This is a luxuriant limited edition tea, which means when it’s gone, it’s gone. Act fast, foodies. The flavor is Rose Petal Full Leaf, designed with none other than the Queen of Hearts in mind. It’s a truly royal blend with the light spice of delicate, young rose buds and petals and the sweet fullness of China black tea. A Victorian tradition, this delight is the perfect accompaniment to your fine China cups and perhaps your favorite biscotti.

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Weyrich Farm Pecans, particularly the praline coated ones, are meant to be devoured by the handful. This mix is tossed with carmelized sugar for a sweet finish. Consider it candy with benefits (nuts are good for you), which makes them a fun post-dinner party snack.

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We love pears and we love butter, so it was only natural that we’d fall head over stilettos for Seedling Fruit’s pear butter. The succulent pears are cooked to a butter consistency and slightly spiced (slather the stuff on pancakes, toast or waffles for a treat). The fruits that actually make the cut are picked at the height of their ripeness, as indicated by a very scientific refractometer, which just goes to show that this company is serious about its products.

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We’re bread people, so this statement might comes as a shock: we have actually considered forsaking butter for award-winning, family-made Pasolivo oils, produced in California’s Paso Robles. The extra virgin olive oil is superb and it makes Marie’s homemade foccacia bread that much more incredible. The proverbial liquid gold is estate grown and pressed from fresh grown Tuscan olives—a difference you can taste.

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Only in our wildest dreams could we have come up with such unique peanut butter flavors. And only in our wildest nightmares would we be forced to pick a favorite from the tasty bunch. There’s the Blonde Peanut Butter Cup Peanut Spread, Butterscotch Almond Spread, Butterscotch Peanut Spread, Cinnamon Almond Spread and Cinnamon Cherry Peanut Spread, all of them packaged in hand-crafted jars. Since being featured on national television, Spread headquarters has been faced with an exceptionally high number of orders. Please note that orders placed after December 18th will not arrive before Christmas.

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Stop! Don’t do it! Put down that knife! Before you go dipping your utensil into an unworthy spread, get acquainted with smooth, hand-made, all-natural peanut butter by Peanut Butter & Co. It’s lovingly made with roasted peanuts and just a speck of salt. The delicious sandwich filling is packed in recyclable plastic jars which means reduced shipping costs. Now if only we could find a jelly that can hold its own next to this stuff.

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As we’ve mentioned before, Wood-based La Tourangelle produces artisan cooking oils from walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans and the like. Per the suggestions of loyal fans, the company recently announced the release of two new organic oil products: Organic Sunflower Oil (versatile with a high level of oleic fatty acids) and Organic Canola Oil (a wonderful everyday cooking oil), both of which are available at Whole Foods markets. Both GMO-free varieties are expeller-pressed from organic seeds, and grown and processed without the use of pesticides and chemicals.  FYI: La Tourangelle’s Walnut Oil recently won a blind tasting conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle. Bravo.

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The tomato is believed to have aphrodisiacal powers, so who can resist this Fresh Spiced Tomato Sauce rife with all things organic: tomatoes, onion, green olives, olive oil, lemon juice, preserved lemon, cilantro, garlic, salt, fenugreek seed, cardamom seed, cinnamon, cumin seed, vanilla extract, white peppercorns, tumeric, red chili pepper, bay leaf, black pepper, and cloves. Looks like High Desert has spoiled us silly once again.

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Our peanut butter sandwiches just got glam. Case in point: P.B. Loco. Here’s a sampling of flavors for you to ponder. Peanut Butter with CoCoBanana, Peanut Butter with Asian Curry Spice, Peanut Butter with Dark Chocolate Duo, Peanut Butter with Jungle Banana, Peanut Butter with Raspberry White Chocolate, Peanut Butter with Sun-Dried Tomato, Peanut Butter with Creamy White Chocolate, Peanut Butter with European Café Mocha, Peanut Butter with Raspberry Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter with Sumatra Cinnamon and Raisin. Whew, is it getting hot in here?

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Grapes you probably devour by the bottle (every night, even?). However, if you’re not getting your daily serving of prunes (an equally important fruit group that gets the digestive tract moving), turn to Prunes in Armagnac by Les Parisiennes France. Okay, so it’s really brandied fruit in liquor (with a hint of sugar), but a prune is a prune. Put a heaping spoonful on top of vanilla ice cream and we suspect you’ll be feeling quite “regular” in no time.

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