Easy Cheesy Gifts for Valentines Day

Can you believe it's February already?!?...We here at the Jam Lab are excited for this year...Like, really excited!...Even though we are super busy jammin and boxin and shippin...we managed to gather up a few of our favorite cheesy themed valentines gifts for your sweetie...Take a look.

Cheese Grotto ~ Orange Jam Jar ~ FICJC Jelly Trio ~ Cheeseboard Alternative ~ FICJC 6pack I Monogrammed Cheeseboard ~ FICJC Mini Bar Kit ~ Real Bullet Whiskey Glass ~ Venus Spirits Bourbon ~ Cheese Grater Necklace

1. Cheese Grotto, $350 ~ Let's just get the most expensive gift out of the way!  If you are a true cheesemonger/maker - this is a must on your wish list..Each Grotto is handmade in Virginia in limited quantities. The original Grotto, The Classico, is made with architecturally handsome bamboo ply that is extremely resilient and durable over a lifetime. Each Grotto is finished by hand, making it a gorgeous tabletop display for entertaining at larger dinner parties.  Watch the video for more info...such a cool Woman designed and invented product!

2. A Valentines Trio of Preserves, $12 from Friend in Cheeses Jam Co.  ~ A deal to steal your heart...Do you have a sweetie that loves jams, jellies and all things sweetly preserved?  Then this is the trio for you...  Whether a bit PRICKLY or a little FORBIDDEN we keep it ROSIE! 

3. A Monogrammed Slate Cheese Board, $49 from Brooklyn Slate Co. ~ a classy traditional piece to add to your stash of entertaining serving ware...We love these slate boards when we are presenting our preserves to new clients...they are cool to the touch and they clean up easily...win/win.

4. A Cheese Grater Necklace, $19.99 ~ Sweet Dreams are made of Cheese...Who am I to dis-a- brie!  Perfect for the cheese lover who's also an 80's music lover....such a great idea you should probably buy 2...

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

5. A Cheese Board Alternative, $24 plus shipping ~ Checkout this really cool idea of putting your cheese and charceuterie plate onto a clipboard?!?  Isn't that creatively amazing?!?  If only we could ask for a wine glass holder to be cut into this clipboard we would be all set...Lovely workmanship...Each one is unique..so patterns vary..

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

6. A Ceramic Orange Jelly Jar, $19.99 ~ Wow...what a blast from the past...Fruit shaped jam and jelly jars were all the rage in days past...hard to find now, except on Etsy or Ebay...but this rendition is absolutely adorable...It does come with a cheesy plastic spoon, feel free to replace that with a nice antique silver spoon...to doll it up.

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

7. A Mini Bar Kit, $20 ~ For the mixoligist of your crew...We offer 3 kits to choose...whether you enjoy vodka, tequila, bourbon....or if you are not partaking in any alcohol just substitute the alcohol with your favorite sparkling water...We partnered up with Golden Bear Bitters for these amazing mini bar kits and we couldn't be happier...Each kit comes with a 2oz bottle of bitters, a 2.5oz jar of loose set jelly, a gold twig drink stirrer and a cute hangtag recipe card.

8. & 9. Venus Spirit Wayword Whiskey, $?? but worth every penny... The recipe in our Jamhattan calls for their Rye Whiskey, but this sweetie just won a Good Food Award this year and is a great substitute.  What to drink your whiskey or bourbon on you ask?!? Well, these lovely rocks glasses would suit any lover of this spirit. Whether your sweetie is a wrangler, the bullet rocks glass is as wrangler as you can get..., or more of the San Franciscan, the etched San Francisco glass is perfect, you can bet you will get a twinkle in someones eye with either of these...

BOURBON...In 1789 bourbon whiskey was born on the western edge of the United States. Today Wayward Whiskey takes a bit of that tradition farther west to the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean. This unruly spirit has forged its own path to become a truly bold American whiskey.

DISTILLATION NOTES

• 92 Proof
• 10 BBL wash
• Mash bill: organic corn 70%, organic wheat, organic malted barley
• Still Type: alembic
• Distillation: double distillation

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

• ADI Judging of Craft Spirits 2017 - BRONZE
• ADI Judging of Craft Spirits 2017 - GOLD, packaging
• Good Food Awards 2018 - Winner, spirits category

TASTING NOTES

• Color: deep amber
• Nose: caramel 
• Palate: caramel, corn, grain
• Finish: sweet, cherry wood

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

10. A big piece of toast pillow, $15 and a 6 pack of some jam, $28 ~ ...um..yep...kinda perfect for a few people we know!  

You get to choose the flavors!

Buy on Amazon

Now go get shoppin...you only have 12 days left!

SWEET SWEET MEYER LEMON....LOVE OF MINE

Photo Credit: Emily Blincoe

Cook without a lemon? Blasphemy! You may as well stop using salt, garlic and onion while you are at it. Yet this little cornerstone of perfection can and will change the way you look at food. From keeping an Aritchoke in check to sexing up a fish ...hell a nibble of Forbidden Fruit Marmalade on toast at the end of a meal is my kind of ending.

Lemons, lemons, lemons... so many kinds to choose from.......BUT I live smack dab on the coast in the middle of California which means it's MEYER LEMON country. From gardens to meadows to school yards you will find these little buggars throughout the Bay Area. They were initially imported and planted as an ornamental horticulture and not necessarily a food source. And why it was never considered both is beyond me. Some like to point the finger at the ONE person who brought us flat palated minions to the Meyer table.

