A soft sweet holiday gift guide
I published a holiday gift guide two years ago that’s got some pretty good stuff on it (obviously, I’m still recommending mushroom grow kits). This year it’s only food and food-related products. I’ve personally tasted or tested everything here except for the weird bread lights (I want the bread lights).
For anyone who cooks…
Bandana of the Month Club ($20 to pre-order the current bandana, $24 for past months’) — These artist-designed bandanas are so beautiful. I got my first one after learning about it through the artist deerjerk and then had to get this one because look at those mushrooms with legs. You can buy an individual bandana, a subscription, or a gift card.
Foraging Walk in NYC — I loved my first walk with Marie Viljoen, who led me through the wilds of Staten Island identifying edible plants and then served an incredible picnic made mostly from foraged foods. I learned so much in just a few hours with her, met cool people, and felt like I’d traveled hundreds of miles outside the city. She doesn’t have any upcoming walks listed, but you can book a gift walk by contacting her directly.
Curry Leaf Plant ($19.95) — We have this plant and it’s beautiful in the window and amazing to be able to pick fresh curry leaves when I’m making Indian food. They’re traditionally added to a tadka for dal or curry, but I’ve had delicious curry leaf focaccia, or you could add them to rice or scrambled eggs.
Tadka Spoon ($75) — There are definitely cheaper tadkas out there, but I trust Diaspora to sell one that is well-made. You could pair this with the curry plant above for a really nice present, or give it along with a classic spice set, like cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds. It has so many uses aside from tempering spices or toasting spices; you can cook a single egg or melt butter or roast some garlic in oil
Tawashi brush ($2.20) — I use this Japanese scrubber for cleaning vegetables, but I probably need a second one for the cast-iron pans. You don’t have to get it at Korin, the fancy knife store, though if you’re there anyway you could get your knives sharpened.
Pampshade ($43 - $122) — I love the weird bread lights.
For bakers…
Wordloaf’s Bread Baker’s Pocket Companion ($20) — Andrew Janjigian writes one of my favorite newsletters all about bread and this little zine-like booklet is full of information a bread baker might need to Google, like volume-to-weight ingredient conversions, the dough capacities of common baking pans, baker’s math, and diagrams for shaping loaves.
WÜSTHOF Super Slicer ($170, or you can find a cheaper older model online) — I don’t know why bread knives are shaped any other way. I hate to sound hyperbolic, but this knife will literally reshape your relationship to the sliceable world. A bursting tomato, a loaf of crusty sourdough fresh from the oven, a chewy, soft Kaiser roll; anything can be sliced.
Oxo 11lb Scale with Pull-Out Display ($55.99) — This scale is great because, a) it measures higher in weight than many others, and b) the pull-out display lets you put a big bowl or Cambro on it without hiding the reading. I get so frustrated trying to bake without it, I pack it with me now along with my knife. Warning: Your baker giftee may already have this.
Tiger Nut flour ($13.95 on Amazon, seems to be sold-out here) — Your baker giftee probably doesn’t have this, which is why it’s a fun gift. I love experimenting with new ingredients and tiger nut flour adds an interesting, sweet flavor to cakes, cookies, or pancakes. You can tell your giftee that it bakes up a lot like almond flour; you can also share my recipe for these filled tahini-tiger nut cookies if you want :)
For babies…
Sriracha, Bubble Tea, or Cup Noodles onesie ($24 - $49.50) — If you’ve ever considered eating your baby, now you can consider it with higher specificity by making your baby look like cute food.
Moss & Fawn Forage Feeder ($18.99) — Miro recommends this pacifier-like feeder because it lets him eat by himself. You can fill it with anything soft, like banana or porridge, and the powerful jaws of the baby will squeeze it out. There’s also an ice cube tray to make loadable pellets of frozen milk or whatever you want to make into popsicles for teething.
For snackers…
Fox Family Potato Chips ($18 for 20 small bags, $15 for 6 large bags) — Likely the best potato chips. The flavors are not fancy. They taste like potatoes. You can put them on a pavlova. They’re pretty cheap, but shipping can be pricey depending on where they’re going. Their online ordering form is extremely confusing.
Omnom Chocolate ($8.99) — Really good Icelandic chocolate (with really well-designed packaging, but that’s not why I recommend it). The sea-salted toffee bar is my favorite, though I haven’t tried everything.
Bellocq Keemun Panda tea ($25 for a 4-oz bag) — All of the teas are wonderful at Bellocq (which has a small store that feels like a temple in Greenpoint) but the Keemun Panda is somehow creamy and sweet without milk or sugar, and it’s what I’m drinking right now. The tea is expensive if you compare it to Twinings but cheap if you compare it to buying a latte every day. I stopped drinking coffee a few years ago, but it took until last winter to allow myself the luxury of nice tea in the morning.
Coquito ($35 for a bottle) — I haven’t tried this (yet) but everything Emily makes is perfectly spiced, perfectly sweet, never boring, so I’m sure this stuff is a million times better than eggnog. “3 different forms of coconut, aged Puerto Rican rum (light and dark) + overproof Jamaican rum, sweetened condensed milk, fresh ground spices and vanilla beans.” Sounds great.
Cookbooks
Please Wait To Be Tasted / Lil’ Deb’s Oasis ($32.55) — I’ve gone on at length about how into this restaurant I am, but the cookbook really has some fun, delicious flavors. There are so many green sauces in the book and all of them are good.
Arabiyya ($32.55) — Reem Assil’s collection of recipes from across the Arab diaspora is well thought-out and approachable, and has taught me a lot about the origins and context of the dishes at the same time (I didn’t know that baba ganoush doesn’t have tahini — moutabel is the eggplant dip that does).
Grains for Every Season ($37.20) — Joshua McFadden’s first book, Six Seasons, remains one of my favorite cookbooks for its role in awakening me to vegetables (I used to be one of those vegetarians who mostly ate bread and cheese and tofu). His new book, about cooking with different grains, hasn’t revolutionized my cooking style in quite the same way, but the recipes are still very strong. Aside from all the baked goods, the veggie burger recipe is excellent.
What I’m Cooking
Five-Spice Sweet Potato Crumb Cake
A better gift than any gift is the gift you make yourself, of course. This recipe was a birthday gift for my mom, who loves crumb cake and spicy ginger. A good exercise over the holidays is to check with your friends/family about their favorite foods and store that information away so that when the occasion arises, you can make them the perfect dish.
Another great gift idea! A paid subscription to this newsletter, for incredible recipes like this!