#5 Guitar Pick Punch

Fair warning that I did buy this as a gift this year for some folks so sorry about the spoiler if you're out there reading this. I saw this gift idea in Real Simple this year, it's for this cool hole punch that punches out guitar picks out of pretty much anything. Old gift cards, cardboard, hotel room keys, credit cards, paper, salami, etc. Available locally at Urban Outfitters.

#4 CC Made Caramel Popcorn Spiced Almond

We were out in the Bay Area this week to see Adam's family for Thanksgiving where I bought two bags of my favorite caramel popcorn from CC Made...made right in the Napa Valley. I bought two bags so I'd have enough to share since the warmly spicy sweet flavor makes this popcorn highly addictive. Sure enough, my father-in-law confessed to eating a bunch of it the next day. Fortunately, I planned for it by buying TWO bags. No worries Dad, I got you covered. If you gift this one, be sure to buy some for yourself

#3 Bag O' Dumplings

Every so often, I like to throw in a kooky gift idea just to see if it sticks or [pot]stickers in this case. If someone showed up at my party with a bag of frozen dumplings as a hostess gift...I'd be delighted because I could always use a quick solution for dinner. If you brought me good quality frozen dumplings like ones from QingDao Garden, that would be even sweeter. Everyone brings wine, candles and candy. Differentiate your gift with something more substantial that's truly a gift to the host. Put it in a gift bag or slap a bow on it.

On that note, I'm off to find some lunch because I must be hungry.

#2 Salt Pig

Oink oink! We have a nice Emile Henry salt pig in an Apricot color that I really like. We keep it by the stove filled with kosher salt. There's a nice wide angled opening so you can reach in and grab some salt while you're cooking. It's wide enough for big hands too. The inside of the salt pig isn't glazed so it absorbs some moisture and prevents the salt form clumping. Overall, a great design and a unexpected gift for someone who loves to cook or at least loves salt. They're a little pricey for something that holds salt, but you can buy "seconds" online at Emily Henry.

2013 Gift Ideas - let's get started

McCrea's Caramels

I hear the shop local thingamajig is the next thing or maybe it's the just past thing or current thing. I also like to think buying local artisanal foods make them nutritionally virtuous. Adam and I stopped by the Williams Sonoma at Copley yesterday where they had Mr. McCrea himself from McCrea Candies passing out delicious samples of their caramels handmade in Boston. Mr. McCrea was generous with his samples so we tried the Black Lava Salted Caramels, the Highland Single Malt Scotch Caramel and I just tried the Fusion Ginger. The Black Lava Salted Caramels are insanely good and I made one last 30 minutes by taking tiny bites. Big salt granules embedded in a creamy soft caramel. Excellent product and a great gift for the holidays. It's easy to pack for travel since it's not fragile or "liquid" and a little goes a long way. Locally available at Pemberton Farms or check out their online store. That's why I'm kicking off 2013's list with McCrea's Caramels

Cardamom Raisin Rice Krispy Treats

I was trying to find new uses for my ground cardamom so I found and adapted a cardamom rice krispy recipe online. It's not super spicy, the spices lend more of a warmth to the rice krispy treats and the raisins add sweetness with it being too cloying.

Cardamom Raisin Rice Krispy Treats

1 bag marshmallows
3 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 cups rice krispy cereal
1 cup golden raisins or any raisin

Microwave butter in large bowl for 30 seconds
Add marshmallows and microwave for 90 seconds, stirring halfway to combine butter and marshmallow
Stir spice/salt mix into the melted marshmallow
Stir in rice krispies
Stir in raisins
Press mix into a 9x9 plan pressing down the rice krispy mix

Hypothetical Alternative Mixins:
Diced up crystallized ginger to make it even more spicy
Lemon Zest
Coconut
Diced up dried mangos

Day in Marblehead

Upon hearing the Zoritys had taken an impulsive road trip to Vermont, Adam and I decided to get a Zipcar and a last minute Saturday day trip. Salem was the original idea, but I nixed it since ghouls and goblins and witches kinda freak me out. We ended up driving up to Marblehead and checked out the shoreline, a few small towns and enjoyed some delicious food along the way. Our first stop was Popo's Hot Dogs in Swampscott where we enjoyed pretty yummy Chicago hot dogs and a soft serve ice cream. We stopped in Maison de Mer, a little French themed store, on the way back to our car and I picked up an adorable tray. (As I've said before, you can never have too many trays.) Then we headed up to Marblehead driving around the coast and admiring the giant mansions. (We noticed a lot more "Romney/Ryan" and "Scott Brown" signs in Marblehead than in Cambridge and we're contemplating spending election night in Marblehead with our own kind.) I scored some shiny new blue rain boots at the Marine West boating supply store and the salesperson there hooked us up with some recommendations. We headed over to the lighthouse to admire the view and sit on a bunch of benches dedicated to dead people and enjoyed a delicious fried seafood platter at The Barnacle.

