Best Food Gifts

All of this gift giving in the air made me think about some of the best food gifts that I've received.

Gevalia coffee + coffee maker

I went to visit my friend Martene in Newark about nine years ago and she is not a coffee drinker which made the fresh Gevalia coffee even more special.

Half a Pomegranate

One of my aunts, unbeknown to me, still had a pomegranate post-season last year and I was going on and on about pomegranates and she came out of the kitchen with it. I was so happy when she shared with me.

Homemade Yogurt with 1% Milk

The person who made it for me does not like 1% milk.

Harry and David Pear

Several years ago, a coworker received a fruit basket and shared a pear. To this day, that was the most delicious pear that I've ever tasted.

Tomatoes

One of my coworkers left a handful of tiny tomatoes on my desk and they were delicious.

Vosges Barcelona and Woolloomooloo Bars

A friend included them in a care package when I needed some, well, extra care.

Amish Honey & Green Tea


I think this person, prone to ultra-hospitality, felt bad because I was not eating anything and finally found something that I would ingest.

Mint

On a regular basis, I would come to work and have mint from three rotating benefactors. I even got starter plants which I, sadly, couldn't get beyond the starting point.

Honorable Mention

Uncle Pop's Barley Wheat Sticks


This food gift was an office one. One of my colleagues said that they reminded him of Sugar Smacks. I like them. They're airy and not too sweet. I'm gonna have to find out where I can get the barley sticks because they've grown on me.

I love this article on wikiHow about How to Give Gifts Unconditionally.

Thought for Today

"What delights me most about the holiday season is that people are more open to giving and sharing. And actively thinking about how to spread more joy." —Oprah

Forecast: Four Inches of Pomegranate Arils

Had my Introduction to Shakespeare teacher produced a pomegranate, I would have made an instant connection. Really, how do I compare a pomegranate?

One of my coworkers was headed to Sam's and asked if I wanted anything. I was good on my favorite hummus, Sabra roasted red peppers, so I shook my head no until a light bulb went off. Pomegranates. When I said it out loud, I could see the concern in my coworkers' face. He wasn't a pomegranate kind of guy.

I gave him strict instructions.

Look for pomegranates with nice color and no bruises.

If it's shriveled and dry looking, leave it where it's at.

Some shriveld pomes do have gorgeous seeds inside but who wants to take the chance?

I plan to freeze arils so that I can have some for later. Of course, it's just delaying the inevitable but...

While I was getting at the arils, I learned a few more things; pomegranates are best picked apart at room temperature. I had left the Sam's yield in my freezer of a car and the frigid seeds flew all over the place.

I also think that prying the pomegranates into sections helped with my finger strength, a rock climbing benefit.

If you missed my little ode to pomegranates last time, I was inspired to write another one:

Your beauty is un
paralleled; with arils ru
by red or crystal

March Pomegranate

My aunt Girt offered me some fruit cocktail and I declined since I had made my own cocktail of blueberries, kiwi, pineapple and strawberries which was in my snack bag that I carry around. People are so used to me carrying my snack bag that it doesn't even amuse them anymore.

My aunt said watermelon would make this perfect.

Yeah, pomegranate would make mine perfect, I responded.

Before I knew it, I had a fourth of a pomegranate before my very eyes.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's SuperAunt!

How in the world did she pull that off?

My aunt had been storing the pomegranate for, at least, a month and it had maintained its freshness.

I was so freakin' touched that my aunt would share her last pomegranate with me.

Her offering reminded me of a poem in Henry Dumas' Knees of a Natural Man.

Saba: Joy

purchase two
eat one
and
give the other away