homemade gift idea: dark chocolate truffles

I cannot believe I have shelled out several dollars for specialty truffles after seeing how simple they are to make. Those of you who were following our homemade gift extravaganza this past weekend saw that we whipped up a spice rub, a curried lentil soup mix and a lemon-sugar scrub in between birthday parties, chess, paddle tennis and normal weekend revelry. What I didn't mention, was that at the 11th hour (or 4:00pm, if you go to bed at 7:00pm...) my older son and I also made a batch of homemade truffles. My husband rolled his eyes, since the kitchen had just been put back in order, and really did we need to make another homemade gift?! Yes, we did. Because my younger son wanted to give one of his teachers something chocolate, and the kids are giving each adult something homemade this year, and (trust me) I knew my husband and father-in-law would love these, assuming they turned out.

The recipe looked too simple. Really, just 4 ingredients? Yup. And whatever you plan to roll them in.

Homemade Dark Chocolate Truffles

(makes about 60 truffles, depending upon what size you roll them)

1 stick of butter (8T)
2 cups of heavy cream
2 lbs chocolate* (in chunks, chips or chopped)
1 Tablespoon vanilla*
topping of your choice (crushed nuts, cocoa powder, candy cane dust, etc...)

In a double boiler, bring the butter and cream to a fast simmer. Add chocolate and vanilla and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Chill until firm. Once chilled, scoop and roll into balls, then roll into coating of your choice. (Our truffles were about 3/4 inch in diameter. We rolled half of them in cocoa powder and half of them in candy canes we had pulverized in the Cuisinart, until they were simply pink powder.) Store truffles in fridge until ready to enjoy.

* If you can, splurge on high quality chocolate and vanilla for this project. It really will make a difference in the end product. My favorite brands are Dagoba and Guittard (which can sometimes be a little bit harder to find) or Ghiradelli 60% which is readily available in most supermarkets.

Note: this is not for the faint, or those who like things neat and tidy. Handling the chilled chocolate in this project is really messy! I did not argue when my younger son opted out after rolling one truffle, his hands then covered in chocolate... full disclosure: I was sort of thankful because I wasn't that excited to see chocolate hand prints in any other part of the house... 

We packaged this little balls of homemade decadence in mini muffin cups inside these small window boxes, lined with parchment paper.

putting a gift to good use: making curried lentil soup with sausage butternut squash and kale

We took one of our homemade gifts for a test run last night. All in the interest of recipe development, of course. If you're making it along with us, in addition to the 4 cups of dried lentils and spice packet we included (which was 2 cubes of Rapunzel veg bouillon + 2 bay leaves + 1 tablespoon madras curry + 1 tablespoon of the spice rub we made), you will need:

• a large pot
• olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 carrots, diced
• 2 (or more) of your favorite sausages (chicken, pork, soy, etc..), chopped
• 2 cups of butternut squash, diced
• 10 cups of water
• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
• salt & pepper, optional
• Greek yogurt (optional, as a topping)

Over medium heat, saute the onions and carrots in a bit of olive oil.

Add the sausages and butternut squash, and continue sauteing until the onions are translucent.

Add the contents of the spice packet that came along with the gift + 10 cups of water and let the whole thing simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils have softened. Then remove the bay leaves...

and add the kale, stirring it in to the soup. Continue simmering for another 5-10 minutes, until the kale is wilted and lentils are fully cooked. Soup will be stew-like consistency. (I make most of my soups this consistency because it's easier for little hands to get it from bowl to mouth!!)

Serve warm, with a dollop of Greek yogurt with counterbalances the heat from the curry powder and white pepper in the spice blend. Because the soup is quite monochromatic, I recommend serving it with a bright green salad.

p.s. The soup is even better on day two, when the flavors have blended. It will freeze nicely. Simply add some fresh broth to the soup when you are reheating it. Enjoy!

homemade gift: lemon sugar scrub

Out of all three homemade teacher gifts we made together yesterday (this lemon-sugar scrub + lentil soup mixes + spice rubs), this one definitely goes down as my favorite. Since we're only doing homemade gifts from the boys to all adults this year, this is what I am lobbying for as my gift. It totally works (one of my kids gave it a test run last night) and it is so super easy. Plus, who wouldn't like a little pampering to kick off the new year?

Lemon Sugar Scrub 

this recipe will make a dozen 5 oz. jars (or about 7 1/2 cups)-- you can scale the recipe up or down for your gift-making project

I learned of this recipe on Count it all Joy, which is a fabulous, witty blog full of good ideas. 

