both the G! and Liquid Gold for putting on a fun event. I hope it will become a tradition and they invite me again. If you have any questions about Liquid Gold you can check out their site or let me know and I can pass them along. have a super bump in the road Wednesday and i will talk to you on Friday with a Movember update.

Take care

zesty

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Well, I don’t really know where to start but I guess I will get to it and go with the food.  We were invited to attend a Pizza Party on Saturday night at the Zesty In-laws.  You know what that means?  Haul out the expandable pants because the food will be crazy good.

I can say this night was no exception.  Read the line up of food.

• Homemade Bruschetta
• Nachos and Salsa
• Caesar Salad
• Mussels
• Raw and Baked Oysters ( Pics never turned out for the baked oysters )
• 8 Racks of Smoked Ribs
• PIZZA ( As many as you can think of ) – Including Dessrt
• Brownies ( that change your life)
• Chocolate Cherry Cake  ( forgot to take a pic )

I think I will just finish this post with pictures.  The food was amazing and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.  Thanks Zesty In laws.

Have a good start to your week and I will talk to you Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

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I love any cookies that have molasses in them and these soft, chewy ginger cookies are no exception!  I don’t know what my issues have been as of late but I feel I am hooked on SWEETS.  It is crazy and normally I am just hooked on potato chips, french fries and double cheese burgers.  Haha kidding…. maybe!  Ok so as I type this post I am still reeling from the fact that as I was driving home last night – I get pulled over by the cops for speeding.  Grrrrrrrr.  Anyway my own fault as I was driving pretty fast and well over the speed limit.  But what a way to dampen your day!

Let’s lift our spirits with a soft chewy ginger cookie.  Usually when you eat these, I recommend 2-3 per serving and a heaping glass of chilled white milk.  YUM!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 Tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 Tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 Tsp. allspice
• 1/3 Cup butter, softened
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 2 Tbsp. white sugar (for rolling cookies)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, blend flour, baking soda and spices together and set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream together butter and 1/2 cup of sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg until well mixed. Then add the molasses and mix to combine.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
5. Using rounded teaspoonfuls (or not quite full tablespoons), form dough into balls  and roll them in the extra 2 tablespoons of sugar.
6. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, lightly flatten and  bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
7. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The rolling in white sugar really adds a nice dimension of both flavor and texture to these cookies.  Whatever you do  – do not skimp on this step.  You will be disappointed if you do.

I need some ideas on what to write for the Christmas edition of the G! magazine.  I was thinking a fun gum drop cheese cake recipe, some sticky date pudding but I need a third recipe.  Any ideas?  Have a super Friday and a fun weekend.

Take care

zesty

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Help The Students Event: Day 22

Welcome to the finale of Help The Students Event.  For the final post, I wanted to share with you a little treat.  Nothing over the top, but one of my all time favorite type of cookie – Oatmeal Raisin.  Who loves oatmeal raisin cookies?  My hand is way up in the air right now and I bouncing in my chair for you to see me.  These cookies go down the hatch like water on a hot summer day.  I normally eat 5-6 in a sitting with frequent sittings until the batch is gone.

Do you bake cookies and store them in the freezer?  I attempted that game plan but failed miserably as all I had left after they cooled were 4 cookies.  Whether you are home, in an apartment or a dorm room on campus, this cookies are quick, simple and fun to make.  You will not be disappointed with the results.  Give them a try.

Ingredients

• 3 Eggs, well beaten
• 1 Cup Raisins
• 1 Tsp.  Vanilla extract
• 1 Cup White sugar
• 2 1/2 Cup  flour
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup Brown sugar
• 2 Tsp. Baking soda
• 1 1/2 Cup Oatmeal

Method

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2. Combine eggs, raisins, & vanilla and let stand for 1 hour, covered w/ plastic wrap.
3. Cream together butter and sugars and then add flour, salt, and baking soda to sugar mixture; mix well.
4. Blend in egg-raisin mixture, oatmeal.
5. Drop by using a teaspoon  onto ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake at 350 for 9 – 10 minutes.  Let cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: There really are two tricks to creating this amazing cookie.  Do not over bake and to ensure the soaking of the raisins. If you do not have time to soak the raisins – that is OK and the recipe will still be fine. By soaking you plump up the raisins and make them much juicier thus a moister cookie.

