Showing posts with label gift baskets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift baskets. Show all posts

Friday, October 15, 2010

Cheese Gift Basket – A healthy Gift Idea

Cheese, processed from the milk of cattle, is among the most nutritious food and serves as a good gift for your special ones. The most notable benefits of cheese is its long shelf life, which makes it the perfect option for a gift basket. It is available in a wide variety, like cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta, cheddar, bleu, roquefort, meunster, brie, camembert, mozzarella, Gouda and American, colby, and Jarlsberg, each differing in flavor and texture and knowing the types of cheese and what's your recipient's favorite let you choose easily when planning to make a fruit basket. If you are not sure which flavor of cheese your beloved one loves the most, opting for some milder varieties is wise.

A cheese gift basket does not necessarily include only the cheese, you can add meat, crackers, chocolates, and breads, wine and cheese go hand in hand and conveys you feelings towards your recipient. Here, you need to ensure which wine goes well with the type of cheese you choose, if you have no clue about it you can always rely on internet. After you buy cheese, wrap it properly and store it in an ideal place. Cheese is used in various dishes, you can help the recipient in optimal use of it by including a recipe book with the gift basket.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fruit baskets

Fruit baskets can serve to be lovely assortments of appetizing fresh exotic fruits that can be well complimented in different styles, which also makes them perfect for Wedding, Anniversary, Birthday, Corporate, Festivals or Valentine. You can have the rarest of fruits or the most common fruits in your fruit basket, like apples [red and green], pears, grapes [red, black and green], melons, naval, oranges, pineapples, mangoes, strawberries, passion fruit, cantaloupe, physallis and Kiwis.
The fresh Fruit Baskets can serve as a perfect gift for any occasion at all. Fresh Fruit Baskets wrapped in colorful gelatin wrappers, bordered with pretty laces will just look too good and too irresistible and needless to say that the loads of nutrition that it will add will make it the most irresistible gift hamper. It is extremely easy to decorate this basket yourself. All you would need is a nice wicker basket, or any other basket; they may be with or without a handle. You may use a base for a satin cloth or a nice soft handmade paper or any nice colorful paper or cloth or just leave the base as is, then arrange the fruits. You can decorate the basket or its handle with different or single shade/s of satin ribbon/s.
Fresh fruit Platters and Fruit Baskets are a home to a variety of essential nutrients that a body essentially needs to stay healthy. Unfortunately the lifestyle we follow today is such where junk is the order of the day, and in such times the only healthy, tasty and filling item is a good mix of Different fruits that you will find in a fruit platter or fruit baskets. And there is nothing better than fruit platters for that wholesome nutrition our body needs. Everyone will have their fill with the abundance of fresh, nutritious and juicy fruits from the fruits baskets.
In the event that you do not have enough time to go buy fresh fruits yourself, you may spare just 15-20 minutes of your time browsing through the online stores that offer a myriad of different varieties and types of fresh fruit baskets. They are absolutely in abundance and you can definitely pick one or a few of your choice or even better you may customize your fruit baskets as per your need and taste and above all get it delivered at your doorstep. So what better on one of those hectic days when you need a wholesome nutrition for your family or have a unplanned party to attend to!

A wholesome gift- fruit basket

There are different types of fruit baskets which can be classified into fresh fruit basket, sliced fruit basket and dry fruit basket. Fruits are seasonal and hence fruit baskets are also designed depending on the season and the availability of fruits. If you are not quite aware of someones likes and dislikes then it is safe to present a fruit basket.

Some of the common fruits that can be put together in a basket are, apples, pears, oranges are sturdy fruits that stay fresh for longer duration. It comes in handy if you are sending the fruit basket to someone at a long distance, these fruits stay fresh for a longer period. If you are planning to gift the fruit basket personally then you can add grapes, bananas, cherries, strawberries et al.

You get a wide variety of beautiful fruit basket now a days, that is why we see nuts, jellies, candies, cheese chocolates et al becoming a part of fruit baskets. To add a flavor and zing to the basket you can add variety of supplements that go well with them like a bottle of wine, cheese or chocolates.

Freshly cut fruit baskets are more commonly seen in wedding reception or parties. The dinner table is decorated with just cut fruits arranged in a basket being used as a centerpiece for the party table. Fruits are healthy and with various orchards offering variety of fruit baskets they are also becoming a favorite gift item, a gift basket that is healthy, delicious, colorful and flavorful.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Gifting organic fruit baskets

Are you one of those people who face a hard time to decide when it comes to selecting a gift on some festive season?

Don’t worry many people face the same situation when asked to choose something as a gift; even I fall in the same category. But there is something that I think is the best gift that can be given to someone on any festive season and that is organic fruit basket. This concept of gifting an organic fruit basket is simply novel and exciting. Anyone can gift them without much thinking about it. They can be made at home and can also be bought from the market with ease.