8 cups sugar

2 cups olive oil

1 cup lemon juice

zest of 10 lemons (or about 8 Tablespoons)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Note that stirring the mixture is tough at first, you might have to help your kids get it going...Store scrub in an airtight container.

We packaged it in these 5 oz jars. While everything is edible, you don't want your recipients eating a big scoop, so gift tag should read:

Lemon Sugar Scrub

Apply a handful of sugar scrub to wet skin while showering and massage in circular motion. Will remove dead skin and leave winter skin feeling refreshed and moisturized!

homemade gift: curried lentil soup kit in a jar

Two years ago, we made bean soup kits as a holiday gift for our children's teachers. The kids had fun making them, and feedback from recipients was glowing. Our older son, was particularly keen on this idea, plus we're doing only homemade gifts from the kids to all adults in the family this year, so this is a good one for grandma as well. As with all of the gifts we made this year, this is one little hands can truly participate in. But, in the scheme of homemade gifts, this is a pricier option because of the packaging, so it may not be feasible if you're making gifts for almost 40 teachers and coaches, as we are this holiday season. Smaller group of recipients, go for it!

Our recipe is an adaptation of this one from Food Network. We filled these 38 oz. jars , which happened to have a snowflake blown into them, but you could also go with the standard 34 oz. jar like this one.

Curried Lentil Soup in a Jar Homemade Gift Project

makes six 38 oz. kits, which are 8-10 servings each + a few extra cups of beans so you can test the soup too!

12 lbs of assorted lentils (or about 24 cups)*


spice packet:
2 cubes of Rapunzel vegetable bouillon** 
2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1 Tablespoon of our homemade spice blend***


Layer the different colored lentils in a 34 or 38 oz. glass jar, leaving about 1 inch of space at the top. Put two bouillon cubes on top of the dried beans. Place bay leaves and spices into a small gift bag or zip-loc, and gently squeeze that into the top of the jar. 


Gift note should read:

Curried Lentil Soup with Sausage, Butternut Squash and Kale

To make the soup, you will need:
large pot
contents of jar
olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 carrots, diced
2 (or more) of your favorite sausages (chicken, pork, or soy...), chopped
2 cups butternut squash, diced
10 cups of water
1 bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped
salt & pepper (optional)
Greek yogurt (optional, as a topping)

Over medium heat, saute the onions, carrots, sausage and butternut squash in a bit of olive oil until onions are translucent. Add dried lentils,10 cups of water, both bouillon cubes and the spice mixture. Bring to boil, then lower heat so that the soup is at a simmer. Cook soup, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until lentils soften. Remove the bay leaves, and stir in kale. Continue cooking over medium-low heat for another 10 minutes. Serve warm, with a dollop of Greek yogurt, if you'd like.

Soup kit will keep indefinitely in a cool, dry place.

* I purchased 4 lb bags of white, orange and brown lentils at our local Indian Market. You can also buy lentils in bulk at Whole Foods, in the bin section. Or, many markets carry large bags of bulk beans by Goya.
** This is my favorite store-bought broth for soups. By us, Rapunzel bouillon is available at Stewart's Market and Whole Foods. You can also order it in bulk from amazon. I prefer to use the one without salt, so that the recipient can add the amount o salt they'd like.
*** If you also whipped up spice blends for gifts, super. Here's an example of how they're used. If not, simply put a few shakes of your favorite dried herbs into the spice bag, equivalent to about 1 Tablespoon of dried spices, in addition to the 1 T of curry powder. Ideas: rosemary, fennel, garlic powder or granulated garlic, coriander, smoked paprika, Herbs de Provence blend or pepper...

homemade gift: tins of spice rub

Yesterday was our homemade gift making extravaganza...or as much of an 'extravaganza' as it's going to be when my husband and I were passing the baton-- or kid, as the case may be-- between a haircut, chess team practice, birthday party and Y Guide service project. Last week, I offered up a bunch of different gift choices to the kids, but one wanted sweet, the other savory...and I wanted to ensure sanity. I also really wanted the gifts to be something they actually made, since they are old enough to both really participate this year. So, we ended up doing three small projects, in about 2 hours (not including shopping for packaging & ingredients which I did on Friday). The kitchen was left intact, and we now have gifts that both kids are excited to give to their teachers and coaches. Here's the first one: little tins of homemade spice rub.  

