“Oh no!”
“I forgot to buy a gift for___________!”
Has this ever happened to you? That panicked feeling when you realize you TOTALLY forgot to put someone important on your gift giving list? And you don’t have time to run to the store to purchase a gift or order one from Katie’s Top 10 Kitchen Needs List or Useful Stocking Stuffers.
Yeah… that happens more often than I like to admit!
Luckily, I’ve found a perfect solution. I’ve discovered a DIY gift that any Kitchen Steward will love:
- Is quick and easy (about 5 minutes to make!)
- Only requires a few ingredients (that you probably already have in your house!)
- Is appropriate for almost everyone, even people with food allergies or sensitivities
- Is elegant looking
- Is consumable and practical! It won’t clutter up their home and the jar is reusable
A Truly Simple, Yet Elegant DIY Gift
I was inspired to create this recipe last December. Since our whole family is striving to reduce clutter, we have a “Consumable Gifts” rule, meaning everything we give must be something that can be used up.
As I was brainstorming ideas of what I could make, I happened to glance in my pantry where I had jars of dried herbs from my garden. I wanted to use those to give my family a “Homegrown Gift”, so I invented this recipe.
Everyone who received a jar of Herb Salt LOVED IT. In fact, everyone asked if they could have another jar for Christmas this year! Maybe I need to make bigger batches!
My children and I had fun making this gift together and this year, I plan on giving Herb Salt to:
- Teachers
- Bus Drivers
- Family
- Friends
- Myself… I love it too! Ha!
Gather Supplies
You’ll need just a few supplies to get started. Hopefully, you already have some of these in your house or have something similar that would work. Don’t fret if you need to change the recipe or presentation a little depending on what you have – you really can’t go wrong!
For the Herb Salt
- Sea Salt or Kosher Salt (my favorite salt to use is Light Grey Celtic Sea Salt, since it is slightly damp and the herbs adhere well to the salt. Of course, Katie’s favorite Real Salt will work too, but you may need to stir in a few drops of water so the herbs will stick to the salt.)
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Dried leafy herbs (such as parsley, basil, sage, thyme, marjoram, chervil, rosemary, etc.)
- Mortar & Pestle (OR clean coffee grinder OR plastic baggie and rolling pin – something to crush the herbs into powder)
For the Packaging
- Ball 4oz canning jar (the smallest size)
- Canning lid and ring
- Holiday-themed scrap paper or wrapping paper (optional)
- Twine or ribbon (optional)
- Gift tag/sticker or scrap of holiday-themed paper with paper punch (optional)
- Gift bag and tissue paper (optional)
Herb Salt Recipe
- Yield: 1 4oz jar 1x
- Category: Condiment
Description
A quick and easy, yet elegant looking gift that is perfect for everyone on your gift list!
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Sea Saltor Kosher Salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase)
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp of Powdered/Crushed Dried Leafy Herbs (parsley, sage, basil, chervil, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, etc.) – whatever you have on hand!
Instructions
- Scoop the salt into a 4oz Ball mason jar.
- Add the Onion Powder and Garlic Powder.
- Combine a small amount of each type of herb (about a tsp of each). Using a mortar and pestle, grind the herbs as finely as possible. They should eventually turn into a green powder. You could also use a clean coffee grinder or put the herbs in a plastic baggie and roll over the bag repeatedly with a rolling pin.
- Add 1 tsp of the powdered herbs to the jar.
- Place the lid and ring on the jar and shake until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Have extra powdered herbs? Store them in a jar and save them for the next batch of Herb Salt!
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A Beautiful Presentation
Of course, we want our gifts to look beautiful! The Herb Salt is wonderful as is, but taking a few moments to add some extra touches makes a huge difference.
I like to use bits of holiday-themed scrap paper to “dress up” the jars (you could also use wrapping paper.
Simply set the canning lid on the paper, trace around it, then cut out the circle. Place that circle on top of the lid and fasten it with the ring. Ta-da! Now THAT looks fancy!
Want to do even more? Bust out a length of twine or ribbon and tie a bow on the jar. You could also create a gift tag to attach to the twine/ribbon. I have a round paper cutout that I use, along with a small hole punch. It’s perfect for making little gift tags to tie onto my gifts.
Be sure to label the contents of the jar, either with a sticker or on the gift tag. You could also write some suggestions for use on the gift tag such as:
“Herb Salt: Great on/in roasted meats, roasted vegetables, dips, soups and stews, casseroles, eggs…anything that needs a little extra flavor!”
If you have small gift bags and tissue paper, feel free to pop the jar in a bag and decorate that too!
Wasn’t that an Easy Gift?
Whew! Now that you’ve got that holiday gift covered, why not make a few more jars to keep on hand? This Herb Salt is the perfect gift any time of the year and your gift recipients will love it.
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Thanks for the recipe.
I had my daycare kids do this as a craft before Christmas. They gave them to their parents as a gift and I’ve had some really great feedback from the parents this week how amazing their herb salt smells and how great it tasted on their chicken.
My favorite consumable gift is home canned cranberry conserve. I use the Ina Garten recipe without raisins or nuts and I make a large batch, then water bath can them to make them shelf stable. I always use pretty jars, so I can add a tag and gift in no time. It is delicious with turkey or chicken, on toast, with cream cheese and crackers, on a slice of cheddar cheese, in oatmeal, in yogurt, or as a topping for cheesecake.
The herb salt looks great. I will try that one!