“Salt is like good humor, and nearly every thing is better for a pinch of it.”

— Louisa May Alcott 

So the queen bee lays eggs, protects the hive, and works all day to gather pollen and nectar to make honey? You can lend a hand to these busy bees and their environment by “adopting” a bee via the World Wildlife Fund. 

 

A great gift idea for the youngster in your life or a full-grown tree hugger, the symbolic adoption kits come in a range of prices and there is a cute goodie bag included. Why not pitch in to fight climate change one bee at a time? 🐝

 

Jewelry designer to the stars, Jennifer Fisher is known in certain circles (and by The New York Times) as the “Queen of Hoops.” Her very successful side hustle happens to be sharing a love for healthy food and recipes. My favorite of Jen’s collection of foodstuffs is the fabulous Universal Salt. It is so delicious you would never notice that there is no onion or garlic in the mix.

 

Chances are that most dishes you’ve tasted at an NYC restaurant have been seasoned with La Boîte spices. Founder and spice master (yes, that’s a real job title) Lior Lev Sercarz collaborates with the world’s best chefs like Jean- Georges (pictured) on the regular. 

 

Once you are done perusing the spice sets, don’t miss poking around his perfect pantry. 

All this talk of spices reminds me that in 2015, I went undercover on a risky journey to Afghanistan in order to learn about saffron. It was part of a project I was working on at the time called Food to Die For, 

where I collected the stories of the farmers, fishermen, and workers who make their livelihood and face danger to bring us these rarest of ingredients.

 

 On this trip, I witnessed how saffron is harvested and produced as well as what life is like for the people who are trying to survive and work in Taliban territory. You can hear the story here on NPR, and get one of the photographs from my series in the shop.