Mother's Day Gift Guide

Somehow April has passed us right on by and May is already in full effect. Budding blooms, green markets and sunny days abound - except for this morning since it's pouring and humid on the east coast. Anyhow, as May gets moving, we approach the mother of all holidays, Mother's Day. TAA is cooking up a gift guide for all of the mom's on your list, especially those who love food! Let's get down to the goods.

Anthropologie 3-D Toile apron There's no reason why spending an afternoon in the kitchen means dressing down in sweats and an old shirt. Instead, mom will feel sophisticated and super chic in a fun, bright colored apron. Scrumptious meals never looked so good. I personally wear my Anthropologie Dotty Match apron all the time to catch spills, and let's face it...I wear it just to look cute too. Mine, in fact, was inspiration for The Avid Appetite's color palette. If Mom spends a lot of time in the kitch, a truly adorb apron is a must.

A Treat from Butter Lane I regaled you all with tales of grown up cupcakes from Butter Lane when my fam feasted on them during my mom's spring dinner party. They really are cupcakes for the sophisticated palette while still offering playful flavors like salted caramel with popcorn topping. And as my mom would say, "These are my favorite!"

Williams-Sonoma Cooking from the Farmers' Market Cookbook Since greenmarkets are all the rage (rightfully so), why not learn how to cook with your newly purchased ultra fresh ingredients? Recipes include pork medallions with roasted figs and strawberry rhubarb pie. I'm heading over to my local farmers' market as we speak...

Azure Dishtowels Aren't these truly adorb? I mean, I would actually put aside my hatred for drying dishes if I got to use these pretty lil' things. And it's a fun way to brighten up your kitchen to boot.


Flora Pouch Envirosax It's the chic way to do your food shopping, or any shopping for that matter. Plastic bags are so passe as the bring-your-own-tote movement is sweeping the nation. Why not do it in style? These pretty, eco-friendly bags wrap up into a small pouch, perfect to keep in your car or purse.

A Cup of Earl Grey Creme I grew up in a house where partially drank cups of tea were everywhere. My mom would (and still does) drink tea all day long, each time in a fresh tea cup, and sometimes not finishing the entire cup before moving on to the next, leaving tea cups in her office, on kitchen counters, on the coffee table or on her night stand...all at the same time (this could also explain why I have, at any given time, approximately 4 glasses of water, soda or coffee on my night stand or coffee table...I know. It drives Shaun crazy). Not only was the quality of the tea essential, but only the right kind of tea cup would suffice. When I came across Teavana's Earl Grey Creme and the Anthropologie Missus tea cup, which just so happens to be monogrammed, I knew it would be the perfect gift for any tea-drinking mom.

So there you have it. A round up of some fun foodie gifts for your special mom, grandmother, mother-in-law or any other special lady in your life. How will you be spending this Mother's Day?

Holiday Unwrapped

And we're back! I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday. I saved some vacation time and took a few days off from my 'real' job for some holiday celebrating. This included, but was not limited to seeing family and friends, baking cookies, rocking red lipstick for the first time, watching the 25th anniversary of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame concert, viewing The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center and ceasing to sleep for a few days time. And let's not forget about the gift exchange. Shaun and I are so unbelievably lucky to have the absolute best families in the entire universe (no, really...they are) who know us oh-so-well and gave us gifts that just warmed our food-obsessed hearts. From good reads to gift cards to tools, we made out like the proverbial foodster bandits that we are. Here's the rundown:

Serving tray, Target; Good Eats: The Early Years, Barnes & Noble; Rachael Ray nylon bench scrape, Rachaelraystore.com; Bamboo spider, Sur la Table; Rachael Ray nylon 2-pc turner set, Rachaelraystore.com; Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food, Amazon.com; Magazine subscriptions, Foodnetwork.com, Realsimple.com; Entertainment Book 2010, entertainment.com; Sur la Table gift certificate, Sur la Table

Yep, it was a good year for the Humistons. Furthering our culinary knowledge and technique is something we love and receiving gifts to aid us in this food crush of ours is just the icing on the cake. I, for one, cannot wait to dive into New York City Food as well as test out my bench scraper. Apparently it's the only way to pick up chopped food from your cutting board - onions, veggies, you name it - for super simple transfer into your stock pot or skillet. And I know Shaun is just itching to break out the fryer and test out the bamboo mesh spider he's been wanting for ages. What can I say? It doesn't take much to get us going. The holidays were filled with many more gifts (both given and received, including the matching iPod Touch that we unknowingly picked out for each other), multiple family gatherings, and of course, indulging on holiday treats. I'm sad to see it pass us by, but am so looking forward to a fabulous, food-filled 2010.

