"11 fast, easy, inexpensive home-made gift ideas especially created for crafters who like to delight their family and friends"

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1 A Bouquet of Home-Made Herbal Gift Ideas "11 fast, easy, inexpensive home-made gift ideas especially created for crafters who like to delight their family and friends" This Special Report is a gift to you from the original and only... The Bouquet Garni Herb range is available from nurseries and garden centres in Gauteng and even as far afield as Limpopo, North West and Mpumulanga. You are welcome to visit us online at if you... Need a wealth (more than 200 pages) of FREE herb information Have any problems gardening with herbs Need recipes, tips and ideas for making the most of your herbs And MUCH more To find out how you can share this report with others legally see Gift Idea #11-1 -

2 A Bouquet of Home-Made Herbal Gift Ideas Consider making a really beautiful home-made gift this Christmas. Making your own gifts is satisfying to create and delightful to receive. Herbs often are the magical ingredient, especially if they are herbs from your garden and used fresh or dried. Give yourself enough time to make the gifts, use only the best ingredients and be clever in matching the gift to the recipient. Dad generally doesn t appreciate sandalwood bath salts or granny a bottle of fiery hot pickled chillies - unless she s quite a gal! A well made Christmas gift is probably the most personal gift you can give, because it has taken up a lot more of your time and thought, than taking out your credit card and buying up the store. Enjoy! Teresa & Di-Di Hoffman Bouquet Garni Herbs Gift Idea # 1: Colourful and fiery chilli pickles Bottles of pickled chillies are a simple, yet eye-catching Christmas present to make, especially when you use a whole medley of different colours and sizes of chillies. If you aren t able to harvest your own chillies you will find a ready supply at the local greengrocer or fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket. Recipe #1: Bouquet Garni whole pickled peppers Pack fresh, washed and trimmed chillies in a sterilized bottle. Poke a few small holes in the top of each chilli before packing into the bottle

3 Bring 250ml water, 250 ml white vinegar, 10 ml pickling spice and 50 ml sugar (or to taste) to the boil and pour over the chillies, leaving no headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles. Store in a dark place and use within four to six weeks. It is as simple as that. Recipe #2: Bouquet Garni Jalapeno Masala pickles Slice fresh, washed Jalapeno chillies. Bring 250ml water, 250 ml white vinegar, and 10 ml pickling Masala to the boil. Add a little sugar to taste. Add sliced chillies and bring the mixture back to the boil for one or two minutes, just to sterilise them. Don t boil too long or the chillies will go soft. Spoon the chillies into a sterilised jar and pour over the picking mixture. Stir the mixture to ensure an even distribution of the Masala mix. Remove trapped air bubbles. Store in a dark place and use within four to six weeks. Decorate the bottle with a ring of dried peppers for an extra festive feel. Gift Idea #2: Chilli garlands Fill a chilli addict s Christmas stocking with garlands or strings of dried chillies. They are gorgeous for hanging in the kitchen and it s a present that chilli addicts will love. You ll be giving them a long-term supply of chillies. Use longer, less fleshy varieties like cayenne, serenade, fiesta, etc. String the peppers by running a needle and thread through the thickest part of the stem. Hang them outdoors or in a sunny window to dry. Drying takes about three weeks and the fruit should be brittle. The chillies can be hung up or stored in a container. They can be crushed when needed, using a rolling pin or whizzed in a blender for a finer powder

4 Gift Ideas #3 & 4: Herb Flavoured oils and vinegars Herb flavoured oil or vinegar is another way of using the bounty from your herb garden to create very personal and individual Christmas gifts. Two of the most popular garden herbs are rosemary and basil and by December they are at their peak, producing enough to use and still have enough left to preserve in oils and vinegars. When making herbal oils and vinegars as gifts why not attach a little card that details the significance of the herb as well as ways of using it. Rosemary s stronger taste makes it an ideal herb for oil but if you don t have rosemary, almost any herb can be used to make delicious herbal oil. The secret lies in using mild flavoured oil. This can be a mild olive oil or sunflower oil. Flavoured oils can be used in marinades, salad dressings or for the initial sauté in a stir-fry - in fact for any dish that requires oil. Basil Dark Opal is particularly suitable for vinegar s because the purple leaves impart a wonderful colour to the vinegar. Herbal vinegars can be used in dressings, mayonnaise, marinades, stews, soups and stews. Use a good quality natural grape, wine or apple cider vinegar. Do not use chemically produced vinegar because it overpowers the herbs. Recipe #1: Bouquet Garni Rosemary flavoured oil Rosemary is a symbol of friendship, loyalty, and remembrance, which makes it a very special gift for a friend, especially those far away. How to make it: 200g fresh rosemary lightly bruised (use a rolling pin). Make sure the herbs are dry. 500 ml oil. Put the herbs into a sterilised bottle or jar. Pour in the oil, making sure that the herbs are completely covered. Seal the jar and put it on a well-lit windowsill or near a warm stove. Avoid a position that gets too hot or else the herbs will turn musty and start to cook. Shake the jar or stir the contents with a wooden spoon at least once a day. Within a fortnight the oil should be ready

