Herbal Gifts DIY

Coming up on Nov 6 we are presenting our Making Herbal Gifts program at District 214 in the Arlington Heights, IL  Area, so I thought I could share this blog post I first wrote as a Guest post on the Supporting Artists blog in December 2012.  The best thing about this is it is timeless and these items are great to make and perfect as gifts.

Using and gifting with herbs is such a special holiday treat. I thought I would share a few simple ideas that you can use to herb up your Holidays.

As an herb gardener, I enjoy the scents and smells of herbs, but this time of year the smell of spices is just as appealing. I craft these simmering spices to give my home the smell of gingerbread even when I do not have time for baking.

Simmer Spices

§  6 whole cinnamon sticks, broken

§  1 Tbls. whole allspice

§  1 Tbls. orange rind

§  1 Tbls. whole cloves

§  A handful of pine needles or fir needles, or you can substitute 2 Tbls. of Rosemary

Place all the items with water to cover in a simmer pot or place in a saucepan on the back burner with enough water to cover and keep on simmer. Refill the water whenever it gets low and enjoy the smell of Christmas!!

Seasoned Nuts

This is a recipe I share with my friends each year. I make it to serve at open houses. As a favor or gift I give my Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend with the recipe attached to those visiting. It is simple and easy to make and you can change up the nuts to suit your palate. If you do not have any Cinnful Dessert Blend, try pumpkin pie spice or just plain cinnamon.

Stirring the seasoned nuts, just before the oven

Cinnful Nuts (Cinnamon Roasted Nuts)

§  1/2 cup pecans

§  1/2 cup walnut halves

§  1 cup peanuts (see note below)

§  1 egg lightly beaten

§  1 tsp. water

§  3/4 cup sugar

§  1 Tbls. Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend

§  3/4 tsp. salt

Steps:

Combine the nuts. Mix together the egg and water and toss with the nut mixture. Combine the sugar, spices and salt and toss that with the nuts until they are well coated.

Spread nuts in a single layer on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Break up any large clusters and allow to cool.

(* NOTE: You can remove peanuts and increase the other nuts by ½ cup to make a different mixture. Or substitute hazelnuts for the peanuts.)

Inspiration Stimulation

When your creativity starts flagging because of all the pressure and use this delightful recipe for tea that combines sweet and savory herbs to construct a creative frame of mind. As a gift I tie 2 teaspoons of the herbs into cheese cloth squares or coffee filters and stack them in a decorative jar with a label including instructions.

§  1 Tbls. Hibiscus

§  1 Tbls. Lemon grass

§  ½ Tbls.Basil (Holy Basil if you have it is even better)

§  1 tsp. Rosemary

§  1 tsp. Cardamom seed (if you have pods crush and extract only the seed)

 

Combine in a container with a tight-fitting lid and use 2 tsp. per cup of hot water. Allow to steep 5 to 7 minutes.

Energizing Bath Bag Blend

Need more energy this holiday season? This combination of energizing herbs could do the trick. Create this blend of herbs and use it for yourself or make up a batch with your family and give them as gifts. The recipe makes 8 cloth bags of bath blend.

§  ½ cup lavender flowers

§  ½ cup peppermint

§  ½ cup spearmint

§  ½ cup lemon grass

§  8 drops lavender essential oil

§  10 drops lemon grass essential oil

§  5 drops peppermint essential oil

§  5 drops spearmint essential oil

Combine all herbs in a plastic bowl. Add oils by the drop and stir with a plastic spoon or spatula (not with your hands.) Allow to meld for an hour and then place about ¼ cup in a cotton muslin bag or heat sealed tea bag.

TO USE: Allow bath bag to steep in hot bath water for 3 to 5 minutes before bathing.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and if you like herbs, please visit my Shop where I highlight not only my cooking and tea herbs, but also baking mixes, soups mixes, and seasonal spices: www.backyardpatch.com or you can visit me at www.backyardpatch.etsy.com

 

 

DIY Spring Scented Coasters - Homemade Gift Series

DIY Spring Scented Coasters

These simple scented hot pad coasters are the perfect gift for any coffee or tea lover in your life, including yourself!

