9 Reasons Why Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Nature’s Ultimate Superfood

I was born in Canada but my body was crafted in the Balkans, just like my family’s extra virgin olive oil. In fact, several millennia of inter-glacial Big Game hunters precede me. When I discovered that my ancestors drank olive oil daily, then sparred with Mammoths and saber-toothed tigers, I simply stopped questioning why people complement me for my radiant confidence and smooth beige skin. Real oils.

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3 Deceptive Olive Oil Marketing LIES, Revisited

It’s been almost a year since I wrote the original article, which blew up on social media.

In that article I unveiled the lies that many North American olive oil importing companies tell their customers in order to make more money delivering inferior product.

Many of the myths and lies surrounding olive oil, particularly as they relate to storage and extraction, have been carefully designed to maximize profits from unsuspecting consumers unfamiliar with the inner workings of extra virgin olive oil production.

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Olive Oil Is Not A Luxury Good

How many “olive oil cabinets” have you come across?

I come from a family that owns nearly 8,000 olive trees on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, and I can tell you, I’ve never come across a single, gold-plated olive oil display case.

When you look beyond the very modern, very masturbatory awards shows and sommelier schools that have cropped up in just the past few decades, olive oil generally doesn’t become more interesting the more money you make.

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Croatian Selo Snack: Mandarinak (Mandarin Olive Oil Dip)

Mandarinak is a dipping sauce made from mustard and mandarin oranges. While not uncommon in Dalmatia at dinner parties, it is typically served in higher end restaurants. It pairs best with fresh bread and/or seafood.

This one is my mother’s recipe. It’s not a traditional Croatian recipe by any means, but it is composed of indigenous ingredients found in Croatia.

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The Babushka Pill

My Baba doesn’t understand why I’m not married yet.

In fact, Babushkas around the world, from Siberia to Florida, are bewildered by how many of their grandsons are still bachelors.

Why are young men and women, they wonder, not getting hitched these days? Why do they delay marriage and family life until they are rotting in their late 30s?

Kad ćeš oženit, u pizdu maternu?
Translation: When will you get married, motherfucker?

Babushka, it seems, has lost her once-potent grip on normative youth fertility.

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Croatian Selo Snack: Garlic Dill Croatian Flatbread

Last week we played around a little and mixed a bit of everything from the Mediterranean, including bread, cheese and olive oil, into a fusion eggs benedict. This time we’ll go with something a little more authentically Croatian, a Croatian flatbread.

This week’s snack is a simple and extra-flavorful homemade garlic and herb seasoned Croatian flatbread recipe. In Croatia, we call it lepinja. This flatbread is a great appetizer, snack or hors d’oeuvre for a party, and it’s a relatively quick recipe that can be ready in just under 45 minutes

The reason I chose dill for this recipe (it’s called kopar in Croatian) is because of how commonly it is grown in gardens in the old country. I fondly remember picking dill in the summers with my Baba on mornings where she would make fresh flatbread.

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