HELP THE STUDENTS EVENT: WRAP-UP

I first want to thank everyone who participated in the event by talking to me and sending me their tips, recipes to share with everyone.  I think it was a resounding success from my side of the fence and I will definitely doing something similar in the future.  Before we wrap up today I thought it would be fun to give you a little recap of where you can find all the recipes that made up this successful event.

For all the recipes and ideas you can go to the Help The Students Event category and thumb through the recipes.  Have a super Thursday and I will see you tomorrow for a wrap up of a fun week.

Take care

zesty

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Help The Students Event: Day 15

Hi Zesty Cook readers! I’m Jessica and blog over at How Sweet It is, which is a blend of my passion for food and fitness. Quick, easy and economical meals are a must in our house since my husband and I both work full time jobs. The last thing we want to do in the evening is slave over a hot stove for hours. I also have a slight shoe obsession and prefer to spend my hard-earned money on fancy footwear. Below is one of the go-to meals we eat and enjoy every week!

We have a bit of a quesadilla obsession in our house. Luckily for us, they are easy and quick to put together, as well as economical!

Any given week we have one or two different versions of quesadillas. It is pertinent to switch things up so my taste buds and I don’t get bored. Most of the quesadillas contain some form of meat so Mr. How Sweet doesn’t throw a temper tantrum. But they don’t need the meat. Some of my favorites contain just fruit and cheese!

Not only are they simple and quick, they are easy to make healthy. Use whole wheat tortillas, low-fat cheese, lean meats, fruit and veggies. It doesn’t get much better than that!

The BBQ chicken quesadilla is probably my favorite variety. It is a nice compromise for Mr. How Sweet and me – he gets chicken, and I get sweet onions and oooey, gooey cheese. If you want to simplify things further, you can leave out the caramelized onions and use whatever cheese you please. Same goes for any quesadilla you may come across. Include ingredients you may not normally use – make it fun and make it yours.

Here is how simple the quesadillas are to make: all you need is a skillet and your ingredients. Heat the skillet on medium heat, throw the ingredients inside, fold the tortilla in half and let it warm through. If you don’t have a stove, you can simply use the microwave. See? Quick and painless.

Zesty  Tip: Add a bit of cheese to BOTH sides of the quesadilla to act as “glue” and hold your ingredients in place.

Here are some of our favorite combos

BBQ Chicken Includes: chicken, bbq sauce, caramelized onions and cheese.

Chili Mango Chicken Includes: chicken, mango, cheese

Dessert Quesadillas Includes: chocolate, peanut butter, honey

Crab & Avocado Quesadillas Includes: crab, bacon, avocado, cheese

Roasted Veggie & Goat Cheese Includes: roasted veggies of choice, goat cheese

Simple Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas Includes: chicken, cheese, beans, peppers

What a cool post!  Thanks so much Jessica.  Quesadillas are such a fun way to pack different flavors time and time again .  You did a fantastic job.  There has been a slight hiccup in the photos from the Chowder Competition – so I will have to delay it until tomorrow hopefully!  Thanks for your patience.  We will talk tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

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WOW!  I spent last week in Jamaica and I can honestly say that it was amazing!  The weather and resort was nothing short of phenomenal.  Even though I had to work during the day I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I did run into a couple of issues on the technical side which made my zesty time limited.  The internet was very slow to the point where it was useless.  It was nice to take a break at the same time as I had all the posts scheduled before I left.

I arrived home yesterday and I am somewhat relaxed but tired at the same time. Today’s post is not about food as much as it is about my recap of last week including pictures of the resort along with some restaurant pictures.

The food and restaurant pictures will come throughout the week as I break down my visits to the A la carte restaurants and share with you the cuisine.

Location: Lucea Jamaica

Resort: Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton

Duration: 7 Days

A view from outside our room.

The king size bed.

A snapshot of the couch and my belt.

A look at the jacuzzi.

A nice handcrafted wooden art piece.

A peek inside the shower.

Yes… we stayed at Villa 32.

Breathtaking views.

Look at the water.

A nice little hut to lie down on.

The sun beginning to set.

and continuing to set…

Finish off with a sunset.

I hope you enjoyed my Jamaica recap.  Have a great Monday and I will see you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty