Relationships are difficult. And they get only more complicated around the month of February, mais oui?

My February holds two trips: a week in New York City and the start of a three-week trip to Paris. I also have a big birthday that, due to travel plans, will be spent away from my husband. Yes… I never get any sympathy for anything said after the word “Paris.”

While I don’t blame you, I can offer that this Paris trip will be different: I’ll be returning with souvenirs and I’ll tell you more about them soon… but let’s enjoy a Paris interlude, courtesy of choice photos from a Paris-New York friend?

So as if my schedule can take yet another blow, there’s the sometimes adored, sometimes depressing, always feared Valentine’s Day. After years working at a dating website and then in the floral design world, I would expect the magic of February 14th to be lost on me. But as long as I approach the “holiday” as a non-holiday, just another day of the year to say “I love you,” it’s all good. It’s even better when there’s food. And when the food is handmade by small business, well, then maybe we can really think of it as magical.

Be My (Big) Valentine Gift Box

Be My (Sweet) Valentine Gift Box

Be My (Hip) Valentine Gift Box

Last year, we sold out of our Valentine’s Day gift boxes of handmade food. A little publication announced them to the world and they were snatched up in what felt like seconds. This year, I wanted to launch them a few weeks early, to give you time to pre-order a gift box (or ten) for all your lovers or loved ones.

We tried to thoughtfully craft two different boxes full of flavors I know I want to enjoy right now: warm caramels, all sorts of bright citrus flavors, a bit of nuttiness and a touch of spice. There’s a little chocolate too – because just a little is perfect – especially in the form of chocolate pate de fruit. And when you put the items from both gift boxes together into a crafty larger one, well, that’s a big box of love that a couple can enjoy for days and weeks.

These three boxes are packed with love, with a hand-written card, and available until they sell out. All orders will be shipped in time to arrive to their destination by Valentine’s Day. Essentially, you place your order and then leave the rest to us!

Thank you, in advance, for your order. I promise we’ll take good care of it! I also promise to share more about those Paris souvenirs soon… until then, a couple more pretty Paris shots…

All gift box photos taken by Heidi Murphy/White Loft Style and the Paris photos were taken by karigee.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local and comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

KALE is one of the most nutrient-rich leafy green you could ever eat, and we’ve been eating this super food every which way possible, all in an effort to take better care of our body and soul in 2012. When Maggie asked me to do a post on a winter salad, I knew it had to be kale.

Not only is kale a winter-hardy veggie to grow in your backyard (yes! it will survive winter with very little help), we are even growing kale “micro-greens” and sprouts indoors.

Sorry for the slight detour, but it’s so great to be puttering in my “garden” while it’s snowing outside. Who needs to wait till spring to be growing fresh greens again?

Now back to the salad… Cut your kale into bite-size pieces. Be sure to trim off the tough center stem (and feed it to your critters).

Thinly slice a small radicchio and finely chop half of a shallot.

Shred a large carrot and cut up a blood orange. I love citrus in a salad; look at that color! Toss it all in a large salad bowl then make your dressing.

This dressing is creamy, rich and big on flavor. Combine equal parts of tahini, miso paste (I used red, but you can use any kind), and ginger syrup. We’ve been loving the ginger syrup from Eat Boutique’s gift box (thank you, Maggie!). If you don’t have, then substitute with honey and a bit of grated fresh ginger instead.

Add a little water and a squeeze of citrus to thin it down to a thick pourable consistency. Wasabi almonds found in the back of my fridge added a nice crunch to this salad.

This winter salad is heavier than your typical light green summer salad. It is chewy, “meaty” and hearty enough to be a main meal, or a perfect side to grilled salmon or chicken. This would be phenomenal in a fish taco with some fresh cilantro thrown in.

Winter Salad with Miso & Ginger Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 small bunch of kale
• 1 small radicchio
• 1 small shallot
• 1 large carrot
• 1 blood orange
• Sprinkle of almonds

Dressing (start off with 1 heaping tablespoon of each):

• 1 part miso paste
• 1 part tahini
• 1 part ginger syrup (or honey with 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger)
• Water and squeeze of citrus juice to thin

Directions:

1. Wash, slice, chop and trim your salad ingredients and place in salad bowl.
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix dressing ingredients together, adding a squeeze or two of citrus juice, and water to thin to a thick pourable consistency. Pour over the salad, toss and serve.

