christmas gift bags

Although I do some kind of gift basket every year, I haven’t always done a great job documenting the contents. I’m usually scrambling to finish making components and end up sending them out the door before I can even snap a photo. This year, bad time management paid off, and by the time I was done putting everything together, a lot of the recipients had left town. Most everybody is getting New Year’s treats this time around, but that means I had time to break out the camera.

This year’s gift bags include:

–Raspberry and blackberry jam
-Mushroom salt (a blend of dehydrated wild mushrooms, coarse grey sea salt, thyme, and pink peppercorns)
–Spicy brown ale mustard
-English toffee (adapted from this recipe)
–Pretzel fudge
–Sea salt caramels
-Beef and pork summer sausage (Nick’s contribution)
-Apple butter (recipe from this cookbook)
-A mediocre attempt at Sriracha (I won’t share the recipe, because it’s not even close)
-Homemade soaps (more on this later)

Because I am a crazy person, I’d actually planned on doing more than this, but came to my senses when I looked at a calendar. The rainbow of macarons has been re-slated for next year’s gift bags. Something went totally awry when I calculated how much mustard I’d need to make, and I ended up with an insane amount. If you want some mustard, let me know! I will never eat it all and I need the fridge space. In the meantime, I am putting mustard on everything.

Other news:
-If you were wondering what the most beautiful mug in the world looks like, look no further (thanks, mom and nan)!
-Finally my love of NPR and true crime is combined into one awesome podcast.
-I have seen a lot of excellent movies lately, but this is a recent favorite.