Gift Guide for the Food Lover

Have I told you that I love presents? I do. I LOVE presents. Giving and receiving them. Gifts are my "love language," if you will. I even love getting the mail because I never know what will be inside. If you struggle in the gift-giving-department this holiday season, allow me to assist you with this list of 10 gifts for the food lover in your life! (Many of these gifts I have received myself, so they do, in fact, have my personal stamp of approval!)

1. Personalized Pyrex
Gifted for our wedding, this amazing dish lets the rest of the world know that everything I make is 100% Morganic! Thanks Katie! (Search Etsy for several artists who create these.)

these brownies are both gluten-free and morganic

2.  Personalized M&M's
These M&M's have our faces on them! And we cannot thank our sweet friend Sarah enough for sending us these as a wedding present!

taking M&M to the next level

 3. Gourmet Mustard
My dear friend Lauren gave me this mustard... and it is definitely the best mustard ever. It's perfect with cheese or crackers. I can't wait to try more of these from Terrapin Ridge Farms. The Brown Sugar and Pecan and Brewer's Mustard look amazing. Perfect for the condiment aficionado in your life!

best. ever. mustard.

4. Jazzy Cutlery
Also pictured above, I am the proud owner of this Wusthof Gourmet 4-inch Decorating Knife. My knife-snob parents (love ya!) gave me this offset handle, crinkle-y blade knife that is delightful for cheeses and vegetables. I once got a room of 20 people who had never tried radishes to devour a plate of them with hummus, no doubt due to the intriguing cut!

jazzy decorating knife

 Might I also suggest the Wusthof Classic 5-inch Tomato Knife. Next to butternut squash, tomatoes quite possibly may be the most annoying thing to cut. A razor-sharp serrated blade will have you gliding through tomatoes with ease.

tomato knife

5. French Oven and Pretty Pottery
The most beautiful of the food-lovers' gifts! I feel happy inside every time I lay eyes on my Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron French Oven in Caribbean. It is one of my favorite wedding presents (thanks Wendy & the girls!) This is a quality gift that will last a cook's lifetime, available in a variety of rich colors. Find the nearest Le Creuset outlet store near you, I hear that's the best way to buy them.
  We also received some lovely handmade pottery soup bowls that get their use in our house at least once per week. Handmade pottery is a great way to support local artists and give a one-of-a-kind gift. Ours were purchased for us at Arts Fest in State College.

soup's definitely on in these pretty vessels

6. Truffle Oil
Category: Things Food Lovers Want But May Never Buy For Themselves
 My dear Lauren (the mustard giver) gave me white truffle oil from O & Co. for Christmas last year. My favorite use? A few drops on a cheesy wild mushroom risotto. Delish.

7. Soda Stream
Wow. This might be the most valuable thing in my kitchen besides my chef's knife. A home-carbonation system. Here's how it works: Fill the Soda Stream bottles with regular tap water and chill in the fridge. When a seltzer craving strikes (all day long if you are me), twist the bottle onto the machine and press the button. A CO2 cartridge pumps gas into your water, creating bubbly H2O in seconds. One liter of sparkling water via the Soda Stream costs about 25 cents, where a liter at the grocery store can cost up to $1.00. You do the math: MAJOR SAVINGS! You can also purchase syrups to add to the already-sparkled water, creating many flavors of soda. But we (I) like to keep it clean, just bubbles and water.

the no-brainer gift: a home carbonation system!

