From handmade cards and decorations to edible gifts, nothing beats the personal touch
CRAFTS TONY HUTCHINSON
Potato-print gift wrap and tags PAGE 24
White forest fudge PAGE 24
POMEGRANATE AND PINK PEPPERCORN GIN
MAKES about 1.15 ltr V Vn GF DF HANDS-ON TIME 20 mins TOTAL TIME 20 mins, plus cooling and infusing
Flavoured gins can be expensive, so making your own is a great, on-budget way to give friends and family a bespoke addition to their Christmas cocktail cabinet.
◆ 1 large orange, scrubbed
◆ 15g pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
◆ 150g caster sugar
◆ 2 pomegranates
◆ a 1 ltr bottle of inexpensive gin
1 Pare wide strips of zest from the orange with a veg peeler, taking care to avoid including too much white pith (which would add a bitter flavour). Add to a saucepan, then squeeze and strain in the juice from the orange. Add the pink peppercorns and caster sugar. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2 Halve the pomegranates and bash out the seeds into a large bowl, removing any stray bits of pith. Stir in the cooled orange syrup, followed by the gin. Decant into a very large jar or lidded container (or divide between two smaller ones).
3 Cover and leave to infuse in the fridge for 1-2 weeks (taste to check the flavour development; the colour will deepen over time, too).
4 Strain through a muslin-lined sieve then pour into sterilised bottles* for gifting (see ‘To store’ tip box, above). Label the gift bottles as ‘Pomegranate and pink peppercorn gin’ and write the following cocktail ideas on the tags; ‘Use as the base for a gin and tonic, or top up with prosecco for a blushing pink fizz.’
*Sterilise your bottles for 5 minutes in a medium-hot oven (190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5).
NUTRITIONAL INFO Per 50ml serving: 123cals; 0g fat (0g sat fat); 0g protein; 0g fibre; 7g carbs; 7g total sugars; 0g salt
To store
Once strained, the infused gin keeps indefinitely in a cool, dark place. However, don’t leave the flavourings in for more than 2 weeks before straining the gin.
FESTIVE FOREST
Create a collection of colourful Christmas trees.
1 To make a forest of 3D trees to decorate your Christmas table or a windowsill or mantelpiece, simply download our exclusive tree template (sainsburysmagazine. co.uk/templates) and print it out on sturdy card. Cut out the shape to make a template, which you can then trace around to transfer your design on to the coloured card of your choice. You will need two of the same size to create each tree.
2 Draw a faint pencil line down the centre of each tree shape and mark the mid point. On one tree, cut from the top down to the middle poin
