If you haven't checked out the incredible mouth-watering variety (maybe I shouldn't update this while I'm hungry) of homegrown products available from Nodine's Smoke House, check out this local business's Web site at http://www.nodinesmokehouse.com/.

It's a great Christmas gift idea for out-of-town friends and relatives if you're looking for something unique and Litchfield County-based.

But the coolest thing about Nodine's is its charitable giving program.

If you order through the Nodine's Web site, and enter designated key code number "1015," for example, the United Way of Northwest Connecticut will receive 25 percent of the proceeds from the sale.

A list of other charities involved in this program, including Saint Peter and Saint Francis School, Friendly Hands Food Bank, the Warner Theatre and the Susan B. Anthony Project, among others, is on the Nodine's Web site.