The Strong Buzz Holiday Gift Guide
A few of my favorite things (plus a great way to volunteer this holiday season.)
You know those people who give you gifts of things they love? Well, that’s pretty much what this guide to gifting is — all my favorite things (which happen to be from female founders as well). I’ve got caviar from the country’s first black- and female-owned caviar brand; kitchen wear and apparel for smashing the patriarchy, tinned fish (naturally), a cookbook that marries social justice and baking, and a Sichuan crispy chili that will change your life.
Also, in case you want to add the gift of service to your holidays, I have to highly recommend The Service Collective, a website that organizes local Brooklyn volunteer opportunities (many idea for families). The site is simple and straight-forward, making it super easy to sign up and make meals, deliver food, fill a community fridge, wrap toys, and more. The kids, Craig and I cooked Thanksgiving at a local church last week, and it was one of the most meaningful Turkey Days ever. Check out the volunteer opportunities here. Happy Everything to you and yours. I am so grateful for you!
Caviar Dream
Two months ago Kendra Anderson, a chef and sommelier, founded Caviar Dream, the first black-and-female owned caviar company in the country. Her mission is not just to demystify caviar and source the best sustainably-farmed roe. She’s also trying to change the narrative around caviar and to break down barriers to this gate-kept luxury.
“My mission is rooted in helping people to explore and enjoy things that they may not have been introduced to,” she told me when we chatted this week. “ So many people – black and brown people – are truly intimidated or panicked by trying it. And that alone gets me out of bed every single day. I wanted to break down the barriers for people who feel it is financially and emotionally out of their range.”
Kendra’s Caviar Dream includes both roe (California White, Hackleback Sturgeon priced at $55-$65 an ounce) and proper Caviar sustainably farmed in Italy and China — Royal Siberian ($70/ounce), Kaluga Hybrid ($85/ounce), Classic Osetra ($95/ounce), Imperial Osetra ($135/ounce).
Her holiday gift sets are the perfect way to share something special with someone who might now otherwise treat themselves. The Gift Boxes come in a variety of combinations ranging from $140 to $395 and each comes with a package of potato crisps, blini, and crackers, 8 oz. crème frâiche, and mother-of-pearl spoons, so you can have a bump, spoon some on your scrambled eggs, pop some on your Pringles, or make it a blini-filled New Year’s Eve to remember.
All the Things from Overseasoned Amy
Now, I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer here in my gift guide, but we have entered a time of terrifying uncertainty for our country. I’ve been trying to avoid hard news lately and leaning into the “soft” sections of the paper (yes I read an actual paper, old lady that I am), because I need a little respite from the fear and anxiety. I go for long runs. I cook. I open wine with friends. I cuddle with my kids and our cat Murray. I also shop at Overseasoned Amy.
Massachusetts-based baker Amy Larson founded Overseasoned in the summer of 2016 as a way to share her recipes. Then in January of 2017, she attended the first Women’s March and was inspired by all of the protest signs and messages she saw there. That’s when she wrote her trademark slogan Smash the Garlic and the Patriarchy, drew an accompanying graphic and started printing it on tea towels, aprons and tote bags. She’s grown her business as a way of making a statement about the world we find ourselves in: hoodies emblazoned with “Ice Cream for Reproductive Justice,” aprons splashed with “Hot Girls Eat Bread,” and tote bags and tees written with “Shuck the Patriarchy.”
What’s more, these collections donate a portion of proceeds to organizations out there doing the work. The Smash the Garlic and the Patriarchy collection gives 15% of proceeds to Planned Parenthood; The Ice Cream for Reproductive Justice collection gives a total of 20% of profits—10% of each sale goes to Sister Song, a Southern-based organization working to build an effective network to improve policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities. Another 10% from each sale is donated to the Lilith Fund, which works to support the rights of all Texans to make their own reproductive choices. The Hot Girls Eat Bread collection donates 10% of profits to the World Central Kitchen Organization.
Amy has the best collection of apparel from aprons to hoodies, tee, tanks and tote bags so get one for your favorite human. She’s also organized a Women-Owned Gift Guide so check that out too!
The Revolution Will Be Well Fed
You have a lot of cookbooks, but do you have one that bridges baking and social justice? No? Well, now comes The Revolution Will Be Well Fed from Corrie Locke-Hardy (she/they), the owner of The Tiny Activist, a consulting business that focuses on social justice education and literacy. For her “first career,” Corrie spent nine years in cooking professionally, concentrating on pastry and bread. She worked in a wide range of establishments, which reinforced the message that community is key. This cookbook is a combination of Corrie’s lifelong passions for education, activism, and yummy treats.
Their book serves up more than delicious (many gluten-free) recipes: it asks us to find joy in community and demonstrates how organizing and resistance can be our best tools in the fight for our rights. Alongside 50 recipes you’ll find the history of social movements and revolutionary leaders, as well as calls to action for how to get involved in our own communities.
Chapters include breakfast, snacks, and dessert, as well as essays about important events, organizations, and individuals that have placed community at the core of their work. So you can read about the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program while making coffee cake, learn about sit-ins and strikes while snacking on hand pies, or gather for dessert to honor the people who laid the groundwork for sustained social movements.
Get the book on its own or go for a full on gift experience with the Bundle ($60) that includes a custom cake tester, a set of 4 block-printed napkins, a bag of Cozy Season tea from Community Care Apothecary, measurement conversion print designed by Madison Safer, and (naturally) stickers!
Fishwife for Everyone
I am a huge fan of Fishwife and from the Gift Guides I’ve read, I am not alone. This tinned fish from founder Becca Millstein is not only delicious, but the tins are beautiful enough to tile a kitchen backsplash. So their Ultimate Tinned Fish Gift Pack ($120) is an ideal present for anyone in your life who loves pretty things and who may also adore gorgeous fillets bathed in olive oil.
The Gift Pack has it all – nine different tinned fish from straight up classics like Smoked Atlantic Salmon, Smoked Rainbow Trout, Slow Smoked Mackerel, Cantabrian Anchovies in EVOO, and Albacore Tuna with Olive Oil, to more interesting combinations like Sardines with Preserved Lemon, Smoked Salmon with Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp, Smoked Salmon with Sweet & Spicy Zhong, Sardines in Hot Pepper. Plus you get swag: tinned fish tongs, and exclusive Fishwife goodies (holiday sticker, oh my!!), all packaged in a beautiful, ready-to-gift box. Just get it for yourself and call it a day. (Or get it for me.)
At the moment I see that this gift bundle is sold out, but it’s coming back soon! You can always grab a Starter Pack (7 tins for $$78) or a Tinned Fish Party Pack (5 tins for $55) instead!
The Crispy Chili of Your Dreams: Onino Sichuan
Cristy-Lucie Alvarado makes Onino – hands down the best crispy chili ever created. It’s homemade in Brooklyn and stocked with garlic, chiles, Marcona almonds and sesame seeds that gives the crisp nuance and depth. Hers is not as much a spice bomb as a beautiful expression of nutty, warm, crunchy lip-licking luxury. I’ve written about her before, and her hubby Austin just opened The Snail in Greenpoint so go check that out.
Anyway, for the first time ever Cristy has launched a limited-edition holiday-only Sichuan crispy chili. Get one on its own or splurge on her special edition gift set ready for the holidays includes one jar of her original blend and one jar of her new Sichuan flavor - her original blend spiked with Sichuan peppercorns for that tingling taste you love. It also comes with a ceramic “smiley” spoon created by Brooklyn-based artist Shino Takeda. No two spoons are the same so expect the colors to be a surprise!
Great and inspiring collection of gift ideas, Andrea!