Homemade Presents

As you might have guessed I like to give some handmade gifts at this time of year. This year, it will be flavoured olives. I know it sounds like hard work but it's one of the easiest gifts to make. I bought plain olives from the supermarket. They were 99p for a jar of 454g.

To make the marinated olives, you need to decide what flavours you want. This time, I decided on rosemary, chilli and garlic. The rosemary was from the garden and I used chilli flakes and fresh, crushed garlic. During the summer I make the olives using marjoram, thyme or oregano but at this time of year, they have died back in the garden. I only make these when I can find reduced olive oil. This litre bottle was £3.25 rather than the usual price which makes this an economical present to make.

Drain the olives and place in a large bowl. Soak the jars and remove the labels. Sterilise the jars by filling three quarters with water and putting in the microwave for 5 minutes on high. Wash and dry the lids. Finely chop the rosemary and add it to the olives with the crushed dried chillies and crushed fresh garlic. I'm not sure of the exact amounts of the ingredients just add to taste.

Put the olives back in the sterilised jars and then pour olive oil in until all the olives are covered. I used most of the bottle of olive oil. This is the end result. They also taste as good as they look.

We even managed to find some time for a family walk this afternoon and came across this sculpture.

It amazes me what people are able to make out of wire. There was also a craft market that we had a wander around. Some beautiful items but all way beyond my budget. My ds decided that he could take photos that were as good as those for sale and I certainly agree with him. Maybe that's how he'll pay his way through university.

We're now back home after our fresh air and have found Carry on Teaching on the tv. I love the old classic movies. Such innocent humour. I hope you all have a lovely week.