What about some spicy popcorn or even nuts?

You could make some mixed nuts. Toast up some raw nuts in a pan, any kind you like, toss them in some flavors perhaps soy sauce, ginger and chili/sesame oil for an asian spin or some lime juice and chipotle sauce with a sprinkle of salt for a south of the boarder flavor. Spread them on a pan and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes more and let cool.

Here's a recipe from Alton Brown for Ginger Almonds -> http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/ginger-almonds-recipe/index.html

cheese straws or cheese bread sticks along with microbrew beer.

Oooo, or maybe a drink mixer. I recently made this lemonade http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rosemary_lemon_rhubarb_spritzer/ and I bet it would go great with a little lemon vodka or something. You could make any kind of homemade drink mix. Then just mix up the concentrate (so without the club soda or alcohol) and put in a slightly decorated mason jar and gift that with a funky pair of drinking glasses (TJ Max or Walmart or IKEA may have some cheap little drinking glasses).

How cute and sweet of you! How about some homemade vanilla extract? some kind of seasoned salt? a homemade spice rub for meat on the grill? a pot filled with herbs for his porch?

If he likes spicy food and there's an Indian Sweets & Spices store near you, get him some freshly made Hot Mix/Bombay Mix/Chidwa (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_mix), a fried mix of chickpea flour noodles, cashews, peanuts, raisins, and other tasty things. Different varieties are made, so you'll have to try them all first :) Goes great with beer. It isn't homemade, but will reveal you as a person of great taste (and willingness to let him enjoy a beer)!

hot sauce! I make my own Harissa all the time. Sauces in general are good.

Chimichirri

Schug (Israeli-Yemenite hot sauce with cilantro)

Pesto? I like pesto made with dill parmesan olive oil nut of your choice (or leave out the nuts as I usually do).

Pickles! Especially if you can can things. They're fun and can be presented pretty nicely.

How about the fake out: making something that looks like a sweet but is actually savory. "Meat Loaf" presented as a cake with "mashed potato" as frosting is pretty fun.

I second the spiced almonds suggestion. These ones are really good:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger-/spiced-almonds-recipe/index.html

Homemade crackers and some cheese or chutney might be really good too. Have fun!

Salsas, hot sauces, recipe spices, sauces, or infused alcohol.

Pepper Jelly!

Homemade Pasta Sauce (buy some fresh pasta too and a bottle of wine?)

Salsa or chutney

If he drinks, maybe go with the drink mixer idea but make it savory, like a homemade bloody mary mix

The Baked cookbook had an awesome recipe for chipotle cheddar biscuits, google around and see if you can find those, because they're pretty awesome. They've got some nice spice to them and keep well.

Here's the recipe ^
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/11/baked-matt-lewis-renato-poliafito-chipotle-cheddar-biscuits-recipe.html

How about some chutney or refrigerator pickles? Or a homemade nut butter if you're feeling extra fancy?

A good salsa - hmmmm!

Good salsa (homemade or otherwise) with fresh homemade tortilla chips!

Home made bread? It's really simple to make, but it takes time and always seems special.

What about a popcorn flavoring kit? You could get some cute little canning jars and fill them with things like nice sea salt, seasoned salt, herbs de provence, wheat germ, parmesan cheese, old bay seasoning, taco seasoning, etc. Throw in a bag or two of kernels and promise to snuggle up with a movie to help him enjoy it.

How about a furokake sampler? Just Bento has a bunch of recipes - look for the link to building a bento supply stash, left side of page, main page. Good for things other than just bento...

Booze, definitely, if he's a drinker. A batch of limoncello (you just need lemons and Everclear or vodka, and it's so pretty), or a home-brew beer kit, or maybe homemade cheese? Ricotta and mozzarella are fairly easy to make.

Pickles also sound good, as do homemade potato chips.

Does he eat meat or fish? I would make sausages or jerky or cure some salmon. A place I go to makes these amazing meat sticks, like Slim Jims but out of bison...something like that would be a crazy wonderful treat!

Add some fresh baked crackers or cheese biscuits too and an Opinel, Laguiole, or other nice picnic knife to round it all out. That'd be some gift!

The booze route is good too, homemade bitters is a great place to experiment.

Or how about a nice batch of pretzels...apparently it's trendy...even though I'm pretty certain we've all loved soft pretzels forever.

Hummus and homemade crackers or just crudites. It really depends on what his tastes are though.

I second the salsa/chips combo. I give those as gifts all the time.

Also good are:
-Risotto kits. You put together the rice, seasonings, etc. and layer them nicely in a jar. Include the directions for preparation.
-Pasta meal. Include a jar of good sauce (home made or not) and some nice dried pasta.

i was in the same boat not long ago. the guy i was seeing LOVED burritos so i made what was named a *burrito cake*. i layed out (oh yah, he was also vegan) burrito shells and layered it with typical burrito filling. one layer of rice, [shell] beans, [shell] veggies, [shell] salsa... (get creative with the filling to what you guys like/eat) then on the top of the last burrito shell i wrote "happy birthday" in guacamole. it was a huge hit!!!

i am also planning on making him a "congratulations on the new job" out of a spicy chickpea patty and use cookie cutters to spell it out before i bake the patties.

Cornmeal muffins /corn bread or some savoury scones with cheese and herbs?

What about something savory (like a meatloaf or veggie burgers) that look like desserts? You could make them in cupcake form and the 'frosting' could be mashed potatoes? That way you're making something for dinner and being whimsical all at the same time!