Edible Birthday Gifts: Food Gifts For The Person Who's Got Everything

Birthday gifts are hard to buy for the birthday person who's got everything. But edible birthday gifts can be your answer. Everybody who wants to live to the next birthday has got to eat. So let that birthday boy or gal eat cake... pie, or cookies. Or give an equally yummy but heartier food gift. Birthday gifts of gourmet specialty meats or Wisconsin artisanal cheese are always appreciated. People enjoy sharing food gifts, so by sending birthday food you're supplying food for a birthday party as well!
Food gift baskets are great birthday gifts because they keep on giving. The birthday person can dip into it over and over to pull out something surprising and delicious. Birthday gift baskets are also a savvy way for the giver to hedge bets on what the birthday recipient will enjoy. If you're not sure just how much he or she will like one thing in particular, then provide a selection. A birthday gift basket of food can hold snacks, candies, bakery treats, meats, cheeses, crackers, and even specialty sodas. Enough bounty can pack into one gift basket to please even the hardest person to buy for.
On the other hand, food gifts can fit particular tastes and hobbies. For example, some folks regularly enjoy a bowl of popcorn while watching TV in the evening. If your birthday recipient does, then a creative gift is a selection of heritage-variety, gourmet popcorns that can't be found at the grocer's. A popcorn gift set will show you thought about what the birthday person really likes, and not just about what is easy to give. (Of course popcorn gift sets are easy to give too.)
Or maybe your birthday person loves Harley motorcycles. Then give a Harley Let's Ride gift set. If you're giving to a chocoholic, then a selection of gourmet chocolates will be sure to please. Or maybe you're giving food to someone who loves to cook. Then a breakfast gift basket of specialty pancake mixes, pure Wisconsin maple syrup, and gourmet bacon can be the best birthday gift to give. You really have so many options when selecting thoughtful and out-of-the-ordinary food gifts.
And the great thing about giving edible birthday gifts? If they're from Wisconsinmade, they'll get eaten up and you can send them again next year.

Lucky Foods To Eat While Drinking Beer At A St. Patrick's Day Party

An old joke about Wisconsin small towns is that across the street from every church is a bar. And when Wisconsinites celebrate St. Patrick's Day , we meet in the bar. Miraculously, we've transformed the feast day of Ireland's patron saint into a grand drinking party. The holiday has become a reason to drink copious amounts of good beer. On St. Patrick's Day, WI-Irish join Wisconsin-Germans, WI-Norwegians, WI-Swedes, WI-Mexicans, WI-you-name-the-nationality to raise beer mugs in toast to "The Luck Of The Irish". But unlike New Year's Day with its long list of lucky foods, St. Patrick's Day lucky foods may be any food that helps you wake up feeling reasonably okay on March 18th.
So which St. Patrick's Day lucky foods does the Wisconsin gourmet eat? What are the ultimate drinking foods? High-protein fatty foods and salty foods. Why? Ingestion of fat and protein slows digestion allowing the drinker to consume more beer before feeling ill. And a higher intake of salt helps the drinker retain water countering the alcohol's efforts to make him give it up. That hang-over headache is largely due to dehydration. The only difficulty is inducing the partier to eat these foods rather than filling up completely on beer. That's why the lucky foods are the gourmet foods. They taste even better than beer.
Here are some suggestions. The ultimate drinking food is nuts. High in salt, protein, and the-good-kind-of-fat, nuts top the list of lucky St. Patrick's Day foods. Plus, nuts are easy to serve and easy to eat, - no plates or utensils required. Second on the list is cheese. Cheese fills the belly with good nutrition, and in curd form is also easy to eat one-handed (the other hand being busy holding a beer mug). The traditional gourmet may choose pickled eggs to eat with his beer. Jars of pickled eggs adorn many of Great Britain's pubs, so a jar on your bar at home will add a touch of authenticity to your St. Patrick's Day party.
Since St. Patrick's Day has become a multi-ethnic celebration in the U.S., Wisconsin gourmets feel free to consume well-known drinking foods of other cultures. German Summer sausages are lucky because they too are high in protein and fat. Their delicious flavor entices the drinker to turn from the bar and toward the table.
Lastly, it's well-known that drinking beer often induces a craving for sweets. There's no better way to round-out the gourmet's feast of lucky foods than with decorative St. Patrick's Day cookies. With these scrumptious gourmet Wisconsin foods in your cupboard, you're ready for a grand St. Patrick's Day party!

Wisconsin Holiday Shopping Made Easy On The Internet!

