You think. And then you give.

Host and hostess gifts fall into two categories: Brilliant. Boring.

I have a friend who puts a great deal of thought into the gifts she brings; they are nearly always books, but sometimes they are also magazines on a topic upon which I like to read from overseas; British and French decor mags, an underground fashion thing, what have you. All of them brilliant.

Plants and greenery of any kind: Brilliant.

Then sometimes I get cocktail napkins. Yawn.

In the last two weeks I have spotted these two books I will be pleased to give to the modern hosts who are gardeners (or at least have one) and healthy eaters. While they may not seem right up the same alley, indeed, one leads to another.



Landscaping with Fruits and Vegetables, Fred Hagy, is a beautiful book that should have a place in every home: Borders and gardens full of organic produce. This is not a fad, in fact it was a war-time method of survival here in the United States and now it should be a pesticide-free method of the same.



Ani's Raw Food Essentials, Ani Phyo - now hear me out - is another instructional, glorious text for a new way of thinking about food (and those autumn borders filled with cabbage, see above). The Raw Food Movement is not one of my favorites only because of the way it appeared on the scene - too often presented with snobbery by the sanctimonious. But seeing past all that nonsense, if you can, it is the best way to consume food for so many reasons: Clean, unadulterated, easier, faster - I could go on and on. As much as the movement on the whole may annoy the mainstream cook, host, and consumer, the message is perfectly simple and critically important: Just plain good food. It can't miss: Just take the cooking oils out of your life and see what happens to your skin. Trust me, I know.

Give thoughtfully, ya'll.