As a young woman living on my own who is minimally handy, I often get help from my male neighbours when things in my house break down. I recently had the handle of dishwasher fall off, and one of my neighbours graciously came over to help me. The next day to say thank you, I turned to my favorite cookbook for help, Gifts from the Kitchen by Jean Pare. (I have seven of Jean’s books, and am always buying more!)

Gifts from the Kitchen has ideas for birthdays, new babies, housewarmings, holidays, and times of hardship. Even if not everyone in your life appreciates gifts of food there is also a section on Gifts for the Home, which includes instructions for things like fruit garlands, bath milks, and even play dough.

All the recipes in the book appear in full-colour and are shown gifted to help get your imagination thinking of how present your own gifts to your friends and loved ones.

One of the best parts of the book is a small section on Gift-Giving Etiquette which tells you which gifts are appropriate for which occasion and even tells you how to get your dishes back.

I made my dishwasher repair man a batch of nuts and bolts with actual nuts and bolts hot glued to the lid of jar. It looked great, and I know it tasted great because I was sure to reserve some for myself!

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