For the foodie on you holiday list

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. 

Another gift idea....

One of my favorite designs for our Sal del Mar hand-embroidered bags is our grey linen "Sal de Cocktail" bags. It is it's simplicity, that I like, and here it is paired with a crystal shallow bowl that is perfect for our gourmet salt to be used to crust the rim of any cocktail glass. There are so many cocktails that are enhanced with a little salt besides margaritas... Bloody Mary's, Salty dogs, tequila cocktails Paloma's and more.

The crystal bowl and Sal de Cocktail make the perfect gift this time of year. It is tied with twine and and a paper tassel. With the Holiday season upon us...remember it is a great hostess gift and for all the men on your list that are always so hard to buy for.

A painting worth a thousand words

Our Sal del Mar mermaids have gathered for tea at the Sal del Mar Tea Room wearing their Holiday hats to remind everyone that our hand-embroidered bags make the perfect Holiday gift. The reason they look so excited is that they want everyone to know that there are many hand-embroidered bags to choose from: palm trees and sea creatures.. a slice of lime and a garland... a mermaid with a shell fan... a mermaid wearing a Holiday hat... and even a huge fish.

This whimsical painting shows off part of the fun we have a Sal del Mar. It started with just a glimmer of an idea forming in my head. So.. I called up Paula Hamilton, who is the artist for Sal del Mar, and we exploded with ideas between each other. This one began with a story we made up of our mermaids who came ashore and because the Holidays are coming they decided to have a tea party to discuss it. Then Paula created her magic and made the idea even better.

Remember they make a great hostess gift for Thanksgiving... and they're already wrapped!.

Salty gift idea

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.

Everything's coming of cranberries

There is something so thrilling about seeing the harvesting of this cranberry bog on a drive on Cape Cod.. It made me want to make everything cranberry. Muffins. Scones, Sauces. Chutney. But, instead, I settled for a Cranberry Margarita.

Seems as though Marilyn had the same idea.  I shot this photo from a large mural at the Chatham Orpheum Theater in Chatham, Massachusetts. I think you'll like the recipe (see below). It's not too tart or too sweet.

Cranberry Margarita  

This recipe is great for a crowd, but is easily reduced to serve just one.

2 cups of Tequila blanco
2 1/3 cups of cranberry juice
2/3 cups fresh lime juice
1 cup of triple sec or any orange-flavored liqueur
Sal de Margarita sea salt

First, rub a lime over the edge of a martini glass, covering just half the glass edge. On a plate, add a thin layer of Sal del Margarita sea salt and dip the edge of the glass into it. If possible, let it dry out a bit.

Combine the tequila, cranberry juice, orange liqueur, and lime juice in a large pitcher. Add in small portions to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.Shake and serve in a Sal del Mar rimmed martini glass.

Fall Margarita

We believe Fall is for Margaritas too. Sometimes it seems that it is such a summer cocktail but tequila is right for any season. It's fun too to use different ingredients.  For our Fall Margarita, we put together grapefruit juice, tequila and lime. We chose a "highball" glass to serve it in instead of a martini glass to add to the Fall look. And of course, Sal de Margarita rims the edge to enhance the flavors of the tequila and lime.

A Fall Margarita
Freshly squeezed grapefruit is one of my favorites because it cuts through the flavor of tequila.

2 oz of Tequila blanco
2 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. triple sec
1/2 oz. agave nectar
Sal de Margarita sea salt

Fill a small cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the tequila, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, lime juice, triple sec and agave nectar. Put on the lid and shake. Strain the cocktail into your Sal de Margarita rimmed glass and garnish with a slice of grapefruit.
Pour a layer of Sal de Margarita onto a small plate. With a slice of lime, wet half of the rim of the glass.(Rimming just half the edge with salt, lets you control how much salt you taste with each sip.) Dip the glass into the salt at a 45-degree angle and roll it from side to side. Be careful to not let any of the salt drip into the glass. 
TIP:  Take the grapefruit and lime out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature.
It is easier to squeeze citrus when it isn't cold.

A summer find

This tractor and gardener were one of my favorite "finds" this summer. I loved the setting of the 12-acre Powell Gardens in Kingsville, Missouri and all the many edible gardens (it is the nation's largest edible landscape).  But on top of all that, I discovered that the tractor, kneeling gardener and 12 other scenes like it were not "real" but actually built with LEGO bricks by sculpture artist, Sean Kenney. 

I liked the signage throughout the gardens too, such as the one near the kneeling gardener that points out "that gardeners have a longer life expectancy than average. That's because gardening is one of the best physical activities around, especially for mature adults."

It seemed only fitting that Sal del Mar's Very Veggie Sea Salt should be next to gardener planting seeds for the Summer and Fall harvest.

For more information on the Powell Gardens, go to www.powellgardens.org. Look for the Harvest Celebration & Antique Tractor Show on October 2-4.

A Postcard from New York...

Even the Tyrannosaurus at the American Museum of Natural History in New York likes Sal del Mar. It's available to "the big guy" and all who go the Museum of Natural History, where it is being sold in their gift shop.