The days of shopping are limited, the lines at the post office are growing longer, and yet coming up with another unique gift can be a challenge!

Especially for that food lover in your life who really doesn’t have another square inch to put something or they are the type of person who just buys whatever their heart desires on a whim. 

This year surprise them with one of the following possibilities:

Four Seasons Local Food Coach Package
An entire year of meal planning with a virtual local food coach. Each season you will receive one on one support with Chef Lilly, including a unique meal plan with about 20 recipes each season, that will take you through the season. On-going email support and one on one skype calls are included in your meal planning adventure! Everything is customized to you and your family’s location and food desires. Click here for more info and to purchase!
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Local Food Personalized Meal Plans
With this one on one package, you will receive a season’s worth of support including two skype calls, 20 recipes, access to Lilly’s Table meal planning service and more. Click here for more info and to purchase!

Twelve Days of Christmas Recipes
Buy my first eCookbook! It includes 28 recipes that are perfect for the holidays including the 3-ingredient Nut Butter Cookies, the Santa Strata, Sweet Potato Latkes with my favorite topping and a revamp of the classic Hot Cider that makes for Sassy Cocktails as well. Click here to buy the book!

Casting a spell on our jack-o-cuties!

My daughter’s first Halloween at merely months old, I tucked her into the little “pea” outfit that had circulated amongst my friends’ babies, buttoned up my chef jacket and joined a mini parade through a senior center where several attempts were made to shove candy into her chubby lil’ hands.   

Years later my son waddled out into the brisk night in his sister’s toddler duck costume, while she was decorated with sparkles and butterfly wings. The cooing commentary from those dressed in the most benign attire to terrifying made it clear that our little bird was too, too cute. Tiny people in costumes are beyond ‘adorbs’.

Returning home that evening Zed, who had rarely ate a regular meal in his less than two years, reached into his bag whipped out a sucker, unwrapped and popped it in his mouth like he had been doing that always. Both children dumped their loot on the living room floor while were on FaceTime giggling at the sweetness with our distant family.

Juliette, naturally sorted through her treasures making appropriate decisions about those to keep, eat or toss. Occasionally she would make a face letting us know the piece in her mouth was less than satisfactory, to which we claimed “Quick! Spit it out and try something new. No need to waste precious tummy space on anything less then delight.” Zed had better plans for his candy post-dumping. He laid down in his pile and proceeded to roll back and forth in his own little toddler heaven.

Would I take any of this away from my children as we dance through this year of local eating? I mean, one year out of the maybe 10 years of trick-or-treating wouldn’t be noticed, right? They’re still young enough, right? This won’t scar them for life… maybe? My daughter is already starting to question her parents motives as she gathers evidence for the case that her and her brother be able to enjoy this traditional festivity.

Lessons are being learned throughout this year. While we don’t turn away every piece of candy our children are offered we often talk about whether it is local in origin. Halloween, while beyond conventional candy decadence, is still a holiday rooted in seasonal joy.

My favorite trick-or-treaters…

Living in Tucson, it was one of the biggest holidays, especially in our neighborhood where our otherwise empty streets would fill with cars. Mexican traditions were also embraced including a neighbor’s oversized pots of Pozole that warmed hands and hearts while kids ran in and out with full freedom for sugar and playtime. The following days were devoted to the more beautiful holiday of Dia de los Muertos where a city-wide parade brought together multiple groups, neighborhoods, and families with full calaveras makeup and costume.

The only year we participated, we painted our faces, dressed best we could muster up, decorated my trike with laminated pictures of our favorite people who have passed away and we shimmied our way through the crowds. We settled into the parade just behind a decorated organization carrying kites that celebrated Transgender community especially those who had died either by abuse or by suicide. Behind us a belly dancing troupe twirled their hips for our daughter. I spent much of the time dabbing my eyes as I became both participant and witness for a celebration that marked the connection between life and death.

While I sometimes want to channel Dia de los Muertos and take away the trick, treats and conventional processed candy of the holiday, I recognize it is simply my cultures way of celebrating, even if it feels a much shallower depth. I am not fully ready to let go of Halloween, at least not while my children are beyond darling in their costumes with their swelled bags of candy that thrill them to no end.

