Home made gifts - rhubarb vodka?

[heyheyheygoodbye]

DH and I are saving like mad for a house at the moment and planning ahead re our finances. I really don't want to spend the usual amount on Christmas. We don't buy for loads of people but it does add up as we are a buy-for-adults family. I've actually got stuff for most of the kids we buy for as I get things in the sales when I see them!

For the grown ups, I thought of sewing a couple of ornaments (I've got some lovely seasonal fabrics) and doing a bottle of rhubarb vodka as we've got an absolute load, home-grown, chopped and in the freezer. What's a nice recipe? Is the BBC one ok?

Do people think this is an acceptable gift? I've got a couple of family members who are quite swanky...maybe I can make a posh label to go on the bottles or something

Wow spooky I have literally JUST made some:
500g rhubarb, chopped (frozen is fine)
250g granulated sugar (caster sugar works just as well)
700 ml vodka

No orange or cinnamon or other stuff needed. You don't want complex notes or whatever.

Into a kilner jar, into a cool dark place like shed or garage. Give it a shake every couple of weeks. After 3 months it should be ready for straining (you want the harsh alcohol to mellow to warming and smooth)

Then bottle and store til Xmas. Add a whole, split-down-the-middle vanilla pod for Rhubarb and Custard.

Fab, Donkey, thank you! That sounds brilliant. And I love the idea of adding vanilla for custard!! Would I add that at the same time as the rhubarb?

Ooh ooh

Lavender Sugar.

Wash out a dowe egberts (sp) coffee jar. Fill with caster sugar. Add about 5 lavender heads, having cut off and discarded stems and shaken off insects. Will keep for years. Gorgeous and poncetastic. Gift at Xmas with a purple ribbon round the top.

(Lavender shortbread is amazeballs)

Sorry sorry got distracted by l sugar

Add vanilla once you have strained and bottled. One pod per bottle.

We've made rhubarb & strawberry vodka before... it takes like pink.

You can get nice flip top bottles about 200/250 mls online or from cookshops or even sometimes Factory Shop as well as Ikea.

Sugar sounds fab too!! DH and I want to get more into a tradition of making Christmas pressies so this year will be a good start with all your ideas

Hurrah!!

Anyone else feel like adding a recipe or project?

I sewed these last year and they went down very well. Super easy. If you can sew a straight stitch you can make these and you don't need much fabric, just a few coordinating fat quarters and some cheapie plain tea towels/muslin.

If you want some fun, make a main batch, but take a smaller amount and add some chopped up ginger to it - gives a delicious background hum of heat without being hot IYKWIM. Ginger and rhubarb work VERY well together.

Also raspberry vodka, blackcurrant vodka, damson gin (or plum gin), cherry brandy, cherry rum - all great options especially when the seasonal gluts are around.

Limoncello as well - HM is delish!!!

As well as lavender sugar, if you have any bakers among your recipients, make some vanilla sugar - basically a large jar of sugar with some vanilla pods stuck in and allowed to infuse.

I made some Pomander Gin - orange, cloves and sugar:

1 large Seville orange
12 Whole cloves
4 ounces Sugar
1 bottle Gin

You can use ordinary oranges instead. I peeled the orange, using a potato peeler, put this in the bottle, then, chucked in the cloves and the orange segments, followed by the sugar and gin. Give it a good shake, keep somewhere cool, shaking occasionally. Strain and bottle after three months.

I'm definitely going to try the lavender sugar (have huge lavender bushes) this year. May also try doing Rosemary salt.

Did Quince vodka last year as had a couple of quince on our bush which wasn't enough to really do anything else with. It was gorgeous.

Also did Christmas pud brandy last year, but kept it for ourselves

I want to set up a whole seasonal distillery now if not making for presents, could be a really cool cocktail party idea. home-brewed...sort of a tasting session. With lavender shortbread in Christmas shapes!

gins are nice (sloe)

pates are surprisingly easy to make. bulk buy chicken etc livers and make and get the glass jars in bulk

for women you can make nice sugar/salt scrubs

what you can also do is get some pretty shot silk/satin stuff - sew it into a scarf sized length and hem nicely... - like the Shantung silk stuff but in a nice colour.

hey presto a nice scarf/wrap for evenings for women relatives.

Dear Donkey, we strained and bottled our vodka today and it is divine. Thank you so much for the recipe!

Squishy that sounds lovely! And I know - it goes down like cordial! Danger Will Robinson.