This was one of my favorite dishes growing up. I haven’t had it in so long, so the opportunity to recreate a childhood favorite dish using Kikkoman’s Ponzu Lime Dressing Sauce was something that I was excited to try.

Ingredients
1-2 Pounds of Green Beans
1-2 Pounds of Pork Belly or Pork Loin
1/4 Cup of Kikkoman Ponzu Lime Dressing & Sauce
1 Large Diced Onion
5 Crushed Garlic Cloves
2 tbs. of Honey
1 tsp. of Salt
1/2 tsp. of Pepper
Olive Oil
3-4 tbs. of Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Water (Optional)

Steps
First prepare the green beans by cutting the stem ends off and wash them under cold water. After they are cleaned, take a large pot and boil the green beans for 10 minutes. Strain them after they are done cooking and set them aside.

Take the pork and cut it into small chunks, about 1 inch in size. Place the chunks into a large bowl.

Combine the Ponzu Lime Dressing Sauce, half of the diced onion, crushed garlic cloves, honey, salt, and pepper into the bowl of pork. Mix everything together and let it marinade. I marinated the pork for about half an hour. You can do it longer if you wish.

Now it’s time to cook the pork. In a large pot, heat up some olive oil under medium high heat. Pour the bowl of pork belly and marinade into the pot and let it all cook together. 5 minutes into cooking, place in the other half of the onion into the pot. Be sure to keep stirring everything together. After another 10 minutes of cooking, take the green beans and combine that with the onions and pork. The onions should begin to caramelize, which is what you want to do. You can combine the soy sauce with the dish now. You will notice a sauce forms from all of the ingredients cooking together. Let everything cook for another 15-20 minutes. In between that final time for cooking, continue to taste the sauce. If you feel that it’s getting too salty, add in some water to balance out the saltiness.

After everything was done, I finally sampled my recreation. It definitely tasted like what my Mom made years ago. It was funny how inspiration for cooking can come from looking at a label and just thinking back to food that you grew up with.

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With that said, I wanted to find a dish that would highlight California Olive Ranch’s latest product, Everday California Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This olive oil is made from a blend of Arbequina, Arbosana, and Koroneiki olives. Each of the three varieties of olives are 100% California grown.

So, what’s special about California Olive Ranch’s olive oil? Freshness is just one of the features that comes to mind. The California olives used in their olive oil are pressed within hours of their harvest which maximizes the freshness of their oil. The freshness and quality of their olive oils has earned them various industry awards, most notably, two gold medals from the California Olive Oil Council for their 2008 harvest.

So, when I was trying gather ideas for a dish to use the olive oil on, a Caprese salad struck me first. With a Caprese salad, I could combine a few simple ingredients that would still allow the buttery smooth olive oil to standout. So, just this past weekend I picked up a few Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes to use in the salad. Feel free to use any type of tomato for this recipe.

Ingredients
1-2 Large Tomatoes
8-10 Basil Leaves
1 Small Mozzarella Log
2-3 tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Steps
Take your tomatoes and slice them 1/4 inch thick. Take a plate and arrange the tomatoes. Sprinkle a dash of salt onto each tomato slice.

Next, cut your Mozzarella log into 1/4 inch slices. I went for a 1 to 1 ratio of tomato to cheese. Take the slices of Mozzarella and place them on top of the tomato slice. Take some freshly ground pepper and season the cheese.

Take your basil and place one leaf on top of each Mozzarella slice.

Finally, drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the dish, making sure that everything is getting a generous coating from the oil.

A full selection of California Olive Ranch olive oils are available for purchase online and in various retail locations. For more about California Olive Ranch and their products, visit their website for more information.

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Ingredients
Large White Mushrooms
Roll Sausage or Sausage Links
Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Steps
If you only have access to sausage links, you’ll have to remove the sausage meat from the casings. Using a roll of sausage is easier because you don’t have to deal with removing any casings. It makes for less mess a well. To remove the casings from link sausages, just make a slit into the link and squeeze the meat out. You can then set the meat aside in a bowl. If you’re working with a roll of sausage, take some sausage out of the roll and set it aside in a bowl.

Take the sausage you have and season it with a little bit of salt and pepper. Sausages come in all types of special flavors, so you can use those here. My favorites to use are the Spicy Italian Sausages. Feel free to experiment with different flavors. To get a good idea of how much sausage to use, each mushroom requires a small meatball sized portion to stuff the mushroom.

Before you begin stuffing, you will want to remove the stems from the mushrooms. Start rolling up the sausage meat into small meatballs and prepare to stuff the mushrooms. Place the meat into the pit of the unstemed mushroom. Set the stuffed mushrooms into a baking safe dish. You can top each mushroom with some parmesan cheese. Just sprinkle as much as you want on each. After you are done preparing the mushrooms, it’s time to bake them.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and once it’s ready, place the baking dish inside the oven. Cook the stuffed mushrooms for 20-25 minutes or until the sausage is cooked thoroughly. After they’re done, take them out of the oven. They’re best served hot.

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What can I say? I never thought a spot like this would be classified as a spot for dates, but it sure is. The Farmers Market in Newark, CA has a lot to offer. If you’re looking to buy some fresh produce for that meal you’re cooking up, you’ll find it here. You’ll be supporting local farmers while doing it. You can find an array of vegetables and fruits. Some farmers give you the option to get purchase organic grown food from their stands as well. The best part is that if you’re shopping for fruits, most farmers will give out free samples for you to enjoy. I ended up buying a bulk of delicious white peaches the last time I was there because of trying some samples.

Just take a walk around and see what farmers are offering. Sometimes you’ll find produce that the bigger grocery stores don’t offer. A good thing to keep in mind are the prices too. You won’t be hurting your wallets here. You’ll find most of the food here is priced lower than your local grocery store. I feel that the prices I pay here justify the quality I’m getting in return.

Finally, you will get a chance to see local food vendors here as well. Everything from home made pasta sauces, pastries, and cakes can be found just by taking a walk around. They even had a Filipino food vendor there where I ordered a cup of fresh cantelope juice. It’s one of my favorite Filipino drinks that I enjoy. You will not have an excuse to leave this place hungry.

If you have a Saturday or Sunday morning to spare, come make a stop at the Farmers Market in Newark, CA. You will find it right in the parking lot in front of Macy’s.

It’s a spot for dates because…
You can find great produce to buy here, especially if you’re planning to cook that meal for two together. If you didn’t find anything at the Farmers Market, you could always take a look at what NewPark Mall has.

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