I am a sucker for good olive oil! I use olive oil every day in everything. It's soooo good for you and if it's good quality it can really make your food taste even better. Something as simple as eggs for breakfast are much more exciting when you drizzle some really great basil olive oil over them!!!

To fulfill my undying need for good olive oil I am very lucky to have found

Fustini's Oils and Vinegars

in Traverse City, MI. My family and I stumbled upon the cute store that is lined with a variety of oils and vinegars that you are free to sample. I don't think I had ever seen such a variety in my life... and became way too full on oil and vinegar by the time I left.

What's so interesting about this shop, now with lots of locations in Michigan and an online store, is the heart behind it all. Owners Jim and Lane Milligan started with this great idea to make "old world" olive oil and bring it over to the states. I learned on their website that "Fustini"are the stainless steel containers that they store the oil and vinegar in. They keep the integrity of their products while providing lots of different flavors.

Another fun thing about this is the mixing and matching. If you stop in one of their stores you can try to mix different flavors together... for example... basil olive oil and strawberry balsamic together are incredible! They balance each other out and add so much flavor to a boring salad. Their website provides a long list of recipe ideas as well as what might pair well with each item.

Some of my favorites include: basil, provencal herbs, Meyer lemon, tuscan herb olive oils AND strawberry, fig, lavender, maple, vanilla bean, and "better than chocolate" balsamic vinegars.