Stayed home on Black Friday? Good. Here are some gifts you can buy for the comfort of your own home.

Our favorite eco-retailer, VivaTerra, is having a fantastic holiday sale, just in time for dressing your house up in seasonal, original  fun. These five gems are all 50% off, so you’re within your rights to buy two – one as a gift and, ahem (whisper), one for yourself.

With bijou desserts still all the rage, this branch pedestal server ($87) will display your mini-puds to dramatic effect. Designed as a little tree, it has two levels  – one large and one small – with a butterfly delicately perched on the edge of the upper tray. Besides, we’ve been lusting after it for a while.

Finding a unique holder for those table essentials is always a challenge, which is why we love this chirpy bird salt and pepper set ($12). Their shape is smooth and tactile, with a tiny beak and graceful body – they dispense through a discreet opening on their heads. We like their subtle color distinction.

We’re always on the lookout for new ways to present cheese. This ingenious puzzle board ($29) will make your fromage serving both fun and fabulous.

Having limited kitchen space myself, an all-in-one tower which performs no less than five functions is a winner. This minimalist white ceramic tea tower ($27) features storage and presentation for your teapot, tea cup, saucer, sugar and cream.

These glass numbers are designed to echo familiar shapes: the carton ($12) for your cream and the sack ($14) for your sugar. The Milk carton creamer and sugar sack: perfect for the surrealist tea party.

Images: Andrew Warchy; VivaTerra

10 photos to inspire your citrus consumption this winter. 

Come the holiday season, I always have a box of satsumas. Yes, satsumas. Not mandarins or tangerines; satsumas. Because they’re easy to peel, seedless and perfect for holiday laziness. Plus the box they come in is perfect for eco-friendly wrapping of gifts.

Be it satsumas, oranges or grapefruits, we’re in high citrus season, and as we like to say, when life gives you lemons, take pictures.

Citrus Tart

Grapefruit Pie

Satsumas 

Orange Basil Popsicle

Grilled Grapefruit Tart

Orange Yogurt Smoothie

Bruleed Grapefruit

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

Satsuma Sorbet

Lemon Cream Tart 

Images: Mama’s Gotta Bake, LUNCH, sonyaka, menn, Emily, michelle tedjakusuma, Pinku Neko, Chase Aaron, 추영, melba castillo, VincenteSF

 It’s fall and while apples are everywhere, consider making them into a warm tart.

In autumn, apples are a big deal in New York, especially if you visit any of the food markets around town. Even though I grew up in a very apple-rich area called the Apple Kingdom of Sweden, I’m deeply impressed at the variety that’s on display at the markets. I don’t know all the names and flavors so I’m happy that many vendors have apple tastings. It helps when you need to find the perfect apple for your apple pie, compote, juice or the one you just want to bite into.

For example, the McIntosh apple, with its soft and sweet/sour flavor, is excellent soaked with rum under a sweet butter rich crumble, as it melts when baked in the oven. I also like the McIntosh apple in the morning cooked for five minutes with cardamom and cinnamon, topped with kefir or yogurt. For an apple tart, where the apples lay on top of the crust, I prefer a firmer apple such as Granny Smith (sour) or Gala (sweeter). My new favorite apple to eat is the Honey Crisp which is both crispy and juicy. The apple has just enough sweetness without being sour. As its name spells out, it has an elegant honey flavor.

Ever since I was a teenager I’ve been making apple pies in different ways. My caramelized Apple Tart is my latest creation. Enjoy!

Caramelized Apple Tart
for 4-6 people

1 ¼ cup (about 300 ml) regular flour
3.5 ounces (about 100 grams) butter
3 tablespoons sucanat*
1½ teaspoons finely crushed cardamom
a splash of water

4 apples (preferably apples that are sour + firm inside, ex. Granny Smith)
4-5 tablespoons sucanat* (depending on how sour the apples are)
juice from one lemon
2½ ounces (70 grams) butter
½ cup (100 ml ) almonds, toasted and chopped

heavy cream, whipped with a little sugar

Start by mixing together butter, flour, cardamom and sucanat. When the butter is well divided add a splash of water. Work the dough together and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour. Line a greased 9 inch (about 23 cm) spring form. Pre-bake at 400°F (200°C) the pie shell for about 10-15 minutes until it has got some color. Let cool.

Wash and peel the apples. Cut in half, take out the seeds and slice the rest of the apple in thin slices. Sprinkle the slices with sucanat and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat in a frying pan until they start to get juicy. Add ½ of the butter. Keep cooking the apples until they starts to caramelize. If you think the apples need more sugar you may add some now and let cook for a little bit more. The color should be golden and have some brown spots. Remove from heat and add the rest of the butter and toasted almonds. Let cool a little before arranging the apples inside the baked pie shell. Bake at 450°F (230C) for about 15 minutes until the apples have gotten some nice color. Serve with whipped cream.

