Thanksgiving is over. It is time to get serious about my Twelve Days of Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen!

With only 29 days till Christmas, I’m going to have double or triple my efforts to get you all the “days” in time for you to make them. So be prepared for an onslaught in the next couple of weeks! Here is the third installment.

On the third day of Christmas
My true love gave to me:
Lemon-Sugar Hand Scrub
Cranberry Citrus Vodka
and a bottle of Tomato Dust

I love lemon! The aroma, the color, and above all, the flavor. So it’s no surprise that the dish soap, the hand soap, and the counter spray that I use in my kitchen are the Williams-Sonoma Meyer Lemon Collection. The large refill bottles are the annual gift I ask for every Christmas from my family.

Another favorite is this lemon-scented sugar hand scrub. I use Queen Creek Meyer Lemon Olive Oil to make it.

If you don’t have lemon olive oil on hand or don’t want to go to the trouble or expense to purchase it – regular olive oil is fine and dandy.

[Read more →]

The second installment of Twelve Days of Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen.

On the second day of Christmas
My true love gave to me:
Cranberry Citrus Vodka
and a bottle of Tomato Dust

This crimson cranberry vodka is easy to make, just a little time-consuming because you must poke each cranberry to open it up so it will impart its goodness into the vodka. But it is time easily spent.  I used a wooden skewer and did the chore while I watched television. I was done in no time.

Make whatever quantity you want, but I can share with you that 3-pounds of fresh cranberries, 2 lemons, 2 limes, 3 tablespoons sugar, and a 1.75-liter bottle of vodka will make three 1-liter bottles of Cranberry Citrus Vodka.

You need to put this together at least 2 weeks before you plan to use it or give it away. When giving as a gift, it would be ever so thoughtful to include a Crantini recipe card with your gift. The recipe for the Crantini is at the end of the post.

[Read more →]

Today is the first installment of my Twelve Days of Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen.

For the next five weeks I’ll be posting gift ideas for you to make for your friends and family.

The First Day of Christmas Gift is a byproduct of any recipe calling for peeled tomatoes. It is made from tomato skins, which would otherwise be tossed away.

Tomato dust or powder is so simple to make that a recipe isn’t really needed. Plus it’s a fun little thing to have around the kitchen.

I first tried to grind the dried peels in a food processor, but that did not get them into the fine dust I wanted. A spice grinder was the perfect fit.

[Read more →]