It was "Black Friday" four days ago, - retailers' official kick-off to the holiday-shopping season. While retailers hoped the day's sales figures would put their books in the black, shoppers may have had a different take on Black Friday. Jostling through crowded malls, waiting in long lines to purchase gifts, and lugging awkward-sized and heavy packages, may have darkened some customers' holiday spirits. Maybe this is why now we have "Cyber Monday".
Yesterday, as on previous Cyber Mondays, people flocked to on-line stores to find holiday gifts. A MSN/CNN headline said yesterday's Cyber Monday sales were up 20%! And no wonder. Internet shopping lets cost-savvy shoppers sit comfortably while they "shop around" for great deals. Their Internet travels take them beyond their local mall. They can find exactly what they're looking for as well as get suggestions for fun and novel gifts. Check-out takes just a few key strokes, and they know their gifts will be delivered during the week the shopper chooses to the doorstep of the intended recipient.
At least this is the way Internet shopping works at Wisconsinmade.com. Plus, this year Wisconsinmade.com ships some gifts anywhere in the country FOR FREE! No brick-n-mortar store does that. It's no surprise that business has been brisk at Wisconsinmade.com. Word has gotten out that this ten-year-old web store can ship gifts efficiently and securely around the country. Over 250 Wisconsin artisans now offer over 2000 high-quality products on Wisconsinmade.com.
Yesterday's top gift picks by Wisconsinmade.com shoppers were breakfast baskets, kringles, Christmas cookies, cheese and sausage gift boxes, bratwurst sampler sets, Wisconsin Badger sweatshirts, stained-glass ornaments, and hand-crafted, wooden desk sets. Who knows what it will be today, maybe something unusual, like copper cattail wind chimes or decorative fire rings; might even be a basket of holiday flowers. Happy holidays everyone, may your shopping be fun and easy.

Veterans' Day: Honoring America's Heroes In Wisconsin

November 11th, Veterans' Day, is coming up. An armistice to end the war (WWI) that was to end all wars was signed at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. To those Americans celebrating peace 99 years ago, this first veterans' day was a life-changing joy. One year later, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th to be forever remembered as Armistice Day. In 1938, Armistice Day became a national holiday.
However, WWI did not end all wars. In 1954, as the world staggered back to sanity following WWII, President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed November 11th Veterans' Day in honor of ALL people who had served and given their lives in the protection of the United States of America.
Today however, November 11th seems only a holiday for post office workers. Businesses remain open; kids go to school. Have we really forgotten the importance of honoring our military? Perhaps the numerous wars that followed "The Great War" jaded us into no longer trusting that peace can last. If this is true, then honoring our veterans seems ever more important. Showing respect for those who served and caring for those now serving recognizes that we human beings will always require brave men and women to protect our homes and families.
I write this post because I was touched by the conscientious effort a Wisconsin woman took to commemorate the patriotic contribution of Wisconsin veterans. I, like probably most civilian Americans, hadn't thought much about giving patriotic gifts. But this woman called me at Wisconsinmade.com and wanted help in finding gift baskets she could give out at a Wisconsin veterans' function. She wanted the baskets to show patriotic spirit and hold foods symbolic of Wisconsin. Together we selected the American Flag gift basket. I arranged with the artisan who creates the baskets to deliver them to the Milwaukee hotel where the celebration would be held. The woman called to thank me later.
Since then I have helped parents select gifts to carry their love to their children serving overseas. I have my own children and imagining them in combat is chilling. I admire these respectful parents and the supportive spouses who go out of their way to show their loved ones overseas how much they care.
With the Iraq war winding down and the Afghan war heating up, lasting peace seems far away. But celebrating Armistice Day is a way all Americans can renew a fragile faith that peace is possible. And the best way to celebrate is to actively honor our veterans. We don't really have to have a day off work to say thanks.

Wisconsin Badger Tail-gating Party! Adding Badger Spirit To The Food And Tools!

Wisconsin Badger Football Season IS HERE! Time to dress in Badger RED and head for the game. It's tailgate party time! Besides the beer, what will you serve? Here are tips and suggestions for adding Badger spirit to the Game Food and your Tailgating Tools!

Priority #1, serve cheese and sausage. Wisconsin cheese and summer sausage are THE traditional, WI Badger spirit foods. They taste delicious, supply energy for the whole game, go great with beer, (and will slow the rate of alcohol absorption which may be an advantage when the game starts at 11:00 a.m.). Cheese curds and sausage sticks are easy to carry. They are the most conveniently-portable Badger spirit snack. Or take along an assortment of Wisconsin Badger snacks in a basket.



