A few weeks ago my mom was celebrating her birthday. I love birthdays and gift giving. They are two of my favorite things. My mom has been getting into making vegan meals lately, and so I thought a couple of new cookbooks were in order. I picked up two that I’ve enjoyed this past year – Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson and Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I figured these books would offer two sides of plant-based cuisine. One is indulgent comfort food and the other relies heavily on fresh produce for its oomph.
To personalize the books, I visited my favorite local stationery shop and found these sticky notes that were just perfect for the job. On each of them it says, “Make it.” Then I included little notes about the recipes I’ve tried – what I liked, what I changed, what I added, and omitted. I also included ideas about what to serve it with, what I thought my friend might enjoy since I know her palate, and what I thought she could skip. Then I stuck the sticky notes on each of the recipes I’d tried.
Next, I put together a package that included some specialty products I thought she might not already have in her pantry but that would be necessary for making some of the dishes.
- Soy Curls for Smoky Curls from Vegan Diner
- Vital wheat gluten for Vegan Diner’s seitan recipes
- Garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour for AFR’s falafel and Vegan Diner’s seitan recipes
- Nutritional yeast for Vegan Diner’s cheese, gravy, and seitan recipes and AFR’s Easy Breezy Cheezy Sauce
- Smoked paprika for Vegan Diner’s Smoky Potato Scramble, Jambalaya, Quick and Hearty Chili, Quinoa Burgers, Great Smoky Mountain Cheeze
I also included a little sauce dish that I made in my pottery class. It’s just the right size for holding dipping sauces.
My mom said she enjoyed reading through the books and checking out my little notes. I like thinking that in a way we’ll be cooking together. She can add her own notes and scribbles, and she can fill me in on some new favorites (since there are still loads of recipes that I haven’t made from each of the books). It’s a gift that’s also a conversation starter.
I’ll be back soon with more recipes using spicy black beans for my series on making several dishes from one core component.
What a great, thoughtful gift! I’m always at a loss for what to give to people, and this is a great idea that you can customize for each person. Love it!
P.S. FYI, my birthday is… Just kidding. ;-P
Thank you! Yes, there really are as many options as there are cookbooks. It’s endless! Plus, it’s always fun to share our passions with other people, and if there’s one thing I love it’s vegan cookbooks.
I love your gift idea! The personalization with the sticky notes is a really nice touch!
Thanks, Amanda! It makes me glad I started making notes in my own cookbooks a couple of years ago. It’s a lot easier to remember my tweaks, preferences, and favorites for the notes when I can just read the scrawling on my book pages!
what a fantastic idea! i love “every girl loves flours on her birthday”, and you gave her my very favorite kind! i don’t own vegan diner, but do have afr, and it’s definitely a great cookbook to give to someone new to vegan cooking.
I agree that AFR is a great starter cookbook. I like it that most of the meals in it can be made in 30 minutes or less. Plus, almost all of the ingredients can be found in any grocery store. I enjoy all of Isa’s books, but this one is especially accessible in terms of cooking times and ingredients.
Love, love, love. A wonderful idea for a Mother’s Day gift! I think my mom would totally be into AFR. Thanks, Cadry!
Very cool! My favorite recipe from AFR is the falafel. With your penchant for puns, maybe you could even make your own card… It could be something like – “I’d falafel if I didn’t wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!” Har de har!
I love the little post in on the flour!
Too cute!
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Thanks, Vic! It’s something of a callback to a favorite movie of mine, Stranger Than Fiction. In it Will Ferrell shows up at the workplace of a woman he’s trying to woo. She’s a baker and he brings her several kinds of flours. I thought it was just too clever.
The little notes were a wonderful addition. I love making little theme gift packs like this and have many special celebrations coming up. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thanks, Lisa! I agree; I love theme gifts! In some ways they’re easier to put together because you get on a roll planning all of the components. Plus, when people unwrap it, it feels like you’re giving them a gift that’s an experience as well.
This is one of the most thoughtful, original gift ideas I’ve seen — so personal and useful! I haven’t used Vegan Diner, but AFR is a great choice. Marking the recipes is such a helpful addition, especially for someone who may a little unfamiliar with the type of dishes in the books. It makes getting a new cookbook exciting instead of overwhelming.
Love the “every girl loves flours!”
What a sweet thing to say, Andrea! Thank you! I think you’re right that sometimes trying a new cuisine or style of cooking can be daunting. By breaking down ideas and demystifying unusual ingredients, hopefully my friend will enjoy trying out some things that are new to her.
What an awesome gift!
Thanks, Linda! I think my friend liked it too and that makes me very happy!
This is the best idea for a gift! I would love to receive something as considerate as this.
I have a friend who usually gives DIY theme presents to all of her friends, I can’t wait for her birthday so that I can return the favour. The personalized notes make it so much more thoughtful.
Thanks, Maggie! I can see from your blog that you have quite a collection of cookbooks from which to choose. Let me know which one(s) you pick for your friend!
Oooh what a gorgeous gift. I looove giving gifts especially with themes. And ahem ahem my birthday is just around the corner
Let me get my pen! I can see I have quite a few birthdays to jot down here…
This is such a fantastic idea, Cadry. It’s the extremely thoughtful sort of gift any friend would be lucky to receive. I must tuck this idea away. And those sticky notes…swoon, I must look for those.
So nice of you to say, Amanda! I was delighted to find those sticky notes. They often have a variety of cute ones at my favorite stationery store, but finding this particular set was quite a coup!
You are such a great friend! I never thought of adding the notes and giving some ingredients along with the book, great idea.
Aw, thanks, Bitt! So sweet of you! The recipient of this gift is someone extra special. She’s definitely worth the effort!
As someone with an upcoming birthday‚ I have to say that this is an especially fantastic idea! I may need to share this post with certain people in my life
I love giving cookbooks as gifts‚ and I usually go through and mark my favorites‚ but your whole package with the handwritten notes (love the sticky notes‚ by the way)‚ cute packaging and the “extras” make it so much more fun and thoughtful. I’ll be doing this in the future! Thanks!
Happy early birthday! Oh, yes, you’ll definitely need to have a few web pages open in your honey’s browser. You can leave this page open and the Amazon pages for the books on your wish list.
I always love giving and receiving cookbooks too. They’re a gift that keeps on giving. Plus, you can almost never have too many!
What I sweet idea! I love that you included ingredients, too
Definitely stealing this idea for future care packages. Thanks, Cadry!
Excellent! It would be fun to see which books and ingredients you choose. Let me know if you do it!