The Gift of Culinary Growth

I am reluctant to call this a guide for the Foodie giftee.  These are gifts for the cooking enthusiast who aspire to grow.  

1.  Brooklyn based illustrator Claudia Pearson craftily uses color in her depictions of produce and cooking techniques.  Her etsy shop is filled with prints, books, and towels that are perfect to adorn a fledgling's kitchen and offer inspiration.

2.  This cheap easy kit is great for apartment brewing.  Alternatively, this and this set are ideal for starting a whole home-brew kitchen.  The second option even includes a keg!

3.  Shun knives are excellently balanced and lighter than European cutlery.  The 6" chef knife is perfect for smaller handed recipients for use of cutting most vegetables and fruits.

4.  The gift of Meat.  4lbs of Bratwurst.  Noms.

5.  Grow Your Own Organic Oyster Mushroom kit.  The perfect starter to pique their interest in mycology. 

-Jon

Gift Guide: Isle of Man

I am an enigma of a man.  I have been accused of being a nature-kind-of-guy and have been known to enjoy the occasional romp in the wilderness.  I also enjoy cleanliness, order, and ritual-esque bathing habits.  I was raised by a self-proclaimed Mountain Man named Hank who idolized John Wayne and owns a muzzle-loading rifle/powder horn.  I am a self-proclaimed lover of cats and idolize Louise Bourgeois.  I was a hair away from being an Eagle scout and enjoy sewing, knitting and lace-making.  From this enigmatic background I have sourced a collection of objects that allows me to enjoy the wild and wonderful beauty of nature while equally enjoying the finer aspects of life such as simple/beautiful design, cleanliness, and good fashion sense.  Please pass these treasures along to the man in your life.  Manly list for Manly folk.

1. This knapsack will adorn his back in style for his next day hike with plenty of pockets for compass, snacks, water and a change of clothes.  Constructed from waxed cotton canvas this pack will stand the test of time.

2.  The telnyashka is a symbol of masculine pride and the signature garment of the Russian Naval Force.  This quadruple knit sweater will keep the wearer warm into sub-zero temperatures.

3. Best Made... They are not boasting.  Buy anything from their website.  It is simple, beautiful and cool as Hell.  No one could be disappointed with their product.  Let he fell his next tree with "Compassion"(look at the axe handle).

4. This Black Peppercorn body wash from Molton Brown of London is spicy, musky and will invigorate the recipient instilling him with confidence or at least make him smell F...ing amazing.

5. Salt made from human tears (shed in Anger).  Any foodie would get a kick out of this salt brought to you by the irreverent and humorous London based Hoxton Street Monster Supplies.

6. "For men & women of distinction."  Says it all.  If I could grow a beard of substance this would so be in my medicine cupboard.

-Jonathan

Christmas Caramels

So, We have been absent.  This is likely because we have had nothing good to say.  Grace and I were discussing this last night while driving around nice neighborhoods and looking at the Christmas lights.  This year past has been a bad one.  Not that we didn't do some awesome things but I think we crossed the invisible and ambiguous line between comfort and complacency.  We have grown too comfortable.  So if I were the kind to make resolutions I would resolve to live more intentionally in 2013.  I think I just might yet do that. 

Christmas time is here.  I cannot adequately stress how much Grace and I love Christmas.  Oh yes, we love the Christmas Magic.  It is the season for some of the best cocktails and brews.  People pretend to be generous and loving for one month of the year.  And you get to bring a living tree into your house for a month... or two.  You can imagine our annoyance when we walked out of our bedroom to find our Christmas tree lying on its side in our living room with our cats pawing ornaments around the pine needle stricken floor.  I screwed the tree to the floor but we did lose a few ornaments to the cats' mischief.   

In an attempt to save on money and give the gift of our labor we decided to make caramels for coworkers and friends this Christmas.  I love caramels and wanted to take on the challenge of monitoring the thermometer to ensure proper temperature to make soft, sweet delights and not hard, brittle teeth enemies.  The first time Grace and I tried it was an overwhelming success... Until the "caramel" cooled and we were left with the latter of the two.  They tasted delicious but were also the hardness of slate.  The second attempt we got closer to our goal.  Soft caramels but no depth of flavor resulting from the longer boil time.  Attempt three is tonight so wish us luck.  I think we can do it.