The Gluten-Free Homemaker

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 takes several months for this extract to reach a good flavor, but even though it wouldn't be completely ready in time for Christmas, you could still give it as a gift and tell them is needs to sit a couple more months before use.   I started making 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.

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!

For more edible gift ideas see Gluten-Free Holiday: Gifts of Good Taste and The Holiday Food Fest (not necessarily gluten free).

Labels: gluten-free recipes, miscellaneous