My family and I have enjoyed going to Village Cheese & Wine for many years- We LOVE Haoni (John), the sweet ‘Kiwi’ born owner, and sandwich maker aficionado! He always has an interesting tale, or a funny story to tell, & GOD knows he makes the most amazing sandwiches! My favorite is the ‘half on a whole, turkey n’ cheese’. Now Village Cheese & Wine sells Ojai Jalapeño Jelly & Ojai Halapeno Jelly!!! It rocks any sandwich! That’s right!
The Valley Vegetarian, Randy Grahams new book is now available at Made in Ojai!
Check out the Made in Ojai Newsletter just out-
♥ Valley Lahvosh Crackers
This is a kitchen staple for me-
I grow a lot of rosemary, so it’s easy to have a reserve of rosemary butter around to
help boost the flavor of most every dinner.
Paint it on your garlic bread, baste your turkey as it roasts, make gravy with it-
Everything tastes better with herb butter added-
I know a lot of people need to be mindful of their salt in-take, so try this but know you don’t need a lot to appreciate the great flavor. It’s just not the same if you use sweet butter.
The herb infusion with the butter is far superior with salted butter.
I cube of salted butter
Melt it either in a small pot or a small frying pan-
Add the fresh rosemary & cook over low heat- the kitchen smells great as it cooks.
Once it turns a golden brown, drain off the butter & stash it for cooking- I keep it in the refrigerator.
I throw out the leftover rosemary.
Enjoy!
Ojai Jalapeño Jelly is a mild & friendly product!
However, if you are cutting up Peppers to prepare for a cocktail or generally have a Pepper accident; rub your eye or eat too many hot Peppers, try these tips:
1. Drink at least 1/2 cup of COLD milk. The protein in the milk (casein), acts as a detergent and will neutralize the capsicum from the peppers.
2. Drink sugar water; add at least 1 Tablespoon or more sugar to 1 cup of COLD water and continue rinsing the area.
3. Drink alcohol, a beer or a shot. Capsicum is soluble in alcohol which is a solvent not a neutralizer. Don’t drink & drive! EVER!
4. Rinse your mouth with oil (olive or vegetable) if nothing listed above is available. Oil will help some, it’s better than nothing.
Drinking water is tempting, naturally it’s the first thing most people reach for, but it won’t help much in relieving the overwhelming sensations from the heat of the peppers.
Dessert is always the easiest part of the meal to sort out for me-
Red Velvet Cake with Beet-Red Frosting &/OR
Coeur de la Créme with fresh organic raspberry Sauce.
Salad: Organic Arugula & Butter-Leaf Salad with thin sliced gold & red beets, candied Organic Ojai Walnuts,
adorned with Shaved Parmesan Cheese & fresh cracked pepper.
Soup: Red Baked Potato Soup with fresh purple onion & Sharp Cheddar Cheese on top. &/OR
Ojai Valley Inn Resort Tortilla Soup garnished with Red tortilla chips & avocado.
Main: Chicken Picatta with Capers, White Wine & Myers Lemon Sauce
If you need help with the particulars, blog me!
Last week I was in San Francisco for the Fancy Food Show & I had the pleasure of an amazing evening & a lovely meal with friends at the infamous “Grand Cafe” on 501 Geary Street.
…if someone blindfolded you going in, once through the Grand Entry- you’d open your eyes & feel like you’d arrived in Paris- the sculptures, the cuisine, the ambiance…
My mouth waters just thinking of this tantalizing cocktail-
Grandioso
2 oz Reposado Tequila
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
Squeeze Lemon Juice
.5 oz Agave Nectar
Muddled Basil- 3 leaves
Jalapeno- fresh 2 thin slices
Shaken till Bruised
Served on a stem
recipe compliments of
Gregory Nasser
Assistant General Manager
Grand Cafe – Hotel Monaco San Francisco
501 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
