Happy Holidays!

Ok, yeah I know it is a little late. But here it is! The whole holiday garden gift basket! Tah dah. I am so proud. Lavender & Calendula Bath Salts, Rosemary Vinegar, Green Tomato Relish & Dilled Green Grape Tomatoes.

Happy Holidays!

Lavender and Calendula Bath Salts

I'd been thinking about what gifts I'd make from my two little lavender plants out front for so long. Of course I didn't manage to get it all together until 3AM or so the night before Christmas, but I'm so proud that in the end I did manage to make gifts from my garden.

Above you can see what a couple of smaller jars looked like with the tags I made. The two pics on the tags are actual ones I took of the lavender and calendula plants growing in the backyard this summer. The other side said the following:

Homegrown Luxury Lavender & Calendula Bath Salts

Detoxifying, Softening, Soothing & Relaxing

Good for your muscles, skin & mood!

Directions for use: Place bag in bath under running water. Squeeze a couple times to completely dissolve salts and release essential oils.

Ingredients: Epsom Salts, Powdered Oatmeal, Baking Soda, Dried Lavender Leaves, Dried Calendula Flowers, Lavender Essential Oil, Food Coloring

Safe for sensitive skin and during pregnancy. Will not clog drains.

For external use only. Ask your doctor before using if you have high or low blood pressure.

Here is a pic of the first batch I made, before tagging:

And here is the actual recipe I used, thanks to Melissa Ray Davis at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Bath-Salts-Guide-and-Recipe:

Ingredients:

5 cups Epsom salts

5 drops blue food coloring, optional

8 drops red food coloring, optional

30 drops lavender essential oil

1 cup baking soda

1 cup ground (powdered) oatmeal
2 Tablespoons dried lavender
2 Tablespoons dried calendula petals
Cotton muslin bags & glass jars

Preparation Instructions:

Use glass or metal mixing implements, because plastic or wood will absorb some of the ingredients. First mix all of the salts together. Then, if you are using food coloring and/or essential oil, drip them evenly across the surface of the salts. All of these liquid ingredients have a tendency to clump, so you will need to mix them thoroughly and break up all of the clumps. If you are using food coloring, it is a good way to judge when the salts are well mixed, because the colored clumps are highly visible. Next, mix in the baking soda and or ground oat meal, then add the dried flowers or herbs if you are using them. NOTE: the oatmeal must be finely ground so it will dissolve in the bath. I used a coffee bean grinder. Put 3/4 Cup of mixture into each cotton muslin bag and then put those into glass jars.

Rosemary Harvest: Vinegars and Soup

Like a total crazypants, the night before Thanksgiving when I had so much cooking prep to do, I decided to preserve my herb garden's harvest. Well, I guess I didn't really have much choice in the matter, since getting off from work early meant it was the most free time I'd had since the first snow. It was so tedious doing all the thyme, sage, tarragon, rosemary and oregano in one night, let me tell you! I can't even fit it all in one post, so let's start with the easiest- rosemary.

First I rinsed them well in my salad spinner. Then I simply blotted them dry with a kitchen towel. In the three tall cruets I only put in a large decorative sprig, and either red or white vinegar. I may give these as gifts and didn't want the taste of rosemary to be too strong or the vinegar to get cloudy. There probably was a better way to do this, but at that point I was way too tired so it was all I could think of at the time.

The three odd shaped cruets in the front are for me at home, so they got a couple tablespoons of minced rosemary too. I may have to strain them, we'll see.

These aren't fancy, and in the past I've done a better job with peppercorns, mustard seeds, and other spices. But I am a huge fan of rosemary and love the sweet flavor it gives vinegar, so I think although simple these will taste pretty good.

The rest of the rosemary got set out on a tray to dry, along with mounds of thyme:











And then made the most delicious soup after Thanksgiving. I just threw it together with leftovers so I'm not sure of the specific measurements, but it was surprisingly so delicious it makes me warm just thinking about it.

Smoky Grillin Beans Soup

1/3 or so box of whole wheat rotini
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 carrots, chopped
2-3 celery sticks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
3/4 - 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme (to taste)
3 cloves garlic, minced
about 4 cups no-chicken (or vegetable) broth
1/2 can smoky grillin baked beans

Boil pasta as directed on box.
Meanwhile heat olive oil in soup pot then saute next 5 ingredients (you may want to leave out some of the fresh herbs for garnish at the end). After about 7 minutes when veggies are just about golden and transluscent, add garlic and saute for 3 more minutes. Add broth and bring just to a simmer, turn down to low. Add baked beans and pasta, then continue to heat on low until everything is good and hot. Serves 2 - 3.

I didn't know they were supposed to be baby carrots!

That's all folks. Yep, this is pretty much the extent of 2008's carrot crop. I planted the Scarlet Nantes heirloom carrots from seed, thinking I made a good choice because the description said they were a relatively short growing time to harvest. Guess not. I planted them way back in May, and picked this one on November 22nd. They did get overshadowed by the peppers I planted around them, so I suppose they didn't get enough sun, but it still seems like a really poor yield.

Yet, amazingly enough- almost everything else in my garden now is brown, but the carrot tops are still green. Maybe I'll get a normal size carrot next spring? haha I think I'll try a different variety in 2009, probably not heirloom. My friend who is a Master Gardener said my garden really is too small to do much good for heirloom gardening anyway, as they usually take more room to grow and there is the danger of cross-pollination if you plant different types. I'll have to research some more to figure out what to grow next year, because one thing is for sure- as little as these were they tasted great! I definitely want more.