Surprising Green Facts – Recycle!

Recycling is so important it can’t be overstated. It takes a lot more energy to make things from scratch than it does using recycled products. Recycling cuts down our need for virgin material, such as petroleum for plastic bottles. It is no secret that our landfills have been overfilled, so we need to do what we can to cut down on waste. Here are some numbers for you:
80-100: Years a can will stay in a landfill before decomposing
700: Years needed for a plastic bottle to decompose
1 million: Years needed for decomposition of a glass bottle (yikes)*
By recycling just one aluminum can you save enough energy to run a television for about 3 hours. That is just one can. Multiply that by all the cans used in the United States and you start to get an idea of the magnitude of savings possible.
Even if you are out and about, don’t throw those cans and bottles in the regular trash. Save them until you get them to a place where they can be recycled.

Statistics courtesy of bottlesandcans.com
Click here to view our line of green gift baskets

The Art of Appreciation

Appreciation: Recognition of the quality, value, significance or magnitude of people and things

Appreciating life and the people in it is one of my favorite activities.
By showing appreciation we are in fact acknowledging another, whether it be thanking someone for a job well done or better understanding an artist and what his artwork conveys. It’s why intro art classes are often titled Art Appreciation. The end product should be one who better understands art and its process while keeping, and perhaps expanding, one’s own personal aesthetic.

The world might be a better place if we taught Life Appreciation at schools.
It spans every area of life. Just by recognizing the quality of a well-prepared meal, the value of a good friend, or the significance of an action makes living on this planet a lighter activity.

One of my favorite aspects of Fancifull is I get to help others send out packages of appreciation daily. I think of them as bombs of goodness landing on desks and in homes throughout the world. People send gifts to show gratitude, congratulate, send good wishes, and generally let others know that someone is aware of them and what they are doing or going through. The package is sent and then, sitting at a desk just working the day away, this person is surprised with a gift telling them how wonderful they are. How cool is that? And I get to make it happen.

Appreciation comes into play in another sphere at Fancifull; we love to make the acquaintance of great products. Sometimes I think maybe I recognize quality a little too much – I certainly acquaint myself with a whole lot of great food. Discovering a company that turns out a terrific product and also has integrity is a highlight of my job. We talk to the people who make the chocolates, who bake the cookies, or came up with a great idea. We get to know them and how they operate. I find it exciting to learn how items are crafted, the traditions that get handed down generation after generation, and the cultures these gifts spring from.

I could go on and on. As one becomes more aware one tends to appreciate everything more. For example, when you raise your own child you better understand your own parents. As I meet more and more craftsman my world is expanded by the nuances of their creation. Whereas chocolate all tasted the same when I was a teenager, now I can taste olives in some, berries in another. I truly appreciate the hand made fresh truffles that have such an intense chocolate flavor. I notice the lack of additives and the pureness of the flavors. In another arena of life I also find myself admiring my employee who goes to school each night, bettering her life and that of her son. Going back to the definition of appreciation above, I do recognize the significance and magnitude of her and those around me.

Once you start appreciating things your world just keeps expanding. It is never ending. At least I hope not.

Terry August

Exercise: Today find something you can appreciate. It might be as simple as a person letting you in their lane while driving. It could be a friend, a parent, or your child. Find the quality in just one thing. Then if you feel like it, do it some more. Spread the appreciation around, like good compost, it will make relationships blossom. Post it as a comment here!

Fancy Food Show 2008

Oh My! That is usually our reaction as we enter the Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center in New York and view all the booths that seem to stretch out into infinity. We only have three days to visit more than 1500 exhibitors, not to mention the 60 specialty pavilions representing 81 countries.

We know we won’t make it through the whole show so we have to be focused and organized. If not, you tend to get sidetracked and then you start sampling items you don’t need to, and before you know it you are feeling a bit queasy.

But we did focus, so headed straight to the Organics and All Natural Pavilion. We had decided we were going to continue our search for great foods from responsible companies as well as looking for more authentic green products. We were also on the search for local companies. We want to support our local economy, have accessible products and cut down on petroleum used in delivery. Here are some of the highlights:

Chocolate continues to be an expanding market. We were very excited to find a few local chocolate companies that produced outstanding chocolate.

Especially interesting was one company that did a very select single origin chocolate bar that focused on particular plantations in Ecuador. It is similar to terroir in wine. One vineyard can have very different characteristics than another that is merely a few yards away. There are various regions in Ecuador where chocolate is grown. As a result the chocolate from the desert region was much different than the ones from a more tropical area. Fascinating.

But this is why we go – to taste and learn and see for ourselves what works and what doesn’t.