NOTE: The rice needs to sit for about 24 hours to absorb the scents properly before you put the hot pad together, so plan ahead when doing this project!

Here’s what you need for this project:

·         5″ x 12″ piece of pretty fabric for the outside of the coaster (I used 100% cotton in a fun pattern)

·         two 4.5″ squares of plain muslin

·         plain, uncooked rice

·         100% essential oil in your favorite scent

·         Zip seal bag

·         Needle and thread or sewing machine

Steps:

1.      Prepare the rice. Put about one cup of rice into a zip seal bag and add 6-7 drops of your favorite essential oil. Seal up the bag, shake the rice around so the oil is mixed in, and set the bag aside in a cool, dry place for 24 hours so the rice can soak up the scent.

2.      Once your rice is nice and scented, it’s time to make the coaster. First you’re going to make an envelope style cover for the outside.

3.      Fold over half an inch of fabric at one short end of the rectangle of outer fabric, and hem the end by sewing along the fold with about a 1/4″ seam allowance. Repeat on the other short end.

4.      Fold the long strip of fabric, right side in, so that both ends overlap each other about an inch or so. You want the final dimensions of the cover to be 4.5″ long, so adjust accordingly.

                               

5.      Sew along the open edges, leaving a 1/2″ seam allowance. Clip the corners and turn the envelope cover right side out.

6.      Then pin the two muslin squares on top of each other and sew around all four edges with a 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving a small hole on one edge to add the rice.

7.      Use a funnel to pour the scented rice into the muslin pouch. The fuller the pouch, the more stable the coaster will be, so fill it as full as you can! Then sew the small opening closed.

8.      Put the small muslin pouch inside your envelope cover, and you have your very own scented hot pad coaster! Warm up a mug of tea or coffee and test it out!

The reason I made this coaster in two pieces rather than just making a pouch of the pretty outer fabric is because it’s easily replaceable this way. If the rice loses its scent, just make a new inner muslin pouch with a new batch of rice, and you don’t have to get rid of the pretty cover! Or just use a seam ripper to pull open a corner of the muslin pouch and switch the rice out with freshly scented rice.

You could also switch up scents if you want to! If you have three or four favorite scents (maybe one for each season?!), make a muslin bag full of rice for each scent, and just switch them out into your favorite cover and you have a “new” hot pad each time! You should store your scented hot pad coaster in a plastic baggie when you’re not using it to keep the scent fresh and strong!

Special Mother's Day Gifts at Home - How Tuesday Herb Pounding

Mother's Day is right around the corner, so I thought I would start sharing a few make at home gifts you could do yourself.  And to combine with it, we are so excited to be giving away $350 in gift cards for Mother's Day to four lucky readers. The giveaway will run from April 23 – May 8.  

For the next couple weeks we are going to give you instructions for some personalized herb theme gifts  to make for your Mom. and if you visit the other bloggers in the links at the bottom you will get entries in the drawing.  Have fun explore and creating!

Herb Pounded Gifts

Tools Needed

parchment paper/wax paper

rubber mallet

fresh herbs, leaves or flowers

card stock, note cards, plain gift bags or plain white napkins

Steps

You need a sturdy table or the floor to do this craft, as you will be pounding things and don't want to take out a table in the process.

Line the table with newspaper or torn brown paper bags to protect the surface.

Gather some fresh herbs, leaves or flowers from the yard.  The brighter the color the better the transfer in pounding.  You can even gather some grass fronds.

Do a test run to see how this works and get a feel for how hard or soft you need to pound.

I use a few pieces of card stock to test my flowers.

You place the flower/leaf face down on a sheet of white paper. Place parchment or wax paper over the greenery. Pound with a rubber mallet, being careful not to allow the flower/leaf  to reposition itself.  

Don't pulverize it, just pound it hard enough to break open the cells of the plant so they release the color onto the paper.

Once you get the hang of how hard or not hard to strike, then you can move to your real items.

Again lay your item flat on the surface.  Place the flower, leaves or grass on the surface 

Cover with parchment. Pound with the rubber mallet to transfer the color.

Remove the parchment and remnants of greenery and compost them.  Then add different layers of color with other leaves and plants.