Use paint pens rather than sharpies for jack-o-cutie success!

There are strategies though that I have used to make the candy obsessed holiday a bit less gluttonous and a bit more playful for me. First, for the trick-or-treaters, for the last several years we have gifted out clementines. We don’t leave them plain rather we decorate them into all sorts of darling jack-o-lantern shapes and styles. It is an ‘art project’ that we all delight in and that my mother-in-law makes a special effort to participate in as well. We put a bit of love onto each one and when handing them out there have often been squeals of excitement as the kids sort through finding the ‘perfect’ little cutie to become one with their bag of candy.

The first year we attempted it, I received a few smug “good lucks, you are totally going to get tricked.” But, three years in, we are still getting compliments from kids and parents alike. I also figure that if the trick-or-treaters decide not to eat them, at least they are compostable!

A couple quick tips for making Jack-o-Cuties…

• Clementines, tangerines, cuties… basically all the same thing. Buy whatever is available.
• Whether natural or glazed on, there appears to be a waxy coating on them that hinders proper application of the jack-o-lantern face, especially when using sharpies– which all Pinterest posts suggest.
• To lessen the wax, wash and lightly scrub the cuties, then rub dry. It won’t remove all the surface that gums up pens, but it will help.
• Then we use paint-pens. We have done black, but also gold, silver and brown (it was on sale!) Decorate each with faces or other Halloween cuteness and distribute accordingly!

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Next, we do the Sugar Sprite in our house. I have also heard something similar called the Switch Witch. Basically, the kids return from trick-or-treating and we tell them to gorge themselves silly. We also welcome letting them select a few favorite pieces for the next few days. The rest is set out for the Sugar Sprite who in exchange delivers a special gift the next morning. In our house, the Sugar Sprite typically gifts art supplies, homemade treats, fruit or sparkly nail polish. The idea is that the more candy gifted to the Sprite, the better the gift. My daughter plays along with giddiness, our son is still young enough that once the candy disappears and a gift appears he hasn’t questioned it too much.

As much as I want to school my babies on the ridiculousness of a holiday that promotes the white powdery drug of sugar (don’t worry- I don’t call it that to them!), I know that my push against it is a bit futile. Our local food year is full of lessons, but I am not sure punishing my kids will have a lasting benefit. We are navigating exceptions and this holiday seems worthy enough for me!

What are your strategies for this holiday? Do you have a love-hate relationship with it as well? Do you think I am completely crazy or that I am abandoning our local food year?

I welcome all thoughts!

When we first chatted with our neighbors about heading to the Mountain Harvest Festival, it all sounded a bit too good to be true. Camping in an orchard. A local food restaurant just a few yards away. U-pick everything. Farm tours around town. Wine tasting. Of course, bringing two kiddos along who could care less about being in a car for 4+ hours to the point of making it a bit torturous for the parents managed to help curb my enthusiasm.

As I packed with my typical anxiety about all the uncertainty and unknowns, I found myself entertaining a twinge of delight that maybe this was indeed a dream trip. It was easy enough to push aside this twinkle of a fantasy as I kept chopping, cooking, folding, sorting and packing. But, dare I say, those daydreams came true as I felt myself relax into all of it.

Of course, it wasn’t without a bit of drama from our children on the drive up. Although, for a time they were almost as content as we were to watch the aspens stretch their flannel shades over the jagged mountain sides. As we gained altitude, the pines became lightly frosted with the early snow storm while the aspen’s golden leaves seemed to refuse this icy coating as they glistened in the high sun.

Eventually, we descended into Paonia close to dusk, which brought initial confusion as our cell service dropped out of existence not to return beyond brief hiccups that would send a flood of messages my way periodically throughout our weekend. Navigation soon became a test of relying on a European stranger and our own intuitive guesses. As we gave up and decided to turn into that market area just ahead in order to u-turn back into town, we realized this was in fact our destination.

We wrapped ourselves around to the other side of the restaurant and arrived at our friend’s popup tent perched in the the picturesque u-pick orchard. Our children immediately reacquainted with their little buddies and took over the popup while us parents unpacked, set up and prepared dinner with the first pours of Hard Apple Cider in our hands.

