Gifts From The Garden

Aenne K. Carver

Gardeners are generous.  They are known for sharing the delights and rewards found through gardening.  Why not continue this worthy tradition, by creating gifts to give from your garden?  Who knows, maybe a gift from your garden will sprout a lifelong gardening passion in someone else.

Share garden delights by creating Sun Tomatoes, unique flavored vinegars, and special herb blends.  Sun Tomatoes will use up any ripe tomatoes still hanging on in your garden.  This dish is a great gift and simple to make!  Try Sun Tomatoes over salad as dressing, or over warm pasta as sauce.

To make Sun Tomatoes take 8 vine-ripened tomatoes, 1 cup good olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons fresh basil roughly chopped, 3 cloves garlic minced, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 red onion thinly sliced, then, add pepper and salt to taste.  Put all ingredients into a glass jar that can be tightly covered.  Set in full sun for four or five hours like you would make sun tea.    Store finished tomatoes in a refrigerator, and they will keep two weeks.  To finish this gift, add directions for use and storage tied on with a ribbon.

The basic recipe for herb vinegar is: three cups of vinegar, ½ cup packed fresh herbs, and additions to taste like garlic cloves, peppercorns, or citrus peel.  Mix into a glass bottle and use chopsticks to place herbs.  If making a large batch, use a big glass jar and pour into glass bottles after steeping.  Let mixture steep for one to two weeks, in a sunny window.  Finish by placing in decorative glass bottles, add bows, and a favorite recipe to use vinegar.  Try some classic mixes for your vinegar like rosemary, oregano and garlic, or lemon peel, bay leaves, peppercorns and basil.

Share your garden by making jars of dried herbs to give to cooks.  Who would not enjoy a jar of custom herbs perfect for spicing up dishes?  To dry herbs without having them turn a lackluster brown, try pulling leaves from the stem and spread them to dry.  Leaves dry well in a single layer on newspaper or a cookie sheet.  When dry, place in a glass container because plastic and metal can alter the taste of herbs.

When creating mixes from your dried herbs, add some spices that you may not grow.   For instance, if you are creating a “South Of The Border Blend,” add some ground cummin, and crushed red peppers to the dried oregano and cilantro from your garden.  Write suggested uses for herb mixes on a label for each jar.  For example, recommend putting the “South Of The Border” blend into scrambled eggs.