I’m using the Table365 theme of Inspiration to organize my gift ideas for non-cooks. It’s helpful to have regular inspiration, so I suggest a magazine subscription to a cooking or food magazine that would be interesting to them:
- Local and sustainable: Edible “Seattle” or “Columbus” or whatever city they live in
- Low-fat cooking: Cooking Light
- Fast and easy: Real Simple
- Detailed and scientific: Cooks Illustrated
- West Coast food: Sunset
- The classic: Bon Appétit
- Oenophile: Food & Wine
Your gift will be a monthly education and source of inspiration in their mailbox. Of course, you should have them sign up for weekly inspiration from Table365 too! *Kimberly reminded this old lady that there are on-line versions of all the cooking magazines too!
I think sharing favorite, tried-and-true recipes is a great gift for someone who doesn’t enjoy cooking. When I talk to friends who don’t enjoy cooking like I do, we inevitably start discussing recipes that work, and those that don’t. Most of us, even if we love to cook, end up cooking about 10 dishes over and over. I love knowing what others have success with, so I think it would be a great gift to someone who isn’t as inspired to look up and try new recipes. I have favorite cookbooks, like any from Ina Garten, that I enjoy giving, because I know the recipes are great. The other item I think is a great gift is a digital thermometer. It makes testing the internal temperature of chicken or any meat super easy, so it takes the guess work out of figuring out when meat is cooked. It can be really frustrating to overcook something after all the effort. I think of the digital thermometer as an empowering tool in the kitchen.