All photos styled and photographed by Jill Chen.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

We’re down to the final hours, 2012 is really just moments away. I’m ringing in the New Year in Portland, Maine. The working port is just outside my apartment window, the ferries chugging back and forth between some of the prettiest islands in all of the States, in my humble opinion. But it’s too cold to be out on the ferry. I far prefer sorting through pretty sparkling cocktail photos and sharing just one last recipe before we officially bid adieu to 2011.

If your fridge hosts a bottle of bubbles and a jar of jam, this drink practically makes itself! I have shelves and shelves full of homemade jams and actually just made a huge batch of three fruit marmalade (packed with grapefruits, lemons, oranges and several ounces of Spanish Cava). I call it my Christmas marmalade because that’s the only day of December when I had the time to make up 16 half-pint jars. Yes, I am totally tired.

You don’t have to use homemade jam, the store bought stuff will do well. Just add a teaspoon to a glass, or in this case, a pretty jam jar, and fill with bubbles. I tend to drink all my beverages in jam jars these days; I love the double duty they perform as simple vessel for liquid refreshment and reliable preserving container.

Whisk or stir gently and your New Year’s Eve celebration cocktail is ready. I love setting out a few jars of jam, glasses, spoons and a whisk, and inviting my guests to make up their desired sparkling drink. I used Prosecco for my creation, but you could opt to use Champagne or even Cava.

Until we meet again in 2012, we wish you a happy happy new year!

Sparkling Jam Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of jam
• 4 ounces of chilled sparkling wine

Directions:

1. Add jam to a glass. Pour in sparkling wine. Whisk or stir gently.
2. Serve and repeat!

All photos styled by Maggie Battista and Heidi Murphy and photographed by Heidi Murphy/White Loft Style.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

I’m no stranger to infused booze. In fact, during a month when I’ve spent every free moment (quite happily) packing holiday gift boxes and planning our winter tasting programs, you could say that infused booze and I are best friends forever.

My cocktail of choice these days is either straight Champagne or little more than anything strong served ice cold in a neat glass. Fruity mixed drinks that please me all summer are basically no match for the colder months. Give me Washington cherry-infused bourbon, rhubarb flavored vodka or this very simple recipe for organic American vodka colored by fresh figs and vanilla. It’s straight alcohol, all the time.

A couple week’s back, Heidi visited to continue our sparkling cocktail planning adventures. You should really be a fly on the way during those photo shoots, just to mock us for falling in love with our on the spot creations. After five or twenty sips, each recipe is better than the last. This was the last recipe we shot and I almost made it as an afterthought, just to fill up some extra film, but we both kinda love these photos.

I’m giving these jars out to friends this month and getting them involved in the action. All they have to do is strain out the figs and vanilla bean and sit a pretty bottle of flavored happiness on the kitchen shelf. Tied with some twine and a handmade label, celebrating the season was never quiet so simple.

Happy *almost* Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s!

Fig and Vanilla Vodka

Recipe adapted from Sweet Paul’s Holiday Issue

Ingredients:

• 1 liter jar
• 1 liter good organic vodka
• 1/2 pound (8 ounces) of fresh or dried figs
• 1 vanilla bean

Directions:

1. Clean and sterilize a 1 liter glass jar.
2. Clean and slice figs. If using fresh figs, slice into quarters. If using dried figs, slice in half. Place in the jar.
3. Sliced a vanilla bean pod in half, exposing all the pretty beans. Place it into the jar with the figs.
4. Poor vodka over the figs and vanilla bean. Seal and let sit for one week.
5. Strain and serve chilled just as it is or, ideally, in your own pretty cocktail creation.

All photos styled by Maggie Battista and Heidi Murphy and photographed by Heidi Murphy/White Loft Style.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

Holiday baking season has officially begun and we’re excited to share so many handmade food gifts over the next several weeks. The Eat Boutique team has put together a lovely line up of blog posts, including several great cocktails we’ll share later in the month. First up, these ginger bars are a delicious and different additional to your upcoming cookie swap. Jill even shared packaging ideas below. -Maggie

It was at a cookie exchange years ago that I was a lucky recipient of a box of these ginger bars. It was love at first bite, and I have been making them ever since. It isn’t fancied up with chocolate dip or sparkles of sugar or sprinkles. It’s just plain and simple but the wonderful combination of molasses and honey is what makes this a stand out in both taste and texture. The moment you take a bite, you will want more. Even my kids prefer this over a chocolate-dipped cookie any day.

Though it’s a very easy recipe, I still managed to do a few things out of order, like not cream my sugar with the butter or add the eggs at the wrong time. After all, it’s been a year since I made these.

