We are excited to announce that in the month of February we will begin offering many new products, including balsamic vinegar.  We spent the past several months taste testing balsamic vinegar from many different manufacturers and decided on one that came from Moderna, Italy.  This vinegar will carry our Terra Verde estate label.  You can be sure that we will never offer any product we don't believe is the finest available.  The balsamic vinegar and all the new products we're introducing this month will be available on our website, at specialty stores, and at the many festivals and special events we will be attending this year.  We look forward to your feedback on the new products!

Additionally, we are finalizing the design of our olive millhouse.  We've made many improvements to the original design including an expanded tasting bar, an internet café, an area for cooking demonstrations, a large art gallery for local artists to display and sell their beautiful work, and a larger store/product area where you can find Texas produced products such as our olive oil, area wines, cheeses, lavender products, and olive oil based food products. 

We intend to break ground on our olive mill and store before the end of February.  Once a final date has been set, we will let everyone know by email so you can make arrangements to attend the grand opening.  We have decided to call our millhouse, tasting room, and store "The Texas Olive Store," which we believe suitably says what we are all about.  We look forward to seeing you at the orchard soon.  Don't hesitate to come visit us to experience everything going on at the orchard.

Earlier this month, John and I took a trip to Sacramento to attend a marketing conference at UC Davis University.  We shared ideas with olive growers from California to Argentina.  The general consensus at the conference was that the best way to spread the word about American olive oil is to allow people to taste the difference between fresh, American-grown and milled olive oil and out-of-date, imported oil.  We will continue to make our olive oil available for tasting at various events around the state.  We're grateful for the guidance of the Go Texan program for helping us choose the best events to attend.  Be sure to check out our Events section below as well as on our website. 

While in California, John and I also visited some of the olive operations around Napa and Sacramento.  We were quite impressed at the variety of olive products being offered for sale in addition to olive oil.  This inspired us to expand our current selection of products to offer all things olive in our new Texas Olive Store.  We're going to offer unique gift items and specialty foods in addition to our cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. 

The highlight of our trip was meeting Carol Firenze, author of The Passionate Olive.  She is a magnificent woman and a true testament to the health benefits of having olive oil in your daily diet. Carol was kind enough to agree to attend the ribbon cutting for the opening of our millhouse and the Texas Olive Store.  She will have a book signing in the art gallery located in the store. 

Thanks for reading our newsletter!  Please be sure to send any questions you have about our orchard or olives to store@texashillcountryoliveco.com.

January brought record breaking cold temperatures to our area. Austin had its coldest day in over thirty years! Needless to say we were a little nervous with 48 hours of below freezing temps and a low of 12 degrees. Temperatures that cold for that long are known to be life threatening to olive trees. Thus far, all of our trees have survived with minimal damage. There has been very little leaf loss and minor bark or branch damage.  This has given all of us a deeper confidence in the hardiness of our trees.

We have begun to clear the back half of the orchard with the intention of doubling our size by this fall. The weather hasn't exactly cooperated with the ongoing rain that has slowed things down quite a bit.  We are still in the initial stages of removing all the cedar and deciding which oaks to keep. Once we finish clearing, we will trench and install the new irrigation system. The first system really taught us how NOT to do it, so this will be a similar, yet highly modified system. We will also be trying some different methods when it comes time to plant this year.

Marinade:

1 cup Texas olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp. cumin

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 jalapeño, minced

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds Texas flat iron steak, trimmed

Mediterranean Topping:

1 head of Romaine lettuce grown in Texas

1 12-ounce bag of cherry tomatoes, quartered

15 ounces (nt.wt.) of jarred, quartered and marinated artichoke hearts with the liquid

4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup Texas extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper

To prepare: Mix together the Texas olive oil, vinegar, cumin, garlic, jalapeño, paprika, salt and pepper.  Place the meat into a zipper bag and pour in the marinade. Squeeze out all of the air, make sure the meat is completely covered with the marinade, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours to overnight.  Preheat grill to medium-low. Season the meat with salt and pepper, and place onto the grill. Slowly cook for about 10 to 12 minutes on each side, basting with the marinade.

While the meat is cooking, make the topping. Start by cutting the lettuce. Begin about ½ an inch from the root end and cut all the way to the top. Turn the lettuce a little and cut again. Repeat this process about two more times. Next, cut 1/8 to ¼-inch slices across the lettuce; place the cut lettuce in a bowl. Add the tomatoes, quartered artichokes along with the liquid, cheese, pine nuts, oil, salt and pepper. Gently toss to combine.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Once the meat is cooked, remove from the grill and allow

it to rest for 5 minutes.

To serve: Cut the steak against the grain and top with the lettuce mixture.

Recipe created by Chef Michael H. Flores. Photograph by Tracey Maurer Photography. Food Styling by Mary Ellen Rose.