Foodie Holiday Ideas

From Buche de Noel and Twelfth Night Cakes to gingerbread and Christmas pudding, special holiday treats define the season. I love the food history dating to 18th century Europe of putting hard-to-find, out-of-season oranges in children's stockings as truly precious gifts.

In the spirit of sugarplums and fruitcake, here are a few foodie items that I think are really special any time of the year, but especially so for the holiday season.

All of these products are also made in America. Celebrate the season by supporting local businesses to boost our economy. That would truly be a gift.

Chocolate

Mast Brothers Chocolate

The only bean-to-bar chocolate producer in NYC. It's fine craft chocolate made by two brothers. Each bar is hand wrapped in exquisite paper. The brothers also work with small organic cacao co-ops which makes their chocolate even better.

L.A. Burdick Chocolates

This is a small-batch, artisanal chocolate maker that offers the cutest assortments of chocolate including these mice with almond ears. "Not a creature was stirring ... ."

Snacks

Quinn Popcorn - I posted yesterday that traditional microwave popcorn is one of the most unsafe foods to eat. Here's a chemical-free and organic microwave popcorn offered by a couple in Massachusetts.

Boulder Ice Cream - This is organic ice cream locally churned in Boulder with 150 flavors. They ship all over the U.S. I had a milk shake with this ice cream and it was literally the best one I have ever had.

Olomomo Nuts - These are flavored nut mixes with interesting taste combos like "chai bliss almonds" and "mango chipotle zinger almonds." They are great and good for you, too.

Grains

White Mountain Farm Quinoa - Quinoa is one of my all-time favorite grains. I eat it in a breakfast porridge, in soups, as a side dish and even just plain. It's the mother grain of the Incas and is high in calcium, iron vitamins E and B, too. This one is organic and grown in Colorado.

Nitty Gritty Grain Company of Vermont

As an alum of the University of Vermont, my heart is in the land of the state. The dirt gets in your blood. I like to support their progressive agriculture and state economy. This is a great company that offers organic cornmeal, cornmeal mixes and flours.

Spirits

New Mexico Gruet

A lot of our house entertainment budget is spent on wine and spirits to enjoy with friends and family. I think one of the best ways to support American small businesses is to buy from American vineyards and distilleries. This is one of my favorites. I think it could go head-to-head with the world's best sparkling wines.

Seeds

Botanical Interests

This is a family-owned and operated heirloom and organic seeds company from Colorado. Everyone in my family is getting seeds in their stockings. I am picking special ones for everybody - Hungarian tomatoes for my Hungarian mother, giant pumpkins for the kiddos and beets for my husband who is obsessed with beet risotto.

Seed Savers Exchange

This is an incredible nonprofit seed company dedicated to North America's heirloom seeds. The catalog is dreamy. When I first got it, I couldn't put it down. The historical descriptions of the history of each seed are addictive. I went to high school in Oklahoma, and when I read the following description I had to have theses Cherokee Trail Black Beans for our garden:

(Phaseolus vulgaris) (aka Cherokee Black) Given to SSE in 1977 by the late Dr. John Wyche, SSE member from Hugo, Oklahoma. Dr. Wyche’s Cherokee ancestors carried this bean over the Trail of Tears, the infamous winter death march from the Smoky Mountains to Oklahoma (1838-1839), leaving a trail of 4,000 graves.

7 Foods Farmers & Docs Refuse to Eat

Food production and packaging in this country is a huge turnoff to farmers, scientists and doctors ... and it should be to us. Check out this list of seven foods deemed unfit by experts at the forefront of food safety.

Prevention talked to leading foodies and this is what they say to avoid. Here's an abbreviated list. Read the article for specifics on each food item:

1. Canned Tomatoes

The expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A

The problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Read more.

The solution: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), such as the brands Bionaturae and Coluccio. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, like Trader Joe's and Pomi.

2. Corn-Fed Beef

The expert: Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of half a dozen books on sustainable farming

The problem: Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. More money for cattle farmers (and lower prices at the grocery store) means a lot less nutrition for us. Read more.

The solution: Buy grass-fed beef, which can be found at specialty grocers, farmers' markets, and nationally at Whole Foods. It's usually labeled because it demands a premium, but if you don't see it, ask your butcher.

3. Microwave Popcorn

The expert: Olga Naidenko, PhD, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group,

The problem: Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize-and migrate into your popcorn. Read more.

The solution: Pop natural kernels the old-fashioned way: in a skillet. For flavorings, you can add real butter or dried seasonings, such as dillweed, vegetable flakes, or soup mix.

4. Nonorganic Potatoes

The expert: Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board

The problem: Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes-the nation's most popular vegetable-they're treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they're dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting. Read more.

The solution: Buy organic potatoes. Washing isn't good enough if you're trying to remove chemicals that have been absorbed into the flesh.

5. Farmed Salmon

The expert: David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany and publisher of a major study in the journal Science on contamination in fish.

The problem: Nature didn't intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT. According to Carpenter, the most contaminated fish come from Northern Europe, which can be found on American menus. Read more.

The solution: Switch to wild-caught Alaska salmon. If the package says fresh Atlantic, it's farmed. There are no commercial fisheries left for wild Atlantic salmon.

