Sustainable Green Food
Green Food Gift Guide For the Girlfriend Who Has Everything
Monday, December 21, 2009
By Analiese Paik, Founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide
You're going to a party and want to bring a special drink, perhaps one the hostess doesn't yet know about. Wow your friend with Twelve, a lightly carbonated, sophisticated, festive, and food-friendly adult beverage that was created by the legendary chefs David Burke and Alfred Portale and is now made by a Fairfield-based company. The clever and catchy name is derived from the 12 hours which span the drink's recommended consumption time – from noon to midnight. The web site describes the base as "a blend of white, green and black organic teas" to which "a delightful mix of herbs, spice and citrus essence" is added. I imagine Twelve would make a great mixed drink too, perhaps with a little vodka or dark rum. It's classy enough to serve in a stemmed glass and is sure to please even the designated drivers. You can find Twelve at Whole Foods Markets, Palmer's Market in Darien, and Balducci's.
Your dear friend, to whom you owe many favors, has everything yet appreciates a thoughtful gift of food. My advice is to show her how special she is with a gift bag of premium and award-winning local, specialty foods, many of which are made by women-owned businesses. Don't worry; I'm not going to send you to five different stores. Just get on the Merritt Parkway and head directly to Walter Stewart's Market at 229 Main Street in New Canaan. Don't let the Elm Street address scare you off; they have plenty of parking in their lot and are down the road from the congested shopping area. This family-owned grocer is an amazing source for a large and diverse number of locally made foods perfect for the holidays. In a hurry? Ask one of the staff to walk you around the store to find these local, all natural, gourmet goodies perfect for a gift bag: The Gracious Gourmet's award-winning spreads and tapenades (Bridgewater), El's Kitchen's dry rubs (Weston), maple syrup from Lamothe's Sugar House (Burlington), Ola! Granola's (Redding) all natural granolas, including the cranberry orange pecan which was voted Real Simple's "Best Gift Granola 2009", dough*girl baking company's chocolate chip cookies (Rowayton), miniature herb plants from Gilbertie's Herb Gardens (Westport), Andrew's Local Honey (Silvermine) and Chocolat Moderne's (NY, NY) fine European style chocolates made by former New Canaanite Joan Coukos.
For the chocolate lovers in your life, I have two fabulous suggestions that will not only please their palates, but also tell unique and wonderful stories of sustainability. While you're at Walter Stewart's, look for Taza Chocolate's (MA) line of Organic Chocolate Mexicano which is fairly sourced directly from the growers. This stone ground, organic chocolate is the ne plus ultra of authentic Mexican-style chocolate that your friend will enjoy nibbling or sipping by the fireplace with a good book. Don't forget to ask for a recipe card so she can make Mexican hot chocolate.
Kallari Single Source USDA Organic Chocolate is made by a cooperative of 850 indigenous Kichwa farmers in the Ecuadoran Amazon and they are "the only farmers' cooperative in the world that harvests, markets and enjoys all profits from its own line of organic chocolate" according to The Kallari Story printed inside the box. This is beautiful, elegant, flavorful chocolate devoid of any hard edges or bitter notes. This puzzled me at first, but now I understand why; it's made from a rare cacao varietal called Cacao Nacional that flourishes in this area and once faced extinction. Perfect for your"green" foodie friends, Kallari is available locally at Whole Foods Markets and Zabar's in New York.
Analiese Paik, founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, appears monthly as a guest on WTNH News Channel 8's Good Morning Connecticut show and her next scheduled appearance is December 20 at 7:35 am to discuss Green Food for the Holidays.
You're going to a party and want to bring a special drink, perhaps one the hostess doesn't yet know about. Wow your friend with Twelve, a lightly carbonated, sophisticated, festive, and food-friendly adult beverage that was created by the legendary chefs David Burke and Alfred Portale and is now made by a Fairfield-based company. The clever and catchy name is derived from the 12 hours which span the drink's recommended consumption time – from noon to midnight. The web site describes the base as "a blend of white, green and black organic teas" to which "a delightful mix of herbs, spice and citrus essence" is added. I imagine Twelve would make a great mixed drink too, perhaps with a little vodka or dark rum. It's classy enough to serve in a stemmed glass and is sure to please even the designated drivers. You can find Twelve at Whole Foods Markets, Palmer's Market in Darien, and Balducci's.
Your dear friend, to whom you owe many favors, has everything yet appreciates a thoughtful gift of food. My advice is to show her how special she is with a gift bag of premium and award-winning local, specialty foods, many of which are made by women-owned businesses. Don't worry; I'm not going to send you to five different stores. Just get on the Merritt Parkway and head directly to Walter Stewart's Market at 229 Main Street in New Canaan. Don't let the Elm Street address scare you off; they have plenty of parking in their lot and are down the road from the congested shopping area. This family-owned grocer is an amazing source for a large and diverse number of locally made foods perfect for the holidays. In a hurry? Ask one of the staff to walk you around the store to find these local, all natural, gourmet goodies perfect for a gift bag: The Gracious Gourmet's award-winning spreads and tapenades (Bridgewater), El's Kitchen's dry rubs (Weston), maple syrup from Lamothe's Sugar House (Burlington), Ola! Granola's (Redding) all natural granolas, including the cranberry orange pecan which was voted Real Simple's "Best Gift Granola 2009", dough*girl baking company's chocolate chip cookies (Rowayton), miniature herb plants from Gilbertie's Herb Gardens (Westport), Andrew's Local Honey (Silvermine) and Chocolat Moderne's (NY, NY) fine European style chocolates made by former New Canaanite Joan Coukos.
For the chocolate lovers in your life, I have two fabulous suggestions that will not only please their palates, but also tell unique and wonderful stories of sustainability. While you're at Walter Stewart's, look for Taza Chocolate's (MA) line of Organic Chocolate Mexicano which is fairly sourced directly from the growers. This stone ground, organic chocolate is the ne plus ultra of authentic Mexican-style chocolate that your friend will enjoy nibbling or sipping by the fireplace with a good book. Don't forget to ask for a recipe card so she can make Mexican hot chocolate.
Kallari Single Source USDA Organic Chocolate is made by a cooperative of 850 indigenous Kichwa farmers in the Ecuadoran Amazon and they are "the only farmers' cooperative in the world that harvests, markets and enjoys all profits from its own line of organic chocolate" according to The Kallari Story printed inside the box. This is beautiful, elegant, flavorful chocolate devoid of any hard edges or bitter notes. This puzzled me at first, but now I understand why; it's made from a rare cacao varietal called Cacao Nacional that flourishes in this area and once faced extinction. Perfect for your"green" foodie friends, Kallari is available locally at Whole Foods Markets and Zabar's in New York.
Analiese Paik, founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, appears monthly as a guest on WTNH News Channel 8's Good Morning Connecticut show and her next scheduled appearance is December 20 at 7:35 am to discuss Green Food for the Holidays.