But no matter, the machine kept mixing and it still turned out brilliantly.

This batter is the most delicious thing. The texture is dry but sticky, almost like taffy.

Scrape the batter into a buttered baking pan and spread to the edges.

Bake until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted comes out almost clean. Let it cool, then cut into squares. I did 3 rows by 4 rows, then cut diagonal triangles from that. This combination yields 24 pieces. You could cut it smaller if you wish.

Dust with powdered sugar, and enjoy. Or package in tins or cello bags to give away as gifts or cookie swap.

Paper doilies were added between bars to keep from sticking.

Ginger Bars
Adapted from Cookies, Brownies, Bars & More, from Fine Cooking

Ingredients:

This time last year, some tough news hit my family.

I was in the midst of so many good things – finally feeling my way through my Paris gig and loving all things Paris, prepping for a wonderful Eat Boutique holiday gift box season, tasting treats from a variety of emerging food makers, planning our first Local Market and a huge Thanksgiving meal for 20 people. Life was on the upswing.

Until it was on the downswing.

Over the course of what felt like five minutes (though it was probably closer to 2-3 days), I had received some numbing news about my Mom and everything was put on hold. Everything.

She was glad to have me by her side during the long road back to good health, but she reminded me that for the very reason that her life, a life, can change in an instant, dreams cannot be put on hold. And if we continue to put our passions and creative outlets on hold for a better time, a stronger economy, a less stressful moment in life, we might miss out on the simple chance to just try something, anything, to just try it.

As soon as my Mom was on the mend, I got back to my it. I just tried things. With every new gift box or new recipe or new food that we sampled together, we both got stronger. We celebrated the little victories and the setbacks (because there are always setbacks), and thankfully, she continues to celebrate every moment.

I learned my lesson: I no longer save the Champagne for that special night; I make an ordinary night special with Champagne. Or any bubbles really, and more on that in a second.

This has been a week of little victories. Some are very personal and I hope to be able to share them soon; others are worth a blog post. I’m so excited to celebrate that we’ll be hosting the following cookbook authors at our Holiday Local Market on Saturday, December 10, 2011:

• Judy Rosenberg, the founder of Boston’s five Rosie’s Bakeries and author of many cookbooks, including her latest The Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book
• Erin Byers Murray, the author of Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm
• Béatrice Peltre, food writer, stylist and photographer of the blog La Tartine Gourmand and her new book La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life

We have a lot of wonderful tricks up our sleeves for this event. The list of food makers is fantastic – fantastic! – and there may be another prominent cookbook author or two added to the list very soon – keep your eyes glued to this site for that information. We may also venture beyond food at this event to include some lovely food-oriented vendors, so we’ll share that soon too.

I also wanted to share this gorgeous cocktail. Since I celebrate everything now, I toasted all the good things in life with it this week. I created this drink earlier this Fall, just in time for Heidi to photograph it. It’s a mixture of my homemade Honey and Saffron liquor (adapted from cookbook author and now my friend Jane Lawson’s recipe), the very delicious Morris Kitchen Ginger Syrup and Champagne. I rim the glass with a flavored sugar and set off the warm notes in the liquor with a piece of thyme from my back yard.

Happy ordinary Thursday to you! I hope you are able to celebrate something, anything, that’s special to you.

Honey, Saffron and Ginger Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce of Honey and Saffron Liquor
• 1 tablespoon of Morris Kitchen Ginger Syrup (or more if you like a lot of ginger)
• Champagne, chilled
• Flavored sugar (I used this Bourbon Smoked Sugar)
• A spring of thyme

Directions:

1. Dip the top edge of an upright Champagne glass in a bit of water. Whip off any big drops by shaking your wrist while holding the glass. Dip the top edge of that glass into the sugar.
2. To the glass, add the liquor and the syrup. Fill the glass with Champagne. Garnish with the thyme.
3. Drink. Make again and drink again!
4. Note: You could leave out the ginger syrup and still have a stellar cocktail. I consider the Honey and Saffron Liquor mixed with Champagne my cook’s treat before dinner party guests arrive.