5 Taste the oil and if the flavour is not strong enough repeat the process with fresh herbs. If the flavour is strong enough you can strain the oil and press the herbs to extract all the liquid. If you like the look of the whole sprig in the oil then don t worry to strain the oil. In this case the oil will only last about 3 months. Recipe #2: Bouquet Garni Dark Opal Basil Herbal Vinegar Basil is thought to protect from misfortune and in India, from where it originates, basil is planted in the temple grounds. How to make it: 200g Basil Dark Opal lightly bruised (use a rolling pin) and make sure that the herbs are dry. 750ml grape, wine or apple cider vinegar Put the herbs into a sterilised jar, and then pour in the vinegar. Seal the jar and shake well. Keep in a cool, dark place for two to three weeks to allow the flavours to develop. Shake the jar from time to time. Line a funnel with a double layer of muslin. Strain the flavoured vinegar through it into sterilised bottles. Seal the bottles, label and the vinegar is ready to use. Gift Idea #5: Baker s delight For friends who love to cook there s nothing nicer than using cinnamon quills instead of the powder form. Married with other dried seasonings like dried orange and bay leaves, this is a lovely little extra for the cook s Christmas stocking. The quills and dried oranges can be bought from a spice shop and threaded together to complete the rustic look. Any spice shop or business that supplies the catering industry will have cinnamon quills. Drying bay leaves, or any other herb: The best method is air drying and speed is of the essence. The herbs should be dry within 24 to 48 hours

6 The ideal place for drying herbs is a dry, well-ventilated area that is free of dust and fumes. The room temperature should be a constant 20 to 30 degrees centigrade. Tie stalks in bundles with string and hang them or dry them on screens. When dried, strip the leaves from the stems and pack in clean jars with tight fitting lids. Don t crumble the leaves but pack them whole for flavour retention. A dried leaf should crackle between the fingers. If it bends and is not crisp it has not dried sufficiently. Gift Idea #6: Lavender sugar We always associate lavender with its fragrance but its taste is equally perfumed. Lavender sugar is for the person with the discerning sweet tooth. Imagine lavender sugar sprinkled over pancakes, cheese cakes or cakes. Add fresh/dried lavender flowers to sugar, either normal granulated white sugar or castor sugar for a finer texture. Put in a sterilised bottle, seal and decorate the top with some dried lavender flowers. Gift Idea #7: Lavender soap Sweet smelling soaps, bath salts and oils are always good Christmas standbys. Making your own is very easy and adding the fragrance of herbs is usually the magical element. Melt the glycerine soap - available from craft shops - in a microwave oven or in a double boiler on the stove. Choose a container from which the soap can be poured easily. It is important that the soap is melted slowly and gently as soap can burn - never allow the soap to boil. The ideal soap temperature is 85 C and it sets at 72 C. Temperatures above 95 C will make transparent soaps turn milky. When using the plastic moulds allow the soap to cool slightly (let it form a skin) before you pour the soap into the mould. This will prevent the mould from buckling from the heat

