Bonnie and Sue with just a smattering of supplies.

The best defense is a good offense. I’m not talking football here— I’m talking about the holidays. All that giving and sharing and jolly spirit is a whole lot easier if you are prepared. We’re pretty good on the cooking end of it, but when it comes to presentation we went to a pro. We went to Bonnie, AKA Boot Camp Bonnie (because of her dedication to early morning sweating).

Bonnie is not only incredibly generous, but also creative, which is a killer combo this time of year. She doesn’t just show up with cookies for the group—she shows up with a candy-striped hat box brimming with individually wrapped packages of peppermint meringues. Starting with a paper bag she ends up with something that could grace the cover of Martha Stewart magazine (if Martha ever shared the stage, that is). Bonnie was kind enough to share some of her tricks, and the arsenal of staples she keeps on hand to turn humble mason jars, paper bags and boxes into gift-worthy pieces of art. Everything can be found at party stores, craft stores, department stores, pharmacies and even grocery stores. Bonnie looks out for deals year round and stocks up when the getting is good. Here are some things to look out for:

Daunting, yes, but your friendly neighborhood craft or dollar store has plenty to offer.

The Basics: Containers in a variety of shapes and sizes–these can range from cardboard boxes, wire-handled takeout containers, fancy embellished boxes and hat boxes to coffee mugs, decorative bowls, paper bags and metal pails or buckets; lots of ribbon, bows, raffia and raffia wrap; festive plastic bags and twist ties; washed and repurposed bottles or jars and the never fail mason jars.

 Accent materials: Sparkly stuff like leaves, stars and snowflakes; silk flowers and greenery; fancy ribbon like moss ribbon, textured or stretchy ribbon; stray jewels, bling and beads.

Natural materials: Boxwood and evergreen sprigs; hardy fresh herbs like rosemary and bay leaves; flowers in season like hydrangeas and sunflowers; dried flowers; shells and sand dollars; feathers; pinecones, acorns, seeds, pods and whole nuts; whole spices like cinnamon sticks and star anise.

Ornaments and decorations: miniature bells, toys, figures, props; clip on birds and mini stuffed animals; seasonal cookie cutters or small kitchen novelties.

One word–Clearance!

Stamps (rubber and stick-on), seals and stickers: These are great to close up takeout containers or to write gift messages on. Get them at stationery and sundry stores.

Tools: If you have but one tool, make it the small but mighty glue gun. Use it to affix or join ribbons, put pine cones and shells on packaging. Gold and silver metallic sharpies in wide and fine tips. Scissors and both single side and double stick tape.

Gift tags and labels: You can never have enough! If you keep them on the plain side you can use them year round.

Wrapping and Tissue Paper: Again, be an opportunist and keep a good supply, especially of tissue paper which does everything from adding a decorative touch to a gift bag to protecting a stack of fresh baked cookies. Also, keep a stash of heavy duty paper for the good stuff and for gifts that need to stand up to transport.

This is just a partial list. As Bonnie reminds us, the main thing is to be creative and have fun with it. If you need a little inspiration on what to wrap here’s the recipe for some killer Christmas cookies, courtesy Bonnie our Good Gifting Goddess.

Taking it off for the TSA in MHT

Holiday Fun: Yay! Holiday Travel: Argh!

In anticipation of the inevitable shake downs at airport security, we thought it might be helpful to write about what edible fare NOT to bring if you take to the friendly skies this holiday season. Consider it a little PSA on the TSA.

Being stranded with toddlers on thwarted cross-country holiday treks (at both the Mall of America in Minneapolis and the Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta), instilled my routine of doomsday preparation when embarking on any multi-stop journey this time of year. The loss of in flight meals (not a huge loss in retrospect) and the advent of no frills airlines without buy-on-board options only heighten the need to be armed against long flights and too close connections.

