Most of these gift ideas have been contributed by Edible Monterey Bay’s fabulous local advertisers; find their addresses, phone numbers and web addresses at www.ediblemontereybay.com, under the “Find Us” tab along the top of our home page.
We’ve categorized our list by type of recipients who may be on your list, but we recommend you read through all of the ideas, as many would be great for several categories. And you’ll no doubt want to put many on your own wish list!
THE CONSUMMATE FOODIE HOST:
Serendipity Saucy Spreads of Santa Cruz provides a sweet-spicy kick and rich holiday color all in a single jar of Red Pepper Jelly. Find out more (and find many other choices) at: www.serendipityspreads.com/Red_Pepper_Jelly.html.
Earthbound Farm and its Carmel Valley Farm Stand Market & Organic Café have something for every host on your list. Shop online at www.ebfarm.com for a selection of favorite organic granolas, cookies, trail mixes and more, or , better yet, visit the Farm Stand for a wide selection of the company’s organic foods and other fine products including organic, award-winning olive oils, beautiful Tetulia organic teas and local honey. The Farm Stand also has a nice selection of eco-friendly gifts like bread baskets made from recycled chopsticks.
The best fruitcakes and date-nut cakes your host will ever eat will be shipped to you by Big Sur’s New Camaldoli Hermitage. The brandy-dipped gourmet cakes come in two sizes:1 lb Fruitcake or Date-Nut Cake, $18; 3 lb Fruitcake or Nut Cake, $39. To order: www.hermitagebigsur.com or 866.886.0544.
Greenspace of Santa Cruz recommends its bamboo breadboard with slots and receiving tray underneath to catch crumbs from cutting yummy, locally made crusty bread, with matching bread knife.
COOKBOOK LOVERS:
Earthbound Farm co-founder Myra Goodman’s latest cookbook, The Earthbound Cook: 250 Recipes for Delicious Food and a Healthy Planet, comprises three resources. It’s a comprehensive cookbook with 250 recipes; a helpful reference full of easy-to-follow tips, cooking primers and detailed ingredients information; and a guide to help readers make their kitchens more eco-friendly. The recipes are delicious, and it’s a fun and informative cookbook to read! Both the new book and Goodman’s first, Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, come signed by Goodman and can be purchased from Earthbound Farm’s e-store at www.ebfarm.com, or at Earthbound Farm’s Farm Stand Market & Organic Café. Earthbound offers the books alone or in a two-pack gift set.
If your cookbook lover has a solar oven, or you’re thinking of giving him or her one, Greenspace suggests two solar cookbooks: A Month of SUNday and Morning Hill Solar Cookery (Vegetarian). Both cost $18.50. The store also stocks solar ovens!
DO-IT-YOURSELFERS:
Mushroom-growing kits! Among the dozens of do-it-yourself projects offered by Mountain Feed and Farm Supply of Ben Lomond, the store sells two brands of mushroom kits: www.backtotheroots.com and www.mushroomadventures.com. Give them to someone you love or buy one for yourself and harvest your own fresh mushroom in 10 days—without having to leave your house!
A gift certificate to Greenspace, which can be used for any kind of nitty-gritty project, such as painting with environment-friendly paints!
GEAR ADDICTS:
Greenspace stocks LED trouble lights—which are great for tight attic and under-home spaces, and don’t easily break, water filtration systems for point-of-use or whole house as well as plastic bag dryers.
Mountain Feed and Farm Supply is a gear-lover’s dream. You’ll have to see it for yourself, but prepare to walk away with all the apparatus you need to keep bees or make cheese, beer, sausage, soap, wine, pickles, bread and so much more—yourself!
GRANDMAS AND GRANDPAS WHO LOVE TO COOK:
Make their week easier by buying them a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription that will deliver weekly shipments of fresh, healthy food to their doors—or to a convenient drop point. Find a comprehensive list of local CSAs at www.ediblemontereybay.com under the “Local Food Guide” tab at the top of our home page. Or get them an FSA (Community Supported Fishery) subscription by going to www.localcatchmontereybay.com.
HEALTH-MINDED COOKS:
Spoil your passionate home cook with New Leaf Community Markets’ 6-week Natural Chef Training with Chef Jenny Brewer. The course will run from May 3 to June 7 and will cover such topics as health-supportive ingredients; the art of tasting, seasoning and cooking “intuitively”; and knife skills and other cooking fundamentals. Call 831.466.9060, x126 for more information.
