Gift Guide for a Food Lover!

Its no secret that I love food!  From baking cakes and foods myself to trying out new flavours and products on the market, there is something magical about receiving foodie gifts that you may not have ordinarily bought yourself!  Making hampers of homemade sweets, chocolate bars, jams and cakes always go down well at Christmas and I have gathered a little list of goodies here that any foodie would delight in receiving!

First up is the fabulous Joe & Seph!  When I think Joe & Seph I always thing gourmet popcorn but not once did I think that they do the most amazing caramel sauces! Where have I been and why did I not know about this!  From chocolate caramel to a very festive Brandy Butter Caramel Sauce there is something for every taste bud and I am busy creating some delicious recipes to share with you soon too!

Homemade Christmas cake will always be well received as gifts, it takes a long time to make, a lot of ingredients and can be personalised with anything from marzipan and plain icing to a full on snow scene!  I have already made one cake as a test and will be making another couple within the next week as gifts, the smell through the house alone is worth the effort involved!   Go for it, you may be starting a new tradition!

I have to admit to snacking on bits and pieces when I’m baking, the kids are exactly the same!  Finding something they enjoy while being healthy at the same time is difficult but we were kindly sent these Noberasco Fruittime snack packs of real fruit cubes and Amelia loves them!  I am planning on popping a couple of packets in her stocking in place of the usual chocolate coins!  **That little hand was constantly in the pics pinching the fruit cubes while I was trying to take the pictures**

The next is a bit controversial, you either love em or hate em!  Anchovies!  I don’t think I have ever seen an anchovies gift set before so this was a whole new revelation for me, anchovies four ways!

How fabulous is this presentation, little glass jars, a cute little 2 prong fork and the cutest little drawing to show what flavour the jars are…Double Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil, Double Anchovy Fillets with Pantelleria Capers, Anchovy Fillets with Double Herbes de Provence, Double Anchovy Fillets with Italian Chilli.   You may think anchovies only work well on a pizza and that is where you need to broaden your taste buds, anchovies work so well with lamb and beef and also add a welcome salt to salad dishes, there is a whole host of recipe ideas on the Ciao Gusto site which I have bookmarked and will most definitely be trying soon!

Another huge favourite in our home is quick and easy fudge!  Ideal as a last minute gift and so simply to make you will never buy shop bought again!  This can again be personalised with toppings to the recipients taste,  how about adding candy and chocolate chunks or personally I would love a whole host of chopped pecans and salted caramel! Mmmm!

When you work full time anything that makes dinner time easier is a godsend!  These packs from Desi Gourmet are a time hack when it comes to creating quick and easy authentic Indian meals.  Containing everything you need to make a meal except the fresh ingredients (chicken, lamb and veg etc)   Included in the kids are individual sachets of everything from sauteed onions to garlic puree, no weighing, measuring or prepping all those little bits that take time!  With genuinely authentic flavours these are perfect for those nights in when you cant justify a takeaway but do the minimum in the kitchen – these will be our go to meals in the future for take away night!

I hope there is something here for the foodies among you and you enjoy whatever you receive!

XOXO

Debbie

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