The weekend proved to be an exploration of life on the farm with our little “home” in the orchard, but also as we explored the local area through farm tours. We woke to a rooster’s cock-a-doodle-doo and our toddler son’s response cry of cock-a-la-la-oo. We jumped in the car after a quick local bacon + egg breakfast just as a rain storm hit, making it a muddy, yet gleeful adventure. The first stop was another orchard where we stocked up on 40 pounds of deeply discounted peaches, balsamic vinegar, wines including a cherry variety that reminded us of my dad’s dry fruit wines as well as some mini white pumpkins and fantastically ugly gourds to entertain the kids.

We winded our way up hills and down towards a valley to the next farm with a back-door bakery and a large brick oven that heats up to 700+ degrees to make all sorts of sour dough breads and treats. The views were exquisite, framed with snow kissed rocky mountains and the post-rain haze.

Soon after, we were in drier lands that outstretched at the base of the rockies as we headed through the southern part of Paonia to the Avalanche Cheese Company dairy where their goats, milking stations and story-book home were on display. Samples of the cheese and cured sausage were delightful. With little hesitation, Juliette and I decided on a Honey Lemon Cheve, Fennel Sausage, a brie-like cheese, and an aged cheddar.

The next stop took us to the Living Farm which sounded like a farm petting zoo, but the two eldest children soon made it clear that they were done for now with farm tours as they each held up in their family car with their own versions of meltdown. A quick consensus amongst the adults sent us back to downtown Paonia where the main Festival including a Grape Stomp was held.

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We grabbed some food, that unfortunately didn’t reflect the true local nature of the rest of the region or our local food year, but it put everyone in better spirits to be able to play and enjoy the festival for another hour or so. By some miracle, we convinced the kids that us adults could go wine tasting, at least once. Tucked in their carseats, we wound our way up a mountain side to the Stone Cottage Winery. The kids colored and drank apple cider alongside us as we toasted and tasted the local wines. The other wine tasters gushed and complimented our shockingly content children. Meanwhile, Xerxes and I both fell for the Syrah and appropriately stocked up.

Coming back down the mountain we ended back at our Delicious Orchards campsite. It was clear we could no longer resist picking apples, so we ran through the trees with baskets and carefully selected close to 40 pounds. The branches were heavy and low with Honeycrisps so the kids were able to pick them with little effort and they had perfectly sized baskets to guarantee just enough for their little arms to carry.

Once our baskets were paid for we headed towards the bluegrass band and bought a local dinner of ribs, pulled pork, coleslaw, potato salad and candy-sweet ears of corn. While we waited for food and eventually ate, the older children swung from 50+ foot rope swings that passed them into the trees and then back towards our picnic table. That alone brought Juliette the sweetest joy and memories. Meanwhile, Zed giddily danced to the bluegrass, munched on corn and ran around silly.

The night ended with the ‘women and children’ tucked in the heated popup by about 9pm exhausted. My head hit the pillow and I was done. In the distance, I could here the bluegrass band rolling again and I could smell the bonfire that was promised earlier. While I am sure that adventure would have brought even s’more smiles, wrapping my arms around my already satisfied children knowing they were getting even an extra hour of sleep was a precious gift.

The next morning, the kids were playing as early as possible and brunch at Big B’s started midmorning with more rope swinging and a gentler musician serenading our breakfast burritos, French toast and fresh apple cider. We finished our trip by picking more apples, until we totaled close to 100 pounds including four varieties: Honeycrisp, Red Delicious, Jonathans, and Jonagolds. We are so excited about the possibilities for all of these treats!

Heading back up the pass, the scene was its own celebration of autumn with the aspens’ green leaves turning warm yet shockingly bright shades. Even though the drive back had a few too many moments that reminded me why traveling with small children is crazy intense and something worthy of avoiding, there were some beautiful times of reflection.

Curving through the winding mountains Juliette asked “Can we go again next year?” Our response came quickly and easily “Of course!” She went for clarification, “No! I mean can we go every single year?”

With my eyes on the changing scenery, I welcomed this invitation for a family tradition that I look forward to celebrating for many more years into the future.