gift baskets
 Here are some of the baskets we offered for sale during the 2021 holiday season. We still have a fair number of the products seen in these photos, as well as an ever-expanding selection of products at our retail store.

#1 Primo Piatto
Primo Piatto is Italian for “first plate.” In a multi-course Italian meal, that usually means pasta! It might follow a small-plate antipasto course, to be followed in turn by meat, chicken, fish, or plant-based protein, perhaps with a vegetable or salad, & finally dessert with coffee. But sometimes that one dish of comforting pasta is all you need. This basket gives you multiple pasta & sauce choices,& a recipe for sun-dried tomato sauce. Basket contains Italian olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, 2 sauces, & 3 pastas. Vegetarian – contains dairy & nuts.
Price: $67

#2 The ALICANTE
Tapas are considered appetizers, but depending on how many people you invite to share this, you may not want dinner! Set out this array of savory and sweet delights with a bottle or two of Spanish wine for a true feast, or dole it out one or two delicacies at a time. This basket contains 4 kinds of imported seafood, 2 kinds of tapas crackers, olives stuffed with Manchego cheese, caramelized tomato spread, membrillo (quince paste), and a slab of dense fig and almond cake. Pescatarian – contains fish, dairy & nuts
Price $67

#3 Tagine
A tagine is a round clay pot with a conical cover, used in Morocco for simmering stews and casseroles. The shape of the lid causes condensed steam to run back down inside, continually basting the dish. (A dutch oven or covered skillet is a good substitute; just let the liquid fall back into the pot whenever you take the lid off). This basket holds fine Moroccan olive oil, chickpeas, olives and couscous, and an array of fragrant spices and condiments to season a typical Moroccan main dish, with meat, poultry, or plant-based protein: Ras el Hanout, harissa, Moroccan saffron, and limu Omani (dried limes). Vegan
Price $56

#4 Vegan Etruscan
What could be more Tuscan than white beans? We found some lovely bottled organic cannellini beans. Eat them in a classic salad with sun-dried tomatoes, or in the hearty soup called Ribollita, which you may know as “bread soup” – but our recipe replaces cubed bread with gluten-free pasta. Enjoy another pasta with puttanesca sauce, with extra olives! This basket contains Italian olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cannellini, sun-dried tomatoes, 2 pastas, crushed tomatoes, pitted olives, and porcini mushroom bouillion cubes. Vegan.
Price $78

#5 Valencia  ¡ La Paella !
Paella, the quintessential Spanish feast, is one of the world’s great one-pot dishes. It can contain chicken, meat, chorizo and/or seafood, & a multitude of colorful vegetables. Chickpeas appear in some traditional recipes; using them and/or plant-based protein & vegetable stock for the liquid, you can produce a fantastic and flavorful vegan paella
Price $54

#6 Tagra
A tagra is a round or oval clay covered pot (like a tagine but without the conical top), used in Northern Morocco for simmering layered dishes of vegetables and fish, such as Mquali. This basket contains fine Moroccan olive oil, olives, couscous, roasted red pepper, and the spices and condiments needed to season Mquali, Moroccan fish casserole: saffron, limu Omani (dried limes), and the intensely flavored spice blend paste called Chermoula, which is also a god rub for meat, chicken, or plant-based protein. A recipe for Mquali is included. Vegan.
Price $56

#7 Palermo
In Sicily, it’s all about the sea! This charming Pasta del Mare, imported organic tri-color pasta in sea creature shapes, is so delightful in itself that only the simplest sauce is needed. While it cooks, snack on seafood appetizers and meaty green olives. Sure, the olives come from Greece and the seafood comes from Spain, but Palermo is as close to Alicante on Spain’s east coast as it is to Bologna in northern Italy, and even closer to Greece. Anyway, that’s what the Etruscans do: carry great food from country to country. Enjoy! Contains Pasta del Mare, tomato-basil sauce, Chalkidiki olives, tuna in spicy sauce, piquillo peppers stuffed with smoked salmon. Pescatarian-contains fish.
Price $38

#8 Voglio mangiare!
Once in the tiny medieval port of Nettuno, on the west coast of Italy, we heard a child cry passionately, “Mamma! Voglio Mangiare!” (I want to eat!). Don’t we all know how that feels? When you want your supper at the end of a long day, but you’re too tired and hungry to even think about what to eat, and even ordering out feels like too much trouble, grab one of these lovely pasta and sauce mixes (or two, for 3-4 people), dump it in a saucepan, add water, and stir. While you’re stirring, sip a cup of porcini broth, with its remarkable combination of umami and health benefits, and then nibble on some tender fruity Cerignola olives. When the pasta is done, drizzle a little flavorful Moroccan olive oil on top. The dish is vegan as is. If you’re not vegan, you can add Parmesan cheese, or even cubed cooked meat in the final minutes of cooking.
Price $38

#9 Middle Eastern Delight
From this basket, anyone can put together a couple of flavorful, nutritious, and exotic vegan meals with minimal effort. A lovely gift to a vegan individual or couple on your list! Basket contains tahini, harissa, pitted olives, bottled chickpeas, Foule Madammas, 2 dried limes, Moroccan mountain olive oil. Vegan.
Price $60

#10 Roma – Red
Dinner in Rome, the Eternal City Imagine sitting in a Roman piazza on a warm summer evening, ordering a leisurely dinner: an appetizer of grilled vegetables, a dish of pasta, then something savory, grilled, accompanied by a green salad, ending with a sweet. Even without ristorante staff to wait on you, with advance preparation you can achieve such a dinner without being too rushed and frazzled to enjoy it. This basket contains Sfoglini artisan pasta, puttanesca sauce with olives and capers, plus extra pitted olives to throw in, imported extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. Vegan.
Price $60

#11 Roma – Green
Dinner in Rome, the Eternal City Imagine sitting in a Roman piazza on a warm summer evening, ordering a leisurely dinner: an appetizer of olives and grilled vegetables, a dish of pasta, then something savory, grilled, accompanied by a green salad, ending with a sweet. Even without ristorante staff to wait on you, with advance preparation you can achieve such a dinner without being too rushed and frazzled to enjoy it. This basket contains orrechiete pasta, pesto sauce, bella de cerignola olives, extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, all imported from Italy. Vegetarian – contains nuts and dairy.
Price $60

#12 Roma – White
Dinner in Rome, the Eternal City Imagine sitting in a Roman piazza on a warm summer evening, ordering a leisurely dinner: an appetizer of olives and grilled vegetables, a dish of pasta, then something savory, grilled, accompanied by a green salad, ending with a sweet. Even without ristorante staff to wait on you, with advance preparation you can achieve such a dinner without being too rushed and frazzled to enjoy it. This basket contains gluten-free pasta, La Rustica sauce, pitted Taggiasca olives, extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, all imported from Italy. Vegan and gluten free.
Price $60