Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

We've been on technology detox around here.  I've been avoiding the computer for pretty much every reason - limited media consumption, no work, no pictures, etc. It's been all cooking and reading and going to the movies and out to eat. And there's been more time to make stuff.

As I mentioned the "I don't do Gift Guides" post, we try to give consumable gifts.  In the past I've made chocolates or treat packs or we've given local food items that share our regional flair.  I had the idea for this year's gift last year and it became a joint effort for me and the husband.

We gave Sugar & Spice gifts - aka vanilla sugar and homemade spicy mustard.

The vanilla sugar is fairly easy to make.  You just need granulated sugar, vanilla pods and a food processor.   Scrape the beans out of the pod with the back of a knife and add them to sugar in the processor and pulse until well distributed.  I used about a pod per 1.5 cups of sugar.  I then added a half of the empty pod the to sugar container when you package them up.

The longer it sits the more infused the vanilla flavor becomes.  We packaged these in clip-top canning type jars but any well sealed container would do.  Vanilla sugar is great on cereal, fruit, toast or in coffee.

The second part of the gift was a spicy mustard.  These were packaged in small ceramic jars with sealed lids.  I used red and white bakers twine around the top edge for decoration and to attach a small wooden spoon.

This makes a good spicy deli-style mustard but is very simple to make.  The recipe comes from The Mustard Cookbook by Sally & Martin Stone.

You need:

- 1/4 cup white or brown whole mustard seeds (we used a mix of both)

- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

- 1/4 dry red wine

- 1/2 cup dry mustard (mustard powder)

- 2 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp ground allspice

- 2 Tbl cold water

To prepare you add the whole mustard seeds to the wine vinegar and the wine in a small bowl and let stand for 3+ hours.

Pour the seeds, wine and wine vinegar into a blender or food processor (we used a blender) fitted with a steel blade.  Process with several pulses until the seeds are bruised and broken.  Add the dry mustard, salt, allspice and water and process for 30 seconds.  Scrape down the sides and process for 30 more seconds.

Transfer the mixture to a sealed container and let stand at least 12 hours before using.

Yields about 1.5 cups

Store the mustard in the fridge and enjoy with pretzels, on a yummy veggie sandwich or saute some green beans.  We may even try to play with the recipe and some agave nectar to make a honey-mustard style version.  If it works out I'll share that too.

Happy Holidays!

They Say It's Your Birthday

I don't usually make birthday lists because I tend to be bad and buy stuff for myself, but....

Here are some things I have on my virtual wish list...

Poochie Pink Birthday by Princess Poochie on Polyvore.com

* A yellow or rose gold and silver hand-stamped Crown wax seal The Love Story necklace with a 24" chain

* A Diana and/or a Holga camera (pink version optional)

* I have a bunch of pictures that need to get framed

* Antoni & Alison skirts - I love the patterns they have.

* Topshop Kameron brogues in pink and gold. Why did I wait so long???

* Wode Paint perfume. Not even sure how this smells but it's so cool!

* Gentry de Paris Victorian Corset Boots. Of course I totally need these.

* Femme Sud Diary book clutch. I'd take a turquoise 1st place wristlet too.

* Pink carnations... or carnation perfume. Super sweet.

Now I know I sound terribly greedy but, these are the kinds of things I want to get for myself, so maybe it's more like a "treats for me" list than a "hope I someone buys me all this" list.

The Christmas Recap

As everyone knows, the days after the holidays are all about doing the "Present Recap" (also known as the "Present Scorecard" in some circles).

We have tons of lovely friends who gave us delicious treats and sent some beautiful cards. Our gifts out were one of our favorite cookies - Lavender Sables - which are kind of a French shortbread and so so yummy. If you want the recipe, just drop me a line.

We have out gifts to other co-workers and family members, most of which we had to ship because they all live far away. As for the husband and I, we don't do a huge bunch of gifts for each other usually because we get stuff all year long. Plus we just had our amazing trip to the Grove Park Inn, so it was pretty sparse beneath the tree this year.

We also don't like to buy a lot of "stuff", so we try to get consumable or services. In his stocking this year he got a grapefruit knife,



and spoons (four of them).



He also got 2lbs of thick cut peppered gourmet bacon from Nueskes. (Who the heck gives someone bacon for Christmas??? I mean, seriously? Yeah, we do. We're weird like that)





He also got these amazing organic really sweet grapefruits from South Tex Organics. Now the knife and spoons make sense, right?

We had some delicious bruleed grapefruits when we stayed at our friends' bed & breakfast (the Adora Inn) in Mount Dora for the wedding we were both in. They were so delicious, I wanted to recreate the meal. And they are really good. And I don't even typically like grapefruit.

I also bought some Meyer's lemons, which I'm going to make into delicious lemon gelato and lemon curd.



The hubby also wears a lot of t-shirts since he works from home and he also loves funky fun shirts. Threadless is a wonderful resource for unique shirts, and they aren't that much either.

I got him this shirt which is per-fect for him. He kind of likes the creepy stuff. This one is called "Ad Noctum" You can click on the images to see them bigger.



He also got this shirt which I think is weird yet adorable. It's called "Star Men in Moon's Milk". How cute is that????



His "big" gift was this book. It's the iconic Albertus Seba "Cabinet of Natural Curiosities".



This is, yes, a reproduction but it's still amazing and filled with the best illustrations. We have some actual vintage illustrations like these throughout our house, so this is perfect. It's also a book you will see in many professionally decorated homes because the colors are just so great. It's a perfect book for us and our house.

Here's a little bit about the book:
Albertus Seba's "Cabinet of Curiosities" is one of the 18th century's greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time.

Though it was common for men of his profession to collect natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665-1736) had a passion that led him far beyond the call of duty. His amazing, unprecedented collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection - from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, insects, butterflies and more, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and a dragon.



So that was kind of it. I got lovely and fun things as well. My parents gave some $$$, which I've totally spent already, and a new picture of them which I need for my office. One of my co-workers gave me this adorable mushroom timer from FredFlare (you have to see my office to know why this fits in - I have a ton of pink in there to liven up the boring grey cube).



hello!

My in-laws gave me a big 'ol Target gift card, because, ya know I love the Tar-get!



In my stocking from the hubby I got some treats - single serve Nutellas!


Yummy!

I also got an iTunes gift card - furthering my iPod library investment.



My "big" gift was a necklace from Ananda Khalsa necklace. When we were at Grove Park Inn, they have a store featuring all kinds of goods from local artists. Ananda does these amazing jewelry pieces which are made from little paintings that are then set in silver or 22kt gold with hand-ground glass. My three-strand necklace is in the "Bluebirds with Plum Blossoms" series and has aquamarine briolettes under the pendant and at the clasp.



It's so lovely and perfect because I love unique jewelry, as well as supporting local artists. It will be perfect to wear in the Spring.

As you can see, we all do a lot of shopping online but we also supported a lot of artists and artesianal companies. Not only do we get unique gifts but we support the hand-made, small scale movement.

I can't wait to see what gifts other folks got and what they gave.