It’s never too early to plan for gift giving

Some people may think that it sounds a bit silly to start thinking about the holidays in the middle of the summer, but it just might be the perfect time.

With high gasoline prices and other budgetary restrictions, this may be a good time to start planning for the holidays. While the  gardens are producing abundantly and fruits are plentiful, process some extra jars of jellies, jams, pickles, relish or other homemade canned products to give as gifts, include in baskets, or use as hostess gifts. 

It is sometimes difficult to find a little something for teachers, postmen, an elderly friend, co-worker, or someone that seems to have everything, but a homemade item would work well in many of these situations.

The jars can be presented in their simple form, decorated with a ribbon, or the lid can be covered in fabric and the screw band placed over the fabric to hold it in place. Sometimes an ornament, candy cane, recipe card, or other small decorative item may be attached to the jars. Two or three different types of jams or jellies could be combined to make a larger present. An assortment of jams, jellies, or fruit butters may be brought together with homemade bread,  specialty bread, muffins, corn bread, biscuits, or bread mixes; or even some specialty tea in a basket.

Other options of home-canned foods that would make good offerings could be a combination of pickled vegetables: zucchini, green tomatoes, okra, or peppers. Chutney, relishes, or home-produced specialty mustards could be mixed in a basket with a picnic theme, or with a meat log or cheese and unique crackers. A pasta basket with distinctive noodles, spaghetti sauce, and bread or breadsticks would be a very thoughtful gesture. Salsa is a big favorite, it would go well with any type of chips, or with dried or canned peppers in a Mexican theme basket. Pretzel logs could be combined with homemade mustard for a treat. There are recipes for several types of mustard specialty products at the Ball canning website:
http://www.fresh preserving.com/pages/all_recipes/215.php?recipID=221&pageNum=1&catID=

In the past, when I decided to preserve the fruits and vegetables from my garden to give later, there were no small or decorative canning jars available. Even if you are canning, freezing, or buying juice to make jelly at a later time, you may want to check your supply of small jars and lids to be sure that you have them when you decide to make your home-spun expressions of gratitude. If you are planning to buy some stocking stuffers or small items to give to a person that does home-canning this is the best time to get cute labels, lid lifters, a funnel, or other canning utensil.

If you prefer drying, fruit leather or dried fruits would make a nice presentation of the bounty from your garden. Why not give the cyclist or backpacker on your list a sampling of your homemade jerky. It’s worth the planning now. When the budget is stretched tight during the holidays you will be glad to have some of these ideas ready to go.