Caramel Apple Ice Cream Party - 4th Annual

We're going to try to take down this 3 gallon tub of caramel apple ice cream. It's our fourth year and our fourth attempt. Do you think we're gonna make it?

Doo Wee Rice

Adam and I checked out Doo Wee Rice in Powderhouse circle a few weekends ago and it was pretty tasty. We ordered the fried chicken wings (yum), braised pork bao baos (OK) and the chicken and rice (yum). The wings were my favorite. They give you 9 wings for $6 and they offer a whole bunch of sauces. The Vietnamese style sauce we got was light and fresh tasting so thumbs up on that one. The price was right too boot, we got out of there for under $20.

My only complaint was the service. The young woman at the counter was super passive and it was really unclear how to order. Here's my advice: walk straight up to the counter in the back of the room, order your food and aggressively just take a table that's empty. There's no procedure and the employees probably won't directly your to a table or manage a situation where a table is contested. There's no clear line, so you should just go for it and apologize later if needed. Hover over other people if you need to get a table. Just get into your "I'm at an Asian street market" mindset. If you get thrown out for rudeness, I'm not responsible.

Monkeys

Hey hey we're the monkeys...people say we monkey around!!!

After years of coffee making on the cafe team at church, I recently decided to switch to volunteering with Baby Church. I'm assigned to my favorite age group, that 1-2 year old cruiser stage where they're much more interactive, but they're still pretty little and very cute. Even better, that age group is called the "Monkeys" which is just the best name ever since I can amuse myself by saying "monkey business" and "monkeying around."

A few weeks ago, I had my Baby Church visit / tryout which cause quite a lot of commotion within my family and friend set.

1. plasticmom (who was in town visiting) offered to stop by to "supervise" me during my Baby Church. She wasn't volunteering to help with the kids, just to "supervise" her own kid just in case I needed the moral support.

2. Halfway through my Baby Church try out, Adam stopped by the room to "check in" on me. First of all, the kids all thought their own dads were coming when they saw a tall man and then they all started crying when they realized the tall man was not their dad. The Monkey room supervisor looked at Adam weird and I had to explain that he was checking up on me, not the kids.

3. My friend Zave "stopped by" at the end of Baby Church because he'd heard I was volunteering and he "had to see it for himself."

All in all, I think I did pretty well with the kids. Family and friends...apparently don't have much faith in me or they just like to "helicopter." I think I'm probably the first Baby Church volunteer to have 2 people check up on me which is a little embarrassing, but at least they care enough to check up. If anyone else wants to "check up" on me, I'll be hanging out with the "monkeys" this Sunday at church where we "monkey around" and are up to no good with our "monkey business.

Pumpkin Spiced Rice Krispies

One of my coworkers made these genius Rice Krispy treats by simply adding some pumpkin spice. You can probably use cinnamon and it would be just as delicious.

3 tablespoon butter
1 bag marshmallows
7 cups Rice Krispy cereal
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix or cinnamon

1. microwave butter in large bowl for 45 seconds
2. add marshmallows and microwave for 90 seconds, stir halfway through to melt butter and marshmallows.
3. stir in pumpkin spice mix
4. mix in cereal
5. press into pan
6. cut and enjoy

Holiday Musings on Eggnog

We got back last night from our Christmas break visiting Adam's family. We enjoyed delicious meals, wound up kids high on sugar and lots of chuckles including this reconstructed conversation about holiday adult beverages.

Adam: Are you serving punch at your holiday party? I hear it's the cool new thing.
Zara: People don't drink punch, they don't want all the extra calories. People drink vodka and the men want manly drinks.
Dad: [totally serious] ...manly drinks like eggnog?

Speaking of eggnog, I made a delicious Pannetone Eggnog Bread Pudding for Christmas breakfast. I added orange zest and a handful of extra raisins to pump up the flavor.

Eggnog Pannetone Bread Pudding

12 ounces day-old panettone bread, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
6 large eggs
2 cups eggnog
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest from 1 orange
1/4 cup raisins


Prep:
1. Cut up bread into cubes, place in 1 gallon freezer bag.
2. Whisk together all ingredients and pour over bread in freezer bag.
3. Let soak in fridge overnight.


Bake:
1. Butter a 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish or deep-dish pie plate. Pour bread custard mixture into dish and cover with foil.
2. Place foil-covered dish in a cold oven. Set oven at 350°F and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes longer until middle is set and baked.
3. Enjoy.

Stopping at 50

Dear friends,

I've decided to just stop at 50 gift ideas this year. This gives me time to focus on my winter holiday related activities like eating desserts, cheering on Adam while he shovels snow, staying cozy in my house, tackling my own gift list and working on next year's recommendations.

plasticann

50. Vintage glass bowls

Fish & Eddy's is one of my favorite stores and last time I was in NYC, I stocked up on these vintage floral glass bowls. I was admiring them at MGDub's apartment so I marched over the next day to buy my own. They're very cute and make my bland looking leftovers appear cheerier.

