i feel so parental. adopted an olive tree.

so for christmas, my amazing woman and bibimblog cofounder got me something way outside the box.

i like outside the box.

through this company nudo, she adpoted an olive tree somewhere in italy, on some small farming collectives grove... a tree is being adpoted, or more accurately put, sponsored by me. this also get me a couple shipments of the olive oil produced from olives grown in that grove.

first reaction was like, whoa, thats freaking cool! i never heard of that. what a cool gift to find someone really into supporting local small businesses and has a love of cooking...

then, the dark side of me peeps out and i started to think, what a scam! sell "adoption" papers to people all over the world, saying youre helping sustain a small farm... then bail out to some sunny tropical island!

well, i fight off all thoughts that this is a scam and i focus more on the idea that this is a brilliant way for to help subsidize costs for small farms trying to fight back big corporate farms.

its been about six months since i received those first adoption papers and i finally received my first shipment of olive oil. it included a small note stating what i was thinking before.

apparently the olive oil industry is plagued by big corporate farming also. they get companies that come in, suck every penny out of the land, take every short cut possible and maximize profits. hell, olive oil "made in italy" doesnt even have to be made from olives from italy, just bottled there. high quality olive oil should be cold pressed.... big corporate farms use heat to extract more oil, ending up with an inferior product.

well, i had my doubts about this adoption program and even though im no olive oil expert, having tasted some good locally made products, (did you know that theres a restaurant in mill valley that has a olive oil press in use right IN the restaurant?) i was quite impressed with this olive oil.

i have to be honest, this is probably some of the best olive oil ive ever tasted. bright, complex, interesting... its really good stuff.

worth the price of adoption? yes. of course you end up paying a bit more than you should for good olive oil, but knowing that you helped a small local farmer stay in business just a bit longer, fighting off evil corporate farms? thats worth the premium.

if you want good food, you need support small farmers who dedicate their lives to producing quality ingredients.

good job homie, good job

damn, i use super frou frou cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil. im so hella san francisco.