This is our version, after making this one and the kids deeming it too spicy, then adding in parts of this one. 

Homemade Spice Rub

makes 14 4oz tins, or about 7 cups

"use the spice rub on meats or fish before grilling; add to salad dressings or soups; sprinkle on steamed vegetables"

2.5 cups dried rosemary

2 cups of fennel powder*

2 cups granulated garlic**

1/2 cup coarse black pepper

6 Tablespoons coriander

6 Tablespoons Kosher salt

4 Tablespoons white pepper

Combine all of the spices in a large bowl. Stir. Store in airtight containers. Spice rub will keep for several months if stored in a cool, dry area.

* If you cannot find fennel powder, or want more texture, you could also use fennel seeds and grind them in a blender until desired consistency. I happened to find fennel powder at Patel's Indian Market, in Norwalk but you can find an array of harder-to-find spices online at Penzey's too (or at the Penzey's store, if you're local to Fairfield County, CT).

** Make sure you use granulated garlic, not garlic salt!! Garlic salt is 3 salt: 1 garlic. Granulated garlic is simply coarse grained dried garlic. Costco carries restaurant-sized containers of granulated garlic, or your local market should have it in the dried spice section.

To make this project most economical, try to find bulk spices. Think about who in your area would have high turnover of spices? You want them as fresh as possible. Usually it's the ethnic markets. Around us, Patel's (in Norwalk, in the same strip mall as Best Buy, Rio Restaurant, TJMaxx, etc...) is a good bet. And even if you're not making a spice rub, that place is worth a visit for the truly amazing array of Indian ingredients and prepared foods!

For tins, we used these seamless 4oz. metal ones.

homemade teacher & hostess gift ideas (a bunch of our favorites)

'Tis the season. And this year, between my two children we have 39 gifts to make. That's if we didn't forget anyone, which is always my fear as the kids excitedly rattle off their teachers and coaches, and I scramble to write them all down... I know that many of you are in the same boat, so I thought a round-up of homemade gift ideas would be appreciated. I've tried to include a variety of price ranges and levels of simplicity in this list of my favorites. If you have other ideas that you'd like to share, I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so in the comment section. This is the sort of post I-- and many others-- will bookmark for future year's ideas as well. My plan to peruse this list with the kids tonight, then I'll shop for packaging tomorrow, and at some point this weekend, the kids and I will make one of these gifts en mass for all of the people who tirelessly brighten & enrich my children's lives.

Savory Gift Ideas

• Homemade Bean Soup Kits (these were a huge hit when we made them 2 years ago)
• Curried Lentil Soup in a Jar from Food Network
• Homemade Cheddar Crackers from Home Cooking in Montana
• Homemade Rosemary-Garlic Herb Rub from Kalyn's Kitchen
• Fennel Spice Rub from Food Network-Chiarello
• Spanish-Inspired Spice Rub from Eating Well
• Yemeni Spice Rub from Bon Appetit
• Tarragon Vinegar from Whole Foods
• Simple Homemade Mustard from Gourmet
• Homemade Country (Grainy) Mustard from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook
• Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Relish from Vegetarian Times
• Homemade Harissa from the New York Times
• Preserved Lemons from Whole Foods
• A "gift certificate" for a homemade dinner delivered to the classroom or playing field. (Who wouldn't like a night off of cooking in the new year?!)

For packaging dried soup mixes, I like to put the beans in a clear jar and let the kids layer the various types (we tied the seasoning on to the lid in a separate cellophane bag). If making a spice rub or harissa, I would use a pretty, small glass jar. The Container Store has tons to choose from, and some hardware stores also stock these sorts of jars, so it might be worth checking to see if your local mom & pop store carries them.

Homemade Cookies

• Gingerbread Cookies
• Sugar Cookies
• Cardamom-Orange Cookies
• Molasses Crinkles
• Cinnamon-Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Ganache
• Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti
• Simple Coconut Macaroons

Cookies can be packaged in tins, cellophane bags or boxes. In addition to local kitchen shops, I find that The Container Store usually has a good selection of holiday packaging this time of year. Another way of getting kids involved in the project is to give them a plain tin and letting them decorate it with permanent markers if they're not into helping with the baking...

Candies, Hot Fudge, Cocoa Mix & More...