It was heartening to see the amount of Organic and Fair Trade being offered. There are many people stepping up trying to treat the earth and the people on it fairly. This can be found in a variety of foods we will be bringing in as well as some great containers we will have on hand this holiday season. These shows, while tiring at times, give us an opportunity to talk to vendors and get a sense of who they are and how they operate. From the woman who just started her tapenade company (absolutely delicious by the way) to the couple in North Carolina with their wonderful toffee cookies, and the Chickasaw Nation turning out fine and fun chocolates (white chocolate covered Bugle snacks) we thoroughly enjoy being the conduit by which their dreams, creativity and enthusiasm reach you.

A Taste of Fate: Meeting Winemaker Jacky Blot

Many of my vacations truly are “working vacations”. Yes, we spend three weeks in France, but we are visiting wine makers, cheese producers and the like. Yeah, I know, tough job but someone has to do it. I can’t complain. I do work at hunting out products . Much like the truffle pig, I am always sniffing around, looking in local shops, watching what the locals are eating. Of course this often means eating and drinking many things to be assured of quality – I never just take someone’s word for it- but that is another story altogether.

When I eat a cookie I like in Italy, I will find out who imports it to the U.S. I am quite vigilant. This is just the best way to bring my customers items they might not find otherwise, such as many of the wines we have in our shop. Sometimes I find them through a focused tasting or meeting wine makers. Sometimes greatness just falls in your lap, almost like Divine Intervention.

Forces were at work when we discovered the lovely wines of Jacky Blot: Domaine Taille aux Loups (whites) and La Butte (red).

The Intervention came by way of a kindly Paris wine shop owner, Christophe Vidal. While we were buying some wine from his shop, I noticed some odd whiskeys from Japan which started up a conversation (and some sampling of said whiskeys, did I mention how nice this guy was?). In our discussion of the wine business, we mention that we are planning to visit a winemaker or two in the Loire Valley. As we are about to leave we hear a shout. He comes running up to us with an open bottle of wine. Turns out that the winemaker, Jacky Blot from the Loire Valley, had been in his shop earlier for a tasting of his wines. Jacky had left an open bottle but Cristophe didn’t need it, perhaps we could take it back to our apartment and enjoy it. We took our Taille aux Loups wine, happily skipping back to our apartment and marveling at the kindness of strangers.

The wine is a delightful surprise. Chenin Blanc grapes, light, crisp, wonderfully balanced. What a nice gift! Wally, ever diligent, looks up the winery and I can see he is contemplating, actually becoming determined, to find the winery in our travels. We move on to the Loire and are having dinner in the city of Tours when, lo and behold, the Taille Aux Loups is on the wine list by the glass. We have to order it, and yes, it is as good as we remembered. Okay, that settles it, we have to find this winery.

After a few days of trying wines in Chinon and Saumur (both great cities to visit and sample wine), we track down the winery Taille Aux Loups. We drive along curvy roads, follow the river (because we don’t know exactly where it is) along the south bank of the Loire east of Tours. Eureka, we find it! Jacky’s daughter Françoise greets us warmly as we come in from the rain, and sets up quite a tasting for us. We try sparkling wines, the whites that we love, and reds from nearby Bourgueil. It is quite fantastic, especially since we don’t even have an appointment. Jacky pops in and gives us an exuberant hello, but he is quite busy with a bunch of clients in another room. We write down the name and phone number of their distributor in California and buy some bottles to add to the collection we have amassed during the previous few days. We high five ourselves once we get in the car, feeling the excitement of another successful hunt. We rub our hands in anticipation of tasting this wine for our clients back home, and hope that the distributor, Adventures in Wine, carries the wines we want. We have never bought from them before, or even heard of them.

We return to our Paris apartment a few days later with our cache of prized wines. I really want to serve Jacky’s wine at our upcoming tasting in two weeks. I need to email my assistant Dave to find this company. As I am looking in my purse to find the business cards from the wine makers we visited, I find a card for Adventures In Wine! I have no idea how it got there. I don’t remember ever meeting the person whose name is on the card. There is no other business card from America in my bag, having cleaned it out before we left. Françoise at the winery did not give me a card, she just had me write down the name in my notebook. But here it is. Magic! That did it. We were obviously destined to have this wine in our shop.

The importer has the whites I want, not the reds, but they are ordering them for me. So with this happy set of circumstances, I am able to offer this fantastic wine to our customers. And it all began because I had noticed some odd whiskeys at a Paris wine shop and started asking questions.

