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Look for our latest holiday ad featuring our line of STAR Specialty Vinegars in the "All You" Magazine available at Walmart.

1/3 cup STAR Originale Olive Oil
1 large onion, minced
1 cup thinly sliced celery
2 (6 oz.) packages sourdough stuffing mix
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chicken broth, or more
3/4 cup sliced STAR Spanish Olives
salt and pepper

In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add onion and celery and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in contents of both stuffing mixes and parsley. Mix well. Gradually stir in chicken broth, a little at a time until stuffing is lightly moist but not packed together. Carefully stir in olives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Can be made up to 2 days ahead. If using to stuff bird, reheat on top of stove, stirring gently to prevent mushiness. If baking separately, turn into oiled shallow casserole, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Serves 8-10

2 Tbs. STAR Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2/3 cup coarsely chopped shallots
2 tsp. each minced garlic and fresh ginger
1 (12 oz.) bag fresh or frozen and thawed cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup STAR Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper


In saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add shallots and sauté until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and ginger and sauté 30 seconds longer. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat to maintain slow boil and cook until cranberries begin to pop, about 10 minutes. Cool.



Serves 8-10

1/2 cup STAR Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 lb. mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp towel and sliced
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup STAR Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbs. each chopped fresh basil and Italian parsley
salt and pepper
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

In large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté until  mushrooms begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Add vinegar and stir to deglaze pan. Remove from heat. Add parsley and basil and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm, sprinkled with pine nuts.

Makes 6 servings

Extra-virgin olive oil can protect the liver from oxidative stress. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism exposed rats to a moderately toxic herbicide known to deplete antioxidants and cause oxidative stress, finding that those rats fed on a diet containing the olive oil were partially protected from the resulting liver damage.

Mohamed Hammami from the University of Monastir, Tunisia and King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, worked with a team of researchers to carry out the experiments in a group of 80 rats. He said, "Olive oil is an integral ingredient in the Mediterranean diet. There is growing evidence that it may have great health benefits including the reduction in coronary heart disease risk, the prevention of some cancers and the modification of immune and inflammatory responses. Here, we've shown that extra virgin olive oil and its extracts protect against oxidative damage of hepatic tissue".

The researchers separated the rats into a control group, an olive oil group, and 6 groups that were exposed to the herbicide '2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid' with or without either whole olive oil, or one of two oil extracts the hydrophilic fraction or the lipophilic fraction. All rats given the herbicide showed signs of significant liver damage. However, extra virgin olive oil and hydrophilic fraction intake induced a significant increase in antioxidant enzyme activity and a decrease in markers of liver damage.

Speaking about the results, Hammami said, "The hydrophilic fraction of olive oil seems to be the effective one in reducing toxin-induced oxidative stress, indicating that hydrophilic extract may exert a direct antioxidant effect on hepatic cells. However, more detailed studies about the effect of antioxidant compounds separately and/or their interactions are necessary to substantiate these observations".

See the article here

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup STAR Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 cups diced acorn or butternut squash, about 2 1/2 lb.
2 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper, or more to taste
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper
 3/4 cup whipping cream, whipped
 sliced green onion

In large pot, over medium-high heat, cook onion in olive oil until soft, about 3 minutes, stirring several times. Add squash, apples, thyme and red pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until squash begins to turn golden around edges, about 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring several times. Turn off heat, uncover and allow soup to cool about 15 minutes.
Transfer about 1/3 of soup to blender and process until pureed. Repeat with remaining soup in two more batches. Return pureed mixture to pot and stir in half and half. Return to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot, garnished with whipped cream and a few green onion slices.

Makes 10 to 12 servings

The monounsaturated fats found in vegetable oils, nuts and avocados can help boost a person's "good" cholesterol levels when added to an overall diet that curbs "bad" LDL cholesterol, a study published Monday suggests.

The findings, from a study of 24 adults with moderately high cholesterol, add to evidence that monounsaturated fats may be an important ingredient in a generally heart-healthy diet. Most famously, the traditional Mediterranean diet -- rich in monounsaturated fats from olive oil and nuts, but low in saturated fat from meat and dairy -- has been linked to a decreased risk of heart disease.

Clinical trials have also suggested that Mediterranean-style eating can cut the odds of developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a collection of heart disease risk factors that includes high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.

For the new study, reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers tested the effects of adding monounsaturated fats to a high-fiber vegetarian diet that had previously been shown to curb LDL cholesterol in adults with elevated levels.

Read the whole article here