If mobility is less of a concern because you're serving Badger food from a car in a parking lot, then consider flashing a bit of Badger decoration on your tailgating tools. Serve the cheese, sausage, pretzels, chips, salsa, and candied Badger claws on a Badger cutting board. If you're going all-out and cooking State Street brats, cook 'em on a Badger grill with Badger tools. Meanwhile, keep the beer handy and cold in a UW ice bucket. When ready to drink, use your Badger belt buckle/bottle opener to pop the top.

In a few weeks re-filling the ice bucket will be a fine memory. When the game is played in snow and the ice is in the air, showing your Badger spirit is more important than ever. To inspire Badger spirit in your less-hardy companions, you'll need the tools for warmth. Thaw frozen hands by passing around a Badger hot soup thermos. Sip steaming coffee from an insulated, stainless-steel, UW thermos. And don't worry, regardless of the game's score you'll keep smiling because Badger re-usable heat packs are warming your toes.

Door County Wisconsin Cherries Ready For Harvest! Baking The Best Cherry Pie!

'My spouse thought this was "the best cherry pie I ever ate." I did not disagree.'Marian wrote this about the cherry pie she got from Seaquist Orchards in Door County, Wisconsin. Why was this THE BEST CHERRY PIE? Simple answer, the cherries were grown, harvested and baked in Door County.
There's something unique about the local climate on Wisconsin's Door County peninsula that produces incredibly-delicious, extraordinary cherries. They're sweet and tart. They're firm and full of complex flavor. Serve a cherry pie to Wisconsin gourmets and before lifting their forks they'll ask, "Are the cherries from Door County?" Answer "Yes", and they'll smile.
Door County cherries have such a fabulous reputation that many Wisconsinites trek to Door County in August just to pick their own cherries. They freeze them, preserve them, can them, mix them into salsas, and of course bake them into pies, pancakes, and muffins.
And of course, what better gift to give than a cherry pie with ice cream? That's what Sheri wrote, "I ordered a cherry pie and ice cream for my parents' anniversary. They loved it. In fact they invited us over to share. The pie was just like we picked it up fresh from the orchard." 'Tis the cherry season; let's celebrate!

Back To School Care Packages - What Food To Pack?

As parents pack up their kids' gear to take them back to college, often included is a care package of food. But what to pack? The food must be nutritious, but as fast to prepare as the ever available junk food that lures from vending machines.
My coworker is mulling over her options this week. She's decided to send her college sophomore back to school with a variety of frozen chicken dinners. He's got a small fridge and access to a microwave. Microwaving chicken is even easier than boiling ramen, - but of course she'll send some of that along too, although she does so reluctantly. For easy lunches, she's packing him summer sausage and cheese.
She's also putting healthy snack foods like nuts, popcorn, and dried fruits in his care package. She's packing extra snacks because she knows he'll be sharing with friends.
Then she told me that she's going to get him kitchen scrub brushes that already have the soap on them. I looked at her quizzically. She explained that it's hard enough for her to imagine him scrubbing the dishes. She fears that requiring him to add soap to the dish cloth could derail any overture he might make toward cleaning up after himself.
Yes, packing a back to school care package for a college student definitely demands creative thinking.

Wisconsin Farmers Make All-natural, Free-Range Chicken and High-quality Meats Available Year-Round

One attraction at Wisconsin farmers markets is the high-quality meats and free-range chicken for sale. People selecting pork, beef, or chicken can talk with the farmers who raised the animals. They can ask what the livestock was fed, if it was injected with drugs, and if it was allowed to range freely outdoors. In return for assurance that the meat and poultry they're purchasing meets high standards in food safety as well as animal care, people are willing to pay a bit more than they would at a large-chain grocery store.
I am becoming more and more like these conscientious consumers. I'm beginning to consider the personal-health, community-sustainability and even the global-trade impacts of my buying a chicken for dinner. Perhaps this sounds too weighty an issue to add to my shopping basket. But I'm having a hard time ignoring the call to social consciousness. Plus, as a parent I feel the responsibility to feed my children the healthiest food I can. So unlike in years passed, I now find myself turning down the grocery-store bargain meats. I'll switch the dinner plan to vegetarian if I don't have high-quality meat or chicken in the freezer.
But farmers markets will close in a couple of months. I can try to stock up on meats now, but stocks of some of my farmer friends are already running low. They're selling out as people like me store up healthy food for winter. An alternative is ordering high-quality, all-natural, humanely-raised meat and chicken on-line. At Wisconsinmade.com I can get meats and poultry from Wisconsin farmers and food producers delivered to me year-round. I know that these producers adhere to the same high-standards of animal care as my farmer friends. And that's pretty reassuring.