My mission this Holiday Season was to make gifts in my kitchen to give out to family and friends.  Given more time I would have made a larger variety, but this season the two gifts my kitchen busted out were Grainy Mustard and Roasted Tri Color Peppers.  I know I’m posting this after Christmas, but these recipes can make great gifts year round!

Grainy Mustard (Caution it’s Hott!)
3/4 C Yellow Mustard Seeds
1/4 C Brown Mustard Seeds
3T Honey
1/3 C Vinegar of your liking
1/4 C Irish Whiskey
1 T fine sea salt

COMBINE yellow and brown mustard seeds, cover with water and let soak 8-10 hours.

DRAIN the seeds and pour them into a food processor.  Process until the mixture becomes creamy and emulsified.  Add the honey, vinegar, whiskey and salt- process again to combine.

POUR the mustard into a bowl, cover and let sit overnight at room temperature.  The next day check the flavor and consistency.  If it’s too thick and the taste is perfect, add a little water.  Adjust the other seasonings according to your taste, just beware this will be Hot!

SPOON into sterilized jars and store in the refrigerator where it should keep almost indefinitely.  Homemade mustard benefits from at least a week’s rest before using to allow the flavors to blend.

Final Product before Jarring

I got this recipe from a great book I have in my kitchen titled Food for Friends, Homemade Gifts for Every Season. The great thing about this mustard is that the taste comes out slightly different every time so it’s hard to get tired of!

Tri-Color Roasted Peppers

I’ve been meaning to buy a bunch of peppers on sale, roast and jar them in olive oil to use throughout the year but I never got around to it at the end of the summer.  I decided to give this idea another whirl for the holiday season to take advantage of the festive pepper colors.  To make this present cost effective I headed down to Trader Joe’s to get a great deal on their tri-color pepper package ($2.99) and a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil ($6.99).  The other requirements were some jars which i picked up from Michaels Craft Store and Crate and Barrel.

I used this simple roasting method then spread the orange, yellow and red peppers throughout the jars and then filled the extra space with olive oil to preserve them indefinitely.  After that all you need is some pretty tissue paper to wrap them in and a nice ribbon.