Terry August

The Art Of Appreciation – A Trip To Italy

I have recently realized that I am a researcher and thus an explorer. Whether I am trying to find a great ingredient for a basket or wandering into the hillsides of Italy, I am always searching for insight. Perhaps it is where a certain chocolate comes from and why that makes a difference. It can be why Balsamic ages best in the attic, as I learned recently from a woman in Modena Italy who was kind enough to give us a tour of her Balsamic Factory. We spent a delightful morning with her showing us around her barrels of balsamic, some going back more than 100 yrs. We sampled vinegars that had been aged 8, 12, 25 and 40 years. It was marvelous to understand the process and thus better appreciate the product. Maybe that is why I research so thoroughly: for appreciation.

That appreciation factor is one of my favorite aspects of travel. I get the opportunity to experience first hand the culture, history and the incredible people that inhabit this planet. We all have our cultural and personal idiosyncrasies. I have found a great advantage to sitting back and enjoying the show.

Travel allows one to connect the dots as it were. For example after my first trip to Italy I could see where the so called New York attitude originated. So many Italians immigrated to the east coast in the early part of this century. That’s where you get the whole neighborhood feel of New York, where you buy your groceries from the market on your block and eat at the same pizza place at least once a week. I find many Italians have that gruff, ” whaddya want”, attitude. Once you get past that there is a warmth that is increased if you make any attempt to speak Italian at all.

The attitude and the manners change by region of course, much the same as in the United States. But throughout, there is an honesty in the demeanor and in the food of Italy that I find refreshing. The Italians can take 3 ingredients and make a dish with depth and texture. I can still remember a simple mixed green salad I had in Rome. It was only a bowl of mixed greens with olive oil and salt. As I write this I can still taste the freshness of the olive oil. Pretty intense. Which I think sums up Italy.

Here is an anecdote from the first day of my first trip to Italy that illustrates the Italian attitude that I love so much. We had just landed in Venice. We had that wobbly tiredness that comes from a long flight and not nearly enough sleep on the nights preceding our trip. We had been in Venice about 2 hours before we set out to have dinner. We ended up at a small place just at the foot of a bridge.

In Italy many of the waiters are older; this is a career after all, not something you do while waiting for something better to come along. We had this gruff older waiter, your quintessential tough Italian, salt and pepper hair, craggy face, somewhat squat.

We were trying to make our way through the menu. It was printed in 4 languages and we were having a hard time reading even the English version. Did we want a Primi Piatti (usually pasta), Contorni (vegetables), or a Secondo (meat or fish dish). You see, most Italian menus are broken down into many categories and you put your meal together. With so much to choose from we were taking a little longer than the waiter wanted.

He comes to take our order and my husband, Wally, orders an antipasto with the intention of ordering something else as well. The waiter starts to walk off and Wally says, “Wait, I think I’ll have the Spaghetti Bolognese.” The waiter fixes him with a steely stare and barks out, “You think or you want?” Wally, eyes wide and a bit startled yells back, “I want I want!”
“Okay” grunts the waiter, with the appropriate hand gesture and takes off.

We almost fell on the floor we were laughing so hard. This was the perfect introduction to a country we have come to love. We all decided that was a very good life lesson. Do you think or do you want? One needs to be definite in this world. I appreciate the lesson.

It’s Easy Being Green

Recyclable, Reusable, Deliciously Edible and Sustainable – the Fancifull Motto

Taking care of this planet, and thus our future on it, has become a topic of much discussion.
The discussion is great, but what can each of us do to make this home of ours habitable for generations to come?
It is surprisingly easy how each of us can incorporate practices into our daily life that can effect change. At Fancifull we are designing more and more with the viewpoint of Recyclable, Reusable and Sustainable.
Below are some items we have found, and are using, that are fun to use and cut down on the waste, toxins, and use of petroleum.

Totes: They have become a great fashion accessory these days. Available in a variety of colors and shapes and you can make quite a statement carrying them – both fashion and ecology wise. My daughter and I have great fun sending each other different bags to lug our groceries home. I also use them at my shop when I have a lot to bring home, to take my cleaning to my organic dry cleaner and to bring my lunch to work. I just keep them in my car so they are always handy. I am even getting better about remembering to take them into the store!

We found a terrific line called Envirosax. They are lightweight and roll up small enough to fit in the palm of your hand with a snap to keep them rolled. You can throw them in your glove compartment, your purse, even a suitcase so you can keep them handy. We even have a five pack that comes in a pouch so you will never be without a satchel, yet the whole pouch can fit in under your seat (or in your glove compartment, unless it is jammed full like mine is).