6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones

The expert: Rick North, project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and former CEO of the Oregon division of the American Cancer Society

The problem: Milk producers treat their dairy cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is also known) to boost milk production. But rBGH also increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Read more.

The solution: Check labels for rBGH-free, rBST-free, produced without artificial hormones, or organic milk. These phrases indicate rBGH-free products.

7. Conventional Apples

The expert: Mark Kastel, former executive for agribusiness and codirector of the Cornucopia Institute, a farm-policy research group that supports organic foods

The problem: If fall fruits held a "most doused in pesticides contest," apples would win. Why? They are individually grafted (descended from a single tree) so that each variety maintains its distinctive flavor. As such, apples don't develop resistance to pests and are sprayed frequently. Read more.

The solution: Buy organic apples. If you can't afford organic, be sure to wash and peel them first.

A Community Pub with Kids

This past weekend on a cold, blustery day with winds gusting at 85 miles an hour, my sister, Rose, and I took my three boys and her daughter out to lunch.

We played outside together for a while, but negotiating the wind proved too much for all of us, especially those who weigh in at just over 30 pounds. Our hunger was piqued by weather so we chose The Kitchen [Next Door] as a destination.

Rose and I spend our days talking about feeding our kids healthfully and how best to nourish them and their diverse diets.

My four-year old won't eat meat because he says, "You shouldn't eat things with bones." It's an intuitive directive he takes from his gut, his conscious, his little developing morals. After a walk at preschool one day where he observed a coop of backyard chickens, I coincidentally served roast chicken for dinner. I pecked at him with fork insisting he try the best one I ever roasted.

He asked, "Is this chicken? Like bock-bock chickens I see on my walk?"

"Yes," I said.

"So, you chop off its head and its legs?"

"Yes."

"No way, Mom."

That was that.

Rose has her challenges with her little one who is on the run most meals. She's two and won't sit tight for a second.

We chose The Kitchen [Next Door] because of this Kid's Menu. It's a mother's dietary dream. It's a self-proclaimed community pub open seven days a week, serving farm-to-table food in a kid-friendly atmosphere. I especially like that, "Kids are welcome day and night, and $2 of every kids meal is donated to help plant gardens in local schools."

In the Boulder culture, there are an increasing number of high-end foodie destinations that are truly great, but a dearth of family-friendly affordable joints that are healthy.

Our kids ate organic quesadillas, fresh organic milk, roasted cumin carrots, marinated beans, garlic mashers and a pork sandwich with pesto and arugula. There was some hemming and hawing over the lack of "sides of fries," but they ate well and we were all so satisfied ... in every way.

Nugget o' the Moment: "Is this chicken? Like bock-bock chickens I see on my walk? So, you chop off its head and its legs? You take its bones away?" - Jack (4), a naturally budding vegetarian and his incredulity at eating chicken or any animals with "bones" in them.

Green Leafy ... Pizza

Congress says today that pizza is a vegetable.

The USDA wanted to discount the idea that a few tablespoons of tomato paste qualifies as a vegetable, but food companies balked at the change.

According to Republicans of the House Appropriations Committee, the change would "prevent only burdensome and costly regulations."

Corporate food lobbyists are behind the legislation. From the Associated Press:

"The final version of a spending bill released late Monday would unravel school lunch standards the Agriculture Department proposed earlier this year. These include limiting the use of potatoes on the lunch line, putting new restrictions on sodium and boosting the use of whole grains. The legislation would block or delay all of those efforts.

The bill also would allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. USDA had wanted to only count a half-cup of tomato paste or more as a vegetable, and a serving of pizza has less than that.

Nutritionists say the whole effort is reminiscent of the Reagan administration's much-ridiculed attempt 30 years ago to classify ketchup as a vegetable to cut costs. This time around, food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools, the salt industry and potato growers requested the changes and lobbied Congress."

So, the next time the school kiddos take a trip to the farmer's market, help them find the heirloom pizza stand and remind them that no child is ever left behind!

Hope for Local Yocal

USDA report from yesterday states that "local foods are working for the nation." Not really a surprise, but good news. In a post on the USDA blog, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan writes:

"Why is on-farm job creation for producers selling locally so much higher? It will take more analysis to understand these differences, but the take-home message is clear: helping farmers and small businesses develop the infrastructure to produce, store, process, distribute and sell food to consumers in their region is an important component of the work that USDA does to keep and grow jobs in agriculture overall."

The local movement is building momentum, but I don't think it takes too much more analysis to know why, as Merrigan suggests. People are sick of eating chemicals, hormones and artificial ingredients. At least the USDA is now committed to "helping farmers." We'll see ...

Kitchen Tats

Ink yourself with one of these temporary kitchen tattoos.

Local Produce All Year Long

Check out Boulder-based MM Local that partners with local farms and growers to pick and preserve produce at the height of the growing seasons so Coloradans can eat local all year long.

How to Peel a Head of Garlic in 10 Seconds

This video by Todd Coleman at Saveur changed my kitchen life.

Fat Toad Farm

Check out a Vermont farm and their goat milk caramel sauce for the upcoming holidays. It's a dulce de leche version called cajeta. You can bake into apple and pumpkin pies or pour on ice cream. Okay.