Shopping with Terri at her Love That Olive store in Maple Grove is fun. She walks around the store with joy and enthusiasm as she shares stories of the individual products she has hand-picked throughout the store. Terri is incredibly knowledgeable about the 50-plus olive, seed, nut oil, and Balsamic Vinegars she carries in her store. Since 2010, Terri has tempted local foodies and gourmands with her Greek and Italian oils imported by family growers. As the store has evolved, she has added a growing selection of gourmet food products, and hearing her describe each product and how to use them is like hearing a grandmother extol the virtues of her favorite grandchildren.
Here are a few products Terri introduced me to on my last visit to Love That Olive:
Wine Chips:
Imagine the most delicious lattice-cut potato chips that are cheesy, crispy, and flavored with your favorite combinations designed to pair with wine. The potato chips come in flavors like Asiago, Bacon, Hawaiian Red Sea Salt, Black Lava with Jalapeño, and the meatiest versions I loved, like Dry Aged Ribeye and Spicy Calabrese Sausage. These chips are designed to pair with wines; each package comes with tasting notes designed to help you pair with your favorite wines. These chips fly off the shelves at Terri’s store and are perfect to set out for a book club or patio party.
Lemon Olive Oil:
All the olive oils sold at Love That Olive are premium and come from a family of 4th generation growers or are selectively imported from Greece or Italy. What I love about Terri is that she has used all these olive oils herself and has incorporated them into various recipes. For me, the Lemon Olive Oil drizzled over arugula with salt, pepper, and thick vegetable peeler peels of parmesan is a simple but delicious way to use the lemon-flavored oil. Try it in my Olive Oil Cake recipe here. The layered lemon flavors work, or if you are a tinned fish gal, grab your favorite tin of high-end tuna and use lemon olive oil in a vinaigrette to dress a Tuna Niçoise salad. The store’s four-pack gift set of olive oil ($30) has lemon as a featured flavor and makes a lovely gift set or hostess gift when you show up for Easter Brunch.
Food Crayons:
Remember getting your 64-box of crayons with the built-in sharpener during back-to-school season? A fresh box of crayons was my favorite reason to hit Target every Fall. With my fondness for crayons, it’s no surprise that I got a kick out of the seasoning crayons Terri introduced me to at the store. These little wonders are condensed flavor sticks that you shave into your dishes with the handy sharpener—just like sharpening a crayon.
The flavor profiles are extensive:
Honey and Mustard, or Balsamic and Fig for your next salad dressing
Black Garlic with your following pan sauce for a basted Rib Eye or Filet in your cast iron pan
Carrot, Orange, and Ginger or Lemon for in your favorite marinade
Tomato Paste for a quick thickener for sauces and stews
Basil, Chipotle, or Chili and Garlic in your next marinara masterpiece
They even have Lemon, Pina Colada, and Lime for a quick cocktail concentrate.
These products are super fun, last up to a year in your cupboard, and are easy to travel with for cabin or boat trips.
Bar-to-Cook Cooking Sauce Bars:
These bars have all the spices for your favorite dishes built into a bar that looks like a chocolate bar. You break off the amount of spice for your dish. They are also great for cabins and traveling. Try Tex Mex for chili, Mediterranean for a Coq Au Vin, or Indian for your next Tikka Masala or Curry. These bars are fun, flavorful, and handy.
Blue Bounty Popcorn:
If you have a popcorn problem, like me, this might be your solution. Blue Bounty popcorn is crispy, nutty, and hull less, so it pops up beautifully in the microwave. It is made from non-GMO hemp seeds. Pop it in the highly sought-after, brilliantly designed Nordic Ware Popcorn bowl, which guarantees more pop and less waste, and you will go from microwave to couch with delicious popcorn in no time.
Urban Accents Popcorn Seasonings
Pop your Blue Bounty Popcorn and sprinkle with these seasonings, which come in fun flavors like spicy Sriracha, dil pickle, cinnamon toast, buttery caramel corn and pepper Asiago, or sour cream and onion. Shake them up!
The Chai Box
This Chai tea concentrate is simply delicious. You can get it pre-sweetened with raw sugar or unsweetened and sweeten it yourself with honey, sugar, or even maple syrup. This is one delicious pour-over.
Once Again, Reusable sponges
I am always on the lookout for the perfect sponge, and this one is darn close. When it gets gunky, I throw it in my dishwasher with a load of dishes, and it comes out as good as new. The abrasive side cleans my pots without being overly harsh or scratching them.
Gluten-Free Maruso Soy Sauce:
This 4th generation Korean soy sauce with family roots in Duluth is a staple at our house. It is thicker than soy sauce, and the flavor is less salty and more umami, making for a perfect sauce, marinade, or dressing enhancer.