Fall Harvest Mystery Pot Luck Contest!!

Calling all chefs, amateur and professional! Put on your most creative hat and enter to win $100 Gift Certificate to MOV!




MOV is sponsoring a Mystery Pot Luck Cook-off. Six contestants will each be given a different bag of ingredients including but not limited to: salts, spices, oils, vinegars and tasty treats. They will have one week to come up with a pot luck entry applying the contents of the bag to their own ingredients with a dash of imagination. Think holiday dishes! 




On Saturday, October 17 from 11am to 3pm the chefs and their creations will be judged by our customers for the coveted MOVer Award. First place winner will take home a $100 gift certificate to Monadnock Oil and Vinegar. Second place receives a $50 gift certificate and all other entries will be awarded a 200ml bottle of their choice from our extensive selection of over 65 oils and vinegars. 




Judging takes place between noon and 2:30 with the winners announced at 3pm. All entries must include a recipe which will be posted on the MOV website. 




For more info or to enter, please call (603-784-5175), email (info@monadnockoilandvinegar.com) or drop by the store. The first 6 people to enter will be chosen. The public is invited to stop by the store to taste the offerings and cast their vote. Cheer on and vote for your friends, relatives or neighbors! 




Rules: 

1. All items in the mystery bag must be used in the recipe
2. Additional items are added at the entrants’ expense and must be documented in the recipe
3. Judges decision is final and will be the result of a tally of the voting forms.
4. Cannot be combined with any other offer.
5. The dish entered must be capable of serving 25 bite-sized portions
6. Desserts, entrees, appetizers, and salads are all welcome
7. Monadnock Oil and Vinegar Company LLC is not responsible for the quality of the food or food allergies
8. A limited number of chafing dishes are available on site. Please reserve one at the time you register
9. Tables, linens, portion plates and flatware will be supplied by MOV
10. Additional quantities of the ingredients in the bag will be available if necessary.

Make it fun! Dress the part for your dish! Involve the whole family! Bring signs promoting your dish! No age limit, kids and seniors are welcome to enter. Use of local ingredients is strongly encouraged.

The month of October kicked off with Peterborough New Hampshire's 275th anniversary celebration. Plans included a parade and activities to satisfy the most jaded of tourists. Nature responded with a glorious display of quintessential New England Fall foliage and the store was mobbed with the arrival of our much anticipated cheese and the newly opened herb & salt bar.  

We started the celebration Friday night with the "Soup Ladies" dishing up some samples of their excellent Homemade Specialty Soups, followed by Saturday's festivities including a live band on the patio and our monthly cooking demo.

I had planned on our original chef, Joe Stanislaw, to wow the crowds with his simple and delicious selections. Unfortunately, Joe is laid up following knee surgery. We had his recipes, Kim and I cooked up the menu, and we served the tasty bites in his honor. The recipes are on the website and featured Braised Pork with Red Apple Balsamic Glaze, Potatoes Anna and Braised Red Cabbage with Cinnamon-Pear Balsamic. 

All sorts of wonderful new products have arrived at the store. A local woodworker brought us a selection of bowls, cutting boards and utensils. More blown glass dipping dishes arrived along with hand blown jars for the salts and herbs. Every time I turned around, someone was walking through the door with more items. A full larder is a good thing!

The new Salt and Herb Tasting room finally has its cheese. We served up three varieties to sample until those ran out - literally every crumb. I grabbed several more out of the case to use as tasters and those flew off the shelves as well.

We were so lucky to have Melissa Spencer from Attar Herbs for the début of the salt and herb tasting bar.  Filling, weighing and stocking these delectables was an education the first time through. Listening to Melissa talk recipes and uses with folks was fascinating.

Next on the agenda was the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce After Hours Networking session and a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new room of Monadnock Oil and Vinegar as we grow into twice the space. It was a wonderful group and Deb cut the ribbon at the entrance to what had been her bookstore for over 30 years. Kim and Korey did a fantastic job of refurbishing the space and there is a lovely tribute to Deb in our cookbook section.

The following weekend was "Peak Into Peterborough" the annual leaf-peeper's celebration. The band was back, we served up hot soup and cheeses. The weather was perfect once again. 

