One of the qualities we look for in a potential employee at CMB is an interest in specialty foods and enthusiasm about trying new things in the kitchen. To encourage a growing knowledge of food, and especially the products we carry, if a staff person is curious about a product at CMB, we have a tendency to give them the product (great perk!), and then ask them to bring in the results of their labors for our weekly staff meeting (or at least be ready to share some thoughts with the rest of our staff). This week on the CMB blog, I am thrilled to share the reportings of Jessie H. who has recently joined us from England and splits her time working in the store and answering the telephone downstairs. Jessie was quite taken with the idea of easy summer meals- and she has a serious thing for garlic- so we packed her bags with new Mediterranean products, and without more ado, here is what she thought of CMB’s newest offerings (in her own words).
This week, I was lucky enough to be asked to test out two of our new products; Les Moulins Mahjoub’s Sundried Garlic Spread ($8.95), and La Cabra Verde’s Medallas de queso joven en aceite de oliva (goat’s cheese medallions in olive oil, $18.00). These were pretty appropriate samples for me, because I rarely cook without garlic and my feelings on Cheese have been aptly addressed by Tim Minchin in a Music Video posted on YouTube.
Les Moulins Mahjoub grow all their products in Tunisia, and oft quote the Roman natural philosopher Pliny
when discussing their business inspiration, “Here under exceptionally tall palm trees grow olive trees, under the olive trees grow fig trees, under the fig trees grow pomegranate trees and below them vines. And under the vines cereals are sown, to be followed by legumes, then vegetables, all in the same year, and all feeding on the shade provided by another tree or plant.” A pretty stunning image, if you ask me.
When speaking of the Mediterranean, I should mention La Cabra Verde’s Medallas (see Previous Blog Post: Cheese Please: Le Chevre (Decoded)) are immersed in organic extra virgin olive oil of the highest quality- from the Sierra de Cadiz – with spices and herbs, to give their goats cheese such a unique flavor (so unique, that it has in fact, won four awards throughout Europe).
I first tried the two of them, for a light lunch on Olive Oil Crackers, with Salami, and a sprinkling of dried herbs. It was divine, the perfect summer picnic lunch. I was even able to use my math enthusiasm to try all possible combinations of the three main ingredients (Garlic, Cheese, Salami), the best grouping, were all three together; a choice I will definitely be repeating. [click to continue…]
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