KIDDOS:
Give them the gift of your time: Monterey Museum of Art is offering FREE admission through Dec. 31, 2011. Take a young artist along and enjoy!
The baby department at Greenspace stocks organic and locally made clothes, toys and eco-friendly bottles, sippy cups and lunch containers.
YOUR SWEETIE:
Stone Creek Kitchen always offers a terrific selection of fine kitchen gear and gourmet food that would appeal to any avid cook. But on Wednesday, Dec. 21, the Monterey store will hold a special after-hours evening for men only. Find the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday list and get it gift wrapped with the able assistance of the Stone Creek Kitchen team. Just $5 bucks gets you a plate and a glass for a little manly grub and drink to sustain you while shopping. Reservations not required. Simply show up and bang on the door.
What gift would be complete without fair trade organic chocolates for your sweetie? Earthbound Farm’s Farm Stand has a delicious selection!
Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley has dreamed up a getaway called the Pure Indulgence—and indulgent it is! The package includes five nights of luxurious accommodations enhanced by a 24-hour sedan on call, two plush monogrammed Bernardus robes and four 50-minute spa treatments. You and your sweetie will be able to savor the resort’s awarding-winning cuisine with a full breakfast for two daily, either in your room or in Wickets Bistro, one dinner for two at Marinus, another evening at the Chef’s Table for two, and one dinner for two at either Wickets Bistro or Will’s Fargo Dining Saloon located in Carmel Valley Village.
At Greenspace, you’ll find supplies for creating an at-home getaway, like luxurious organic cotton sateen sheeting and top-quality woven woolen and organic cotton robes and blankets. And to put on your pillow to complete the effect, the store sells phenomenal chocolate from San Francisco chocolatier TCHO and caramels from Theo.
TEEN FOODIES:
Gift certificates from Earthbound Farm’s Farm Stand Market & Organic Café are perfect for the teen foodie and make choosing organic easy and delicious. Start your teen’s New Year off right with its fresh and healthy juices, smoothies and salad bar.
A multitude of kits and food-creating and preparing gear await the budding cook at Mountain Feed and Farm Supply.
TOO-BUSY GOURMETS:
Give them a gift of time saved with a weekly delivery of fresh, healthful local food through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription. Find a directory of local sources at www.ediblemontereybay.com. Or splurge, and also get them an FSA (Community Supported Fishery) subscription by going to www.localcatchmontereybay.com.
WORLD-CHANGERS:
Earthbound Farm recommends a gift certificate to its Farm Stand as a perfect gift for the person going green. Did you know that choosing organic food has a more positive impact on the environment than driving a hybrid? And Earthbound’s reusable tote bags are a simple way to go green. These reusable bags are made from four 20-ounce bottles and contain more than 80 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. Earthbound estimates that if everyone in the U.S. used a reusable bag instead of a plastic or paper bag just once a week, we would keep more than 16 million disposable bags out of landfills.
A gift certificate to Greenspace to help your loved ones change their own spaces (bed, bath, kitchen, living room or garden) while helping make the world a better and healthier place!
WINE ENTHUSIASTS:
Bonny Doon Vineyard suggests gift certificates for its Cellar Door at Bonny Doon Vineyard restaurant and tasting room. The winery provides a dooniverse of options, including wine tastings, reserve tasting flights and brilliant, seasonally driven cuisine featuring local organic and biodynamic ingredients. Call 831.425.4518 to order.
YOUR OWN STOCKING!
If none of the foregoing ideas appeals, pick up some of the gorgeous candles from Big Dipper from Earthbound Farm’s Farm Stand to grace your table. And while you’re there, don’t forget locally handmade soaps like those from Big Sur Country Soap, Coastal Soapworks and Bonny Doon along with Juniper Ridge sachets.
The several local New Leaf Community Markets locations stock a number of clever gadgets for the cook, like the Tabletop Mister, which allows you to spray meats, salads, bruschetta and other foods with a thin, even layer of oil, and the Herb Davor Pod, which is designed to vastly extends the life of your fresh cut herbs!
WHERE TO FIND THESE AMAZING GIFTS:
All of the contributions to this guide came from Edible Monterey Bay’s wonderful advertisers.
Find their locations, phone numbers and web addresses at www.ediblemontereybay.com, under the “Find Us” tab at the top of our home page! (Bonny Doon is a new advertiser, however, and may be found at www.bonnydoonvineyard.com.)
TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS GUIDE NEXT YEAR, please submit entries by Oct. 1 2012. Guide will be published in late November 2012.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
