2009 December : Tiny Bites

3 Christmas giveaways from Tiny Bites

30 Comments Karen HamiltonDecember 21, 2009

Merry Christmas! The gift recipients have been announced:

Vancouver Cooks 2 cookbook – Oana
Anita’s Organic yellow (popping) corn – Tina
Teroforma Whisky Stones – Brad

Thanks to all who participated. If you still want to grab any of the items we described below, make sure to read where we got our stash and see whether you can still get one for you and/or your loved ones.

‘Tis the season to eat and be merry – at least that is how we Hamiltons tend to spend Christmas holidays. Due to our anticipated arrival in the new year, we are unable to fly out to Winnipeg, as is our usual, to feast and carol with my husband’s side of the family in true White Christmas fashion. While that means homesickness for my husband and none of my mother-in-law’s phenomenal tourtière for us on Christmas Eve, there is a silver lining for you, dear readers: I get to play Santa in Vancouver this year!

You shouldn’t be surprised that the gifts we tend to get our circle revolve around food. We do surround ourselves with plenty of like-minded food lovers, after all. Below are the 3 things that I just had to grab for my family in 2009, and while I was at it, I grabbed extras to give away to you.

Vancouver Cooks 2 cookbook

The Chefs’ Table Society of BC, our client that you may know from the Spot Prawn Festival they put on each year, just came out with a second compendium of recipes from 70 established and emerging Vancouver restaurant chefs. I bought my softcover copy of Vancouver Cooks 2 when I had the chance to get it autographed two of the authors (above) and in order to access the recipes for Bistro Bistrot’s rabbit with two mustards (p69) and for the late Fuel Restaurant’s carnaroli risotto on an heirloom tomato and basil salad (p143). I also just noticed a recipe from Bishop’s that is advertised as a Christmas recipe: oven-braised venison ragout with juniper berries and fresh herbs (p176).

The two extra softcover copies I bought from Hamilton Street Grill are going to one of you and to my mother-in-law in Winnipeg. If you think this would make a great gift idea for a loved one, you can find softcover and hardcover editions for sale at Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks, your neighbourhood Chapters, and at many of the restaurants that contributed recipes (these are usually autographed to boot).

Anita’s Organic popping corn

I was first acquainted with Anita’s Organic when I bought into a pilot CSA program with Urban Grains this past year. When we decided to go for a Circle Farm Tour jaunt to Chilliwack in August, Anita’s was one of the places on our list. Good thing, too, as my popcorn fiend of a husband went bonkers for their organic yellow corn.

Last week, he finally ran out of the stash he had bought that day. He’s been grumpily settling for the Orville Redenbacher variety ever since. I hope that the 25lb bag of kernels that I’m putting next to his Christmas stocking will last him through the first half of 2010. The amount I’m giving away to one of you is much smaller in quantity, but hopefully it will be enough to convince you that local and fresh will beat microwaved convenience!

This one is currently a bother to source in the city. None of Anita’s usual retailers, such as Whole Foods, Choices, and Spud, carry this popping corn. One must either get it shipped direct or drive out to Anita’s retail market in Chilliwack for a fix. You can help me to rectify this situation by calling your local grocer and asking them to consider stocking it on their shelves. I’ve already put in my two cents with the Whole Foods on Cambie.

Teroforma Whisky Stones

Photo used with permission from Teroforma

This product came to my attention when I toured the cook shop at The Dirty Apron Cooking School after a particularly fun lesson in chocolate. These babies are soapstone cubes, found and milled in Vermont, that one chills and then uses in place of ice into your favourite dram of whiskey. One set of Teroforma Whisky Stones lets you chill 3 drams at a time without diluting the flavour of your beverage or scratching your glass. A perfect stocking stuffer for my husband!

I thought that this product was something I could easily pick up before the holidays, but apparently, Vancouver has a ton of whiskey fanatics that people are dying to buy Whisky Stones for. All of the usual Vancouver retailers (Dirty Apron, La La Home Decor, and Homewerx) have been cleaned out with waiting lists for January stock. Even Teroforma lacks a Christmastime supply at their HQ.

I lucked out in that Nicole, who is opening the new Lynn Steven Boutique in Gastown this week, hadn’t soft-launched the store until I had the chance to secure two sets of Whisky Stones in advance. I dropped by this afternoon to purchase a set for my husband and a set for one of you. She still has ~20 in stock if you’d like to call ahead at (604) 899-0808 and pick one up for yourself.

How to get a gift from Tiny Bites this Christmas

All you have to do to qualify for a Tiny Bites Christmas present is to tell us which 1 of the 3 things described above that you’d like to see most under your tree. Comment on this post, reply to me on Twitter, post to our wall on Facebook…or bombard us on all three. Remember – just pick one!

We’ll announce three names on Christmas Day. If you’re one of them, expect a post-Christmas package on your doorstep with the gift you chose.

Good luck,
Karen

Categories: Books and Such, Food, Yummy Products