Locavore Gift Ideas 2010

Every year I do a short local food gift idea post. Well this year I’ll have you know, I did some extra searching and found a few fantastic new additions!

Farm Direct
This year Patti Popp Sport Hill Farm is offering gift certificates and gift bags (limited quantities). Let them pick out their own goods with a gift certificate available in any denomination. Or, give them a ready packed bag containing acorn/butternut squash/spaghetti squash & sweet potatoes along with a recipe sheet for only $25. What a terrific way to introduce people to fresh, organic, local, farm-fresh tastiness. You can also find the farm on Facebook.

Sip It
I had no idea this place existed! Westford Hill Distillers in Ashford, CT makes six fruit liquors. I’m highlighting just the apple and pear varieties since they’re made with CT grown fruit. The Apple Brandy is aged eight years in French oak barrels. The initial bottling of this brandy is just 100 cases. The Pear William is made with Bartlett pears harvested in late summer and is made in small batches to maintain the best of the pear aroma and taste. Then, I think this is my favorite choice, there’s the Poire Prisonniere. It comes in heart-shaped bottles with full-size Bartlett pears grown inside, and preserved in the distillery’s award-winning Pear William eau–de-vie. These curvy bottles are hand-dipped and labeled, each with a unique number. Learn how they do it. It’s pretty cool!

Grow It
Now that I officially feel I can call myself a gardener, I think everyone needs to join the garden fun. What better way to get started, than with seeds from Comstock, Ferre & Co. in Wethersfield, CT. You’ll recall my post this summer about how the new owners are returning Comstock to it’s heirloom roots.

Read It
I’ve come across a couple of books featuring CT farms/folks that I definitely think would make wonderful gifts.

• New Haven Chef’s Table: Restaurants, Recipes, and Local Food Connections
• Living on the Earth: Eclectic Essays for a Sustainable and Joyful Future
• Food Lovers’ Guide to Connecticut, 3rd: Best Local Specialties, Markets, Recipes, Restaurants, and Events (Food Lovers’ Series)
• Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans
• The Locavore’s Handbook: The Busy Person’s Guide to Eating Local on a Budget

Sweeten It
Buy some local honey and/or maple syrup and put it in a basket with a bag of homemade pancake/waffle mix with instructions.

Red Bee Apiary in Weston, CT is offering a bunch of great gift boxes as well as a honey of the month club.

LaMothe’s Sugar House has some cute maple gift baskets and River’s Edge Sugar House has a variety of maple goodness for sale online too.

Wear It
Help spread the local food love. Check out the my web store with T-shirts, bags, magnets, stamps and more. And, my friends at Local In Season also have an online shop.