A carnivorous holiday shopping guide.

Need food and farm holiday gifting inspiration?

People often ask me how to cook all the cuts of meat at the farm and what they need to cook pasture based meats. The truth is you do not need fancy kitchen gadgets to cook a good steak. You need a decent pan (I prefer cast iron), a meat thermometer (this is a kitchen staple), a good knife and patience. For the love of all that is holy just let those steaks rest!

However, in the spirit of the holidays I have put together a guide of my favorite kitchen and cooking wares with a few farm favorite gear items. As far as gifting goes I prefer American or locally made and most of the items on this list are made in the US, are US based companies or are local + near and dear to my heart.

For Braising: Dutch Ovens

Cast iron is my gospel and I will never stop PROSELYTIZING. Dutch ovens are great for making soups, baking bread and braising meats. You can splurge on the beloved and classic Le Creuset (made in France), save on a Lodge Dutch oven (a solid budget choice) or snap up a Staub Dutch oven when they go on sale at Christmas for $99. Please don’t ask me how many dutch ovens I have for I am too ashamed to admit it.

For the stovetop: Cast Iron Skillets

See above for my gospel. I have accepted the cast iron skillet as my personal savior. They are great for stovetop to oven cooking, baking (giant cookie anyone?), and my preferred way to cook most meals from Morning eggs to Greens and steaks at dinner. I am a collector of vintage skillets and will maul someone for a Griswold in a thrift store or at a yard sale. If you don’t want to scour eBay, yard and barn sales I think lodge is a great skillet maker. Made in the USA and they come pre seasoned. While I love them for dutch ovens I do not think le Creuset and Staub skillets are worth it (unless they are enameled braisers or the Staub Perfect Pan/wok). There I said it. 

For prep: Knives

You do not need one of those fancy knife blocks full of knives. You need a few good knives that are versatile. I mainly use a rocking santoku (this one is amazing and very comfortable to use despite my carpal tunnel), a good bread knife, a boning knife and a chef’s knife.

I love Victorinox knives; they are affordable and what chefs and butchers use. Their boning knife is under $35 and great for cutting meat. If you want to splurge a little Town and Cutler makes amazing knives here in the U.S.

I got myself a Pink custom knife (yes they do custom) for my 30th birthday and I regret nothing.

Making life easier: Pressure Cookers, Thermometers and Food Processors

I kind of hate kitchen gadgets with a few notable exceptions: my instant pots (Bert and Ernie), a good meat thermometer, and my food Processor. Sometimes you do not have time to mess around and you just need to vaporize a chicken in 15 minutes or make a falling off the bone tender pork shoulder in under and hour. Life happens. 

The 6-quart instant pot is great for a couple or small family. It is always on sale around the holidays. I also recommend the 8 Quart If you want to meal prep or have a larger family. I have both because I am insane/a delight.

Meat thermometer: get one. Use it EVERY TIME you cook to make sure your steaks are not overdone and you don’t make enemies by undercooking chicken. You do not need to spend $100 on a fancy one, but I won’t judge if you do. I buy cheap ones because I take them with me when I cook at other people’s homes and leave them behind if they don’t have one. Yes, I am the kind of person who brings a meat thermometer to the dinner party…I can’t help it.

Food processor: I believe that if Mother Nature wanted me to chop cabbage and make coleslaw by hand she would not have given me the Breville Sous Chef or carpal tunnel. Food processors are great for making sauces, pasta, dough, purees and generally chopping things. Cuisinart is a classic and beloved by many, but I am partial to the Breville. It has a very high-powered motor and I’m pretty sure it could power my weed whacker. 

For flavor: spices

Good fresh spices are so important for cooking. Throw away that old ass Hungarian paprika that has been in your pantry for years right now. Buy yourself and loved ones spices and rubs from Oaktown spice shop and thank me later. This is an award winning spice shop for a reason. I Get my Indian cooking staples here and love their curries and rubs. I hope that one day someone will give me the wedding gift spice set so my favorite salt and I can ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after.

