Gift Basket for a Malibu Foodie

This holiday season, as you contemplate the sweet family, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, colleagues and helpers in your life, take your gift-giving to a new level: stay local.

I'm suggesting you buy locally, from Malibu businesses, to support our micro-economy here and bolster the businesses that contribute to our vibrant community life. In many ways, Malibu has a small-town feel. Much of that comes from our distinct neighborhoods and our local business people who understand the Malibu way of life, offering tangible support to our schools and children. We must return the favor and shop locally to keep them in business!   

For food lovers, it's easier than you think to stay local and small. There are enough Malibu producers of high-quality edibles to fill any gift basket to the brim.

Consider these artisanal products and purveyors as you fulfill your delicious gift list this season. Any or all would be perfect for a Malibu foodie gift basket you assemble, or as an individual gift. Following is a selection of local offerings:   

Malibu Granola:  for Malibu Mayor Laura Z. Rosenthal's Malibu Granola. What started more than a decade ago as gifts for teachers, neighbors and friends has blossomed into a delicious business. It's gotten so popular that the making of this oaty-nutty-seedy mixture (oats, honey, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and flax seeds, almonds and pecans, wheat germ, coconut, cranberries and vanilla) has had to move out of her home kitchen and into a commercial kitchen. Half the ingredients are organic. A one-pound bag is $12.50, and a three-ounce snack-size bag is $4. 

Cal-Fresco Fig Jam: Pastry chef Kristine Bocchino of  (the new dinner and Sunday brunch expansion at ), offers handmade, lightly sweet, perfectly sticky fig jam made simply with fresh black mission figs, water, sugar, lemon juice and pectin. On your morning toast, or as an appetizer spread with cheese, this is divine stuff. $5.95. Call the restaurant at 310-456-3254 to place your order. Check out the website too. 

Godmother Mediterranean Salt: Speaking of The Godmother (tucked up among the shade trees behind the ), and its wildly entertaining owner Dolores Rivellino. She has long sold her proprietary blend of Mediterranean Salt to those regulars in the know. You want a little bit of the Godmother in your own kitchen? A sprinkle of this on your steak, burger, chicken or fish will do the trick. Heck, it's even good on steamed veggies and freshly popped popcorn! Kosher salt, oregano, basil, rosemary, lemon peel, garlic and love—that's the ticket. Sold in an eight-ounce jar ($8.95). Pick it up at The Godmother, 23847 Stuart Ranch Road. Call ahead at 310-456-3254 to order. 

Malibu Toffee: Real butter, sugar and chocolate covered with a layer of almonds. Does it get any better or more decadent? No, my friends, it just doesn't. Malibuite Sheri Swist's delectable recipe comes in two-ounce ($3.75) and 1/2-pound ($15.95) boxes, and two-ounce bags ($2.95). You can order by calling 310-464-6800, from the website or pick up a box at , ,  or a nearby Whole Foods (see store locator on the website).  

: Bon vivant Robert Jaye makes his super-premium, zippy, golden elixir from Malibu-grown olives and sells it each Sunday from his stylish Malibu Olive Company booth at the . Choose from the buttery, robust Romanelli Quattro (California Super premium extra virgin olive oil made from Lucca and Lucino olives) or the fruity, slightly bitter California Organic Super Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil Blend (from manzanillo and mission olives). Once you taste it, you’ll never go back to supermarket oil. A bottle is $20. He promises that if you print this article and bring it to the market, he will give you $1 off the price of a 375ml bottle.  Find the oil at the Malibu Farmers Market, from the website or stocked at a few select retailers.  

Vital Zuman Honey:  Speaking of golden elixir, the cherished, pampered, free-range bees at the six-acre organic farm  produce the sweetest, most pure, raw wild honey, which farmer Alan Cunningham lovingly collects, along with a chunk of honeycomb, packs into pint-size jars and sells for $23. This is the stuff dreams are made of. No self-respecting Malibu pantry should be without it. (VZ also sells pure honeycomb for $15—each four-inch square piece is a pound or more). Pick up at Vital Zuman Farm, 29127 Pacific Coast Highway (at Heathercliff); 310-457-4356. Open Wednesday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Fresh produce and groceries: Out of the Box Collective is a delivery service offering the highest quality, farm-fresh, local, sustainable, produce and artisanal groceries carefully sourced and selected. Owner and Malibu mom Jennifer Piette will create a custom gift box for your recipient, or you can choose from among the company’s regular offerings of produce-and-grocery boxes packed with fresh delectables sized to suit the lucky recipient. Price varies depending on what you order. Call her at 310-745-3556 or visit the website. 

Artifac Tree: What should you put all these treasures in for gift-giving? Stop in to Malibu’s hidden thrift-store treasure, The Artifac Tree, for a basket or other ingenious container. I asked store manager Martha Templeton for help in finding a basket, and a helpful clerk led me to this find—a white ceramic "basket" with nary a chip. It looked brand-spanking new and was mine for $5. We added a couple of vintage fine embroidered handkerchiefs (a couple of bucks each) for pretty display, and voila! Really, folks, if you haven't been here, you don't know what treasures you are missing. Like any thrift store, if you see it and like it, you must buy it, because it won't be there when you visit again. And when you buy here, your good shopping is also shopping for good, because the store's proceeds support those in need. Artifac Tree, 3728 ½ Cross Creek Road, Malibu; 310-456-1068; Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Happy shopping and holiday season, and remember to shop Malibu. Support local stores, businesses and vendors!

Sunset Mesa resident Dorothy Reinhold has been writing and developing recipes for more than 25 years. Her  You can reach her at DReinhold@charter.net.