To deal with this I used to spend precious time at home packing slick little soft coolers and snack bags of healthy foods–cut up apples, carrots and hummus, sliced cheese, tortilla/turkey roll ups lovingly cut into bite-sized spirals. The family shunned it all in favor of expensive snack boxes full of empty calories and near-empty packaging or copious amounts of the nasty snacks that, sadly, are still provided for free. But I persevered for my own benefit only, my family openly mocking my attempts at healthy travel fare. This is what I have learned:

First, one must work around the list of banned substances which includes all fluids, like puddings, soups, and drinks of any kind (oh the wasted lattes). If it pours, forget it. Other things on the banned list, I learned the hard way, are yogurt and its evil twin go-gurt. There is a gray area of judgment when distinguishing between the liquid and solid realms of food. I discovered this when flying out of Manchester, NH. Upon passing through X-ray TSA spirited me out of line, did the full shake down, dusted my hands for contraband and then pointed accusingly to my Tupperware container of homemade hummus. “What’s that?” asked a burly agent, perhaps getting a suspicious whiff of middle eastern spice. “Hummus.” “Humma what?” “Hummus” I repeated. He brought over a female agent who looked at it with similar disdain and simply shook her head while pointing to the garbage can.

This brought my family much entertainment, but nothing compared to my next bust, when, once again with my TSA friends in Manchester, I tried to ferry chia seed breakfast pudding through security. When made properly chia seed pudding might resemble a poppy-seed studded tapioca. When hastily thrown together the night before travel it can resemble slimy frogs eggs. The agent pointed to my opaque container and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?” “Chia seed pudding,” I answered, suddenly having a hummus flashback (Duh!) and fatalistically eyeing the garbage can. She peeled back the lid optimistically and gamely refrained from gagging while gently suggesting I could eat “whatever that is” outside security. I quickly grabbed it and tossed it into the can while my kids convulsed with laughter.

Other things don’t make the travel cut on a purely practical level. No matter how firm the banana, it will find a way to over ripen the moment you take it on the road. Big sandwiches overflowing with awesomeness will overflow into your own lap as will anything goopy, mushy, crumbly or grainy. Speaking of grainy, rice will escape containment, guaranteed, as will rogue streams of juice, sauce or dressing from items in the wrap family. Breakfast burrito at Cafe Rio in SLC–good way to start the day. Hot sauce in your lap–bad way to start the day.

Then we have the matter of etiquette. Unless you and your people have taken over an entire row, anything too outrageously yummy creates a “have’s and have-not’s” scenario. It just feels weird to be chowing down right next to someone with nothing but a bag of pretzels. It’s also common courtesy to avoid anything really smelly or pungent–eggs and tuna for sure, but also things like the roasted cabbage that was tasty, healthy high-fiber fare but made row 17 smell like a Balkan road house.

I recently discovered another issue, when I had broken my own rice rule and packed a luscious brown rice and roasted vegetable melange. It would have been great had I remembered to bring utensils. Airport restaurants, now savvy to brown bagging passengers like myself, no longer offer easy access to free utensils, and neither do the low-fare airlines we fly. (After all, you don’t need a fork to eat peanuts, Ritz bits and pretzels). I ended up using a hunk of bagel from yet another sandwich shunned by my family. It sort of all worked out, but it further weakened my resolve to BYO in-flight.

So what do you bring when you take flight? Leave the hummus behind and go for anything that’s better in a backpack (without the Swiss Army knife of course). Or keep it simple and just bring money–lots of it. Pockets and pockets full of grindels. Wherever you head for the holidays, safe travels, stay loose and pack your sense of humor!

I turned 50 last Wednesday – GULP!  The actual day was a lot of fun.  I heard from many friends and family, wishing me well as I embark on the next half century.  For those of you close to this milestone, fifty is not so bad.  It is a rite of passage….. a new decade…..a fresh start.  Everyone tells me life just keeps getting better so I say – BRING IT ON!

How does this milestone birthday involve my blog?  Well, I’ll tell you…..I got three awesome vegetarian cookbooks (do my friends and family know me or what?).  I am practically giddy!  So, stick with me vegetarians, partial vegetarians, and non-vegetarians because there is something here for everyone.  Check them out!

Moosewood Restaurant Favorites

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Forks Over Knives, The Cookbook