On Monday, I shared several great gifts ideas for the aspiring or accomplished Older Bolder person (or persons!) in your life as they progress along their health and wellness journey.
We happen to truly enjoy the Christmas and holiday season around our camp, choosing to look up on this time of year as a time of celebration (of friends, family, and spiritual traditions), and taking the opportunity to reach out to those we love to express our appreciation and care. Gift giving is a part of that celebration, but by no means the core value of the experience.
That said, and given our deep appreciation of and interest in preparing varied, interesting, and tasty food at home, here’s a quick rundown of some worthy gifts for the Older Bolder foodie in your life.
Stainless Steel 16-inch Roasting Pan with Rack
While we’ve been tempted with supposed non-stick roasting pan surfaces in the past, this stainless beauty cooks like nothing else, is light, easy enough to clean, and perfectly sized. See it here.
Milo Dutch Oven
There are a number of great Dutch ovens on the market, some of which cost more than my first car. A chef friend (thanks Libby) showed us this one from Milo; it’s reasonably priced, French-inspired, just the right weight, and dishwasher safe. See it here.
GreenPan Venice Pro Nonstick Skillet Set
Coated in a natural ceramic, we keep seeing these GreenPan Venice Pro Skillet sets showing up on recommended lists penned by chef’s and kitchen pros around the world. ‘Nuff said.
Locavore Fermentation Crock
Another recommendation from Chef Libby, the best pickling-pro we know, Luscious Porcelain’s Locavore Fermentation Crock is on our wish list this year. The gallon size is perfect for the home kitchen, it’s styled nicely, and the water seal is a pro-level feature.
Brooklyn Butcher Blocks End Grain Cutting Boards
As a woodworker myself, I stand in awe of these absolutely beautiful end grain cutting boards from Brooklyn Butcher Blocks. The maple is traditional and the best value of the set…
Cole and Mason Granite Mortar and Pestle
After years of using a tiny mortar and pestle to grind fresh spices, this granite beauty from Cole and Mason gets it done. Surprisingly affordable too.
Benriner Mandoline Slicer
Sitting at kitchen-facing counter in one of our favorite restaurants a few months back, I noticed the guy finishing salads using one of these Benriner Mandoline Slicers to make quick work of beets and carrots that day. Chatting with him later, he shared that this nifty tool, standard in commercial kitchens, is available for the home cook as well, and at a bargain price.
Mescolare Salad Bowl Serving Set
Clearly I’m biased given my workworker’s gene, but these Mescolare Salad Bowl sets from Picnic Time are absolutely gorgeous and make any salad look better. You need this one.
Two 8-inch Chef Knives
The cutlery workhorse of just about any kitchen, large or small, is a chef’s knife, and doing a bit of research it appears an 8-inch model is most commonly used by pros and savvy home cooks. The budget Katom above comes highly rated, and the Mac Knife below is Chef Libby’s favorite…
Cookbooks
I happen to have a vehement bias about cookbooks these days.
Having been a Primal guy now for going on three years and a Keto guy going on ten months, and being a lifelong foodie, I love to cook creative, interesting, and fun meals though do so entirely within a healthy framework now.
My bias mentioned above? Personally I’ve found most ancestrally-oriented cookbooks published over the past few years to be somewhat limited (read bland and repetitive for lack of a better word right now) from a culinary-interest standpoint, though that game is changing.
Cookbooks are a great gift; choose wisely targeting your recipient’s interests, palate, and skills. More on cookbooks to come…
