More gifts for the foodie in your life

What do you get the foodie who has everything? More food!

Meat. Grass-fed beef is gaining in popularity and for good reason. It’s healthier, more sustainable and delicious. I’ve written several articles on grass-fed beef and animals raised on pasture here in Bucks County. If you’re interested, check out Home, home on the range and learn about Meadow Brook Farm in Springtown and Purely Farm in Pipersville, or about Tussock Sedge Farm in Blooming Glen. But if you’ve got a carnivore in your life, why not give a gift that fills the freezer? You can buy a sampler pack from Tussock Sedge Farm that includes a total of 12 lbs. of meat: 3 assorted steaks, 1 roast, 1 lb. of cube/stew meat, 5 lbs. ground beef and 1 lb. chipped steak, all for $100. If you really love the person, buy an eighth of a cow for $369 (46-47 lbs.). It will get them through the winter for sure. Tussock Sedge is open Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. See their website for purchasing details.

It’s in the can. Now this is a cute idea. Tea in beautifully decorated canisters, with a variety of designs or even custom-made designs. The Tea Can Company in Pipersville offers ten high quality blends of tea in sachets including Breakfast Blend, Sencha Green Tea, Earl Grey Supreme, Serene Herbal Tea, Mango Amazon, Lemon Classic Tea, Raspberry Oolong, Daily Detox Tea, Moroccan Mint and Rooibos Chai Tea. But it gets better. Local graphic designer Donna McCafferty, owner of the Tea Can Company, decorates the tins with holiday themes to which you can even add personalized greetings, as well as the teas of your choice. The tea cans ($9.99) each hold 10 tea sachets and brew 20-30 cups of tea. Or pick one of the holiday specials, like the Holiday Basket ($42.99) which includes two tea cans (10 sachets each) and three mini tea tins (3 sachets each). Send them instead of cards, or give as unique gifts to colleagues and friends. Keep it in mind, too, for fundraising. The Tea Can Company can fully customize any item and makes it easy to manage the fundraising sales. Visit their website for more information.

Artisanal cheeses. You probably know that Ely’s Farm Products produces great pork and beef, but have you tasted their cheese? Dwight Ely, a 7th generation farmer, and his family, raise hogs, cattle and hay on the historic Ely Farm in Upper Makefield, which dates back to the late 1700’s. The cheese is made from raw cow’s milk and is aged at least 60 days in their own cheese cave. Choose from four kinds: Aldan’s Blessing, a trappist-style cheese made in the same way as the monasteries made cheese wheels for hundreds of years; Makefield, a savory, sophisticated and slightly sweet cheese, aged over 8 months and reminiscent of a Gruyere; Washington Crossing, sweet, creamy and hinting at Parmigiano; and the simple Ely Farm Cheese, mild, smooth and similar to Colby. I can never decide which I like best. They are all interesting in their own way.

Ely cheese placed second in the US at the American Cheese Society Awards in Raleigh, NC in August 2012. Stop by the store and munch on some samples. Then have them wrap several up for the cheese lover in your life.