Let it snow! A little sustainable holiday help.

Posted On November 13, 2019

The unthinkable has happened. I missed the weather window and did not get my garlic in the ground in time. Seriously, a week ago we were still in the 60s and I was worried it might be too warm, and now there’s an inch plus of snow and ice on my garlic plot. 

I’m devastated on the one hand. I love seeing those green shoots in my garden in the spring, and I will be bitterly mourning the loss of garlic scapes in July.  On the other hand, I have a lot of really good quality local garlic in my pantry that I can now enjoy through the winter. And the snow is kind of pretty, and a good reminder that I need to get my butt in gear on some other seasonal things. 

Ok, some of you may not be ready for this, so if you’re a “no talk of Christmas until after Thanksgiving person” bookmark this and come back to it later. 

Christmas is most definitely a challenge to someone striving to live a sustainable life. Most decorations and wrapping paper are not exactly eco-friendly, the day itself seems to come with ten tons of packaging, and of course, getting gifts for everyone can be pretty expensive. 

Something I try to do is to make gifts whenever I get the chance. I figured I would pass on three of my favorite gift ideas to anyone who might be looking for some great, simple, DIY Christmas gifts. If you’re like me, you already have a Pinterest board full of ideas like these, most of which you have not used.  These are some of the tried and true ones that I keep coming back to year after year. 

You can make most of these with just a few ingredients and they look great in 4 oz jelly jars.  Add chalkboard stickers or custom printed labels and a little ribbon and you have a thoughtful, useful, and sustainable gift. (That was more text than I meant to include before the recipes. My apologies).

Coconut sugar scrub  

This is a favorite of mine. It’s unbelievably simple and is a great hand or shower scrub for winter skin. 

1 cup sugar

¼ cup coconut oil

2-5 drops of essential oil  (I usually use cooking vanilla which makes it smell incredible, but lavender and peppermint eo work great too. If you’re feeling fancy and not short on time you can use actual vanilla bean)

Bath salts

½ cup Epsom salt

¼ cup sea salt

1T baking soda

I generally add dried lavender flowers to this, but feel free to use your imagination – rose petals, dried mint, geranium petals. Or you can get really fancy (and much more expensive) if you want by using different colored salts instead of the sea salt.  The key here is really the Epsom salts for the magnesium and whatever herbs you want for effect. I have a niece that particularly likes these so I generally make a much larger batch and put them in full pint jars.  

Mixed spices for the Grill Master in your family

I think my father-in-law talks about this more than any other gift I’ve ever given him. He’s been hinting around that he’d like these again, so he’s quite likely to get a stocking full of them this year.  These are always less expensive and easier to make if you have a good source of bulk spices nearby. Check out your local co-op. If you want to make this gift look fancier, you can always order some of these jars (the last time I did this I used the dollar store equivalent). 

Here is his favorite recipe. 

Grilling Spice Blend for beef, pork, and poultry

Author: PocketChangeGourmet.com

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Paprika
• 2¼ teaspoons Cayenne pepper
• 3¾ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 4½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 2¼ teaspoons Onion Powder
• 1¾ teaspoons Dried Oregano
• 1¾ teaspoons Dried Thyme

And here’s the pin that gave me this idea to begin with and three more recipes. 

What’s I like best about these three recipes is that they are simple, quick to put together, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your house already.  These recipes have saved my neck a few times when I’ve been in need of a last-minute gift – and not just during the Christmas season. 

Oh! One more idea that works great as a present or as pot luck for a holiday party: herbed butter to go with a baguette.  Just get out your food processor and whip fresh or frozen herbs of your choosing into some good quality butter. Pop it into the usual 4 oz jar and voila!  I’m guessing that a roasted garlic spread will be my go-to this season.