I adore sheep’s milk feta. It’s packaged in feta brine water, and I find it at the local Middle Eastern store and some of the better grocery stores. It is flaky-delicious and wonderful as is, tossed into a beautiful Greek Salad. It’s spectacular sprinkled on top of an omelet. When I’m doing Whole30, there is nothing I miss more than my sheep’s milk feta.

Olives are so wonderful! When I open a jar, I could potentially plow my way right through while pondering the mysteries of the world. My favorite are beautiful Cerignola olives. These plump, medium to large green olives have a uniquely delicious, slightly tart and buttery taste, yet are very mild. I use them in my chicken salad, but they’re spectacular as a snack and wonderful on an antipasto platter. They are named for the town in town in the Puglia region of Italy where they’re grown.

All butter is not created equal. The one I find most spectacular is the classic Kerrygold pure Irish butter. Absolutely luscious, maybe because it’s made with the milk of grass-fed cows, it’s wonderful for cooking, and it makes the very best ghee (clarified butter) when you’re doing Whole30. Whether I’m sautéing scallops, spreading it on a cracker, or grilling a sandwich, high quality butter simply makes the world a better place.

I’m crazy about Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. It’s unbelievably reasonably priced, flaky, not too salty, and perfect on every dish.

I have a deep love of mayonnaise, and whether I’m making a tartar sauce, my chicken salad, or a Magic Elixir, a quality mayonnaise base makes everything that much more scrumptious. I make a wonderful homemade Whole30 Mayo, and when I’m not doing Whole30, I’m not embarrassed to say there’s nothing like a jar of Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise.

There’s something about a clementine or a tangerine. They’re so lovely as a simple snack, but amazing in a vinaigrette and delightful in a mixed drink. Squeeze some juice over a piece of fish to give it some tang. Check out our Citrus Friday Favorites issue here!

I love the simple joy of finding an orange egg yolk. I love the color of the mayonnaise it makes--the unexpected beauty of that orange yolk delights me.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may know that broccolini is absolutely my favorite vegetable. It’s a cross between broccoli and a Chinese vegetable called gai lan. It’s bit sweeter than broccoli, and great for bone health—plus it happens to have four times as much vitamin A as regular broccoli. I enjoy broccolini sautéed for breakfast, or as a delicious addition to a stir fry. It’s also so good with new sesame noodle recipe I'll be putting on the blog next week! I recently discovered that broccolini comes in beautiful packages from Trader Joe’s. Just picking them up is practically a romantic experience. (You know you’re a foodie when….) 

If you live near an Asian grocery store, there’s nothing more magnificent than fresh Asian rice noodles. They’re an unimaginable value, take just a couple minutes to cook, and can be pan fried to pure perfection. A dish is only as good as its ingredients, and when you discover a new favorite, it can add an incalculable level of joy to the time you spend in your kitchen.