Mulled Spice and a bottle of red wine
Here's what you need:
Mulled wine spices:- 3-4" cinnamon stick (7-10cm)
- 30 cloves
- 20 allspice berries
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1tsp orange peel or mixed peel (from baking section of supermarket)
Extra materials to make spice sachet:
- 6" (15cm) square of cheese-cloth, muslin or other plain cotton fabric. Backup option: improvise with a coffee filter or a teabag (empty out the tea).
- Cotton thread to bind the sachet shut
- Colourful ribbon (just for looks - don't cook it!)
Making up the sachet is easy - just wrap all the spices up in the cloth, seal by tying with cotton thread, and tie a ribbon around to pretty it up :-) You'll need to break the cinnamon stick into pieces to make it fit. By the way, make sure you tell the recipient to remove the ribbon before cooking!
Method of preparation
Add spices, 3 Tbsp of sugar, and 750mL (one bottle) of red wine to a saucepan. If using a sachet, remove ribbon first! Sometimes I slice an orange into the saucepan too. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15min. Ladle into mugs and serve hot. Garnish with a slice of orange for a nice touch. If you like, you can also add a wee bit of brandy to give it a bit of kick.
What sort of red wine to use? Pick something inexpensive but drinkable. Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfadel, Merlot, or a Spanish red all work well. There's no point using a really expensive red wine, because the taste will be so altered by the spices. But don't use a really cheap and rough red either.
The Dinner Pot
If you’re known for something like a sauce, then prepare jars of it and pair them with the necessary dry ingredients and recipe cards. If you only have to give one or two of these, you can also buy cheap pasta pots at a local discount store. Arrange everything in the pots, then wrap them up with a nice bow.
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If he or she is a vegetarian or has a penchant for curry, loves anything with tomatoes in or is a sucker for chocolate, make use of the fact by making a personalized recipe book. Start collecting appropriate recipes from books or magazines and purchase a small, inexpensive book to write them in. Copy them out in your neatest handwriting or use calligraphy if you are talented. If you have artistic flair, you can also include illustrations! What a delight this would be to the avid cook or food lover.
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At Ten Thousand Villages, we work with over 130 artisan groups in more than 38 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to bring you fair trade jewelry, home decor, gifts and more. As one of the world's oldest and largest fair trade organizations, we build long-term relationships with artisans that are based on mutual understanding and respect. Fair trade enables artisans to earn a fair wage and provides the opportunity for a better quality of life.
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