You can add some drawn art to fill in the colors or just go with the natural pounded flower look.

If you use card stock, trim the card stock to fit in an envelop and you have stationary for Mom.

or if you use a gift bag, you can put other gifts inside your homemade bag. And maybe that gift are these great grass decorated napkins.

Like a grass stain these are hard to wash out, so the napkins are totally washable, the grass patterns will fade over time, but it will take a while.  Have fun and get outside!

More Edible Gifts

Prepping for the Holiday

Tea and Muffins are a wonderful gift. You can make this recipe or any other muffin recipe then present it in a fashionable package as a gift.

Banana & Chocolate Muffin Recipe   Yield: 12 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup quick-cooking oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a standard muffin tin, or line with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas, then whisk in the buttermilk, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla extract.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and whisk just until blended.
4. Remove one cup of the batter, and add it to a medium bowl. Whisk in the cocoa powder, just until blended.
5. Divide the main (non-chocolate) batter between muffin cups. It’s about 1/4 cup of batter per cup.
6. Scoop 1 tablespoon of chocolate batter on top of the batter in each muffin cup.
7. Using a toothpick, swirl the chocolate batter into the banana batter.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool for about five minutes.

To create an elegant gift, line a hat box with a tea towel and fill it with homemade muffins and flea market teacups you fill with herbal butter or cream cheese spreads (try each of these: Company Cream Cheese and Herb Flower Spread.)  Tuck loose tea and whole lemons around the box and include a pretty butter knife.

A more casual idea would be to provide a Christmas breakfast by placing the muffins in a basket with a container of muffin themed spread and some gourmet coffee.

I adapted this recipe from an article in the Herb Companion Magazine of December 2007.

Our Jam Surprise Muffin Mix.

Pineapple Sage Muffin Spread 

This is great on muffins, toast and crackers.

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 Tbls. milk

3 Tbls. confectioners sugar (or more to taste)
¼ tsp. cinnamon

4 fresh pineapple sage leaves, minced and rubbed between your fingers to release flavor or ¼ tsp. dried

¼ cup crushed pineapple drained

In a medium bowl mix ricotta and milk on medium speed with a handheld mixer for 1 minute.  Add confectioner’s sugar, 1 Tbls. at a time, mixing after each addition.  Stir in cinnamon and pineapple sage.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Stir mixture and gently fold in pineapple.  Refrigerator for another hour before transferring to a serving bowl.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Products we recommend if you do not have time to make your own:

Scones Mixes

Shortbread Mixes

Jam Surprise and other Muffin Mixes

Bergamot Black Tea

Victorian Lavender Tea

Cinnamon Spice Herbal Tea

Holiday Tea Blends

Making Edible Gifts

Prepping for the Holiday Series

I will be putting up my Advent Calendar again this December (check out last year’s calendar here) with a craft, idea or recipe for each day until Christmas.  However this year, in addition to that I decided to create a Prepping for the Holidays Series.  I will provide gift ideas for making your own presents, holiday entertaining ideas and recipes for holiday meals.

Making Edible Gifts

Craft an edible gift like a butter or dip and present it to your hostess or office mates.

Here are two recipes for butter:

Sweet Herb Whipped Honey

This recipe goes well with whole wheat bread or muffins so you could combine them in a bag, box or basket. It has a nice long shelf life so your recipient does not need to use it instantly.

¼ cup mild honey

1 Tbls. finely minced basil, marjoram or lemon thyme (or a mix)

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

In a microwave safe glass mixing bowl, heat honey for 45 seconds or until just warm.  Stir in herbs.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 24 hours.  Skim the herbs from the top and discard.  Bring honey to room temperature and whip for 1 minute with a handheld mixer set to medium speed.  Add butter and mix 30 seconds more or until mixture is light and creamy.  Place in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.  Allow spread to come to room temperature before serving.

Herb Butter

1 lb. butter, softened

1 tsp. ground black pepper

½ tsp. chopped garlic

3 Tbls. chopped chives, fresh (1 Tbls. dried)

2 tsp. tarragon, dried

2 tsp. chervil, dried

1 Tbls. parsley, dried

Combine ingredients in a bowl with a fork or a hand mixer.  Divide into 4 small containers.

