A Few of My Favorite Things: Gifts for the EcoFoodie in Your Life

The gardner. The home cook. The philanthropist. The entertainer. The conservationist. All of the above. 

Below are a few gift giving ideas for the EcoFoodie in your life.  Unfortunately, this comes too late if you celebrate Hannukah, (apologies for that--I have been sick for weeks and am running behind on life in general) but if you see something you like, do make a mental note for that next birthday, anniversary, or "just because" moment. These gifts are wonderful the whole year round. Happy shopping!

From top left to right:

1. Slow Food USA Ark of Taste Seed Collection: a yummy assortment of seeds from Ark of Taste's catalog of endangered foods. Have your Tennis Ball lettuce, and eat it, too!

2. Double Oven Mitts: From the lovely Provisions store at Food52.com. Such a luxury not to spend 10 minutes tracking down your second oven mitt every time you use the oven.

3. Donate to Save Family Farms: The older I get, the more important it seems to give back for the holidays. Donate in your loved one's name to American Farmland Trust to save farmland and support farmers. Act quickly and your donation will be matched by one AFT's founders!

4. Acacia Salt Cellar: So much easier to season properly when you can just grab whatever sized pinch you need. Bonus: you don't have to worry about your salt caking up in humid weather.

5. Cuisinart Hand Blender: This is one gadget that gets used in my kitchen all. the. time. Soups, smoothies, baby food--infinitely easier than transferring things to a blender. One of my absolute favorites.

6. Grow, Cook, Eat: A great book for the beginning home gardner. Covers all the basics without overwhelming, including lots of yummy recipes. A great way to get inspired over the winter.

7. Personalized Gardening Gloves: Love these more for their stylish simplicity than anything else. Sometimes it's nice to feel the warm soil on your bare skin, but these are great for the days when you can't spend half an hour scrubbing dirt out of your fingernails.

8. Magazines, magazines, magazines: For the food lover in your life, the gift that keeps on giving. There's a food mag for every kind of foodie these days, from quirky, to artsy, to academic.

9. Le Creuset Oval Dutch Oven: Another item that is constantly in use in our kitchen. Gives you lovely, even heating for soups, stews, and roasts. On the pricey side but worth every penny.

10. Slate Cheese Board: Just picked up one of these for myself (happy early Christmas!) from Brooklyn Slate Co. Handmade and gorgeous, perfect for the entertainer in your life. 

Sweets for Your Holiday Sweet, Local Style

At this time of year, amidst the festive flurry of holiday parties and visits, many of us find ourselves scrambling to identify just the right gift for our loved ones (especially those of us with a newborn at home, who may not have had time for the usual latte and window shopping...sigh). This can be especially tricky when one of those most dear to us is particularly difficult to gift.

My father, a hard working academic who is perpetually immersed in the writing of one paper or another, is just such a person. What to get for the professor who eats, sleeps, and breathes Finance? Every year I consider a variety of possibilities and, just as quickly, rule them all out. An interesting book on an economic issue? (Nope--he probably knows it all already.) A nice tie or sweater? (This seemed good for a while, but Lord & Taylor can only carry you so far.) A gadget for the grill? (Nope. Dad does like to grill, but he's not a gadget kind of guy.)

Finally, a few years ago, I stumbled upon a simple solution: turron. For those of you not familiar with this treat, turron is an almond-based, Spanish Christmas candy, of which I consumed copious quantities when I lived there. I had a hankering for it over the holidays and was searching for it on line when it hit me--dad loves almonds, he loves simple flavors, and, in spite of his remarkable self restraint, he definitely loves sweets. Three boxes of Turron de Alicante were soon en route to his doorstep that year and were devoured within 24 hours of their arrival...or so the story goes. Sweet success! Now, each year, in addition to whatever attempt I make at an inspired gift for my father, there are always a couple of boxes of turron, sure to please and to give him a rare opportunity to overindulge.

Of course, the one thing that could make this gift even better is if it were locally made and crafted. After all, shipping candy all the way from Spain to New Orleans is not the most sustainable practice. Thankfully, with the steady rise of the local food movement, many foodie entrepreneurs are creating delectable treats with local, seasonal ingredients. And, with so much care and craftsmanship behind these products, the quality often surpasses that of the mass-produced name brands that many of us associate with holiday fancies. Such is the case with the remarkable sweets made by Valerie Conyngham of Vianne Chocolat, whom I recently wrote about in the winter issue of Edible Boston. Based in butter and cream from small, local dairies, her chocolates are infused with local products and produce. Her strawberry balsamic chocolate includes a strawberry jam from the Copley farmers market, and her fall flavors include pumpkin seeds and apple, two unusual companions for chocolate that could only come from being locally inspired. The brilliance of giving such sweets as a gift is that, in addition to the exceptional, creative flavors, you're supporting local business and agriculture and the many individuals who work so hard to make local, sustainable eating a truly viable option, even when it comes to fine chocolates. You can tell your special someone that, in addition to the fun and tasty treat, you've made a contribution to a very important cause in his or her honor--sweet success, doubled!

For more information on where to find Vianne Chocolat or how to order on line, visit Valerie's website. And, if I were you, I'd pick up a little box for myself as well. After all, such thoughtful, responsible holiday shopping deserves a little reward!

Happy Shopping, Happy Eating, and Happy Holidays!