When you gift someone these organic fruit baskets, you are not only giving merely a gift but also assuring the better health of the receiver. You can include a wide range of organic fruits in your basket as per the size of the basket you are opting for. The most typical price range of the organic fruit baskets can vary between $20-$200. The quantity of the fruits is the determining factor in the price of the basket.

If you are making an organic fruit basket at home then you can also experiment with the decoration of the basket and can also test your creativity skills. And I must tell you that this is the best part of making an organic fruit basket at home.

Organic fruit baskets are a best gift you can give on Christmas because kids will love it and the elders will adore this concept. The major and most distinguishing benefits of having and gifting and organic fruit basket is that Organic fruits are generally farm grown fruits which make them beneficial for the health. Thought they are not rich in their nutritional value but they hold a good percentage of minerals and Vitamins. The amount of minerals and Vitamins in these fruits depends on various factors like, the type of soil they are grown, weather conditions and the types of fertilizers that’s been used in their cultivation. These organic fruits have higher anti-oxidant values.
The most common fruits that you can suggest to someone or inculcate in your own organic fruit baskets are raspberries, apples, Peaches, grapes, strawberries. So go grab your own fruit basket fast!!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Chocolate dipped strawberries

Variety is the spice of life and this holds good to every aspect of living. Food is one aspect of life that is incredibly eclectic and never fails to grab the attention of people. It is natural for all of us to seek variety in food as well. Apart from the staple meal that we eat from time to time, we also look to satiate our taste buds with different variety of food items such as chocolates, which are not only tasty, but also give a sense of pleasure when eaten.

One such delicacy is Chocolate dipped Strawberries. Chocolate lovers consider chocolate as a part of their lives. They depend on chocolates through their happiness and sadness! Strawberry is an exotic fruit that has a distinct taste and is loved by many. The combination of the two make for a heavenly snack – Chocolate dipped Strawberries. Chocolate dipped strawberries make for an ideal snack that gives the goodness of the fruit and the taste of chocolate. They can be gifted for small parties along with wine or be made for birthdays and special occasions. Preparation of chocolate dipped strawberries is quite a simple task.

The ingredients required for this would be, strawberries, chocolate – both dark as well as white chocolate. The strawberries chosen should be ones that are ripe and taste sweet and with their stems intact. The first step is to melt the chocolates in hot water to make the syrup. Mixing them well will make sure that there are no lumps. The next step is to dip the strawberry into the dark chocolate syrup. The excess syrup can be removed by shaking the fruit and these chocolate dipped strawberries can be placed on parchment paper and allowed to dry.

Once the chocolate dipped strawberries dry, a fork can be dipped into the white chocolate syrup and that can be applied on the strawberries in a pattern of choice. These will give a beautiful look to the fruits. There are several other methods of preparing chocolate dipped strawberries, such as using both syrups proportionately or using just one syrup according to taste and the look needed. This is a simple recipe, which utilizes very little number of ingredients and does not take up too much time for preparation. The final product is a combination of two of the best gifts endowed upon us by nature, loved by one, loved by many.

Making chocolate dipped strawberries

Oh my god! You just remembered that today is your 1st year anniversary and you promised your girlfriend something special! What do you do??? Movie? Planned that. Cozy dinner for two? Arranged. Still you need something that screams “Done by me for the special occasion”. Well how about chocolate dipped strawberries? Yeah that might work.
But if you are worried that you might ruin it because you are kitchen klutz, then don’t. It’s a surprisingly simple dish that produces outstanding results and is guaranteed to impress that special someone. Chocolate covered strawberries are a perfect gift for any occasion.
Apart from tasting heavenly delicious they look just wonderful. With a bit of creativity you can create the most wonderful looking work of art. It almost would be a pity to eat this magnificent creation, if it wasn't for the absolutely exquisite taste.
This is a dish that absolutely everyone can make. Many of the required items you should already have on hand if you own a kitchen and those items that you do not have are most likely to be the perishables.
Fact this recipe is so simple soon she will be begging you to make them quite frequently!
Ingredients:
2 cups (11-1/2 ounces) milk chocolate chips

1 tablespoon shortening

12 large strawberries with stems, rinsed and dried

It's important that the strawberries be completely dry before dipping to prevent the chocolate from discoloring.
Preparation:

1. Line baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.


2. Melt chips with shortening in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water, stirring constantly.


3. Dip about half of each strawberry in chocolate. Remove excess chocolate by scraping bottom of strawberry across rim of pan. Place strawberries on prepared baking sheet. Let stand until set.


4. Store in refrigerator in airtight container between layers of waxed paper.

Stir chopped dried fruits, raisins or nuts into any remaining chocolate; drop by tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.

Variation Melt 8 ounces white chocolate or pastel confectionery coating. Dip bottom of dipped strawberries, leaving a portion of the milk chocolate coating showing.
(I always thought that making chocolate covered strawberries is for real cooking professionals. But this is something even I could whip up!!)