*Sucanat is a brown sugar extracted from sugar cane. It’s perfect to bake with and gives cakes and cookies a richer taste. In the U.S. you can often find Sucanat in organic shops. If you can’t find sucanat you may use muscovado sugar or even regular brown sugar instead. When I’m in Sweden I use Farin sugar which works really well too.

Illustration: Johanna Kindvall

I rarely regret voicing my opinion, but in the time since what I deemed an enlightened cupcake rant went to press, my father has taken it upon himself to send me every possible card, photo, and present that relates to the still-trendy dessert. Case in point: on a recent visit, he showed up at my apartment practically exploding with giddiness, which is something to behold from a bearded man of 6’4″. He handed me a wine bottle wrapped in pastel-colored cupcake wrapping paper. The content, shockingly enough, was a wine bottle from Cupcake Vineyards. My father found this hilarious.

Personal opinion aside, foodies concur, cupcakes are so last year. There are plenty of foodie forward replacement options, from chic and cosmopolitan to straight-out-of-the-family-reunion category. And they’re all giving cupcakes a run for their money.

1. Cookies on a string

In San Francisco, you can buy cookies straight out of a window. Fat Cookies entices its consumers with cookies in a paper bag, delivered by a dangling string. Now that’s the coolest bakery concept I’ve seen in awhile.

2. Pie By Bike

It’s fitting that Piecycle, just like Fat Cookie, doesn’t have an actual website. Just a Facebook page and Twitter stream – the marketing tools of guerilla foodies. It’s simple really: $3 for a slice and $20 for a whole pie, all delivered in the wee hours of the weekend, via two wheels in the University District of Seattle. Piecycle is certainly taking advantage of the late night sweet tooth – much like Voodoo Doughnuts of Portland, Oregon – but it’s also combining the two loves of 20-something urbanites: DIY food and bikes. It’s a match made in flaky, fruity heaven. And if you’re not into the whole bike delivery thing, there’s always the pop-up pie variety.

3. Macarons

They’re French and they’re fabulous (and shown at top). In fact, some might say they’re a little bourgeois, but at a handful of pocket change a pop, macarons aren’t limited to the upper echelons of foodie society. There are cafes devoted to them, whole books written about them and, just like cupcakes, with their flavor variations and transportable size, they’re the dessert that can fit every occasion, from weddings to picnics in the park.

4. Cake Pops

It’s almost a cupcake. But not. And they’re everywhere. Apartment Therapy thinks they’re cool. I’m currently attempting a creative, organic, non high-fructose corn syrup version (check back for that in a couple of weeks). If you’re new to cake pops, they’re just that: cake batter rolled in frosting and turned into what looks like a lollipop. The new cupcake? With cake pop focused businesses popping up all over the place, you better believe it.

5. The -frees

Kick the sugar habit and get on the healthy train. Trust us, everyone is doing it. Seems like every week here at EcoSalon we’ve got another recipe packed with antioxidants and Omega-3s, and if there’s anything that cupcakes can’t do, it’s be good for you. Which is why healthier desserts are on the up and coming list. Think dark chocolate covered kale chips.

There’s a reason gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and other “free” bakeries and patisseries are taking off. It’s not just for those who have food allergies or adhere to certain culinary lifestyles. Many of these foods are better for you and the planet, and people are eating them willingly. Take Sweetpea in Portland, which always seems to be serving a salivating crowd. A girl still needs a recipe heavy in eggs, cream and butter once in awhile. But when alternatives abound we can go much farther than the standard cupcake, and that will please any foodie.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, taking a conscious look at what’s bubbling in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: bloggyboulga, sandwichgirl, Piecycle, imcountingufoz, sweetpea baking co

With all the 8 essential amino acids your body needs, quinoa is an impressive complete protein. Although it has only recently made its way onto the menus of trendy fare here in the US, its history dates all the way back to 3,000 B.C.E., where it was grown in the Andes. Now the grain that the ancient Incas called the “mother grain” is quickly making its way into healthy diets around the world.

Just why is quinoa good for you? Here are five excellent reasons:

- Quinoa is gluten-free.
- This particular grain contains more protein than any other grain, around 12-18%.
- It is an alkaline grain, which helps to balance the acidic foods that often make up a large part of our diets.
- Quinoa contains high amounts of magnesium, which helps with cardiovascular health.
- And talk about versatile; you can eat quinoa for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert.

Sound to good to be true as a dessert? Test out this gluten-free recipe and you’ll be just as amazed by the delicious qualities of quinoa as the healthy ones.