As we race toward the holidays, the Gift Creation Station is open. November and December should be lots of fun with cooking demos and lots of excellent items to taste. If you are in the area, please stop in. If you can't come in person, visit our website and let us take care of your holiday needs!

Cooking demo number 6. A twist on our usual approach. We had a speaker at the store – Douglas Miller RN, MPH and CDE,  from a hospital in neighboring Massachusetts.

Our press release read:

Doug has worked as a registered nurse for 35 years. He has gained experiences in a variety of healthcare settings including a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (Children’s Hospital, San Diego), and an Adult Cardiac Telemetry Floor (HealthAlliance Hospital, Leominster, MA). For 20 years he was the CEO of a home health care company serving citizens in the greater Acton, MA region (CompreCare, Inc.) It was in this home care setting that Doug began to understand what people were routinely eating as he set about preparing meals for his elderly clients.
In 2008 Doug began work as a diabetic educator at Heywood Hospital in Gardner, MA It was in clinical sessions with his diabetic clients that Doug began to understand that many people with diabetes either had never learned or had lost the skill of knowing how to prepare healthy foods in their own homes.

In September, 2009 Doug began the ‘Diabetic Cooking Class’. These cooking classes meet monthly, throughout the year. Doug is quick to point out that he is not classically trained as a chef. However he has developed and refined over the past 5 years the skills and recipes to teach people how plan, shop, and cook a healthy meal, in their own homes.

Many of our customers, no, actually many americans in general, have health issues related to diabetes. According to  http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/

“Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2010 based on the 69,071 death certificates in which diabetes was listed as the underlying cause of death. – See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/#sthash.YLfKKkDR.dpuf”

The statistics are horrifying, but that is not what this post is about. What was the best part of this day was seeing disparate people from all walks of life, coming together for a simple discussion of a common issue. My most wonderful hair-care-giver, Jen arrived showed up. Customers I see regularly crowded in and soon that comfortable hum of voices and the music playing made the atmosphere happy.

Doug proved an engaging and enthusiastic speaker. I sneaked in to try to capture a few shots and found myself captivated by his comfortable style and the fun information he was sharing about changing your lifestyle…”only fill a small bowl with all those pistachios so you actually have to get up and walk to the kitchen during which you will think about how you probably don’t need any more pistachios…”

We are blessed in that the last two cooking demos have been with chefs and speakers our customers introduced to us. I have never had such great help marketing a company!

We were able to use our new space – the little store is becoming comfortable in its next phase of growth. Kim and I made salads the night before – a green and a fruit. We had chairs so folks could relax. Our only mistake was underestimating the number of people who showed up. Soon it was standing-room only. Not a bad problem to have!

I have savored the recipes all week. Last Saturday, Chef Elizabeth Skipper, from The Everyday Epicure, came to the shop for our fifth drop-in cooking demo. I'm fascinated by the range of ability each guest chef has to offer. Elizabeth concentrated on appetizers and the results were stunning!

The day began with a bit of a struggle. Deb and I had agreed to meet at 8:45 to prep the shop before opening. She was picking up balloons and it never occurred to either of us that the Dollar Store wouldn't open until 9:30. I became panicked when she didn't arrive until 9:45 but with the help of our landlords, the tent went up, the tables were set and everything came together.

As to the food? Chef Skipper cooked up Sicilian Chicken tidbits with mint sauce, Bruschetta, and fried Sage Leaves.

The weather was perfect; cool but sunny. Customers, old and new, flocked to the shop and with the help of Deb and Kelly, we pulled off another successful day!

Recipes are up on the web site if you are interested.

(Photos courtesy LandSPhotography)

The winter is a dim memory as I walk down the hill to the post office. Peterborough is in bloom and the store is full of local friends and happy visitors to the Monadnock region.

Monadnock Oil and Vinegar is uniquely located up the hill from the main, downtown section of Peterborough. Walking down first thing in the morning, I meet many other shop-keepers grabbing their newspapers and mail or emerging from their favorite breakfast haunts. At the foot of the hill a bridge runs over the river. The view of the falls is splendid in the early morning light. Small spaces are carved out with inviting places to sit, listen to the river and admire the gardens full of color.

Putnam Grove Park was presented to the town by a Miss Catherine Putnam on March 11, 1862 to be kept forever as a public grove. It was dedicated by the Peterborough Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1915. A section of park across the street is new this year and equally  lovely.

