While October is National Apple Month and September 20th is International Eat An Apple Day, today is Eat A Red Apple Day.

Our favorite apple is the Honeycrisp, developed at the University Of Minnesota and released in 1991. Beloved for its crisp flesh, juiciness and sweet and tart notes, it has become Minnesota’s state fruit!

They’re our favorite apple. The only fly in the ointment is that the University of Minnesota and Minnesota apple breeders developed the variety to be at its best when grown in the local soil conditions and climate.

Thus, the Honeycrisps from Washington and elsewhere (they are widely grown around the world) are just a little less glorious.

But we’ll take them wherever we can get them. Trader Joe’s has them in stock this week: The typically jumbo Honeycrisps as well as minis the size of Lady Apples.

APPLE TIP: Apples deteriorate quickly if they’re not kept cool. Don’t keep them on a table or counter in a decorative basket. That may look nice, but your apples will Keep better in the fridge!
 
  

Last year for us it was a serrated peeler, two years ago a mushroom brush.

But this year, it’s going to be a Wavy Knife from Crisp Cooking. Just by slicing in a normal fashion, it provides a decorative side to fruits and vegetables, whether cooked (including fries) or for crudités and salads.

We have an old-fashioned crinkle cutter, but the wavy knife is an improvement, easier to use and potentially safer.

The ergonomic handle provides a sure, comfortable grip and better cutting control. The offset blade provides plenty of “knuckle room” while cutting.

At $12.99, it’s pricier than the peeler or mushroom brush, but it’s also a more substantial gift.

Check it out at CrispCooking.com.
  

But we were the minority opinion. Squeals of delight from kids and adults alike. So: Heres a holiday gift that is way different and sure to please.

Since 1984, Julie and Karleen, the J and K of JK Chocolates, have been creating delicious chocolate sauces. What started as homemade teacher gifts evolved into a business, as people asked to buy them year-round.

Over the years, as word circulated about the chocolate sauce flavors, they subsequently developed Microchip Cookies, teensy weensy little bites. To imagine the Chocolate Chip Microchip, think of a chocolate chip covered in just enough cookie dough to bury the chip. It’s a half inch wide.

We were the minority opinion. Everyone else oohed and ahhed over them.

So there you have it: a gourmet chocolate chip novelty that delights.

But Chocolate Chip isn’t the only Microchip in town. the line includes:

 
You can purchase individual jars or gift sets, the latter packaged in a reusable black gift box with a ribbon and a gift card.

In addition to the single jar option, there are numerous other options, some of which are:

Get yours at JKChocolates.com.

For the person who meditates or does yoga, consider a gift of Sushumna chocolate. This line of “chakra-choc” includes seven flavors that correlate to the seven major energy points (chakras) in the body developed.

Hindus refer to the chakras as the intersections of energy lines. One of them, sushumna, leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to self-realization.

Will these flavored chocolates lead you there? No promises are made, but at 30 calories per tile, anyone can enjoy a tile or two daily to find out.

 
What is the Chakra-Chocolate correlation?

According to the owners, on the chakra Ladder, these energy points are represented by color, emotive and physical attributes. They found natural correlations to these attributes among various nuts, spices, herbs and essences that they then married to chocolate.

The creators describe their chakra-based chocolates:

 
There are gift sets from $15 to $50.

 
Get yours at SushumnaChocolat.com.
  

From Davio’s Manhattan, a terrific steakhouse (across from Grand Central Station at Lexington Avenue and 45th Street), this holiday garnish couldn’t be easier.

Simply wash and dry rosemary sprigs and affix two raspberries or one strawberry at the end. Fresh sprigs of rosemary look like miniature evergreen branches.

Other garnish ideas (match the flavors of the garnish to the flavors of the cocktail):

Cranberries are bright and seasonal but are too bitter to eat. Holly berries should never be used because they are poisonous.

RECIPE: ROSEMARY RASPBERRY MARTINI

Pack the best of the holidays in a martini with muddled fresh rosemary, raspberries and cranberry juice. Berry vodka gives this cocktail an added burst of flavor. Slice a fresh raspberry on a sprig of rosemary for a festive garnish and toast to the season.

Prep time is five minutes.

Ingredients Per Cocktail

A cocktail with lots of holiday spirit. Photo courtesy Driscoll’s.

1. PREPARE the garnish: Remove the needles from the bottom two-thirds of of a rosemary sprig. Save the needles for muddling. Spear 2 raspberries on sprig and set aside.

2. MUDDLE the rosemary leaves and 4 raspberries in a cocktail shaker. Add the lemon juice, simple syrup, cranberry juice and raspberry vodka (available from Absolut, Skyy, Smirnoff and others—or make your own two days in advance). Top with ice and shake vigorously.

3. STRAIN into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish and serve.