Why this is important: The plastic bags used at grocery stores are coming under a lot of scrutiny. They are toxic to make, put harmful emissions in the air, and add to the overwhelmingly full landfills. Many cities are considering banning them. Get a jump-start and use your own bags. I love mine. I would never consider going back to store bags. No bag folding or wondering what to do with all those plastic bags.

Stainless Steel Water Bottles: There are many reasons to switch to reusable stainless water bottles. Plastic has been proven to leach chemicals into the water and repeated use can create bacteria, which stainless doesn’t do. We found stainless steel bottles that are practical and good looking – a nice combination. They can be imprinted with a company name so make an original gift that will be used for years to come.

Why this is important: The manufacture of plastic bottles is painful to the environment-fumes and waste from making all that plastic- as well as a petroleum hog.
Estimates for the oil consumed to make the plastic water bottles, just for America alone, is between 15-17 million barrels a year. “It would be like filling up a quarter of every (water) bottle with oil,” says Peter Gleik, a water policy expert and director at the Oakland, Calif.-based Pacific Institute, which studies “real life solutions to water crises.” The water bottle industry uses 1.5 million tons of plastic. Truly disturbing is that 77% of those bottles are not recycled and so wind up in overcrowded landfills.

You may still need to pick up a bottle of water here and there, but if you can start refilling a stainless steel bottle, especially for the gym, on your desk or at home, it will contribute to a cleaner environment for all. If everyone began using the two items above, think about the effect it would have on the planet. All that oil saved, all those fumes not being emitted, all that plastic not going into landfills.
It all helps.

I haven’t even mentioned how much money you can save. A stainless steel bottle costs about $10. Consider what you pay for water – both monetarily and environmentally. We have a water purifying system in our shop and home. These systems are very inexpensive, produce great tasting water, eliminate the need for water delivery (all those bottles have to make it to the store somehow) and make the use of our stainless steel water bottles very practical.

Bamboo: We are using bamboo trays as the container for gifts. This abundant plant is sustainable, grows free from pesticides and can even be made into cloth that is hypo allergenic – good for baby clothes. Speaking of which, in addition to trays we will have baby blankets and clothes out of this wonder fiber.

Why this is important: The following is information from Totally Bamboo, the company that supplies us with our bamboo trays.

Bamboo is actually a grass that grows to a harvestable height of 60 feet in about three to five years, growing as much as two feet per day. It has an extensive root system that continually sends up new shoots, naturally replenishing itself. It does not require replanting, making it one of the most renewable resources known. The species we use, “Moso” timber bamboo is not a food source, or a habitat, for the Giant Panda.

Bamboo holds the promise of a sustainable, cost effective and ecologically responsible alternative to the widespread clear cutting of our world’s precious timberland.
The Color of Bamboo: Our bamboo comes in two colors, light, which is the natural color of the bamboo and dark, which is a honey color. The dark color is achieved by steaming the bamboo, bringing out the natural sugars, and caramelizing it. This color is permanent and will not fade or wash out.

Fabrik Magazine Launch Party

All of us here at Fancifull are very proud to be sponsoring the launch of an exciting new magazine, Fabrik. The party happens Wed, March 26th at Skylark Gallery, 8576 Melrose (1 block east of the Design Center), beginning at 8 pm. We will be there pouring the wine and providing noshes.

This is very exciting for us because Los Angeles needs a magazine like Fabrik. It focuses on the many ways art is created in Los Angeles. “Fabrik magazine aims to discover the underlying structure of art, design and fashion being uniquely cultivated in the diverse districts that comprise Los Angeles“ explains publisher Chris Davies. The content of the magazine will focus on profiles of artists, curators, galleries, interior designers, and cutting-edge fashion designers. Fabrik also features hundreds of gallery listings, art walks, events and artist showcases.

Anything that celebrates living with and making art daily is a project we have to endorse whole-heartedly. Come join us tonight and welcome this bright bit of energy hitting Los Angeles. As Davies writes in Fabrik, “By connecting us to the art and design landscape of Los Angeles, Fabrik fashions an even more abundant city.” If you want to pick up a copy of the magazine you can contact us here at Fancifull (323-466-7654), or pick it up at Skylark Gallery.

Kahlua Coffee Toffee Trifle

This is the recipe that started my love of trifles. It came from a woman who was a
customer of mine when I worked temporarily at the May Company on Wilshire (yes, I am dating myself) up in their coffee shop. Wow, that was a long time ago. This lovely woman, Phyllis Kitay, gave me this recipe on a napkin. I still have that napkin. Over 20 years later it sits in my recipe folder just as Phyllis gave it to me. It feels good to get it in some form that is a bit safer.