We share our building with Ava Marie Homemade Chocolates. The bonus is excellent ice cream and the Social Grove Cafe that serves the only lobster roll in town on fresh-baked brioche rolls with homemade cole slaw, chips and a pickle. It’s a bargain I partake of several times a week at just $12.95.

As to the store itself, I’m enjoying bringing a bit of my over-crowded gardens to work every day.  Life imitating art?

We recently added a  our first southern hemisphere extra virgin olive oil of the year, an award-winning Australian Picual. Also French Tarragon white balsamic vinegar and a Greek Dill infused olive oil. The store just celebrated six months of business and we are planning our expansion for mid-August. The new space will house a herb and salt tasting bar, cheeses, a new selection of pasta, delicious stuffed olives and an array of wonderful jarred products fresh from Korey and Kim’s garden.

Business has been so brisk, I barely have time to keep up with the web site and marketing efforts. We did manage to organize the recipes into categories and I hope to add more products and an events calendar. Between farmer’s markets, up-coming country fairs and local women’s clubs requesting their time, Korey and Kim will be on the road a lot in the coming months.

Our next drop-in cooking demo is planned for August 16th with a new guest chef, Elizabeth Skipper from The Everyday Epicure. I’m excited to see what she has planned!

Peterborough was bustling. There were sidewalk sales and rubber duck races on the river for the annual Depot Square Days and one of the best Saturday’s, weather-wise, in weeks. By the time we had the tent for the cooking demo set up, curious folks were lining the doorway and filling the shop.

Chef Jim’s début at Monadnock Oil and Vinegar (MOV) was a smashing success with fabulous food and fun conversations about cooking. The menu centered around healthy recipes using MOV’s oils and vinegars as well as spices from Attar Herbs. Jim is a consummate cooking contest award winner and has many great recipes under his belt. We set up outside and as soon as his Cajun Lightning Chicken hit the grill, mouths were watering and the air was full of delicious smells.

A salad of kale, quinoa, almonds, raisins and crasins was dressed with champagne vinegar and blood orange infused olive oil.

There was a glorious fruit salad with an array of flavored balsamic vinegars; chocolate, blueberry, lemongrass-mint and cranberry-pear. The Superfoods Snack Bars were a big hit for dessert. Guessing from the number of sales inside the store, he served about 150 samples to hungry folks in the three hours he was cooking.

More importantly, we introduced a lot of new folks to the idea of cooking with healthy ingredients and trying new ways to “dress up” favorites. We had printed up recipe cards to hand out and people flowed from the food into the store to buy the oils and vinegars recommended in the recipes.  I have to say, the cooking demos are one of my favorite events for meeting new folks, catching up with regulars and just enjoying a day in the store.

Recipes are here!

We are old pros at this cooking demo, it’s almost becoming routine. We prepped all week, filling tiny sampler bottles, checking stock and polishing the Fustis. Chef Joe had planned a menu befitting the holiday – Cinco de Mayo. His selections included fruit quesadillas made with Alfoos Mango white balsamic, fish tacos cooked in Cilantro & Roasted Onion olive oil and Jalapeño white balsamic, pulled pork burritos cooked in Chipotle olive oil and finished with Blueberry dark balsamic, and bowl full of Mango balsamic salsa. The recipes are available here.

The morning was sunny for a change, though not terribly warm. Peterborough was hosting “Greenerborough Day” which brought the crowds walking through town right to our doors. Suddenly the little store was buzzing; family, old friends, new faces. Joe’s food was sparking new friendships and the bottles were flying off the shelves.

Now to start planning for “Dads and Grads” in June, I’m thinking a bar-b-que if the weather cooperates!

I often wonder how weathermen and women, meteorologists as they prefer, keep their jobs when they can’t seem to predict the weather.  This weekend, reality reversed the  predictions  for Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday dawned gloriously bright, sunny and warm. THAT was supposed to happen on the only day I had off this week, Sunday.

I closed the store the night before, so I knew exactly what needed to be accomplished before the first customers arrived Saturday morning. I arrived to find Chef Joe  setting up and Korey was restocking the fustis with oils and vinegar. This time Joe had a lovely sous chef to help out. Lillie was not only enthusiastic and charming, she was a darn good sales person.