49. My favorite pens ever

I love these Hi-Tec-C pens and I use them exclusively since they actually make work more fun and colorful. I recently tried the MUJI pens, but they're just not the same so I just ordered myself a fresh batch of Hi-Tec-Cs today. They come in fabulous colors and any pen addict will appreciate them as a gift.

48. Honey on Tap

Corinna and I stopped by "Follow the Honey," the cool new honey store in Harvard Square. They offer hundreds of different honeys from wild killer bee honey to volcanic Hawaiian honey, etc. You can taste the honeys before you buy, just ask at the counter. The coolest thing is you can buy honey from a tap in little mason jars and they offer a different honey very week. I bought a pint of a local Massachusetts honey from Deerfield for $7...poured it from the tap myself. Great store for offbeat gifts that are universally appealing. Kind of like showing up with a bottle of wine, but a little more interesting.

47. Give them their first author page

IlluStory kits are a great option for kids who love books because now they can write their own. Plus, you know they don't have this book already because they haven't written it yet. Perfection!

46. 2012 Snow and Graham Calendar

I've been loving my awesome accordion calendar from Snow and Graham at work this year. I find it hard to use the calendar on my computer when I'm working out the nitty gritty details so an adorable compact calendar makes planning a little easier. Snow and Graham offers a big variety of calendars featuring their awesome designs. They're all super cute, but I'm partial to the little one for a sweet stocking stuffer.

45. Hello Kitty on a Shelf

There's a brand new game that's all the rage here at the Zakun household. It's called "Hide the HK" around the house. It's actually super fun because I'm surprising bad at finding them. I blame it on my height because Adam hides them super high and I never seem to look high enough so it takes me days to find the HKs and usually Adam has to give me lots of hints. The latest genius hiding spot was above the lamp, it's been there a week. I guess it's kinda like that holiday hit from last year, "Elf on a shelf," but way cheaper because you can just wrap up some random action figure can call it "Green Lantern on a shelf." Cost: $0.

44. Twizzler Pens

I'm NOT a Twizzler fan. Having grown up on Red Vines, I think Twizzlers taste like plastic and have the mouth feel of wax. That said, I spotted these awesome Twizzler pens at one of my favorite stores, Black Ink, today and just had to put them on the gift list in honor of Halloween. Lots of my seemingly rational and sane friends love Twizzlers so I'm sure they'd get a kick out of this little gag gift.

43. Year of the bunny rabbit

2011 is the year of the rabbit which is actually the cutest of all zodiac animals. If you're looking for a baby gift for 2011 vintage baby, then check out the Rabbit Baby Spoon set from Beehive Kitchenware. They're engraved with the year on the back. Now, normally I would pooh pooh precious impractical collectibles, but I think these might actually be sort of practical. Adam got me the Blossom Measuring Spoons last year and I love them. They have a nice heft to them and they're definitely calibrated accurately measurement wise. After baby grows up, parents could always just re-purpose them as little servings spoons for things like olives and mustard. See, very practical, a lifetime of many uses.

42. A little Flour at home

It's cold and rainy in Boston this weekend so I stayed home and baked some Apple Snacking Cake from the Flour Bakery cookbook. Flour is one of my favorite places in Boston, so much so that Adam and I actually walked a 14 mile loop in August to hit all three Flour bakeries on foot in one day. It was divine, but a little tiring. If you've got a friend who loves to bake, this cookbook is really fun because it has wonderful photos and the desserts are delicious. It was my cookbook gift of 2010.

41. Cozy Flower Hat from GiantDwarf

I woke up to 34 degree weather this morning so I brought out my snuggly hat to keep my noggin warm. The season for hat hair is officially here, but you can look cute and stylish nonetheless. GiantDwarf offers adorable handcrafted wool hats decorated with awesome felt flowers. They come in a huge variety of colors so they're all unique.

40. Biscoff cookies dipped in Biscoff spread

This fall, I've been slightly obsessed with Biscoff spread, a delicious sweet spread made from Biscoff cookies. Yummy with fluff, bananas, apples, ice cream and even with [wait for it] Biscoff cookies. Instead of a candle or a bottle of wine, bring some Biscoff spread as a little gift for the host of your next holiday party. You can get it at the grocery store and it'll set you back less than 5 bucks. Stock up and you won't be scrambling for a last minute gift or late night snack attack.

39. Charming play food

When I was a child I loved playing with my pretend kitchen and food. Now that I'm grown, toy food still makes me super happy because it brings fond memories of childhood. Melissa and Doug offer tons of cool wooden food kits from sushi to ice cream sundaes to cakes and pizzas. I also love the HABA line of plush play food like these adorable petite fours.