Vegan Gift Ideas or Vegan Cooking Classes in Denver, CO?

December 21, 2012 9:22 AM

I am looking for gift ideas for a vegan couple who live in Denver, CO. Budget is about $80. My first thought was to find a vegan cooking class for couples somewhere in the area, but I am not from Denver and my google-fu has failed me. I'm open to any and all suggestions other than cookbooks because we have already purchased one for them. Thanks in advance!
posted by adustum to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

Any specific reason why the gift has to relate to their dietary choices? If it needs to be food related how about a nice hamper with vegan things?
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:31 AM on December 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm not vegan, but I do a lot of vegan cooking and baking... I like the challenge. I find that high-quality herbs and spices are indispensible. It's easy to make a steak taste great. Making a slab of plain tofu taste great, however, requires a lot more finesse. To that end, I'd get them a big gift box from Penzey's. Once you've tasted their wares, supermarket spices taste like the flavorless sawdust that they are.
posted by julthumbscrew at 9:32 AM on December 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions so far! koahiatamadl, they have recently made the switch to vegan and I think a nice vegan related Xmas gift would be appreciated. That doesn't rule out non-food items though.
posted by adustum at 9:40 AM on December 21, 2012

How about a gift certificate to City O City or Watercourse, the big vegetarian/vegan restaurants here?
posted by Clustercuss at 9:48 AM on December 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Maybe a gift certificate to Nooch, which is a cute little vegan market here?
posted by peachfuzz at 9:53 AM on December 21, 2012

Spices are a good idea; Savory is another good option. Gift certificates can be nice, since you never know what someone may already have in their spice rack. Some friends of ours got us the very same present last year and it was great.
posted by craven_morhead at 9:53 AM on December 21, 2012

I came in here to suggest a gift certificate to Watercourse. They do fairly frequent special dinners (for example, they just had one that was a 3- or 4-course meal with pinot noir pairings from Oregon); I'm not seeing one listed on their website, but you could probably call and ask whether they have one in the works for January or February and make your gift certificate big enough to cover that.
posted by iminurmefi at 10:06 AM on December 21, 2012

How about a gift certificate for EVOO Marketplace?
posted by Wordwoman at 10:09 AM on December 21, 2012

I have never ordered from them, I just saw their ads on the post-punk kitchen, but maybe a gift cert to vegan essentials? They seem to have a decent selection of specialty replacement type foods.
posted by inertia at 10:39 AM on December 21, 2012

The recipes on Dr. Fuhrman's website are pretty much entirely vegan -- as in, you have to make a real effort to find any recipe with eggs, meat, or fish -- and very delicious. Perhaps a gift membership?
posted by bearwife at 12:35 PM on December 21, 2012

A sourdough starter. You can get one (for free!) from Friends of Carl, then activate it and bake a loaf and give them that too!
posted by gray17 at 2:41 PM on December 21, 2012

A local CSA is always a fantastic idea. Or good knives. These are the sorts of things that motivate people to be better cooks. The CSA box is a gift that keeps on giving and fits nicely with a community-supported vegan lifestyle. And good knives are something you don't really want to buy yourself until you realize how awesome and necessary they are to have.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:24 PM on December 21, 2012

Someone asked earlier, and I would also ask - is there a reason why their gift has to revolve around their choice to be vegan?

Besides that question, I would hit up Herbivore Clothing for some awesome stuff.
posted by punkrockrat at 6:57 PM on December 21, 2012

Why are we giving OP a hard time about their choice of gift?

I can confirm that Vegan Essentials is a solid choice. I have also had great experiences with Pangea Vegan if you decide to do a gift certificate thing. Are they dressing vegan as well? Moo Shoes has some great vegan shoes and accessories.
posted by mintcake! at 9:28 PM on December 21, 2012

Response by poster: punkrockrat - I already answered that question when it was asked earlier. They have recently made the switch to vegan and I think a nice vegan related Xmas gift would be appreciated. That doesn't rule out non-food items though.

These are all awesome suggestions! Thanks, everyone!
posted by adustum at 8:40 AM on December 22, 2012