Our Holiday Gift Guide
Frog Hollow Farm’s As Good As It Gets Basket
Spices from Diaspora Co.
Diaspora offers single origin, responsibly grown and sourced spices and teas from India and Southeast Asia in beautiful, vibrant packaging. Their single spices make gorgeous stocking stuffers for both budding and novice cooks, while their bundles and tools make a great, more substantial gift.
Olive oil from Brightland
Surely you’ve seen Brightland olive oil, with its instagrammable, California aesthetic and gorgeous packaging that makes you want to display your olive oil, rather than tucking it away into your pantry. You might think Brightland focused all their attention on their branding, but their olive oil is just as good as their packaging. Brightland aims to bring transparency to the olive oil industry, and focuses on sourcing from family farmers and local makers throughout the west coast. Come for the vibe, stay for the taste.
Care packages from Frog Hollow Farm
Based in the Bay Area, Frog Hollow Farms offers seasonal fresh and dried fruit, and delicious baked goods and pantry products. They’re a nice alternative to Harry and David, and a great option for a hostess, thank you, or white elephant gifts. Or, one of their care packages is a great option for that relative or friend who has everything and is impossible to shop for.
Baking Mixes from Stellar Eats
We talked about this brand in our Thanksgiving newsletter. While baking mixes abound and are a great gift for the holiday season, we’re particularly fond of this brand because of their minimal ingredients, seasonally appropriate flavors and consistent results - and ((who are we kidding) their earth toned packaging.
Salt from Jacobsen Salt Co.
Harvested and packaged on the Oregon coast, Jacobsen sea salt is a sodium you can feel good about. Jacobsen’s mission is to provide kitchen ingredients and staples that inspire people to cook, eat, and live well, and to that end they offer a variety of salt (and salty products) that will look great in any kitchen while also adding a little je ne sais quoi to any meal. This is a perfect gift for any grill master, those salty, cranky people in your life, or anyone hoping to shift to higher quality salt (so, all of our parents).
Specialty vinegars from American Vinegar Works
A drizzle of acid never fails to brighten and elevate a dish. Though people often stick to balsamic or other well known varieties like apple cider vinegar, we encourage you to look beyond those and check out specialty vinegars, which keep forever, are packed full of probiotics, are relatively inexpensive and come in beautiful hues. Order a sampler set and dole the tiny bottles out as party favors, stocking stuffers, or as tiny something to co-workers and/or neighbors.
Cookbooks from the NYTimes list
Though we are a sucker for a new cookbook and are constantly expanding our library, the New York Times recently compiled a spot-on list of the 25 most influential cookbooks of the past century. Offering something for everyone, the list reads like a who’s who of the culinary world. As cookbooks offer a glimpse into societal trends of the era, we recommend grabbing one - or a few - for the culinary or history minded people in your life. Come for the recipes, stay for the stories and vignettes.
Meal Beter meal plans
We obviously have to plug ourselves: give our meal plans to yourself or a loved one to simplify busy weeknights and ease the mental load of having to plan dinner for a little while.
Other places to check for gifts:
Milk Street
Tonic Herbal Shop
Bold Fork Books
Here Here Market