I’m sorry! I’m sorry, okay? I skipped not just one, but two days of my Twelve Days of Food Gifts. I’m a horrible person.
Honestly, I think this Gchat jinxed me:
Emily: oh I meant to tell you
I really like your little 12 days of gifts thing
that you’re doing
me: hahaha thanks
Emily: you’re so creative/not lazy
I admire you
me: haha i don’t know how the fuck i’ve managed
to get this done
But we’ve still got time, right? It’s not Christmas yet. And the two gifts I have left don’t take too much time. Will you let me make it up to you?
With basil vodka?
To recap, so far I’ve made: lemon sugar, rosemary salt, Old Bay vodka, lime sugar, peppercorn vodka, orange sugar, zesty salt’n'pep, apple cider caramels, vanilla sugar, and vanilla extract. And now…
Basil Vodka
Makes 4 bottles
1 cup vodka (not too cheap, not too nice)
1/2 cup basil leaves
Put basil leaves in a clean glass jar, then pour vodka over them. Let infuse in a cool dark place, shaking at least 2 times per day, for 2-3 days.
Wash and dry your bottles so they are ready to go when needed.
When basil flavor is to taste, strain through a coffee filter to remove the basil leaves.
Decant into bottles. I found that my regular kitchen funnel did not fit in the neck of these bottles, but a tiny flask funnel worked fine.
For Gifting:
woozy 1.7 oz round glass bottle w/ cap
full-sheet inkjet adhesive
printable (single 2″x2″ label)
printable (12 2″x2″ labels per 8.5″x11″ adhesive sheet)
clear contact paper (optional)
Print labels onto the full-sheet adhesive paper. Make sure you are printing them at 100% — your PDF software may try to automatically resize them. Trim away white edges (a paper cutter really comes in handy for this part). Remove backing, center over a filled bottle, and press firmly in the middle of the label. Then smooth both edges to the sides.
If you’d like to protect the label from potential moisture-related accidents, cover the labels with clear contact paper before cutting them out. I don’t love my friends that much, but you might.
Haha I absolutely will not accept responsibility for your unfortunate lack of updates.
I will, however, fully endorse the rosemary salt and the caramels. I have yet to try the basil vodka, but it smells delicious and I am 100% optimistic that I’ll wind up with a delightfully sophisticated vodka tonic.
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