Marlena Spieler, Tribune Media Services
05/09/2007
Whether a handmade but loving gesture or an expensive indulgence, a Mother’s Day gift is a token of affection for a life devoted to nurturing. Yet while the saying “it’s the thought that counts” is certainly appropriate for Mothers Day, we all — child and mother alike — know the happiness-inducing power of a great gift.
As my daughter was growing up, she warmed my heart with hand-scribbled cards, clay formed into a vase complete with scraggly flowers picked from the neighborhood, a papier-mache blue-striped cat that for years has watched over me from my office shelf. But oh, when she realized that foodie gifts — Greek olive oil, rose petal preserves, salt-caramel chocolates, white truffle paste — were the way to her Mom’s heart, and that Mom was willing to share — we started having some serious culinary fun that continues, still.
Advertisement
Thinking of my delight at her tasty gifts, I had a trawl through San Francisco’s Fancy Food Show this winter, searching for edible Mother’s Day presents. The newest and most exciting goodies are launched at FFS. My mission was to search the aisles of endlessly varied cookies and crackers, rainbows of chutneys and pestos, olives and salami, and end up with a selection of munchies that would make any Mom feel special. Ready to nosh, I hit the stands.
I found my first Mothers Day must within moments: Heritage Coconut Palm Sugar from Big Tree Farms, Bali, Indonesia. Mother and son owners, Christina and Ben Ripple, were offering up samples of their unique golden sugar “grains” that have a whiff of smoke and depth of caramel flavor. How can sugar be so chic or so tasty? “It’s harvested from the swaying coconut palms,” Ben told me, “boiled up in a sugar shack until thick and sweet, then dried and crushed into granules.” Mom Christina was meanwhile spooning me up a taste. Nothing like the ordinary white powder one adds to coffee or tea — though it would be blissful in either — this stuff is sophisticated, fragrant and only slightly sweet, and perfect for gift-giving in its rustic wooden canisters. I had a hard time choosing between the turmeric or ginger sugar, each so hauntingly delicious. They would be memorable sprinkled onto French toast for Mother’s Day brunch. Heritage Coconut Palm sugars sell for $8.99 per 8.5-ounce canister and are generally available across the United States.
Big Tree Farm also sells artisanal ingredients from Bali that you’re not likely to find elsewhere. Among their offerings are exceptionally fragrant and unusual peppercorns, pyramid-shaped salts and honey from the island of Java. (The coffee-steeped honey is so yummy I had to close my eyes as I sucked on a spoonful.) For information: www.bigtreebali.com.
Another island delicacy, though an island on the other side of the world from Bali, is mastiha, or mastic from Greece. Mastic is the resin of a bush related to the pistachio tree, which only produces the aromatic resin on the southern part of the Greek island of Chios, near Turkey. It is an ancient ingredient whose fragrance is subtle yet memorable, which has not only the ability to add flavor and fragrance, but also has healing properties, according to many modern studies. For its myriad of uses, it has long been famed throughout the Middle East and is just now entering the U.S. market in a more significant way.
Mastic turns almost rubbery when chewed. In fact, it is the world’s first chewing gum and is used to flavor Greece’s favorite gum to this very day. As an ingredient, mastic has the ability to enhance whatever it is added to and amplify it with a certain air of mystery. The island’s traditional farmers have organized a collection of products and chic shops, Mastihashops, which sell such diverse fare as mastiha liquor, Turkish delight flavored with mastiha, cookies, candies and even spaghetti sauce flavored with mastiha.
Its soothing properties make mastiha a natural for health and beauty products from eye cream to facial masks to toothpaste. The toothpaste especially gives your mouth a natural, clean feeling and I’m positive that the eye cream made even MY wrinkles disappear! For information: ww.mastihashop.com.
Olive oil was one of the first things my daughter chose as a Mother’s Day gift and we have continued that gift tradition. Because of this, I often discover oils I might not otherwise have noticed. Though Mediterranean and California offerings keep my olive oil kitchen going, New Zealand and Australia are growing some splendid olives and pressing up fragrant oils, as healthful as they are delicious.
The extra-virgin Australian has fruity flavor and lush tropical tones, and the New Zealand is herby, fruity and peppery. Both are available nationwide from 34 Degrees, which also produces tangy intensely flavored fruit pastes to eat with cheese, ripe and vivacious semi-dried tomatoes and a smooth, rich marinated sheep and goat feta cheese. For information: www.34-degrees.com.
An adventurously cooking mom is sure to appreciate the selection of spices and spice mixtures offered by Seasoned Pioneers from Yemenite Hawaj, with its exotic fragrance (delicious in earthy soups and stews or marinating chicken), to Ras al Hanout, with its scent of Marrakech’s spice bazaar, or the lemony achiote, which is brick red and tastes of the Yucatan. Hard to find ingredients such as amchoor, awajan and black salt are on their list, as are rose petals and Gujarati Masala. Seasoned Pioneers spices may be found at Whole Foods or online at: seasonedpioneers.co.uk. The foil-packaged (good for keeping out the light, which destroys the delicate flavor and aroma of spices), resealable, 1- to 2-ounce container sells for just under $5. If buying mail order, there is no minimum order and the shipping charge is the same regardless of how much is ordered.
