Nudo Olive Oil #Giveaway!

Olive oil is probably my most-used food item. I use it for cooking almost everything AND I often use it in baking. So when the fine folks at Nudo asked me if I wanted to host an olive oil giveaway here, I didn't hesitate for even a second.

Quite a few years back, I heard about their adopt-an-olive-tree program where you buy the oil from one tree in one of their groves. You pay ahead of time and get the oil after the harvest. I almost bought a tree ... almost ... but at the time, it was a little more money than I wanted to spend.

Instead, I bought some of their olive oils and other products. So even before this giveaway, I was familiar with them.

But, I didn't know the history of the company. To be honest, I don't feel like paraphrasing this because I'm feeling lazy and this is pretty well-written. So, this is what they have to say about themselves. Ha!

Introducing Nudo (http://www.nudoadopt.com/)! The brand began Back in 2005 after Jason Gibb bought and restored an abandoned 21 acre olive grove in Italy’s Le Marche. He and his partner gave up successful careers as TV producers to build a business in the Italian countryside, following a hunch that they’d enjoy being olive farmers. From their initial research it was clear that olive oil was a very crowded market, with a plethora of indistinguishable brands, low margins and consumer ignorance (some 20 years behind wines). Undaunted, they set off for to live in Italy, with little more than their one year old daughter, a pair of secateurs and an Italian dictionary.

They soon started their olive tree adoption program, which allows people all over the world to adopt an Italian olive tree and receive its olive oil. The program is a collaboration between artisanal olive oil producers in Le Marche, Liguria and Sicily with Nudo. Each olive farmer keeps responsibility for the care of their grove, and all the olive oil goes into the Nudo Italia adoption program. In giving financial security to the olive farmers, the program makes viable the traditional farming methods which, quite simply, produce the world’s best olive oil.

There are now adoptive parents all over the world, from Hollywood A-listers to ex-presidents. It is the perfect gift for the person who has everything. Today Jason works alongside the new owner, ex-theatre producer Katharine Doré OBE, who along with her 21 year old son Toby is restoring their groves in Liguria. Toby has autism so Katharine has had to carefully plan his whole life. But in the end, choosing a ‘career’ for him was a surprisingly easy decision thanks to his love of olives and everything to do with olive oil.

I got a sample pack (three oils) to try - lemon, garlic, and basil - all three flavors that I use very very very very often. Hmmm. That's one more very than oil, but I guess that's okay. I love the basil oil on pasta or drizzled onto tomato soup; the lemon on fish, chicken and just a tiny bit on salads; and the garlic on just about everything.

Want garlic bread? Just brush the garlic oil on the bread before grilling or baking. Try a combo of basil and garlic on chicken. Try a garlic and lemon on broccoli. Try lemon and basil on fish. Just keep trying them.

While I like these best as a finishing oil or for cold applications (like salad) in theory you could use them for gentle cooking. Like basil in your scrambled eggs, then mix in some tomatoes.

ONE lucky winner is going to get the same sample pack I got (depending on availability - if they improbably run out of something, they could ship a replacement.)

This post is sponsored by NUDO, who supplied the oils for me and for you.