8. Homemade Vanilla Extract
Why buy it when you can make it? Well, because it takes about 2 months to make... there's your disclaimer: you can't officially make homemade vanilla extract in time for this year's Christmas gifts, but it is still a noteworthy homemade present. Just combine whole vanilla bean pods, split down the middle, with enough vodka to cover them in a glass jar, using the ratio of 5 bean pods per 8 oz of vodka. Let sit for 8 weeks! A blog called Beanilla should answer any additional questions. I think all of our friends will be getting homemade extract for Valentine's Day this year!

homemade vanilla: it seems too simple not to make

9. Stylish Aprons
For the fashion-conscious cook in your life. My cousin Kelly got me this chic outfit-protector from Anthropologie. Throw in a matching nail polish for added flair!

the perfect accessory for a food lover

10. Home-Roasted Coffee

Buy whole beans roasted in a small batch with love and care. My favorites are Paradisos Coffee and Bassett Beans. (Find them both on facebook.) Make it a really great gift by adding a ceramic drip coffee cone for your coffee-loving friend.

photo by paradisos coffee

Give with joy!

Sweet Sweet Sweet Potato

Isn't it just darling to find new ways to cook well-loved foods? I am talking about the sweetest potato I know.  

(Sweet potato or yam? In the US we use the terms interchangeably. Botanically, they are two different tubers. But most of what we enjoy here in the States are true sweet potatoes! Google it.)

Three sweet potatoes. Two new recipes. One tasty and beta carotene-filled day!

My excuses for cooking up Sweet Potato Blueberry Muffins and Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes are both internship-related.

First, the muffins. Another intern and I are testing recipes we will make for a breakfast event in Keene honoring Champions in the area. Champions are individuals and organizations who have pledged to help make Keene the healthiest community in the country by the year 2020. (Also known as Vision 2020.) The breakfast is in March. We'll prepare food for about 50 people, and then give a short presentation on how to make the most out of breakfast. So far we know we will make homemade granola bars, mini-quiches, and muffins. We are also able to serve yogurt, fruit, and coffee... making it a complete meal. I like this recipe because it is so different, wholesome, and kind of fun! (I mean, a sweet potato muffin? Really? I still get a kick out of it!)

This recipe was adapted from chef Mark Bittman's Sweet Potato Muffins, created for Runner's World Magazine. If you look at his recipe, you'll notice I added 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, tossed in a bit of flour. I also substituted some brown sugar for the white, and next time may even use a bit of maple syrup too (you just do that in New Hampshire.) These treats are the perfect, perfect pre-workout fuel... and a delightful afternoon snack.

*Update* The second time I baked these, I reduced the total amount of regular whole wheat flour from 2 1/2 down to 2 cups. The muffins came out a bit lighter and even better! I imagine if you used whole wheat pastry, 2 1/2 would still be fine, but it can be hard to find.

"Make me! Eat me!"

The other sweet (potato) dish we whipped up (literally) is a mashed sweet potato with some uncommon flavors. Let me explain. A fellow intern and I are doing a lunch 'n' learn presentation at a local senior center. Since seniors are often told what they can't eat, (goodbye saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, vitamin K perhaps...) we are going to talk to them about how to make what they do eat even better. With spices! Did you know... 1 tsp of cinnamon contains the antioxidant equivalent of 1/2 cup of blueberries? Dried spices are essentially concentrated forms of fruits and vegetables. No, that doesn't mean we can replace vegetables with spices in our diets, but it does mean we can maximize the nutrient punch by adding spice.

These spices are some of the most powerful:

• Cloves 
• Cinnamon 
• Oregano 
• Turmeric 
• Curry 
• Thyme
• Ginger
• Cumin
• Black pepper

To start off the session with our seniors, we'll have them taste our Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes and guess what spices we added to the dish. Much of our research for the topic, as well as the recipe, came from McCormick.

Recipe: Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

1. Cook 2 lbs sweet potatoes. (Microwave, boil, bake, whatever your heart desires. We microwaved!) 
2. Mash.
3. Add 2 tbsp butter, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp dried thyme.

Thanks McCormick for the photo... I promise it looked like this when I made it too!

I think you will find this dish intriguing. The vanilla suggests sweetness, but the thyme keeps it savory. And the ginger does its own thing. It's good, I promise. One taste-tester exclaimed... This is confusing!

Keep it interesting! Happy cooking!