By The Way

     I ordered a bottle of Castlevetrano olives from a popular online retailer and I admit, I didn't pay much attention.  Hey, Castlevetrano olives, delicious, buttery, what more is there to say, right?   True enough; it's too bad about the pits, but that's the only way you can get 'em.  There was supposedly some reason why they wouldn't make it through the machinery without bad bruising.

     About that...

     What I ordered turned out to be pitted Castlevetrano olives!  Every bit as delicious and about five times as handy for cooking. 

     The day they arrived, I used a few in salmon patties* in celebration.  They worked wonderfully well.

     This morning's omelet included two strips of bacon, a couple of slices of Manchego cheese and five Castlevetranos. It was every bit as good as you might think.
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* Salmon patties are a Depression-era treat which, now that I am grown up, I have realized was one of my mother's "backup" foods.  Canned salmon has a relatively long shelf life, and the basic recipe is just one 14.5 oz. can of salmon, drained (but save that liquid until the patties are formed), a half-cup of crushed saltines and an egg.  You mix it all up, add some of the can juice if needed to keep the patties from being too dry, and brown them in a little olive oil, bacon fat or whatever.  You can add seasoning (pepper, sage, parsley, a little garlic, whatever), chopped onion, celery and/or olives, or replace the fresh onion or celery with onion powder, dried celery or celery seed, and a little Worcestershire sauce or lemon/lime juice isn't remiss.  Other than the can of salmon, it's all staples, stuff you should normally have in the larder all the time.  If your meal planning comes up short, there it is, ready to be the main dish.