All photos styled by Maggie Battista and Heidi Murphy, and photographed by Heidi Murphy/White Loft Style.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

Heidi contacted me a few months ago. We met up for lunch, with cocktails of course, and the rest is history. She now photographs our gift boxes and, as a wedding photographer, knows how to capture such perfect moments in food too. I’m so happy to know her, and to have her share her family history with Concord grapes. Please say hello to her in the comments! -Maggie

My grandparents were transplants from Pennsylvania Dutch country and my childhood was filled with all sorts of tradition that revolved around food.  I spent much time with them in the days of clotheslines, aprons, vegetable gardens, canning, and Sunday suppers.  It was a time when if something was broke, you fixed it and when you needed something, you built it.  They had Concord Grapes that grew on their property and when there was a good harvest, the bushel baskets came out of the basement, grape picking ensued, and jelly and juice making followed.

My grandparents are now gone along with the vines, and every early Fall that passes, I regret not finding the grapes again.  With determination, I decided that this would be the year.  After many futile online searches, I found Autumn Hills Orchard in Grafton Massachusetts – when the grapes were ready, off I went with my Mum for an afternoon of picking on an unusually warm and humid September day.  We returned home with over 40lbs of grapes, a Ball canning guide from 1974 from my Mum’s kitchen, and fueled with memories from a time gone by.

After rinsing the grapes in one batch in a large tub in the yard, we rinsed them again in the kitchen sink – sorting the grapes into two bowls – one for jelly and the other for juice.  The grapes selected for juice, were ripe but still firm, and not split or blemished.  For the jelly, it really didn’t matter so everything smushed-sweet-yummy was set aside whether it was whole or not.

We used the Ball jelly and juice recipes as a guide and made modifications as we went – especially in regard to the sugar.  Our grapes were really flavorful and sweet so we cut our sugar by at least half.  Also, most of the grapes were so ripe that they crushed in transport so it was difficult to determine “2 quarts” as so many grapes were no longer whole.  We estimated the quantity as best we could and determined the ratio of sugar-to-grape, by taste.

Concord Grape Jelly

Yield: approximately 3 pints

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts stemmed Concord grapes
• 6 cups of sugar

Directions:

1. Briskly boil grapes on stove top until whole grapes “pop” under the pressure of a spoon.
2. Transfer to a canning sieve and press the pulp.
3. Squeeze the remaining pulp through cheese cloth – the grapes were so amazing that we didn’t want to waste a drop, so we added this extra step.
4. Add the thick juice to a saucepan and add sugar, cooking slowly until dissolved.
5. Rapidly boil until jellying point. We used the “plate test” to determine when the jelly was ready.
6. Pour jelly, boiling hot, into prepared canning jars – leaving ½ inch head space per recommendation for Weck jars.
7. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Concord Grape Juice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Concord Grapes
• ½ to 1 cup sugar – adjust to sweetness of grapes
• Enough boiling water to top-off each jar
• 1-quart jars – ultimately, we utilized the classic Ball quart jar – the same that my Mum always used.  I intended to use the Weck 1 liter juice jars but once in my kitchen, found that the Weck jars did not fit in my water bath.  I have since hunted for a pot that would fit the jars but have not had any luck thus far.

Directions:

1. Prepare jars and add 1 cup grapes to each.
2. Add your sugar, adjusted to the sweetness of your grapes – I used just a ½ cup.
3. Top with boiling water, leaving ¼ inch head space.
4. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
5. After completely cooled, transfer to cool dark space.
6. Store for 2+ months and strain into a chilled pitcher when ready to enjoy.

We’ve always let our grape juice sit a couple of months before drinking – with the first quart coming out of our basement at Thanksgiving.  As a kid, I remember climbing on empty flour buckets to retrieve the juice from the wooden basement shelves – carrying the precious cargo upstairs like treasure. This juice was a mainstay on our table throughout the Fall and Winter holidays – the reminder of all things sweet and simple.

All photos styled and photographed by Heidi Murphy.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Order a gift box of food today.

It’s officially Fall and we’re all back in the kitchen. After a New York City visit to make new food friends and attend some Wine and Food Festival events, I’m roasting the Brussels sprouts from ripe stalks in my garden. Jill is doing beautiful things with beets and apples and Shelby is making some local squash sparkle in this gratin. And, inspired by the west coast fig harvest, Denise has shared a tart we’ve all fallen for… What are you doing with figs this Fall? -Maggie

Late August brings anticipation of fig season to our home.  I anticipate seeing the first basket of ripe figs make their market appearance, and I tend to seek them out anxiously the entire month.  This summer, I finally found these little gems towards the end of August and was completely overjoyed with glee.  I carefully hand-picked the plumpest ones I could find, and laid them carefully in a brown paper bag.  All the way home, I thought about how I was going to pour a glass of wine, sit out back, and savor the succulent flavor of each sweet  bite.  Unfortunately, this first time was a bit of a disappointment;  dry, seedy, and not very succulent.  A bowl of figs and not one was worthy of being eaten.

