Julia Levy spends her evenings and weekends as the NYC Foodzie Scout looking for the next best flavors in NYC. Foodzie.com is San Francisco-based start up: an online marketplace for independent producers where you can buy and sell products from local farms and independent growers. Drop her a line.
As Jews around the world remember the miracle of oil lasting for eight nights, be creative with the presents you give: select treats from eight different producers, one for each night!
It is tradition to eat food fried in oil – latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly donuts are two delicious foods associated with the holiday. This year, try baking your donuts from scratch and filling them with some of Foodzie’s amazing jams or jellies. Consider Terra Verde Farms’ selection, including seedless blackberry or Frog Hollow Farm’s organic apricot-cherry conserves. To garnish your latkes, improvise a twist on the old favorite of apple sauce by substituting chutney, Mango Apple Chutney from Sunchowder’s Emporia Jams is high on our list.
If you are looking for a simple and elegant theme for a party, consider an olive oil tasting. It’s the wine and cheese of Chanukah! Choose a few unique oil flavors, such as Stella Cadente’s Blood Orange or Persian Lime. Pair them with a savory bread for dipping– consider Roasted Red Pepper or Basil Cheese Bread from Rio’s Brazillian or buy flour to bake your own bread fromSprouted Grain Bread’s.
If you have kids, or are simply a kid at heart, why not turn Chocolate Fruit Cups from Lille Belle Farms into an edible Hanukkiah (the menorah used for Chanukah) by standing 9 pops in a row to represent the candles (the additional candle is the shamash and is used to light the other eight candles).
Don’t forget your gelt for playing dreidel! Indulge in Luca Chocolate’s Olive Oil Truffle which combines remembering the miracle of the oil with a sweet taste or Amella Caramels’ passion fruit or carrot cake caramels.
Foodzie also offers many kosher options, check out the selection here. If you still can’t decide what to get for Chanukah, buy a gift card and let your friends pick out their own local, sustainably produced and fresh food gift!