Buying a gift for self-proclaimed foodies can be daunting, especially if you aren’t as knowledgeable as they are on the subject. You can’t go wrong with a gift card or a dinner at one of the nicer places in town. On the other hand, if you are feeling a bit more adventurous, here are a few engaging gift ideas for your food-and-beverage-loving friend.

Stockings are one of the better things about the holidays. Stuffing them requires imagination and knowledge of the receiver beyond a specific list of desired presents, and you have a small space to prove you have it. If you’re stumped, here are a few ideas for what to stuff in those stockings so you can prove that Santa’s elves aren’t the only ones capable of putting one together.

Vajra Rich looks like a mad scientist, complete with messy hair, a glint in his eyes and beakers and circular heaters that look like they belong in a chemistry lab. He doesn’t work with obscure chemicals or create monsters though. He makes coffee.

Sometimes it can be fun to play with holiday traditions, especially those involving food. Altering an ingredient, making a new dish, or changing a presentation can create a fresh energy for the table and may help alleviate the stress of hosting your hard-to-please in-laws and extended family.

While Front Range Landfill and the town of Erie have decided to follow the waste-to-energy path by trying to convert the gas from the landfill to electricity, the Boulder-based nonprofit Eco-Cycle favors the zero-waste option by trying to drastically reduce the amount of materials sent to landfills.

The recent snow and impending closure of the 2011 Farmers’ Market have many asking where they will get local food for the next few months and what the farmers are doing in the off-season. Though some farm hands will use the time to travel, relax or get a job that is comfortably indoors, many local farms will continue to operate.

The Occupy Boulder movement has decided to join the Halloween festivities this weekend by urging participants to wear costumes to the rally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 29, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Broadway and Canyon intersection.

On Oct. 15 at 12:37 a.m., a male motorist driving on North 79th Street in the area of Colorado Highway 52 was contacted by what appeared to be an unmarked police vehicle.

The first annual National Food Day is Monday, Oct. 24, and, naturally, Boulder County has decided to engage in the effort with an Eat Local Challenge. Food Day is a national effort to promote healthy and sustainable food and start the process of creating a better food system in the country.

Surgical tools carefully arranged on a table, a screaming baby in a white gown and men singing a blessing. This is a scene in Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon’s documentary Cut: Slicing through the Myths of Circumcision, which will be playing at the Boulder Jewish Community Center on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m.