Neighbor Gifts.





Our cozy brick house is in an older neighborhood with mostly older neighbors. Last year for neighbor gifts I distributed chocolate turtles. This year I got to thinking that some of our neighbors may be on special diets. That is when I decided to do a non food gift. Something useful, pretty and easy. I dried apple slices, oranges, and lemons with a friends food dehydrator and then found the following recipe to create a lovely Christmastime scent.

5 cinnamon sticks
1 dried lemon slice
1 dried orange slice
1/2 cup whole cloves
1 tbs. nutmeg
1/4 cup whole allspice
1 tbs. bay leaf pieces
3 dried apple slices

Combine ingredients. Add water to simmer on stovetop.



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Posted by on Tuesday, December 23, 2008

32 comments:

  1. oooh i love this. i love yummy smells!!! the funny thing about this on the stove is that it smells sooo good you could just drink it!!!
    kathryn

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  2. That is a great idea! I have a few friends on special diets too, and this would be perfect.

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  3. Those look so lovely! And packaged to perfection!

    Merry Christmas!

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  4. What a great idea! Can you tell me what the font is that you used for the "Merry Christmas"? I love it :)

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  6. What a nice idea! Great for anyone!

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  7. What a great idea! Some Sisters that I visit teach are diabetic! Perfect!

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  8. that is a glorious thing! my mom used to do something similar and I am still transported back to my childhood every time I smell it.

    merry christmas to you and yours!

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  9. This "older" neighbor thanks you and appreciates your concern for my health and my waistline :)

    (the turtles were really good too though ;)

    I also LOVE my garden sign. It will help me get through this LONG winter non gardening season, but I am loving the snow.

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  10. I just bookmarked this idea- I might use it for the grandparents for valentine's day.

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  11. You these things, I have read twice, for me, this is a relatively rare phenomenon!
    handmade jewelry

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  13. Add a sprig of pine! Devine!

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  14. Did you dry the fruit slices or buy them that way? How would u dry them?

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  15. I don't have a dehydrator for the fruit (and no room to store even one more kitchen gadget!), so I found these directions I'll try: http://www.heathersdish.com/1/how-to-dry-fruit-without-a-dehydrator/

    Since my husband is a diabetic, I love the idea of a thoughtful and Christmassy gift that he can enjoy along with the rest of us. Thank you!

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  16. Thank you! I'm going to use it for parents that volunteer in my classroom, and neighbors. What a lovely, doable idea!
    Ginger

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  17. Hi There, thank you for this great idea! Can you tell me please whether the nutmeg is ground or whole? I have all the other ingredients ready to go, just not sure about this one. Many Thanks, Jodie

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  18. Is it really 1/2 cup whole cloves and 1/4 c whole allspice? That seems like a lot to me, and quite costly. Do you have a source for inexpensive cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice?

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  19. This is a great idea. I love something homemade and useful! I would love to receive a gift such as this myself.

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  20. I'm in the same boat with the older neighborhood and I'm wondering how many bags you made and how much of each ingredient did you have to buy?

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  21. Where did you buy and print the packaging?
    Thanks!

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  22. I'd like to know where you bought the packaging as well. I have small cellophane bags, but what kind of paper did you use for the printed part?

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  23. Do you have a special program on your computer to print off the label so it can be folded over like it is and all the writing be the correct way?

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  24. Thanks for this recipe! I just learned how to dehydrate fruit in my oven, so I'm having a great time! I'm planning to give this as gifts to friends and family this year. Do you have a template for the label you used? Also, did you have to but the whole cloves and all-spice in a specialty store? Thanks!

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  25. This sounds absolutley wonderful. Thanks for sharing. I am going to try and do this and give to my neighbours and coworkes. I am wondering if you could confirm amounts. That does seem like a lot of cloves and would be quite expensive if making around 20 bags.

    Thanks

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  26. Is it really 1/2 cup whole cloves and 1/4 c whole allspice? That seems like a lot to me, and quite costly. Do you have a source for inexpensive cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice?

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  30. I just made these as Christmas gifts for my boy's teachers (I needed to make 14) and ordered the spices bulk from http://www.bulkfoods.com/ They had the best prices I could find and quick shipping. Hope this helps!

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  31. I just made these for my boys' teachers (I needed to make 14) and found great prices at http://www.bulkfoods.com/ for large amounts of the needed spices. Hope this helps!

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  32. For those in the western US, I made 15 of these for Christmas neighbor gifts, and I bought my spices at Smart & Final. They packets were SO well received! Also, I kept one for myself, and I LOVED it!

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