Over the next couple weeks, I reluctantly purchased a few figs here and there.  Once it started heating up around the Bay Area, the figs slowly started becoming plumper, moister and full of flavor.  Figs started becoming a regular guest over at our kitchen island, and we were enjoying them daily.  Most often we enjoyed them simply by nibbling on them as a snack or along side some cheese while making dinner.

If the figs lasted long enough to make it into a recipe, one of my favorites is this savory tart.  Creamy blue cheese cradles the sugary figs;  they are the perfect marriage and there really is no comparison.   As the blue cheese bubbles while baking, the figs gently burst and their jammy sweetness oozes over the tart.  This savory tart is lovely served as a starter for a special meal or on its own when served with a simple green salad.

Fig and Blue Cheese Tart

Ingredients:

• 1 package of puff pastry or enough tart dough for 8” tart pan
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 ounces blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• Enough figs to cover the bottom of your tart pan, cut them in half
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Chestnut honey

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Butter the bottom and sides of your tart pan with the melted butter.  Roll out the dough into a large circle, about an inch bigger then your pan. Pat the dough into the pan and trim the extra dough that hangs over the sides.
3. Combine the cheese, half and half and pepper in a bowl. Mash with a fork.  Spread evenly over dough.  Arrange the figs over the cheese mixture alternating cut side up and cut side down. Sprinkle with the fresh minced thyme and drizzle olive oil over the top.
4. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until crust is golden, and the figs are plump and the cheese is slightly bubbly. Remove from oven. Let cool for 10 – 15 minutes. Just before serving drizzle a small amount of honey over the top of the tart.  Serve. Eat.

All photos styled and shot by Denise Woodward.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Order a gift box of food today.

This is a wonderful time of year. Farmer’s markets everywhere are brimming with the vivid colors of the early Fall harvest. This Beet & Apple Salad is not only delicious and so pretty, the crisp combo of earthy sweetness from the beets and tarty sweetness from the apples is a perfect way to bid farewell to Summer and say hello Autumn!

Oh, it’s also very good for you. (I use raw beets because cooking removes some of its nutrients, nutrients that have endless health benefits from lowering cholesterol to normalizing blood pressure.) And please don’t throw out the beet greens; they are also chock full of vitamins and great chopped raw in a salad or cooked as a side dish, like swiss chard or spinach.

My friend France (not the country, but from the country!) shared this easy recipe with me. Frankly, I am salad-challenged. I was raised on Chinese food and never ate salad. “Frahhhh-nce” (she’s French, you know) was sweet enough to come over and make me this fresh, colorful and beautiful salad. She used to be a chef so she eats well, as do I when she visits, and now creates beautiful handmade dog couture at Molly & June.

Let’s get straight to the recipe tips! Begin by slicing the beets into matchsticks. Look at this gorgeous color. If you have golden beets, use them too for contrasting color.

Toast your walnuts in the oven or on the stove. Sip some wine.

Also peel and cut up your apples into matchsticks. In a separate bowl, make the citrus vinaigrette.

Toss beets and apples in vinaigrette, and plate individually, each on a bed of arugula or mixed greens. Spoon some extra dressing on top.

Add crumbled feta or goat cheese (I love how my apron matches the salad).

Top with toasted walnuts and voilà!

Beet & Apple Salad with Feta & Walnuts
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4-6 raw beets, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 2 granny smith apples (I didn’t have so substituted with gala) peeled and cut into matchsticks
• Arugula or mixed salad greens
• 8 oz goat or feta cheese, crumbled
• Toasted walnuts
• 6 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (you can also use white balsamic, apple cider vinegar, or you favorite mixed citrus juice)
• 3 tablespoons of best-quality extra virgin olive oil
• A little fleur de sel (if you are using goat cheese; no salt, if you’re using feta cheese)

Directions:

1. Wash, peel and cut your beets and apples. Reserve in a large bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, make your citrus vinaigrette by adding lemon juice, olive oil, and fleur de sel. Whisk together, taste and adjust to your liking. If you want a sweeter flavor, use less citrus and more olive oil. Drizzle over beets and apples and toss with pair of tongs.
3. Plate individually by making a bed of salad greens, top with pile of beet mixture, and garnish with cheese and walnuts.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Order a gift box of food today.