That being, Chef Lindsey Shere, the one they say that got the ball rolling for the 1%ers of the Bay Area to see their ornamental bush turn into a treasure of golden orbs.   But please.....I was sitting on my stoop as a kid with split open Meyer lemons at my feet and packet of sugar in my hand, making "mouth" lemonade and popping pomegranate seeds as a chaser. If you prefer not to make "mouth" lemonade, head on over to one of my favorite blogs DESIGN MOM and get a true lesson on 9 Secrets to Amazing Homemade Lemonade and invite your neighbors over for a glass.

It is so odd to me how folks need to be THE ONE who discovered a food. Exposure through example and availability to the people is true beauty in my eyes. The soft aromatic skin and almost sweet juice of the Meyer is so abundant in the Bay Area I could almost say no one needs to purchase a one...ever. Every school could have lemonade avail at almost no cost, but rather have sugary sweet drinks in a vending machine.  Sigh... I don't have enough time today to fully go bonkers on the Meyer Lemon so lets get into some history shall we? 

 

Originally imported from China 1908 by a botanical adventurer...let's guess... his name was Meyer......? Over the centuries Meyers have traveled throughout Asia, arriving in the United States with the Spanish colonization of Florida in the 16th century and then traveling to California arriving in the mid 18th century.  

Lemons are frost tender, but guess what...they thrive in Mediterranean regions and are highlighted in their cuisine. Go figure. For such a delicate skin they are one of our most hardy varietals  and can grow in regions that rarely fall below 20F. Meyers will not cure on the counter... so don't pick them green. Once picked,,,use them asap. OCT -APRIL is the coastal season but Santa Cruz keeps them flowing almost year round with dual harvests. yaaaa...lucky me. While Meyers are my favorite...EUREKA And LISBON are the most common varieties in California. 

So don't be shy... knock on that door of the strangers house that has that bulging Meyer bush in their yard. Ask if you can glean from their tree and then pay it forward and bring them back a jar of marmalade or lemonade or a nice Aioli for the gift of the lemons. What a wonderful way to utilize the forgotten fruit and to have a convivial moment with a stranger by sharing a gift from Mother Nature.

Or, if you have a lemon tree (or any fruit bearing tree) and have more than you can use, there are places that would love to have your harvest.  Call a local elementary school donate your over abundance. Contact a glean website like Village Harvest for folks to find your fruit. Our homegrown produce is meant to be eaten and this country is going hungry with food still left on the trees. Everywhere there is food. Even us canning fools with a garage full of jars need to give back, share and be part of our community.

It dosn't take much effort to share and the reward is ten fold. When I lived in Capitola with 20 hens, I had WAY too many eggs for my own consumption.. so on my way to work, I would leave a basket of eggs on my porch for my neighbors to enjoy. All of a sudden the kids were walking to school with Breakfast burritos and I was loving that they were having eggs from my chickens named Fig, Ethyl Mermon, Gert, etc....All of a sudden we neighbors waved to each other and started to chat in the street at dusk . Rather than scurry into our collective huts with no connection to our surrounding humanity. Giving makes for a better planet. 

We use the mighty Meyer in the products below: 

FORBIDDEN FRUIT MARMALADE

SMOKIN' PADRON JAM

GOLDEN SAGEBERRY

STRAWBERRY TARRAGON CONSERVE

OUR DROUGHT RESPONSIBILITY PROJECT

Our products are dictated by Mother Nature and the ever changing seasons...Here in California, our local farms have to adjust their environment with water shortages and keep conservation at the forefront of production.....We are taking this consideration into our new Drought Responsibility Product line using fruits and vegetables that are either dry farmed or drought tolerant . 

We have partnered up with Jacob's Heart and will be donating a % of sales to this amazing local foundation.  

We have Point of Sale cards to help spread the word..

To help educate yourself more...here is an amazing article written by our friends at CUESA - 10 Tips for Drought-Friendly Eating

SMOKIN' PADRON JAM

We have another partnership with this beauty...We get all of our Organic Padron peppers from The Homeless Garden Project which offers job skills and a sense of community to its trainees to help them exit homelessness.  These peppers are also grown in accordance to Dry Farmed practices.

TART 'N SPICY TOMATO JELLY

We use Organic Dry Farmed Tomatoes from a plethora of farms in the coastal area...one of our favorites is Serendipity Farms in Carmel Valley...YUM!

The rains are finally here and filling our very low reservoirs.  Our Drought Responsibility Project is one that will not go away with the increasing rains.  Our project is not just about rainfall, its about understanding what is needed to make our food grow.  

The fruit needs water to produce its sweetness...just how much water is consumed by the fruit is the cost bearer for the farmer.  Using products that need little to no water to grow helps everyone...

New Flavor!

Prickly Purple Heart Jam

We are excited to announce our new flavor to the Drought Responsible Family.  Prickly Purple Heart Jam encompasses the most widely available fruit that needs no additional water to grow.  

SALTED WATERMELON JELLY

It's amazing that such a water bearing fruit can be grown without any added water!  If dry farmed correctly, the fruit relies on the groundwater for its survival.  Read this article for in depth information on Dry Farming which dates back thousands of years.

FIG & FENNEL JAM

The UN-thirsty fruit tree!  WE use dried figs from the San Joaquin Valley that are grown under Dry Farmed conditions.

DROUGHT RESPONSIBILITY

Every little effort makes an impact...Be the Change you want to see in the world!