Quinoa Spice Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 large organic apple, peeled and diced
3 organic eggs
1 stick organic butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup organic raisins (optional)
dash of nutmeg or allspice
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract (or switch out for orange extract)

Cook quinoa and set aside. To cook quinoa, bring two cups of water to a boil. Add quinoa and a dash of salt and let simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until water has cooked off.

Mix dry ingredients.

Whisk butter and eggs together and add to dry mixture.

Combine all ingredients, including quinoa, and stir in apple pieces.

Pour into a greased 9-inch round pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes at 350F.

The best part about this recipe? It tastes great with a multitude of extras thrown in. Play around with a handful of chocolate chips and some candied ginger for a real treat.

Note: This recipe works great for vegans too – just switch out the butter for margarine and the eggs for an egg replacer.

Images: Anna Brones, Anna Brones

I imagine in your health consciousness you’ve given up Jell-O as a dessert choice, but you probably have an occasional use for gelatin to thicken jams, jellies and pie fillings. I’m not sure if you ever considered where gelatin comes from, but it’s far from vegan. That nondescript white powder sold as Knox is extracted from the bones, connective tissues and organs of animals. Many people are surprised to learn that something as seemingly innocuous as a gummy bear is not a vegetarian food.

The plant kingdom saves the day. Agar is a colorless, flavorless gelatin-substitute that comes from seaweed. Carrageenan (you probably recognize that from food labels), comes from the sea vegetable known as Irish moss. As you experiment with these gelatin substitutes, note that agar creates a firmer thickening, while carrageenan is a little more liquid. And pay attention to labels when buying candies, jams, yogurts and snacks. Often, vegetarian options are available if you look.

Now thank the plants and carry on with dessert!

Image: Bethany L King

This is the season for outdoor eating and impromptu get togethers. It’s also the season for stone fruit – peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, and nectarines.

Here’s a gorgeous dessert to take to a cook-out or barbecue. It’s quick and easy to put together, simple enough to showcase the fruit without overpowering it and the dough is easy to work with – even for those who are inexperienced with pie crust. The only secret to a flaky crust is to keep the ingredients as cold as possible and don’t mix the dough too much. Make this with whatever stone fruit looks best at the market. You can use one type or several.

You’ll need:

3 tablespoons yogurt
1/3 cup ice water
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar, plus about 1 tablespoon additional for sprinkling on top
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
About 2 large peaches or nectarines, or 4 to 5 plums, or many cherries, or a mixture (pitted and sliced)

To make:

Stir together yogurt and water and keep in the freezer while you mix the other ingredients.

Mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Add butter and work in quickly with a pastry blender, leaving some pieces of butter the size of small peas.

Sprinkle the ice water/yogurt mixture over the flour-butter mixture gradually, mixing it in with a fork. Be careful not to over mix. The dough can still be crumbly, but should stick together when pinched. You may not need to use all the yogurt-water mixture.

Gather the dough into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for two hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. F.

Roll out dough to a quarter inch thickness and transfer to a baking sheet. Top the dough with sliced fruit, working in a spiral from the inside out, leaving a border of about 2 inches all along the edge of the dough. Fold the edges of the dough inward to encase the fruit, and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees until the crust is brown and flaky and the fruit soft, bubbling and fragrant, about 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

We recommend using local, organic ingredients whenever possible.

Image: bensonkua

Sarah’s piece on Meyer lemons last week got me thinking about some of my favorite ways to use these fragrant lovelies. Abundant as they are this time of year in my area, they can almost be had for the picking (or foraging). Meyer lemons are commonly found in backyards all over the Bay Area, where they thrive in our Mediterranean climate. In fact, it’s practically customary to bring a bag of Meyer lemons as a hostess gift throughout the winter months.

This lemon curd is easy to make and somewhat addictive. You might even find yourself baking scones so you’ll have the perfect vehicle for it. It’s also fantastic on English muffins, biscuits, and plain old toast. Try layering it in a parfait glass with mascarpone cheese and crumbled almond cookies. (It’s shown here as a French toast topping.)

If you cannot find Meyer Lemons and wish to make this recipe with other varieties, increase the sugar to 3/4 cup. If you grow fresh herbs, it’s fun to flavor this curd with a little lavender or lemon verbena.

Makes about 1 cup

3 eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh Meyer Lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon Meyer Lemon zest (finely chopped or from a microplane)

Set a stainless steel bowl over simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl sits up above the water level. In the bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 5 to 8 minutes. Immediately strain into a clean bowl, and add the butter a little at a time, whisking to incorporate each addition before adding the next. Stir in the lemon zest. Cover with plastic wrap (directly on the surface) and cool, Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Image: pudgeefeet

Recipe Copyright Vanessa Barrington 2009