So there's the food gift roundup - a peek at some of our foodster gifts we were so fortunate to receive and can't wait to enjoy now that our holiday travel has ceased. But my question to all of you fabulous readers is: What did you get for the holiday this year? Any food-related gifts that tickled your fancy? Please tell me that Shaun and I aren't the only food geeks out there and leave us some tales of good eats (and by eats I mean actual eats, products, gift cards, reading materials, kitchen tools and anything else of the sort).

Oh, and in case you're curious, the baking, red-lipstick-wearing, family time went something like this...

The butter cookie cutouts...a Christmas staple for as long as I can remember

Just a small sampling of the Cannon bakefest '09

Kimberly & me

Christine & me vampin' it up

Shaun & me at Christmas Eve dinner

Suburban, yet city-loving doggie Chloe trying her hardest to get some holiday treats from her stocking

My mom, sisters and me after The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center

And there's the roundup. Hope you enjoyed your holiday as much as we enjoyed ours!

PS - If you missed any of our holiday coverage, including foodster gift guides for all the food-lovers in you life, you can find it all right here.

A Foodster's Gift Guide: On-the-Go

Welcome to the last edition of the 09 Foodster's Gift Guide, and this time we're talking on-the-go. You know who I mean. The on-the-goer who loves food and sweets, yet whose day is so filled with work, school, or other commitments to get it together and enjoy a great home-cooked meal. Fear not, as the last part of our Gift Guide is for your favorite on-the-go foodster. Check it out...

Hot Chocolate & Peppermint Hot Chocolate, Set of 2, $33 (Williams-Sonoma); Sarabeth's Jam Gift Sampler Box, $25 (Sur la Table); Crumbs Gift Card, $15 (Crumbs); thelifestyled Monogrammed Tote Bag, $23 (Etsy.com); Crockpot Countdown Slow Cooker, $49.99 (crock-pot.com); Eco Coffee Cup, $14 (fredflare.com)

Hot Chocolate - Just like the Williams-Sonoma peppermint bark, this is a total splurge, but one that's well worth it in my opinion. Sampled at Winter's Eve, this hot chocolate is like no other. For the on-the-go food lover, this is a perfect way to have some delicious and quick, right out of your home.

Sarabeth's Jam Sampler - Jam is one of my favorite foods, and this is a great way to enjoy it long past Christmas. While homemade jam can be wonderful, this extensive sampler provides all the jam your heart desires. The complete set features plum cherry, orange apricot marmalade, strawberry raspberry, pineapple mango, mixed berry, and peach apricot.

Crumbs Gift Card - Need I say more? When is a free cupcake ever unwanted or unwarranted? Never. Especially as an on-the go treat.

Monogrammed Tote Bag - Always a pushover for anything monogrammed, I tote this little guy everywhere. The perfect lunch bag or grocery sack, this tote bag is super chic and personal making it the ultimate on-the-go gift. Oh, and did I mention that they are personally designed and crafted by bestie Catherine (who also just so happens to have a fabulously made-over blog)?

Crockpot Slow Cooker - This is one of my personal favorite appliances, and a great on-the-go gift. Put all of your ingredients in this sweet little appliance, press play, and presto! A home cooked meal that's perfect for the cold winter months...soup, pasta, chili, the possibilities are endless and it couldn't be easier.

Eco Coffee Cup - The perfect vehicle for the aforementioned hot chocolate. It's fun, functional and environmentally friendly to boot - the ideal way for an on-the-go foodster to bring homemade deliciousness along for the ride.

So what do you think? Any of these tickle your fancy? Do you have someone on your list for which any of these fit the bill?

Well that wraps up our '09 Gift Guide. I hope it was helpful in your holiday shopping, and if it was, I'd love to hear about it! Or if I left out any fabulous ideas, please clue me in for a possible reader-suggested gift guide for last minute shopping! Have an idea? Shout about it in comments!

*Also, if you missed any Foodster's Gift Guide madness last week, you can check out the guides below:

A Foodster's Gift Guide: When You're Just Starting Out

A Foodster's Gift Guide: For the Dessert Lover

A Foodster's Gift Guide: For Him