7 Before pouring, lightly scatter the base of the mould with lavender flowers. Always remove the skin that forms on the melted soap surface. If the skin goes into the soap it will be visible in your finished soap. Never try to remove the soap from the mould until it has set and cooled properly. The setting time varies according to the heat of the melted soap, the air temperature and the depth of the mould (deeper moulds take longer to set). If you put your hand on the back of the mould and it feels completely cool to the touch, it is ready to come out. Never set soap in the fridge or freezer to cool as it absorbs moisture and becomes sweaty and sticky. Glycerine attracts moisture. Therefore never make soap on a rainy day or cook while soap making. Also, package soaps as soon as they are made. Soaps can be wrapped in cling film or packaged in cellophane sleeves. Before re-using the soap moulds, wash the moulds to remove any remaining soap and dry thoroughly. Gift Idea #8: Lavender and Sandalwood bath salts To make bath salts you will need measuring cups, a large bowl in which to mix your ingredients, a large spoon, a mortar and pestle to ground your herbs - you can also use an electric blender - and containers for the bath salts. The ingredient list is as simple as the tool list. You will need table salt, sea salt or Epsom salt, dye, which can be ordinary food colouring (Moir's is a well know South African brand), fragrance to set the mood for your bath salt, and finely ground dried herbs. You can use special soap fragrances, aromatherapy oils, or herbs to create your mood. Soap fragrances add nothing but fragrance, but aromatherapy oils and herbs add a desirable health dimension as well. Most of the ingredients can be found in your local supermarket. Special soap fragrances and soap dyes can be purchased from soap craft stores. Aromatherapy oils can be purchased from health shops. Ask your health shop for guidelines in using aromatherapy oils

8 Get all the ingredients together. The packaging (bottle, sachet or packet) will determine how much salt you need. Fill your packaging container with the desired amount. Pour from the packaging container into your mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl take ¼ - ½ cup salt mixture. Stir in your fragrance, starting with a few drops and adding gradually until you reach the desired strength of scent. Make sure that the salt is mixed well with the fragrance. Next stir in your dye. Add it gradually, like the fragrance, until you get the colour you desire. Be sure to stir really well. You want to ensure that the colour is evenly spread through the salt crystals. Add back to the rest of the salt mixture and mix well. Poor or scoop into your packaging container, seal, label and decorate. The packaging should be something that can be sealed. This keeps the salt fresh and fragrant. We prefer to use little cellophane bags and twist tags, raffia or ribbon. They are simpler and easier for the person making the salt and the person using the salt. They are also a lot cheaper than glass jars. If you want a more sophisticated and elegant look, a glass jar is your best bet. As long as it has a lid. You can tie raffia, ribbon or yarn around the jar to give it some decoration. If you are really creative you can purchase glass paint form a craft store and paint decorations on the jar. Do not give bath salts to people with high blood pressure or any heart condition nor to elderly or frail people, or those that can hardly move their joints without excruciating pain. Gift Idea #9: Chamomile bath bubbles. There s a nice short cut to making this gift. Buy the bubble bath base from a craft supply shop, use food colourant (Moir s)for shading and aromatherapy oil for fragrance. Consider choosing chamomile because of its relaxing and soothing properties. Other essential oils that relieve anxiety are bergamot, cedarwood, cinnamon, clary sage, cypress, geranium, jasmine, lavender, lemon, marjoram, orange, sandalwood, rose and ylang ylang. Then there are essential oils to counter fatigue and boost energy. These are cinnamon, clove, cypress, eucalyptus, fir, ginger, lemon, lemongrass, peppermint and rosemary

9 Gift Idea #10: Dried lavender sachets Dry flowering sprigs of lavender (see Gift Idea #5) and generously fill a sachet, which can be decorated with dried lavender and beautiful ribbons. Gift Idea #11: Gift Wrap Copies of This Report Yes that's right. You can produce as many copies of this report as you like. As long as you don't sell them, or change anything in the report. You might not be the crafty type yourself but perhaps you know someone who would just love to have a copy of this report. Print it out and take it to a copy shop to get a "professional" binding job. The perfect inexpensive gift for the right person. A nice touch is to include the ingredients for a few of the gifts. Or a few Bouquet Garni Herb plants. The same goes if you have a retail outlet that sell any of the ingredients mentioned in this report. Produce copies to give to your Top 10 or Top 20 customers to show your appreciation. They will think highly of your kind gesture. We will appreciate it if you let us know if you are making copies. Just send an to bgarni@mweb.co.za More Resources Go online and visit were you will find additional ideas and recipes for making gifts containing herbs. Don't forget Timeless Herb Secrets either. It's a must-have resource for any person interested in herbs. Subscribe online at Never hesitate to contact Bouquet Garni if you feel you're getting stuck with your herbs. You can reach us on +27 (0) during office hours or send an to bgarni@mweb.co.za - 9 -