Gifts near completion

I put the top, protective, clear coat on the gourd birdhouses today. Tomorrow I plan to wrap them. Here are photos of three of these fun creations.

Garden gifts

The garden isn’t good only for the weekly menu; it can also be a great source of gifts. I’ve created gifts from my garden for the past few years. When I do this, I can be sure the recipient will not have received another gift like it!

Here are a few gift ideas:

1. Herb butter. One year when my herbs were still fresh and prolific in December, I set out butter to soften then mixed in the chopped herbs. I made homemade bread and packaged it all to give as gifts.

2. Sun-dried tomatoes. I like growing Principe Borghese tomatoes, which make wonderfully flavorful sun-dried tomatoes you can store for months. These I’ve packaged two different ways: one is to keep them dry and put them in a nice, air-tight storage jar with instructions to rehydrate before using; the second is to rehydrate them and place them in a jar with olive oil and perhaps some herbs. (I confess, I once forgot to rehydrate before filling the jar; I’m sure the recipients wondered why I thought I had given her a nice gift!) Because a lot of people haven’t cooked with sun-dried tomatoes, you might also want to include a recipe to use them in.

3. This year, I’m making gourd birdhouses. My cousin Harry prompted this idea when he gave me a gourd earlier this year. I turned it into a birdhouse that now hangs on our front porch. So when I saw gourds at the farmer’s market this summer, I thought that would be a good gift to make for some family and friends. I’m in the midst of painting them now, so when they are complete I’ll take some pictures to post. I’m following these instructions.

Next year, I might plant my own gourds now that I have saved some seeds. Or perhaps I’ll find another gift idea that warrants its own corner of the garden.

Books to help with good eating

Since it’s the season of giving, I thought I would share some of the books I’ve read and used in the past five years that have helped guide me to this path of more extensive gardening and better eating. If you’re buying for someone with these same interests, consider one of the following.

Simply in Season—a wonderful resource for using seasonal produce. Not only does this book include good recipes, it also talks about when to harvest and how to store fresh produce.

Extending the Table . . . A World Community Cookbook—includes a wide variety of international recipes. There’s always something new and fun to try in here.

Moosewood Cookbook—a classic of vegetarian cooking. After 20 years of using this book, I still return to my favorite recipes in it.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day—I love this easy way of baking bread! I almost always have something I’ve made from it in my kitchen.

One Bite at a Time—specifically written for those dealing with cancer. Although I didn’t find a lot of the recipes to be extremely flavorful (but think about it, I mostly used it when going through chemo) I still value the health and ingredient information it includes.

Chef MD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine—will get you thinking more deeply about what our food can do for us. It includes interesting research about food and how it relates to our health, as well as some fun recipes.

What books do you recommend? Jim keeps asking me what I want for Christmas, so I’m open to suggestions!