Ingredients:

1 1-lb angel food cake, or you can use pound cake and I have made it with fresh chocolate cake – a great variation!
1 5.5 oz instant vanilla pudding mix made with half and half (I usually make my own pudding or patissiere cream, I prefer it to the packaged, but the packaged works fine if you are in a hurry)
3/4 C Kahlua
2 C Whipping Cream
2 tsp Instant Coffee
Crushed English Toffee (I have also used Heath bars and such)

Cut the cake into cubes and pour the Kahlua over evenly
Make up the pudding or cream and mix it gently with the cake

In another bowl pour in the 2 cups whipping cream and the instant coffee. This is left unsweetened because you have the sugar from the toffee and the pudding and Kahlua.
Let stand 5 minutes then whip the cream.

In a glass bowl layer the cake mixture, whipped cream, crushed English Toffee and repeat finishing with the toffee.
It is truly amazing.

Green Gifting

Reusable, recyclable, deliciously edible. That has been our mantra at Fancifull for years now, especially the edible part. But we are more focused now on how we can have a bigger impact on the planet by having a smaller one as far as where we get our products, how they are manufactured and what we do with them once we have consumed them.

The result is a better selection of organic foods and wines (all delicious – we promise), searching out more locally grown products and those farmers who take care of the land rather than abuse it, more fair trade products, interesting reusable containers including wood bowls, bamboo trays, and great totes to use for shopping. Look for an extended gift section of stainless water bottles, good looking totes, plant seeds that come in self-contained planters, plantation grown wood bowls, trays and containers from sustainable materials like bamboo and more. We are having fun exploring our options. Your suggestions are welcome!

For years we have been using a packing material called eco-pak or sizzlepak instead of the shredded wood stuffing (excelsior) commonly found in gift baskets. Eco-pak is made from recycled paper and is 100% recyclable and biodegradable. It costs more, but it’s worth it. We also recycle all of the cardboard cartons that our merchandise arrives in.

Even in the delivery of our products we are “carpooling” more. We can cut down on fuel consumption by allowing our gifts to carpool with other packages on a FedEx truck rather than driving by themselves across town. Of course we still do local deliveries, especially for fresh items. The more we can deliver together, the fewer emissions per gift.

This is just an example how we are thinking green and making better decisions for the planet and thus, all of us. We have new designs for you to check out and more will be coming.

Easy Fresh Fruit Trifle

Disclaimer: I feel the need to let you all know that I am a “from scratch” kind of gal.
I make my own ladyfingers for Charlottes, I never use a mix for a cake, I take great pride in my baked goods. However, there are times when you need a quick dessert and you are just too worn out to get out the flour and eggs and start melting chocolate. Plus, there are times when you can take ready-made things and combine them in ways that take them out of the ordinary. Here is such a recipe. It took a total of about 30 minutes to assemble.

I got excited when we got these sponge cakes in the shop. We tried them and liked the texture – a flavor similar to angel cake, but denser so it can hold up well to crème patissier. My mind started racing, thinking of all the things you could do with them.

We needed a dessert for an employee’s birthday, so here was a perfect opportunity to experiment. The staff proclaimed this experiment a rousing success!

2 packages Bavarian Sponge Cake (found here at Fancifull)
Lemon or Orange Curd (we have a great lemon curd )
Rice Pudding (you can use Trader Joe’s or Kozy Shack available at most grocery stores)
Note: You can also make Patissier creme or Custard if you want. It is easy and the texture is a bit stiffer.
3 Cups whipping cream
A tablespoon or two of Powder Sugar (for the whipping cream – sweeten to taste)
Cut up Strawberries
You can also use blueberries, bananas, peaches, whatever combo you like.
Optional: Meringues (can get tubs at any store or Trader Joe’s)

Whip the cream with powder sugar to taste until stiff.

Slather the sponge cake with the curd. Cut it up in bite size pieces.

Sprinkle a layer of cake on the bottom of a trifle dish. If you don’t have a trifle dish, use a straight side bowl, or anything where you can do a few layers.

Spoon a good layer of pudding on top of the cake. Layer with the strawberries and other fruit, add the whipped cream on top of that. Optional: add a layer of cut up meringues on top of whipping cream.

Repeat this whole process. Usually two layers are enough, but you can do three if you want. Decorate top with fresh fruit or the meringues if you have used them.

Personal Note: The rice pudding was good in this recipe, but a bit softer and runnier than a good stiff custard. The taste was great, but I think I prefer the texture of custard.

Trifles are a fun dessert in that the variations are endless. They are also great for a group because you can just spoon it up, rather than slicing cake. It makes it easier to portion out. They look dramatic and because you aren’t using a traditional icing they tend not to be too sweet.