December 17, 2008 | Chickens in the Road

Archive for December 17th, 2008

Dec
17

Make potpourri! I love the look and the fragrance of this citrus mix with the orange pomander centerpiece. It’s pretty and easy and it makes great gifts! I conjured up this potpourri mix utilizing what was available to me, so think creatively and adjust the recipe to suit what you can get your hands on where you are. I used oranges, lemons, limes, cinnamon sticks, hickory nuts, tufts of white pine, and pinecones. Using what you have makes the potpourri personal. I had an unexplainable surplus of cinnamon sticks in my pantry, so this put them to good use. (I’m often unexplainable.) The pine cones came from a huge bag I got from Georgia. She has tall pine trees all around her house. The pine cones represent my love for Georgia and the old farmhouse. The hickory nuts were picked up off our farm, and the white pine came from the cuttings that were made when my cousin trimmed up our Christmas tree for us after we dragged it off the hill–making each gift of potpourri a piece of our tree. And, this left me with only the cost of the fruit.

And by the time I made up a huge turkey-roaster size pan of potpourri, the cost of that fruit goes pretty far in making about a dozen gifts.

How to make Winter Citrus Potpourri:

oranges
lemons
limes
whole cloves
cinnamon sticks
hickory nuts
pine cuttings
pinecones
fragrance oil

(Quantity of each item is up to you! Make as little or as much as you want.)

Slice fruit thinly. Place in single layers on baking sheets. Poke cloves in orange slices if desired. Dry in a low oven (about 200 degrees) for several hours. (Watch fruit to make sure it doesn’t turn too brown.) Place in a large bowl or other container (such as a roasting pan if you’re making a large quantity) and add cinnamon sticks, hickory nuts, pine cuttings, and pinecones. Add a few drops of fragrance oil per cup of mix and toss. (For this mix, lemon oil or cinnamon oil works great.) Measure two cups mix per quart bag, placing one pinecone in each bag. Seal bags to allow fragrance to steep.

Poke cloves into whole oranges to make pomanders for potpourri centerpieces. For my gift bags, I’m packing the orange pomanders separately from the potpourri. Two cups mix makes a nice sized bowl or small platter of potpourri (as shown in photo at the top of this post) when you add a large pinecone and the orange pomander.

To present gifts, I’m placing them in these “ho ho ho” bags I got from the dollar store. (Twenty-five bags for a dollar! I love the dollar store!) I’m tying a cookie ornament to each bag.

Isn’t that fun?