There is a great new little shop down in San Juan Capistrano (I
LOVE San Juan Capistrano) called ‘
We Olive and Wine Bar’- The Olive Oil Experience. And what an experience it is!
I had the privilege of going down to the quaint shop off Camino Capistrano this past Saturday with my husband Brandon and and friend/fellow OC Family Mom Ambassador Jen Broas- if you know SJC at all, the shop is centrally located next to the antique shop and just a short walk away from the historic Los Rios Street. I was welcomed into the gorgeous shop with beautiful brick walls by Kim Middleton, Owner.
We got to experience our very own tasting of all the wonderful extra virgin olive oils, vinegar and other yummy goodies they offer throughout the store. Let me tell ya, this shop will for sure have what you are looking for if you are in the market for some unique and flavorful olive oils and vinegar. Among my favorites I got to taste test were the lemon olive oil and the fresh garlic olive oil and the peach white balsamic vinegar- which by the way makes for a great ingredient in a unique cocktail. I’ll share the recipe with you a little bit later.
We Olive has a quite large selection, and you want to know a fun little secret? You can head down to the shop yourself and have your own little tasting, any of the employees and even Kim herself would be happy to offer you samples of anything you may be interested in before purchasing. But just a warning: It’s going to be hard to leave empty handed, everything I tried was absolutely delicious, and if you are like me and want to incorporate a little more olive oil into your cooking and be a bit healthier (which means LESS butter) then this is the shop for you!
We Olive not only offers their California grown and made olive oils and vinegar, they offer olive oils from other regions, jams, spreads and appetizers.
These two are just a taste of what I fell in love with. The sweet caramelized onion spread would be perfect with some nice cheese and a glass of wine. It would also be decadent on a homemade flat bread pizza in place of sauce, and topped with some creamy gruyere cheese. YUM.
The caramel can simply be eaten right out of the jar with a spoon, ha! It’s SO darn good. And made with simple ingredients that you can actually pronounce. This would be wonderful topped on some really good vanilla ice cream.
And now for the spiced sour cherry spread. Oh the spiced sour cherry spread. Oh how I LOVE cherries. In fact I just made a homemade chocolate cake last week for a friends birthday, this would be absolute perfection in that cake as a filling.
Follow this recipe for THE perfect homemade chocolate cake:
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
2. In a large bowl or a stand mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Then add the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth, several minutes. Stir in the boiling water (NOTE: batter will be very runny).
3. Pour batter into the two prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for approx 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Allow cake to cool in pans before removing and icing.
Chocolate Buttercream Icing Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. milk
1/2 jar Spiced Sour Cherry Spread
*
PLEASE NOTE: For the filling, you’ll need a 1/2 jar of the spiced sour cherry spread and reserve approx 1/2 cup of the completed chocolate icing. Combine icing, and cherry spread and use as your cake filling.
Directions:
1. In a stand mixer or with an electric beater cream butter. Add sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add the salt and vanilla and milk and beat on medium until smooth. Ice your cake and enjoy!
We Olive also offers a lovely selection of gifts:
From ceramics and serving dishes, kitchen items to bath and body items, to wine inspired candles to beautiful wooden bowls, they even offer the artwork right off their very own walls!
We Olive has something great in the works as well. They are soon to be opening their wine bar and small bites menu. They will offer wine tasting and wonderful menu items that will incorporate many of the ingredients from their very own shop. I think once that wine bar opens, it will make for the perfect date night out!
Stop by
We Olive and tell them I sent you! It’ll be an unique experience you’ll be sure to love.
We Olive and Wine bar
31760 Camino Capistrano Suite B
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
http://weolive.com/san-juan-capistrano/
You didn’t think I’d forget did you? Here’s a fun little cocktail that uses
We Olive’s Peach White Balsamic Vinegar:
2 oz. Vodka
2 TSP. Peach White Balsamic Vinegar
Shake the ingredients up, serve in a chilled glass, or over ice if you prefer. It may sound strange, I know. It really is yummy, and just different. Cheers!
