THAT GIVING SPIRIT: GIFTS FOR ALL TASTES
The search for just-the-right gifts is in full swing now. Here are more ideas to help you find the best one for the foodies on your list. Remember, they don’t have to necessarily be a foodie to appreciate these presents.
Eating well on the go seems to be a challenge. Blend Jet 2 comes to the rescue using USB ports to charge the blender. Whether it be hiking, camping, finishing a workout or just out and about, the person on the go, won’t want to be without one. When fresh ingredients aren’t available, ready-to-blend smoothies are a cinch to make with the JetPacks. Flavors include bananablueberry, mocha chai, greenpeach-ginger, raspberry dragon fruit, mango matcha and tropical blue. Just add milk or water and they’ll enjoy smoothies no matterwhere they are.
I like how light the 16-ounce blender is. It’s powerful enough to blend ice, frozen fruit and leafy greens in seconds. With the rainbow of colors available, you’re bound to find the one that fits the recipient’s personality. www.blendjet.com
Eliot’s Nut Butters make the perfect gift for peanut and nut butter aficionados, adults and kids included. It is not your offthe-supermarket-shelf product, I can attest. Michael Kanter, founder of Eliot’s Nut Butters, had one goal in mind, to make healthy, great tasting flavored nut butters that use minimal, high-quality ingredients. Kanter said he started in the Eliot neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, making them two jars at a time, and they are still made in small batches using US grown peanuts, almonds and exclusively grown, Oregon Hazelnuts. The nut butters are naturally gluten-free and non-GMO. I sometimes eat them right out of the jar. They elevate PB&J sandwiches and make a shortcut for an easy dinner such as their recipe for Spicy Thai peanut butter noodles. Varieties include, Spicy Thai Peanut butter, honey chipotle peanut butter, espresso nib peanut butter (my favorite), Oregon hazelnut chocolate spread, everything bagel nut butter and of course classic salted peanut butter. For the gift that keeps on giving, check out the peanut butter or nut butter subscriptions where the recipient will receive 3 jars every 3 months. They will think of you every time an Eliot’s package arrives, especially while eating the last spoonful. https:// eliotsnutbutters.com/
Who doesn’t love delicious and unique treats for the holidays? River Street Sweets, a family owned and operated company in Savannah, GA, is the worldfamous maker of Southern pralines and confections, that have been shipped all over the world. After savoring the confection, I knew why their pralines generate millions of dollars in annual sales, making them the leading supplier of pralines. The Sweet Treat Assortment contains some of River Street Sweets favorite goodies: their World Famous Pralines®, Milk Chocolate Bear Claws®, Glazed Pecans, Praline Pecans, and Carmel Corn, packed in a beautiful red gift box. The Southern Cake Trio (praline cake, Bear Claws® Cake and red velvet cake) offers a sweet taste of the South. Check out the free ground shipping! www.riverstreetsweets. com 800-793-3876
You’ll want to buy a package of Holiday Fried Pecans for yourself, too. I bet no one will be able to eat just a few; I couldn’t! A little sweet and a little salty, they are 100 percent organic and gluten-free. The pecans are flash fried, just enough to get a crunch, but not enough to absorb much
ness, grew up in a plantation home in Louisiana surrounded by pecan trees. Growing up, he harvested the trees for his grandmother each year. Years later, his passion to be an entrepreneur blossomed when he stumbled upon a secret family recipe using the crop. Thanks to that recipe, now we can all satisfy our craving for this sweet and salty treat. They are great chopped up in salads, pancakes, ice cream, salads, and yogurt. https://www.holidayfriedpecans.com/
A mother and son team combined two different loves, baking and craft beer, and added their creativity to make a simple, delicious loaf of bread. The result…Soberdough Brew Bread. Simply add 12 ounces of beer to any of the all- natural mixes, stir and bake for 45 minutes. Check out the website www.soberdough.com for suggestions of which beer (or non-alcoholic recommendation) work best for each of the mixes. Just in time for the season are: gingerbread loaf, cinnamon swirl, and cranberry orange. Savory mixes include green chili cheddar, sun dried tomato, and herb and olive focaccia.
