ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

 The problem with Easter, Christmas, Birthday's etc gift giving is that you need to find something to suit many different ages and tastes. If you are operating on a limited budget or just want  more Eco- friendly not mass produced objects that are more often than not over priced and poorly constructed. What to do about it? Make your own! We have compiled a few favouites - add a few more of your own.

Gifts from the Garden

* Plant a little clump of chives or spring onions into some organic soil in a small pot (there must be holes at the bottom for drainage).

* Place a variety of home dried vegetables in little bottles or jars (very clean and dry), decorated to look pretty.

* Miniature citrus tree - cut a small piece from the top of an orange, remove the pulp and replace it with good organic soil. Plant a orange pip or a lemon pip (just out of fruit - not dry) in the soil-filled orange shell and watch it grow into a tiny tree. The pips take several weeks to germinate, so keep the soil slightly moist (not wet) while waiting for the first shoots to appear - the soil must never dry out. The recipient of this delightful present must be given instructions about how to look after it: explain that as the roots grow through the orange skin they must be cut off - this reduces the tree to a miniature, what the Japanese call bonsai. After about 6 years, tiny oranges will be produced. It really is worth keeping and caring for this little special miniature tree. It should be given a little plant food once a year.

* Root top garden - take a large plate or any shallow container and cover the surface with a little water. Into this water place five or six tops from vegetables such as carrots, turnips or beetroot - the leaves should be trimmed off leaving about 1 cm (1/2 in) of the stem attached to 1 cm (1/2 in) of vegetable. Fill the gaps between root tops with some clean little stones. Put the plate onto a sunny window sill and in a few days you will see the tiny shoots starting to grow. This root top garden must never become dry. In two or three weeks there is a lovely leafy garden, good to look at and good for eating - the leaves are rich in minerals and vitamins and should go into soups and stew (don't pick the tiny centre leaves - leave them to continue growing).

* Into an envelope or a cone (made by twisting a small triangle of paper into a shape like an icecream cone, secured with glue or a pin), put some seeds which you have collected from the garden. Attach a card giving names of the seeds and directions for growing them.

* Sweet potato creeper - put a sweet potato which has developed some 'eyes' into a container with holes at the bottom. Cover the sweet potato with soil, and soon it will produce a green and leafy vine which is very decorative.

* Terrarium of selected tiny plants set in pebbles. 

* Herbs freshly picked in bunches, dried, or pots of.

Gifts From The Kitchen Garden

Bouquet Garni

Gift packages of bouquet garni can be easily put togehter by gardening enthusiasts for friends who do not have a herb garden. Bouquet garni made from fresh sprigs of herbs is unequalled in taste and aroma but sachets filled with home grown and home dried herbs must come a close second. Eight or nine sachets presented in an attractive storage jar with instructions for use makes a practical and much appreciated gift.

You will need:
10 cm (4 in) squares of muslin / fine cheesecloth for each sachet
cotton thread for tieing
For the bouquet garni:
1 teaspoon each thyme, parsley, marjoram and savory
1/2 teaspoon oregano and rosemary
selection bay leaves
organic peppercorns

Mix together all but the latter two ingredients.
Place a teaspoonful of this mixture in the middle of a muslin square, add one crushed bay leaf and five peppercorns.
Tie bag securely, leaving a little bow of thread to facilitate removal from the cooking pot.
This combination's ideal with stews and casseroles that require long slow cooking.
Remove sachet prior to eating.

Variations include a mixture of similar proportions using thyme, tarragon, parsley, chervil, dried onions, a little sage and organic peppercorns for poultry dishes or a mix of parsley, basil, tarragon, a small bay leaf and several cloves for tomato dishes.

Homemade Seasoning

1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon dried diced chives

2 tablespoons diced parsley

2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon coarsley grated organic pepper

2 cups finely grated fresh parmesan

Mis all the ingredients together then place in a jar or recycled container suitable for gift giving. Enclose instructions.

To use : add to lemon juice, cider vinegar or oil and vinegar for salads, sprinkle over cooked pasta, steamed vegetables or baked potatoes.

Herbal Mix for Salad Dressing

This herbal mix can be made up and stored in recycled airtight bottles then put away until you need a simple gift in a hurry. A fabric bow added, and your gift is sure to please.

3 tablespoons dried parsley

3 tablespoons dried chives

2 tablespoons dill seed

2 tablespoons dried tarragon

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon grated organic pepper

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight bottle.

Directions: add 1 tablespoon of herb mix to 6 - 8 tablespoons organic salad oil + 2 tablespoons vinegar if desired. Stand unrefrigerated for several hours before using.

Herbs for the hard-to-please

Herbs for Him

It is hard to find herbal gifts for men that are not flowery and overperfumed but this recipe imparts drawers a fresh outdoor scent that is guaranteed to cheer up even the most disreputable sock and jocks collection. All ingredients must be dried first, including the lemon peel.

1 cup lemon verbena leaves or eau de cologne mint

1/2 cup pine wood shavings

1/2 cup African marigold petals

2 tablespoons lemon peel

2 tablspoons rock salt

2 tablspoons ground ginger (optional)

Break lemon peel up into small pieces. Tear wood shavings into small pieces.

Mix all ingredients together and store in a covered container for 10 days.

Make up one or two square sachets from fine, closely woven cotton, ladle in herbal mix, sew end firmly.

If you do not sew, cut out several 15 cm (6 in) squares of material, trim edges with pinking shears and tie together with braid, yarn or ribbon.

Teenagers Oatmeal Gift Bags

Teenagers are often difficult to make presents for as the group pressure they are constantly under demands that they reject the home-made in favour of all that is glossy and new. One gift that has always been enthusiastically received is a herbal bath bag--little cheesecloth bags tied with a pretty ribbon or cord or string for the boys. These can be used for facial problems or to soothe sun or wind burnt skin, both common in the teenage years.

1 cup oatmeal

2 tablespoons chamomile flowers

2 tablespoons wheat germ

1 tablespoon organic  milk powder

1 teaspoon rosemary / peppermint

Mix all ingredients together.

Cut out a number of 10 cm (4 in) squares of cheesecloth, place a large tablespoon of the mixture in the centre, then tie up with a piece of ribbon.

Trim off the straggly top of the cheesecloth. If you leave long ends or ribbon they can be looped over the tap so the bag is suspended in the bath water.

More Gifts to Prepare with Love

* Fill a little basket with small organic home-made treats and fruit picked from the garden. Decorate with ribbons and sprigs from the garden.

* Bake a special message into a favourite evening pie. 

* Wine - home brewed, in fancy bottles with personalised labels.

* Bread using your own ground grain.

* It's easy to make a small heart shaped wreath. Wrap kitchen herbs and flowers along two equal lengths of wire or vine. Bind together at one end, then form a heart shape. Decorate with ribbons.  

* Make lavender bags from scraps of material and fill with dried lavender and tie with ribbon.

* Orange rings spiced and bottled.

* Jams, pickles, herb vinegar,herb butter, a basket of home-made muesli, cakes, fruit balls, pies,quiches, sprouts, fresh herb pots,etc. Anything you bake, make or grow with LOVE will be greatly appreciated by the lucky recipients. Handmade labels and a little decoration with ribbons and fabric covers turn these gifts into something really meaningful.

* Voucher for free jobs, ie 'I promise to tend the compost heap for one month' or I promise to rake the leaves for one month'.

Happy handcrafting and gift giving.