• Hot Cocoa Mix from Prep Ahead and Dine In
• Maple Hot Cocoa from not without salt
• Ginger Hot Cocoa Mix from One Hungry Mama
• Homemade Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Sugar from The Naptime Chef
• Another Homemade Vanilla recipe from The Dalai Mama (thank you Lauren for this link!)
• Eggnog Bread Pudding from Full Plate
• Vanilla Bean Caramels from Annie's Eats
• Spiced Dark Chocolate & Pumpkin Seed Bark with Sea Salt from The Parsley Thief (I was thinking that at Christmastime swapping the pumpkin seeds for almonds, pistachios or pecans and adding candied ginger might be delicious...)
• Peppermint Hot Fudge from The Naptime Chef
• Chocolate Truffles from Food Network (along with 49 other homemade gift ideas that sound super easy!)
• Homemade Granola from Full Plate (if you're looking for something more health-conscious)

See above for various packaging ideas, as I'd probably pop candies into a parchment-lined cardboard box, hot fudge into a medium-sized mason jar, and granola or hot cocoa mix into a cellophane bag or glass jar. The bread pudding can easily be baked in the sort of tin you pick up at your local supermarket, then wrapped in parchment with a bow to make it look pretty.

Other Homemade Gift Ideas Good for Little Hands

• Lemon Sugar Scrub from Count it all Joy
• Lavender Bath Salts from Whole Foods
• Homemade Bookmarks or ones made by slicing up a neat piece of your child's existing artwork, as my friend Bar is planning to do-- which I think is a really neat idea
• Wrapping "a box of fire logs individually in different paper and tagging each one with suggestions like... 'because it's family night', and because it's freezing out' and 'for our dinner guests'" as posted by Jennifer Wilcoxon on the Sunset Magazine FB page

Hopefully this list provides you with some inspiration. I can't wait to hear what you all made/are making for your teachers. Feel free to leave a comment here, or over on the full plate/meals in a snap facebook page...

another homemade gift idea: pumpkin bread

Yesterday's post about the Pumpkin Cannelloni with Sage Cream Sauce inspired a bunch of emails from friends who said they liked the idea of making something for their teachers/friends/neighbors, but wanted a less time-consuming idea. Here's another good one: Jane's Pumpkin Bread. Depending upon when you want to deliver it, it freezes well. So, maybe it would be a perfect recipe to make together this weekend, before launching into your Thanksgiving recipes!

planning my peaceful pre-Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving: the food, the family, the crisp Fall day dedicated to nothing other than both. But somehow it snuck up this year, and I am finding myself feeling slightly overwhelmed by all I used to do in past years. Inspired by this post on Simple Mom (which, ironically, my dear friend Leslie forwarded me on... um, November 11th, and I didn't have a chance to read until this morning...), I have decided to pare back a bit this year. The good intentions are still there, but there's a need to be more practical this year. I will still cook the feast on Thanksgiving (despite our kitchen that is bordering on full collapse with now 1 or 2 working burners (depending upon the day), and a semi-functioning fridge and now single oven), but I am going to get organized this weekend and be realistic about what I can accomplish cooking-wise. And, I still want to continue our tradition of gifting dishes of Homemade Pumpkin Cannelloni with Sage Cream Sauce to the boys' teachers, but this year we are simplifying a bit.

Last year, we made pumpkin cannelloni for all of them. It started out simple enough. Some onions, shallots and garlic chopped in the Cuisinart...

...so many cans of organic pumpkin puree, marscapone, and bottles of sherry I lost count...

...Legos spread out all over the kitchen floor, the amazing smell of the pumpkin filling bubbling away on the (then fully functioning) range.

I'd thought nothing of a day trip to the Container Store, where I filled two shopping carts with glass containers,

excitedly filling them with this labor of love.

Our kitchen was transformed into a pumpkin cannelloni factory, of sorts.

A happily humming factory, where every surface was put to good use.

And at the end of the day, the fridge was filled with 28 dishes (yes, 28) of Pumpkin Cannelloni. The boys and I delivered each dish to one of their current or past teachers the next day, to be enjoyed with their families during the week of Thanksgiving. It was one of those times when 'tis way more fun to give than to receive. But this year, for a variety of reasons, I just can't swing this massive effort. It's been in the back on my mind, this guilt that we did something so special last year and we're not doing it again this year. But then I had to take a step back and think about how my children and I can still do this fabulous project together, but keep it manageable from a planning, time and cost perspective. It's not the majesty of last year, but I have to remind myself that it still means a very special, very well-deserved night "off" for each of my children's two current main teachers and their families.