Last Christmas I gave a number of food gifts. I combined them all in a nice basket, but of course I don’t have a picture. I thought I would highlight a few of the ideas I used, though, and I do have a couple of pictures of individual things.
Roasted Cinnamon nuts – just click the link to see the recipe I used. You can find other recipes online. Some are spicy too. They are easy to make, and most people enjoy nuts. Nuts can be expensive. I bought large bags of them at BJ’s which made it more economical.
Herbes de Provence – For some reason I can’t find the recipe I used for this, but recipes abound on the internet. Most use lavender, which I wasn’t able to find, so I used one that contained thyme, basil, oregano, and rosemary. I specifically bought spices in jars that I liked so I could use them to package the mix. I made the labels on the computer and printed them onto label paper (which I happened to have). The bottle show is the one I’m using, but the ones I gave away were full.
Vanilla extract – It’s too late to make this for Christmas since it takes several months, but I thought I would mention it. Maybe you have friend who likes to bake who would enjoy this as a birthday gift. I started the vanilla well before Christmas, but had trouble deciding how to bottle it. I looked in craft stores and didn’t find anything I liked. I ended up buying salad dressing just for the bottles. I don’t have a picture of them, but they were round glass bottles. The salad dressing was put into canning jars and the bottles were cleaned thoroughly.
![clip_image002[13]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_TVBh9h_RA28/SwWYCrRZHvI/AAAAAAAABiY/OkDGvdsOjfw/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B13%5D%5B5%5D.gif "clip_image002[13]")
I think food gifts are an excellent way to go at Christmas, especially if you don’t know what some one has/doesn’t have or what they need/don’t need. Everyone eats! Just remember to take into consideration special diets and eating preferences and whether or not someone is likely to use it. A single man who never bakes isn’t likely to appreciate the vanilla extract, but might love home made cookies!
12 comments:
I've never roasted nuts before, but it sounds like a delicious treat! Such a great idea with the herbs and extract as well =D.
These are wonderful ideas! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity.
Yummy ideas! The nuts remind of a recipe I have for sugared pecans, maybe I'll make some of those too. Thanks for sharing!
~Liz
I love your labels!! They look so professional. I can't believe that they stayed so nice for an entire year. Gosh. You should sell the labels on line. I think people would pay for that template.
herbes de prov... awesome idea!
I make a bunch of my own spice mixes, but had never thought to pass them out as a present. I agree with Amy--those labels are nice!
Oh, and thanks for the reminder on the nuts--I love making sugared pecans. :)
You know, if people can sit out at our farmer's market and sell spice mixes, then I'd imagine that would be a wonderful hint that making homemade ones would be a great gift idea! I love it.
I always love these roasted almonds. They call my name at craft shows, etc.
Herbs de provence--I need to look up that recipe and make some. And, what everyone else said ... lovely labels. I know mine would not look that perfect after a year.
I actually make my vanilla in less time than that. I just made some a few days ago and it's already turning that lovely amber. It will keep getting better even after giving. ;-)
Some great gift ideas, Linda!
Shirley
What a great idea to give away little jars of spices. I really like the labels, very cool.
Linda, I just started brewing some vanilla extract because I'm tired of the GF stuff having corn syrup in it. Do you use potato vodka?
Brenna - I always use rum, though vodka is supposed to be a good choice. You don't have to worry about them containing gluten since distilled alcohol is always gf.
Great ideas! Thank you for sharing and inspiring us.
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