For wearing at night: Changing light bulbs and batteries is a chore I do not need in my life so I am switching everything in my life to LED bulbs and rechargeable batteries from the sheep barn to my tool box. My Anker flashlight is waterproof and charges next to my phone. I love a tactical flashlight and the Anker brand is better than other pricier models I’ve tried. You don’t need to spend $200 on a tactical flashlight to get a good one my friends. Flashlights are great to have, but do not forget to have a decent headlamp! Hands free is great for fixing irrigation in the night, putting up the chickens, camping and any night time barn emergencies. Give the people in your life the gift of light! 

For wearing: As a female farmer finding pants that are durable and fit is a huge challenge and makes me rant endlessly about the patriarchy. While men can pick up a pair of double duck pants with ample pockets at Tractor Supply, I get to choose between terrible jeans with rhinestones or more rhinestones. The founders and women of Dovetail Workwear have my back though—they have awesome work pants and overalls. I live in the same pair of black stretch mavens most of the year and in winter throw on their overalls over my pajamas. They have ACTUAL POCKETS Y’ALL and reinforced knees. It is a beautiful thing. 

For eating and drinking: 

My holiday list would not be complete without food and drink. Drinking locally roasted coffee is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and the folks at Rise Up Roasters sell awesome coffee, roast it locally and source from organic coffee growers. I don’t love floral or light roasts so my favorite is the French roast and the Maryland blend is great too, but honestly you can’t go wrong with any of it. They sell nicely packaged holiday sets around the holidays too. 

You can basically get a subscription for anything in life, but did you know vegetable farmers were basically the OG food subscription providers and have been doing it since the 70’s? CSAs (community supported agriculture) allow customers to invest in their local farms, help farmers pay for things like seed and compost before the season starts and then get a share in the bounty. Winter is when farmers start taking members/subscribers for the next year and a CSA membership is a fantastic gift the recipient will enjoy for months! If you’re local I recommend Floating Lotus Farmstead CSA---they grow beautiful and delicious produce, have a market style CSA (so you choose what you get in your box), have different membership options and you can get it delivered! They are also wonderful human beings, first generation farmers and are committed to sustainable agriculture. 

For getting cozy: This year I made an extra effort to do my holiday shopping with local businesses. The pandemic has been really tough on small businesses and artists. You can support your local community and buy thoughtful gifts from locals and artists at the same time. Here are a few of my favorite go to’s for special handmade or locally made gifts:

Echoview Fiber Mill: This Western North Carolina Mill works with local and sustainably minded farmers to source fiber for their products. They make beautiful yarns, cozy socks and exquisite throws. They also sell kits and have free patterns if you want to make something to give or help someone discover the joy of fiber arts. 

Gray Goat Soaps: Gray Goat Soaps makes a variety of wonderful soap and skincare products using goat milk from their pasture raised goats and ingredients from local farms---including New Roots pastured pork lard. Everything smells amazing, is made in small batches by hand, comes in eco friendly packaging and is made with natural ingredients (hurrah for biodegradable soaps and the Chesapeake bay!)

Tweefontein Herb Farm: I discovered Tweefontein Herb Farm at a NY farmers market and fell in love with their herbal teas. They are organically minded and grow herbs and flowers for their tea blends. I order their teas in bulk online and make iced teas in summer and hot tea in winter. My favorites are Calendula Sunrise and Mint Rose Dream. 

Drippy Pots Ceramics: Your loved ones are going to need a mug for all the coffee and tea you’re giving them so why not make it a special handmade one. Annapolis has an abundance of amazing potters and you can also order from potters all over the U.S. Brian Giniewski’s designs spark joy for me because they are so colorful and fun. 

 For splurging: If you have a baller budget this holiday or have been thinking about making a big purchase for the family to enjoy outdoors I highly recommend an ATV. It makes doing farm chores, particularly moving cattle and fencing a breeze, and is great for zipping around to check on all the animals in the morning and evening. I am partial to Honda Ranchers for farm purposes, but if you need more hauling space, like to go hunting or have kids a side by side is a safer and equally fun option. The new models have automatic shifting, power steering and can skip neutral and shift right into reverse at low speeds. Warning: ATVs have been a hot item during the pandemic and production has been slow so you might have to search around to get your mitts on one or plan ahead.