To use: Herb butter --  Store in refrigerator.  Let come to room temperature to serve.  Spread on hot bread, rolls or muffins.

You could try this cream cheese recipe too:

If you want the fun of making a butter, but don’t have time to blend herbs, try these Herb Mixes (they can be blended with hummus too!:

Boursin Blend

Butter N Cheese

Cilantro Spread

Herbal Spread

Herb Cheese Dip

Garlic & Herb Combination

Last minute Make-at-Home Herb Gifts

Every year in this season, I post items on making your own gifts.  I think it is simple, easy and fun and gives you a great sense of accomplishment.  This year, I am making Tea Breads for those I care about!

In previous Advent Calendars I have posted recipes for making soups in jars and bath sachets and such.  (To check out the previous years of calendars, see my website.)  I also had a Gift Making Series a year or so ago that featured a few items to try:

Cinnamon Hot Pads 

Bath Sachets and lip balms

Quick and easy gifts (perfect for the last minutes!)

Gifts for Birds (outdoor birds!)

Try these quick gifts ideas too!

Sleep pillows
Gather equal portions of dried lavender, hops and rosemary. Grind the rosemary to release scent. Place inside a small muslin bag and secure firmly. You can add a few drops of lavender essential oil if you wish before securing the bag. The muslin bag can be placed inside a cotton case if desired. Place this sleep bag either on or under the pillow to aid sleep. It can also be used when travelling to aid sleep in a strange bed.

Scent bags
Fill a small muslin or organza bag with your herb of choice – lavender (soothing), rose petals (uplifting), lemon balm and marjoram (soothing), mugwort (to aid dreaming), pennyroyal (to deter insects).

Chocolate Spoons

Chocolate is an herb and I do not get the opportunity to suggest using it as often as I could, so here is a quick give you can make at home and enjoy the calorie free scent while you do it!

 Place a bundle of chocolate spoons set in a coffee mug makes a nice gift.  Tie a few spoons to a bag of gourmet coffee beans for a coffee loving friend (I have more of these friends than tea friends I am sad to say!) Or just keep the spoons on hand during the holidays to use when serving drinks to your visitors. They are great with a hot chocolate mix too!

Chocolate Spoons

§  12 ounce package of chocolate chips. You may use semi-sweet, white chocolate, raspberry flavored, or any other kind of baking chip of your choice.

§  40 heavy plastic spoons

§  Shortening

§  Deep glass measuring cup

§  Colored cellophane or Saran Wrap

§  Waxed paper

Directions

1.   Pour the chips into a heatproof container, such as a measuring cup. A deep cup is the best for this project.

2.   Microwave the cup of chips at half power for one minute. Stir. Repeat in 30 second bursts until chocolate is smooth and fully melted, but do NOT overcook.

3.   Add to the melted chocolate one teaspoon of shortening for each cup of chips. Stir lightly until just blended.

4.   Dip plastic spoons into the chocolate to coat the bowl and about one inch of the handle. If the chocolate starts to harden, microwave 30 seconds at half power.

5.   Lay spoons on wax paper to set, resting on the handle of a wooden spoon.. When chocolate spoons have set, put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. This makes them easier to handle when you start to wrap them.

6.   Take squares of colored cellophane and wrap the coated spoons. Tie with a pretty ribbon.

7.   Once you have mastered the basic technique, you can experiment! Try drizzling streaks of white chocolate over dipped spoons to create a design. Sprinkle colored sugar on chocolate before it sets for a holiday look.

Herb Gardening Books as gifts

Updated 12-19-2013 with Essential Herbal Magazine (see below)

The Holiday is right around the corner - Suddenly!  Okay, I have to admit two or three web shops, an online craft show, a Facebook page and a blog, might be more than one girl can handle.  However the Advent Calendar has been going up on schedule, so check out the great daily recipes now thru Dec. 25th on our Facebook page!

