Aside from being just about the most gorgeous cookbook to hit store shelves in 2011, Yvette Von Boven's Home Made details exactly how you can make all of your normal store-bought staples right at home. She keeps ingredients to a minimum and proves that home cooking doesn't need to be intimidating. $26 from amazon.com.
Photo: yvettevanboven.com
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Who needs the grocery store when you can grow your own? The folks at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds are THE go-to source for home gardeners and chefs who are looking to grow the fruits, vegetables and flowers that flourished before the industrial food chain got a stranglehold on our dining room tables.
Baker Creek specializes in selling seeds from the 19th century, including many hard-to-find Asian and European varieties.
Their Small Heirloom Packages offer more than 15 types of vegetables in 30 varieties, neatly packaged in a stylish metal tub for easy long-term storage. You can even choose between the Northern and Southern collections to make sure you'll get the seeds that are optimized for your part of the country. $55 at rareseeds.com.
Photo: rareseeds.com
FEED 10 Bag with Drawstring Pouch
Need a new way to haul your seasonal fruits and veggies from the farmer's market every week? Not only does the FEED 10 bag do the trick, but it also helps feed children around the world while you're figuring out what to feed yourself.
Each FEED 10 bag provides 10 meals to schoolchildren through the UN's World Food Programme. And you can use the extra drawstring pouch for keys, makeup or change for the parking meter. $22.50 at feedprojects.com.
Photo: feedprojects.com
BELVEDERE(RED) Special Edition Vodka
Whether you're making a cocktail for yourself or your guests, almost everyone needs a little drink around the holidays. What better way to get in the holiday spirit than with BELVEDERE(RED) Special Edition vodka?
Fifty percent of profits from the sale of BELVEDERE(RED) goes to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. More info at joinred.com.
Photo: belvederevodka.com
A Chicken in Every Yard by Robert and Hannah Litt
Forget backyard gardens full of homegrown tomatoes, salad greens and herbs; the next step in urban (and suburban, and rural) home gardening is keeping your own chickens.
Robert and Hannah Litt's beautiful book is the ultimate starter manual for anyone looking to raise their own sustainable and local birds. From helping you figure out if you're really ready for chickens, to detailed and easy-to-follow instructions for choosing breeds, building coops and keeping your hens healthy, the Litts' beautifully illustrated book answers pretty much any question that might pop up about home chicken keeping. $13 at amazon.com.
Photo: Ten Speed Press
Le Creuset Signature Round Dutch Oven
This limited-edition 5 1/2-quart beauty from Le Creuset comes with something more than the brand's standard-issue excellence: 25 percent of the retail price goes to Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry Campaign. $245 at Williams Sonoma.
Photo: Williams Sonoma
Canner with Jar Rack
There's no better way to preserve the local tastes of your garden and farmer's market than by embracing the lost art of canning. Encourage the foodie in your life to keep that taste of spring and summer year round with this canner and jar rack. $49.95 at Sur La Table.
Photo: Sur La Table
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual, the illustrated edition
Michael Pollan's slim and powerful book literally changed the way our country ate by providing some simple-to-follow rules for what should—and shouldn't—go on our plates. How do you improve on an instant classic? By souping it up with gorgeous illustrations by Maira Kalman. $15 at amazon.com.
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