Chop chop
Cutting boards are a kitchen basic. But they don’t have to be bland or boring. Especially the classy cutting boards crafted by Texas-based Maple Leaf at Home.
Founded by Pam Vincent, the company offers high-quality cutting boards, serving trays and Lazy Susans with laser engraving and personalization.
Available in more than 50 different shapes and sizes, each board can be personalized with an initial, a name, a monogram or a corporate image. Made of premium hard maple, the boards come with rubber feet for a secure grip and are hand-oiled with a butcher-block conditioner to ensure durability.
Prices range from $24 for the smallest board to $230 for the largest, a 24-by-15-inch board with hand-forged iron handles. As gift-giving goes, the best-selling boards are from the company’s 18-inch series ($145) in three shapes: rectangle, oval and scalloped.
While the cutting boards are popular wedding or special-occasion gifts, the 18-inch Lazy Susan ($195) was recently selected as one of Oprah’s favorite things.
In the Atlanta area, find cutting boards at Huff Harrington Home, 102 W. Paces Ferry Road (huffharrington.com). For information on the company’s home products, visit www.mapleleafathome.com
Meals made easy
Atlanta’s Emily Golub is a fan of farm-fresh food and home cooking. She knows others are too. That is why she started Garnish & Gather. The Atlanta-based company offers gourmet meal kits that include everything you need to make a simple, seasonal and tasty dinner for two or four people. Here’s how it works:
1. You choose dinners and groceries from G&G’s weekly menu of seasonal recipes.
2. They prep all the raw ingredients in the right portions.
3. They deliver your local, farm-fresh meal kits to your home (extra $10) or a convenient pick-up location on Mondays.
4. You cook and share a delicious dinner with friends and family.
With a subscription, which is flexible and can be paused or canceled at any time, prices range from $30 for a meal for two to $60 for four people. One-time orders range from $35 to $65. Gift subscriptions (for new parents or birthdays) are also available.
A recent menu included kale, mushroom and goat cheese wilted salad with spice-rubbed chicken. There was also a spiced pear sausage with bacon, turnip and cabbage. The menu, which changes weekly, always includes a vegetarian meal.
Along with dinners, the company’s Local Provisions Shop offers various staples, including Carlton Farm eggs, cheese from CalyRoad Creamery, Atlanta Fresh Greek Yogurt, Pine Street Market bacon and H&F bread.
If you like to cook, but don’t like or have the time to plan meals and shop, visit www.garnishandgather.com. First-time customers will receive 20 percent off their first order by using the code “cooking” at checkout.
Have your cake
Anne Byrn is a University of Georgia grad and former food editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But to millions of cooks around the country, Byrn is best-known as the Cake Mix Doctor.
Now, the best-selling cookbook author has created a premium line of cake mixes, based on her mother’s recipes. With a made-from-scratch taste and no artificial ingredients, choose Old-Fashioned Yellow or Deep Deep Chocolate mixes ($4.99 to $5.99 for a 26.2-ounce box).
Purchase the easy, one-bowl mixes at Publix stores in the Atlanta area and throughout Georgia. Or order online at www.cakemixdoctor.com. At the website, also find recipes for turning the mixes into cupcakes, bars and cakes, like pumpkin or Hummingbird.
Best of the South
Do you have favorite finds from around the South that you give as gifts, buy for your home or rave about to friends? If so, please share them with us. Send your suggestions to: lljerkins@gmail.com. Please include your name and contact number. Also find more Southern-made products, featured in the AJC, at Southernfinds on Facebook or on twitter@southernfinds1.
