The Gift of Giving

I like giving gifts I like getting gifts. It's the circle of life. As I've said before, you don't have to spend a ton of money on gifts for them to be awesome. A couple of years ago I decided to make homemade gifts. I wanted to avoid the "Oh, wow. You made this. Oh. Thanks. Wow." silence. The homemade gifts probably cost me a little bit more than if I had gone out and bought gifts but I thought they were unique, until I googled. Ha.

So I gave flavoured olive oil. First I planted an olive tree on the balcony. When the olives were ripe.. Ha! Just joking. I bet a few of you believed me for a minute. Right? Here's another secret about me: I cannot grow anything. I can kill a cactus just by looking at it. I swear I've got the thumb of death when it comes to anything that requires water or sunlight. I planted tulips in the summer. I'm dumb. Every year the Husband and I aim to make our balcony into an oasis of plants and flowers and herbs and Disney characters and every year we end up having a balcony looking like East Berlin circa 1972. We suck.

Anyway, back to the oils. I bought empty bottles that came with one of those jar stopper thingies. I bought olive oil (large bottle) and filled the bottles, leaving a couple of inches at the top empty. I made 3 different flavours. One was a chili oil which was whole chili's and oil. The second one was a pepper oil, whole pepper corns and oil. And the third one was a rosemary and garlic oil, whole cloves of garlic and twigs of rosemary. I sealed the bottles and stored them in a dark place for a couple of weeks. After they were infused or something, I printed labels and stuck em on the bottles. Voila. Flavoured oils.

It's an easy and nice gift for the gourmand and there are endless combinations of flavours. The oil is great on its own with crusty bread, or used in cooking with pasta. I should make oil with truffles. Hmmm.

So, there you have it: a homemade gift that can be pretty and practical! Wow! Just like a wrap dress. I love you Diane von Furstenburg!! Call me!