All moms — and for that matter women alike — need a reward now and again … actually as often as possible. And chocolate is such a good reward. Chocolate fudge, to be precise. Fudge is My Life is the thickest, darkest, most chocolaty jar of deliciousness you could ask for. It is available in 23 states but if you live outside the web of chocolate goodness, their Web site is www.fudgeismylife.com. Fudge comes in several flavors, including Orange and Mint. However, Dark Chocolate Sauce — pure and simple — is my personal favorite. A 10-ounce jar costs about $8 and is perfect for preparing ice cream sundaes to share or for sticking a spoon in as a naughty solitary treat.
After days spent dishing out cookies to the little ones, what mother doesn’t have the urge to sit down to her own delicious cookie — especially a simple, elegant, rich and crunchy cookie such as Duchy Originals Highland Shortbreads. Full of buttery flavor, yet thin enough to be crisp, they are just right to munch alongside a cup of soothing tea — something every mother needs, come afternoon. Duchy’s ginger biscuits are divine and some might be able to stop eating the lemon biscuits but not me. They are so tasty I find myself reaching for just one more. I hasten to add, since the company is owned by her son, these cookies are just possibly favored by one of the most famous mothers in the world, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Duchy cookies and biscuits retail for around $9.50.
Duchy also makes a savory oat wafer, which is traditional to eat with cheese. And since these are special cheese biscuits, you need some special cheese to go along. Get yourself online to Cowgirl Creamery or to one of their shops in the San Francisco Bay and Washington D.C. areas. Or sample their cheeses in stores across the United States. You could also order up specially selected cheeses in perfect condition sent to Mom once a month. The Cheese Club is a wonderful way to kick-start Mom’s love affair with cheese. If you’re the child, think of how much your mother will love the splurge and how nice it will be for her to share it with you. For information: www.cowgirlcreamery.com. For a special splurge (maybe with the assistance of several siblings or Dad), sign Mom up for the $540 Cheese Club and every month for a year, a 1-pound wedge or wheel will be sent out, paired with the perfect accompaniment. If a year is too great a commitment, $175 buys a three-month membership.
Good cheese doesn’t really need a condiment, but sometimes they are just so special you need to have one on your shelf. Geeta’s chutneys are fabulous — sweet, spicy and perfect with cheese, or spread onto a curried chicken salad sandwich. Try topping a slice of sharp Cheddar atop an oat biscuit with a dab of Geeta’s mango chutney and a leaf or two of fresh cilantro. Put your feet up and pour the tea. Or might it be time for cocktails and a few savory tidbits? For information: www.geetasfoods.com.
Anyone who has ever been or had a mother may well need a cocktail, now and again. A bottle of 267 Infusions may sweep Mom into a world of sunny days and music-filled nights with fruit and spice-infused alcohols, such as infused vodkas, mango-steaped tequila and pineapple-marinated rum. They are beautiful in their stylish bottles with big chunks of fruits and/or spices, $25 for a 750 milliliter bottle. Mom can whip up a refreshing brunch cocktail for the grownups in the group: a shot of lemon vodka whisked with lemon sorbet and topped with lemonade or a sparking wine such as Prosecco.
I’ve long been a devotee of the British idea of a hamper … that is, a basket filled with all sorts of treats, possibly including crisp crackers and cookies, jars of preserved fruits and jam, pates of meat or fish, pots of unusual mustards and pickles. Usually I assemble them myself, searching for the most delicious ingredients, since most prepackaged gift boxes are filled with a selection of things you might not really want to eat. (There are always a few errant tins hanging around months, years afterward, aren’t there?)
Then I found Chelsea Market Baskets. In fact, I was so taken with their selection of truly delicious goodies that I visited their shop in New York’s Chelsea Market — a premises it shares with a cornucopia of foodie destinations, as well as TV’s Food Network.
Specializing in unusual treats that they, themselves, import, Chelsea Market Baskets overflow with exquisite French fruit gels, James White juices (apple and elderflower are personal favs), Fentiman’s Botanical Sodas (try the Dandelion and Burdock) and the most divine Cheddar or Stilton wafers — thin, crisp and crunchy and screaming umami flavor. There is a chocolate basket to make you cry, while for body pampering they offer several hampers of soaps, spa treatments and lotions. My favorite is the Citrus Oasis, which packs a big rattan basket with a few tasty treats including a bar of Renew Chocolate blended with lime blossoms, crisped rice and bitter orange, perfect for refreshing and relaxing. Chelsea Market Baskets is the kind of place I’d walk my child to and offer to let her use my credit card.
Whether you are looking forward to giving or receiving this Mother’s Day, regardless of what it might be, let it be a lovely day full of fun and food and love.
