For the last few years my friend Tara has written a Top 10 Christmas Kindness Gift Ideas post which I just love. I thought I’d copy her idea a bit and write my Top 8 foodie Christmas kindness gift ideas post – hope you don’t mind me pinching your idea Tara!
Tara has included a few foodie ideas in her post so be sure you check it out. However my favourite item on her list are the bum shorts – yes, really!
I’m also really hoping some of YOU have a few more ideas, because I’d love to get to 10 without actually pinching Tara’s food ideas.
1. Make a Pozible or a Kickstarter donation in someone else’s name. While many of these aren’t charity as such, they exist to support someone’s big idea – it’s a pretty cool feeling to help someone’s dream come true. There are loads of food related campaigns – check some of them out here.
2. Buy a Food Connect gift hamper filled with locally made (to Brisbane) artisan foods such as cheeses, oils, nuts, honey, tea, coffee and more. Hampers start from $25.
3. The fabulous OzHarvest cookbook. I was given this for Christmas last year and I absolutely love it! It features food saving recipes from many of Australia’s top cooks and chefs, including Maggie Beer, Neil Perry, Christine Manfield, Monday Morning Cooking Club, Julie Goodwin and many more.
OzHarvest is a non-denominational charity that rescues excess food which would otherwise be thrown out. It is then distributed to charities supporting the vulnerable in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Newcastle. Australia wide OzHarvest delivers 480,000 meals per month with a fleet of 21 vans (11 in Sydney). This equates to 160 tonnes each month.
The book costs $60 and is available online or from many bookstores.
4. The Harvest at Home Gourmet Bread Making Kit – Also distributed by OzHarvest, this bread making kit also comes with a Herbies Spice Mix, an environmentally friendly bamboo bread board, a spoon, OzHarvest tea towel, measuring cups and a baking tin. Cost: $60 plus delivery
5. Make a Kiva loan in the name of your loved one. For only $25 – that you get back with interest once the load is paid in full – you can help someone in a developing country become profitably self-employed and financially stable. There are many, many food options available – my first load was to help an Iraqi father of three buy a large dough mixer for his bakery. My current loan is to a Kyrgyzstani mother of four for her to purchase two heads of cattle so she can increase the size of her herds, and save money for her younger children’s education.
6. The Story of Food is a collection of personal memories of food, written by the diverse cross-section of people associated with the Romero Centre – including Australians and people who migrated to Australia. Each story is accompanied by a mouthwatering recipe. Recipes include kangaroo bulgogi (Korean-Australian), tamales (Colombia), Mauritian noodles, a Burmese fresh salad, apple crumble, and tiger toast – something many Australian kids will have grown up eating. All funds raised from the sale of this book go to the Romero Centre – books are $15 each and can be purchased online.
See below to find out how you can win a copy of this gorgeous little book.
7. Buy a gift to help a child in need through ChildFund Australia. My favourite is to give the gift of two chickens ($23) so they can get fresh eggs to eat, but I also love the idea of giving a goat ($55) for fresh milk and to make cheese, fruit tree seedlings ($28) or a water sanitation kit ($23). There are loads of ideas on the site, many with a food theme.
8. Give a few meals to someone in need – whether it’s a need borne of financial hardship, stress from the holiday season, grief or having had a baby. I’ve been the giver and receiver of many such gifts, and both have brought joy. You don’t need to wait for Christmas either – my favourite gift for a new mum is a week’s worth of freezable meals I’ve just cooked.
To WIN a copy of The Story of Food – write a comment below saying what your favourite family recipe is. Competition closes 5pm Friday 20 December (Brisbane Time). Whichever one makes my mouth water the most will win!
I’ll email winners after the closing and you will have 48 hours to claim your prize, otherwise there will be a redraw.
This competition is open to Australian and international readers – good luck!
Natalia says
Coming from a latinamerican family, my best family’ memories are always inside a kitchen.
