Tagged with: gourmet gift
We couldn’t resist putting together ways to use our new "line” of hand towels and bar towels. Each towel is a work of art. . . so use them as a piece to enhance any setting or gift.
Here are some of our favorite “More than a Towel” ideas:
A bar helper
A picnic cloth
More bar ideas
As gift wrap
To keep bread warm
Setting a table
Our original design for Sal del Mar de Cortez embroidered bags are being featured in Bon Boutique https://bontucson.com as a gift idea for Mother's Day... we are thrilled. The owners, Crystal Flynt and her mother, Bonnie, collect their favorite things to feature in their shop. "The two of us share a love of things that are well designed and well made. We like a mix... new and old, rough and refined, dark and colorful, east and west, fun and serious... the beauty is in the way it’s all put together."
I am always amazed at the photographs on Bon's website. Crystal shoots many of the photographs and I admire her creative eye. Her photographs of Sal del Mar show how she captures the symplistic beauty in everything.
We have put together a pasta gift-basket idea that any Foodie would like. We started with a wire basket that we found at Bon, a gift boutique in Tucson. Of course, our gourmet sea salt is the first element we added. We have learned that salt/Sal del Mar is an essential ingredient for the pasta water or the entire dish will taste under-seasoned.
The hard part was deciding what other ingredients to add because the list of great pasta products is limitless. We choose breadsticks, tomato paste in a tube, olive oil, artisan pasta and wooden utensils to toss the pasta. Shop around to find lots of different ingredients and place your order at Sal del Mar to select one of our embroidered bags. Just add a tag and a bow and it will make a great gift ... even for the non-foodies.
We are always finding gift ideas for our Sal del Mar hand-embroidered bags. (Of course, they are the perfect gift just by themselves). So... recently we decided to start "listing" ways to combine our Sal del Mar bags with other items to make a special gift. We even created a new category on our website, called "Salty Gift Ideas." This is one of my favorite ideas. It is simple and easy to create with just a few items: a hors d'oeuvres plate (many to choose from either on line or at local gift boutiques); a cheese spreader; one of our hand-embroidered bags; and tie it all up with a ribbon and tag. A perfect gift for a Thanksgiving host or hostess.
We think Sal del Mar gourmet sea salt makes the perfect teacher gift and one that any teacher will like (and most likely won't get two of). Our hand-embroidered bags are works of art and there are many designs to choose from... a mermaid, palm trees, waves and ocean creatures, a margarita design, and our new design of Very Veggies. See our Shop for our design selections and to order for your favorite teacher.
We love the idea for the Gourmet Mother on Mother's Day that one of our retailers, Bon Boutique, came up with.... pairing our Sal del Mar together with wooden spoons from France and Fog Linen kitchen cloths.
I know what I'm bringing to the Labor Day Party! A huge platter of farmer's market heirloom tomatoes and a hand-embroidered bag of Sal del Mar.
Now, which one to choose? mmmm..... wonder what will she like the most?
With citrus in abundance I wanted to make marmalade with the small oranges available in Mexico, called “naranjita.” I called my friend Linda Poverman who I know makes all kinds of marmalades with the citrus from the trees that line the streets in front of her house in Tucson,Arizona. She emailed me the recipe below – Linda’s recipe for grapefruit marmalade since naranjitas are not found everywhere) and then a second email that said “and of course a pinch of SaldelMar."
It occurred to me that adding salt to a marmalade isn’t what you might expect. In fact, it seems magical to discover how salt works with different flavor profiles – such as a citrus marmalade. Salt is a flavor amplifier so it does make sense that you would add it to even a marmalade. And while Sal del Mar does have a distinctive flavor of its own, it shouldn’t really be tasted in the food being served. Instead, you should add just enough to bring out the flavor of the food you are preparing. This revelation about using salt has inspired me on to write more about salt in the coming year. Let me know how you like it!
Here’s the recipe from our friend Linda Poverman using grapefruit:
1. With a vegetable peeler, peel only the outer yellow layer from the grapefruit and finely chop.
2. Juice the grapefruit or separate the wedges and remove the seeds.
3. Try to include as much of the pulp as possible and have a little extra grapefruit juice ready on the side if the mixture seems too thicken as it cooks.
4. Put the peel and the pulp in a pot and let it boil for 20 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't get dry and adding more juice if necessary. Measure the peel/pulp after the 20 minutes of cooking and add the same amount of sugar to the pot.
5. Add a pinch or two of Sal del Mar 6. Cook at a rolling boil for another 20 minutes, keeping an eye on the mixture and stirring now and then. 7. Have jars ready to fill while the mixture is still hot.