Folks feasted on braised lamb shank with blackberry-ginger sauce, shaved asparagus salad, various flavors of deviled eggs and marshmallows dipped in flavored dark balsamic vinegars.

Some literally stayed for hours, catching up with neighbors and sampling great products.

Everything went off smoothly for our second event. We are now in the planning stages for a Cinco de Mayo feast and a joint Mother’s Day event with Ava Marie Chocolates and The Social Grove Cafe, our building-mates.

CHECK OUT THE RECIPES HERE!

Someone provides you with an excellent, invitingly clean sandbox. You jump in to play and all the tools are there; the buckets and shovels, the castle forms and characters. How can you not have fun? My sandbox this past weekend was the store.

The idea came from a customer who volunteered to hold a cooking demo in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. My only demand was that we not serve corned beef and boiled cabbage. We settled on Pan Seared Salmon in Black Cherry Vinaigrette Sauce, Pan Seared Sea Scallops in Sesame Oil and Jalapeño Balsamic, Potatoes Anna made with Butternut Squash Seed Oil and Rainbow Slaw featuring Pomegranate-Quince Balsamic.  Joe also brought fresh cantaloupe and dark chocolate from Ava Marie Chocolates for dessert with a variety of vinegars.

The cooking demo/tasting was a new event, something untried so far. All the particulars such as recipe cards, tasting packets and sample bottles were prepared. The morning of the event, we gathered at the store to set up. Floors were cleaned, boot-scaper carpets were shaken and vacuumed, stainless steel Fustis were gleaming, decorations and signs were hastily drawn up.

The team consisted of the owners, Korey and Kim, their niece Caitlin, Chef Joe and I. Deb from the bookstore was thankfully popping in with suggestions, such as “Where were all those recipe cards you had printed??” Ah, she saved my butt there. We polished and chatted and waited for the flood. And the flood did come.

Suddenly the store was awash with bright coats and colors. Folks were clustering around the cooking, commenting and tasting. The aisles were crowded with people tasting and exclaiming over various oils. I worked my way to the back and saw a familiar customer who was enthusiastically showing a friend one of the new Blackberry-Ginger dark balsamic vinegar flavor. “Love it on my grapefruit half every morning!” I quipped as I headed to the stock room for more fresh bread.

Laura Mahoney, my photo blogging buddy, was on hand to catch all the action for us. It was fast-paced but well-organized. I don’t think anyone had to wait very long to be served and there was plenty to taste while you waited.

The day flowed by so quickly, I was caught by surprise as Chef Joe started to pack up. He had run out of some items on the menu and had improvised for plates and cutlery for the last hour.

How did so much energy finally start to slow? It was perfect for everyone to catch their breath and evaluate the event. We had all had fun, there was no dispute there. It was well worth our time. It was such a heroic effort to pull it off so seamlessly, no question.When all was said and done, and we were smiling idiotic grins. Guess we passed all the milestones.

Next up? Chef Joe will be back for an Easter menu extravaganza!

    We are finally catching our breath after a fantastic start! This month at MOV we are kicking off our Guest Chef monthly series with a visit from Joe Stanislaw. Joe has appeared on WMUR’s Cooks Corner and is an award winning chef. He is creating a St. Patrick’s Day menu that doesn’t include Corned Beef and Cabbage!
    Using exotic but healthy olive oils and vinegars from the store, Joe will be demonstrating and offering tastings of salmon, sea scallops, Potatoes Anna, Rainbow Slaw and desserts.
    Come by the store between 10 am and 1 pm on Saturday, March 15th. There’s plenty of parking and lots to taste and learn. Recipe cards will be available.

    We have several new products we’d love to share with you. How does this sound for a healthy day of eating?

BREAKFAST

Half a Ruby Red Grapefruit drizzled with Blackberry-Ginger balsamic vinegar

Scrambled eggs cooked in Baklouti
Chili infused olive oil

Grilled Lamb chops marinated in
Rosemary infused olive oil.

Roasted root veggies, carrots, beets, turnips and potatoes in cilantro with roasted onion infused olive oil.

Our first “KEEP MOVing!” customer award has been randomly drawn and Laura Mahoney from LandS Photography is the winner!! Come on in and pick a free 200ml bottle of your favorite oil or vinegar Laura, and thanks for taking us with you.