Got food lovers on your shopping list? Click on my annual “Gift this” list for Calgary’s City Palate magazine above to find some inspiration for your gifting this year.
Or, if you are heading to the mountains before the holidays, check out the 17 ideas from businesses I profiled in the Town of Canmore on the Canmore Food Tours blog here.
Celebrate Canada 150 by showering your loved ones with Alberta and Canadian-made. What better way to stay True North, Strong and Free?
Gather the Goods and then Gather together – photo – Karen Anderson
Every year for Calgary’s City Palate magazine’s December issue – the “entertaining” issue – I share a list of cool things for cooks. This year’s is chock-a-block full of Retro Gifts for Food Lovers. (these dozen goodies will be cool things #33 – #44 on this blog’s list)
I made the list and now, as I head out the door for “just a few more things”, I’m checking it twice. There’s nothing naughty. It’s all nice.
Since even I am going back to my own list, I thought I’d share it again here in case it might help you. We can all use a little help with fun ideas in this week of preparing for the Christmas holidays.
I have such a fun job. I own my own company called Calgary Food Tours and I’m a food and travel writer. I get to explore the food of my city, province, country and the world each year and I always meet the most incredible food artisans, chefs and small business owners. I can’t help but fall in love with the food products I taste and sample each year because so many of them are outstanding (Let’s say I’ve also become quite good at selecting where I go and what I taste to start with). I love to share the good news about these finds and so each year I write about them for City Palate Magazine in Calgary and today, I got to present some of my favourites on CBC Radio One’s Alberta at Noon in hopes of helping my fellow Albertans prepare for the Christmas holidays.
Christmas means a lot to me because it is a wonderful opportunity to savour our food and savour our lives and loved ones. These are definately a few of my favourite things..
Field Stone Fruit Wines – yes, they’ll deliver 10 fantastic fruit wines right to your door and all the fruit is grown on their property in Strathmore, Alberta
13. Winner of Best Food Literature (Canada) at the 2012 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards FOODSHED: AN EDIBLE ALBERTA ALPHABET by Dee Hobsbawn-Smith (Touchwood, 2012)
14. Uncorked! The Definitive Guide to Alberta’s Best Wines under $25 by Shelley Boettcher (Whitecap, 2012)
15. Food and the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution. Jennifer Cockrall-King (Prometheus, 2012)
16. Taste Canada Food Writing Awards SINGLE-SUBJECT COOKBOOKS: Spilling the Beans. Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan. (Whitecap Books, 2012)
Finally, if you are tired of the same old turkey, same old family jokes and same old punch lines, here’s a new punch line to add a little sparkle to your family’s holiday gathering.
From my home to yours please accept my wishes for peace and prosperity and may you always savour your food and savour your life. Cheers, Karen
Karen’s Cracker Jack Apple Punch
1 – 1.89L bottle soft apple cider (I love the organic one made by Blush Lane)
1 ½ c Calvados – apple brandy
1 bottle sparkling wine
10 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged or Angostura bitters
Dash grated nutmeg and a few cinnamon sticks for decoration
1 iced ring of apple slices – water and one green and one red apple.
Combine all of the above in a punch bowl.
Note: Make the apple ice ring ahead by cutting a green and red apple in slices and laying them in a circle in the bottom of a Bundt cake pan. Add enough water so they stay in place but don’t float. Freeze them in place and then add more water to make a nice sized ring. Pour hot water over the outside of the pan and release the ring into the punch bowl when it is time for your guests to arrive.