Brooklyn Brew Shop founders Erica Shea and Stephen Valand had a goal to make home beer making fun by creating stylish, easy to use beer making kits, designed especially for stovetop brewing and ingredient mixes for seasonally inspired beers, according to the company. Home brewing can get complicated, however they were successful in simplifying the process. They have served as judges for beer making contests, and have been featured in many well-regarded media including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Cooking Channel. Meet them here: https:// vimeo.com/51318855. I have gifted their New England IPA Beer Making Kit (https://bit.ly/2Or1X7Q) to the beer aficionados on my list and received positive comments about how fun it is to make beer. Included in the kit: New England IPA 1 Gallon All-Grain Mix, Mosaic Hops, Cascade Hops, Beer Making Yeast, Glass Fermentation Jug, Thermometer, Racking Cane, Tubing, Tubing Clamp, Screw-cap stopper, Airlock, No-Rinse Sanitizer. All the equipment is reusable. To make the next batch, just purchase another favorite beer making mix from more than 3 dozen varieties and a packet of no-rinse sanitizer.
If you are like me, you have friends and relatives who are Disney fanatics (and they don’t always have to be the kids). Here is the perfect gift that will enable them to walk right down the infamous Main Street USA, journey from Adventureland to Infinity and Beyond at Pixar Pier and explore every street in between to taste the flavors of the Disney Parks, without leaving their kitchen. With “The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook” by Ashley Craft (2020, Adams Media $21.99) anyone can recreate the famous Dole Whip from the Magic Kingdom, Mickey Pretzels from Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or honey-drenched Moroccan Baklava and French Napoleons from EPCOT. The 100 Disney-recipes will keep beloved Disney vacations in mind every time they cook up a recipe. The author, who pens the blog “Ashley Crafted,” is best known for featuring Disney inspired Disney Park food and drink. She has recently published, “The Unofficial Disney Parks Drink Recipe Cookbook (2021, Adams Media, $16.99). With recipes from coffee and tea, to milkshakes and slushes, mocktails and cocktails, inspired by Disney restaurants and cafes, recipients can prepare Goofy Glacier from Goofy’s Candy Company, Teddy’s Tea from Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar and 100 other favorite beverages from “the happiest place on earth.”
With winter on its way, “The Complete Autumn and Winter Cookbook: 550+ Recipes for Warming Dinners, Holiday Roasts, Seasonal Desserts, Breads, Food Gifts, and More,” by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen (2021, $34.99), those on your gift list will find this book becoming their one-stop, cold-weather cooking resource. As cooler weather approaches they’ll reach for the book looking for recipes to embrace baking season and ideas for holiday menus. They’ll expand their root vegetable repertoire with recipes incorporating parsnips, daikon radish, acorn squash and kohlrabi. There’s a chapter devoted to the stars of the fall harvest; apples, and pumpkins. The “Make Ahead” icon, flags dishes that can be prepared a day or more in advance, eliminating any last-minute rush. There’s a chapter dedicated to brunch, including one of my favorites, cinnamon buns that can be refrigerated overnight, then popped into the oven in the morning. What about roast ducks with cherry sauce; deviled beef short ribs; celery root, fennel, and apple chowder; mulled wine quince pie; or a towering cranberry-orange olive oil cake. Hungry? You’ll probably want to buy a copy of the book for yourself!
Foodies, especially the cookbook collectors on your list, will enjoy drinking their coffee or tea from Ideal Bookshelf’s white, ceramic mug, decorated with a set of 19 classic cookbooks including ones by Julia Child, Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa, Betty Crocker, and of course, The Joy of Cooking. Check out their other products with the cookbooks design, including aprons, tote bag and prints. Other genres of books are available as well. https://bit. ly/3p9BkGK