In December my grandma’s best recipes were happening almost daily. As the eldest grandchild, I was in charge of rolling “buñuelos” (deep fried cheese and corn bread) and licking the wooden spoon that had been used to stir the “natilla” (corn based custard)
Here I am in Australia with my little family of 3 trying (hopelessly) to replicate her recipes and pass on the traditions.
Buñuelos:
-1kg of corn flour (the white and fine)
-1kg of fresh cheese (fetta, ricotta u can mix them too)
-100gr cassava or tapioca starch
-3 eggs
-150gr butter
-tbl salt
-tbl sugar
-pinch of bicarb
Mix all ingredients and roll balls size of ping pong balls. Deep fry in medium to high heat oil until golden brown.
They should float and turn themselves in the oil.
There are far too many tricks regarding this but grandma always makes them perfect. She even used to put a little cube of guava paste on my buñuelos. Cheese and guava paste is a hit! 🙂
Feliz Navidad
Mel Kettle says
yum Natalia!! they sound gorgeous
Gustoso says
My grandfather was Swiss, so we love oil based fondues. Not the best thing health wise, but delicious nevertheless. Potatoes cooked this way are just perfect.
Mel Kettle says
I love a good fondue – cheese is my favourite.
Fiona @TIFFIN bite sized food adventures says
Great post Mel. I’ve bought 12 Kiva vouchers for gifts. I love the idea that you are donating but the recipient gets to decide who the loan goes to. I also didn’t know about the Food Connect Hampers so now I have an idea for next year. Ho ho ho!
Mel Kettle says
that’s great Fiona! I love Kiva.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
On Christmas eve we’d all pile in the car and head to midnight mass and come home for French Canadian Tourtière Pie – a Frenchified pork pie made with pork, potatoes, onions and spices. Then we’d get to open one present and off to bed!
Mel Kettle says
yum!! I had a French Canadian host mum when I was an exchange student in Canada in 1998. She was a fantastic cook and made a lot of traditional Franch Canadian meals – I gained a ridiculous amount of weight in the 3 months I lived with her family.
Margaret says
I’ve bought two of the OzHarvest cook books for gifts this year. Such a fabulous idea behind that charity. I know my food loving relatives who are getting these will love them. As to favourite recipes it has to the ubiquitous spaghetti bolognaise. I cook up 4 kilos of mince at once with fresh ingredients and herbs. And it simmers for 4 hours. I love it because I can freeze it in single meal sizes. The kids love it because it is delicious. And their friends have started coming over when it’s on. 4 kilos doesn’t go as far as it used to!
Margaret Jolly says
Oh and one of my favourite foodie gift ideas is to give a food magazine with the ingredients (other than meats) to cook the nicest meal in it. Or the ingredients for a champagne cocktail with a lovely bottle of French
Mel Kettle says
ooh I love that idea – might nick that for next Christmas – or for birthday gifts.
Mel Trembath says
It has to be our healthy Nacho’s which I make regularly when we have 8+ guests. Its quick and easy and like a shared meat fondue and easily gluten free for me with torn corn tortillas.
500g premium beef mince
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 green capsicum
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoons Italian mixed herbs
1 bottle gluten-free mild taco sauce
1 tin mexi beans
3 tablespoons gluten-free tomato paste
1 cup grated cheese
2 packets gluten-free corn tortillas
oil for frying
1. Heat oil in a large frying pan & lightly cook diced onion & crushed garlic. Lower heat & add mince. Once mince is cooked, add tomatoes, herbs, diced capsicum, taco sauce, beans, tomato paste and 3/4 cup water. Cover, bring to the boil & simmer a further 15 mins.
2. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Tear tortillas into pieces & bake on trays until crispy.
3.Spoon the meat mixture into bowls, top with grated cheese & use tortilla crisps to dip & eat.
Mel Kettle says
nachos are a favourite here too – yum!
Mel Kettle says
hi everyone, thanks for entering! Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner. All your entries sound amazing and I couldn’t pick – I ended up using a random number generator and the winner is Gustoso – I’ve emailed you too. Stay tuned for another competition in a few weeks! Mel xx
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