For today I thought I would share a few books you might want to get for the special gardening someone.
Several books impressed me enough to review them and these 4 are among those.  They are perfect for the seasoned and the beginning herb gardener and will become great references:

Herb Gardening from the Ground up by  Sal Gilbertie

The Encyclopedia of Herbs by Arthur Tucker and Thomas DeBaggio

Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung

The Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs by the Herb Society of America

In addition I recommend the Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs.  It is still my go to book for an overview of soil needs, growing season and what to look for in plant heights and flower colors.  It also has information on making gifts, cooking and dying with herbs that I still use to this day!  It was the first book in my herb library.

For the person who grows from seed, I recommend a copy of Park's Success with Herbs.  Put together by the Park Seed Company it is great on growing conditions and it shows pictures of seedlings so you know what not to pluck out of the ground when weeding.  I found this especially helpful when I first started herb gardening, and it was a gift from a friend.

Just last week my twitter feed turned me on to another book that I think I might have to get for myself:

Midwest Gardeners Handbook the author Melinda Meyers was chatting on @Mikenow gardenchat and answering questions.  The book is perfect for the unique growing conditions we deal with all over the midwest!





No reading selection would be complete without mentioning periodicals.  Many of the periodicals on herbs
have gone out of business this last couple years.  Herb Roots Zine is great for medicinal herbs. Mother Earth News Living is what Herb Companion became.  Have not read it so I cannot say how it is.

But if you want an all around covers all aspects of herbs for the beginner to the advanced, you need to check out The Essential Herbal Magazine.  (DISCLAIMER: I am a regular contributor to this magazine, but that is not why I think it is great!)  The new edition just arrived so it is the perfect time for gift subscriptions!  Tell them Marcy sent you!

And finally sometimes a book that has no words is also perfect.  A blank book on a garden theme so you can create a garden journal or wish book is never a bad gift for a gardener.  I have gotten many over the years and cherish each one!

How Tuesday - Making Scented Stationary

I have not been good with the camera this past year.  I let several opportunities to take pictures of products I made, recipes I tried and activities I did go by without being recorded.  I vow that will not happen in 2013.

To prove to myself I can get work done and take pictures and post them, I decided to record the making of scented notepaper or cards.

Every Winter I make scented cards.  Many of them I give away near Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.  Sometimes I also pop them into an Easter Basket.

So here are the steps to making your own scented cards.

The materials are simple:

Cornstarch, plain white envelopes, your favorite essential oils, plastic zip seal bags and several sheets of note paper, envelopes or cards to scent.

Place about 1 ounce of cornstarch in a bowl for every card you want to scent.  Use several bowls if you want different scents.  On this day I was making , lavender, citrus and rose scented cards, so I used three bowls.  I placed about 6 ounces of cornstarch in each bowl (that’s 6 Tbls.)

Add 7 to 10 drops of essential oil to each bowl, or 1 to 2 drops per ounce of Cornstarch.

Mix the cornstarch thoroughly working out any lumps.

Spoon the mixture, about a Tablespoon, per envelope, into the plain envelopes.

Place one scent filled envelop between each sheet of notepaper and corresponding envelope. 

Stack them all up together and place in the zip seal bag.  Keep the scents separate from one another in the bags.  Press out all the extra air seal closed.  Place the bags inside a box or container away from sunlight and let them meld for at least a few days, up to three weeks.  When you remove the cornstarch filled envelopes they will have imparted their scent to the note cards and envelopes. 

bagged and sealed and about to go into a box

If you are careful and do not seal the plain envelopes you can re-scent the cornstarch and make another batch of cards.

When I take these cards to shows and markets, especially outdoor shows, I leave the scented envelopes in-between the note paper and remove it only if the item is sold.  That keeps the sun and heat from robbing the notepaper of its light herbal scent.

Completed and ready for gift giving

Scented Stationary

6 oz. cornstarch

7 to 10 drop of your favorite essential oil

6 plain paper envelopes

1 plastic bag

6 sheets of note paper or note cards and envelopes

In a bowl combine the powder and essential oil.  Spoon the mixture evenly into the six plain envelopes.  Place these between the notepaper and envelopes and seal in the plastic bag.  Allow to meld for a few days or as long as three weeks so the scent will permeate the paper.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the card sets you see here, please visit the Seasonal Items Section of our Etsy Store as once these are gone they are gone!