Hostess Gifts

It's always nice to bring a little gift when you are invited to someone's house.  A local market had a large selection of homemade mixes sold in colorful fabric bags and I was inspired. It would be really simple to make a small drawstring bag from fabric scraps and use it to hold a bag of homemade mix.  Just mix a recipe with dry ingredients only and place in a plastic bag.  Put the plastic bag into the cloth bag and enclose a small card with directions.

It's best not to make the recipient put too many additional ingredients. There are many ways to substitute dry ingredients for fresh (dried fruit, dehydrated vegetables and herbs, vanilla bean seeds instead of extract).

Some ideas for gifts ...

Pancake/ waffle mix with small container of real maple syrup.

Cornbread mix and jar of interesting salsa.

Cookie mix with a shiny cookie cutter tied to the drawstring.

Muffin Mix and a box of unbleached paper baking cups.

You could make an herbal tea mix and tie on a stainless steel infuser.

If you don't have time or inclination to sew... bring a homemade treat in a pretty dish.  Purchase pottery from local artists ( check out the farmer's market, Romanick's on Main Street and the Newark Arts Alliance- right around the corner from the co-op) or peruse the thrift store for some fancy dishes or trays.

After all, in the world of food...presentation is everything!