12 homemade Christmas treats that aren't sweets

If you LOVE to make homemade food gifts, but have some giftees who are diabetic, gone paleo, eating low carb, or just not sweet lovers, here are some DIY food options for them:

All-purpose spice rub, from Martha Stewart

A sugar-free dry rub for rotisserie-style chicken -- highly rated on AllRecipes.com.

Garlic hummus (from yours truly). I suggest gifting this with some homemade seasoned pita chips.

My buttermilk ranch dressing: No nasty chemicals, no sugar, made with yogurt.

Personalized coffee blend, from Martha Stewart. This page includes a downloadable printable for the label. Of course!

Roasted almonds with paprika and orange, from The Kitchn

I'm not a fan of olives (so don't make this for me), but for those who do like them: olives with fennel seeds and orange, from Martha Stewart.

Chez Panisse herbed almonds

Fajita marinade for steak or chicken, using Pioneer Woman's "Beef Fajita Nachos" recipe.

Giada's marinara. Gift it with a package of cheese tortellini and/or homemade garlic bread. (Not low carb or paleo, I know. But better than store-bought!)

Pickled red onions. These make a beautiful jarred gift. They're a delicious addition to salads and sandwiches. Fancy-up your green beans or sweet peas instantly. Some folks like them atop a hamburger or roast.
And when the onions are gone, you're left with a lovely pink vinegar to use in slaw or salad dressings.
Feel free to improvise on the sugar and spices. I'd use half this much sugar, and just a few generous pinches of thyme and some fresh-ground black pepper.
(A note to diabetics and low-carb-ers: This is one recipe where I'd go with sugar, honey or maple syrup over artificial sweeteners. Splenda doesn't always work well with vinegar, and if you're using these as a condiment, the amount of sugar actually ingested is very minimal.)

Homemade taco seasoning. No sugar, no MSG, no gluten, no cornmeal filler.

And for a baker's dozen, the last item is a sweet, but it's sugar-free, and not very sweet-tasting: sugar-free chocolate bark with your choice of toppings.

Homemade olive oil butter spread

photo by Kitchen Simplicity

I recently got some not-so-great news about my cholesterol, so I'm trying to cut back on dairy fat. We use real butter -- I always trust a "whole food" more than a food full of man-made chemicals -- but still, it is dairy fat. So I was happy to see this recipe from Kitchen Simplicity, which replaces part of the butter with healthy, monounsaturated, Omega-3-rich olive oil! 

I tried this afternoon. It's quick and easy to whip up, and it is nice and spreadable straight out of the fridge, like margarine. She says it doesn't taste like olive oil once you spread it on toast. I disagree, so I wouldn't use it for cinnamon toast. But with the strong influence of Mediterranean tastes in Wichita restaurants (mostly Lebanese), it's not unusual to be served bread before a meal with a dipping sauce of olive oil and zahtar (or za'atar) seasoning, so when I tasted this spread on whole wheat toast, that's what I thought of. And I just happen to have some in the cabinet, so I sprinkled a little on. Mmm!

Olive Oil Butter Spread

• 1 cup softened (not melted) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or half this, if using salted butter)

Whip butter until loose. Slowly beat in olive oil, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until fully incorporated and smooth (mixture will be runny). Beat in salt. Pour into storage container and refrigerate until set.

Here's the original post from Kitchen Simplicity.

How to reorganize a kitchen, Part 3

First, read Part 1 and Part 2.

Enough with the mental exercise; let's get down to business!

Pull and give away. Pull out the Zone 4/purge items and give them to a young person/couple who's just setting up house. My DD just moved into her first apartment, so I compiled a nice pile of stuff for her to go through. She's home this weekend, and was only too happy to take my mini loaf pans and pumpkin carving tools. If you don't have someone to give away to, or after they're done picking it over, load all that stuff up and take it to Goodwill, DAV, or Sally Ann's (my MIL's boutique nickname for the Salvation Army store). You won't believe how great it feels to drive off, leaving that clutter behind! (Update: Here's a great idea via Apartment Therapy -- swap stuff with neighbors or friends. Just make sure you do more dropping off than picking up!)
     Oh, and if you're also tossing trash and recyclables while you pack, get two different colors of trash sacks, and consistently use one color for each type of waste.

Pull and pack. Whether or not you're actually moving, it would be ideal if you could set up some table space in or near to your kitchen where you can lay everything out. Pull out all the Zone 2 & Zone 3 stuff (leaving the Zone 1 stuff, 'cause you need it every day, right?). Then give it another assessment: Have you discovered more stuff you don't really need? Add it to your give-away stack.
Now, start grouping together things that you use together. Extra dishes that I use for large dinners can be packed with the linens or holiday table decorations that normally get pulled out at the same time, for example. Another idea: my soup ladle is bigger than anything else in my spoon-and-spatula canister that I keep out on the counter, and I rarely use it unless I'm making a big pot of something, so now I store that big soup ladle and my big soup pots together.

     If you're moving, start packing up the Zone 3 stuff first, because you can live a couple weeks without it. LABEL EVERY BOX CLEARLY! Write on the box a good description of its contents. Here are some nice looking labels for moving -- free printables!
     Why detailed labeling? Your Zone 3 stuff may not get unpacked for a while, so a few months later, when you're ready for a big gathering, you might not remember whether "glass stuff" means extra drinking glasses, or glass cake stands.
      Repeat the process with the Zone 2 stuff. Resist the urge to mingle the two if you have partially-filled boxes. Whether your reason for this is downsizing or a more efficient kitchen, these zones will start to make more sense once you begin unpacking and putting away.

By the way, where to get good, free boxes... Liquor stores are always a great bet. They get shipments in frequently, and the boxes are made to hold multiple glass bottles of liquid, so they're good and sturdy. If you stop in one and ask for boxes a few days before you'll actually need them, they may be willing to save them for you over several days. Be sure to say thank you! Another source is friends or family members who work in a place that receives regular shipments and normally breaks the boxes down for recycling. Your local craigslist or freecycle is another great source.

Next installment: Zone 1, and your moving-day kitchen kit.