handmade holiday // lavender and blood orange salt

i love cooking with flavored salts.  they add a little somethin' somethin' to my dishes that plain old salt just can't do.  i use flavored salts in marinades, rubs, when grilling, in soups, and sometimes when making vinaigrettes.   heck.  a sprinkle here and there on a simple salad can do wonders.  

as long as you can cut a piece of fruit and turn on an oven, you are good to go.  they are amazingly easy to make and get "oooos" and "ahhhs" from those on the receiving end.  

for christmas this year, i am giving a few lucky people some lavender citrus salt for grilling and roasting poultry and fish.  i am thinking a pinch of this salt on some sea bass with a white wine sauce sounds like a slice of heaven.  am i right? 

here's how i made it.

you will need:

a blood orange
some lavender (or herbs de provence if you have that in your pantry)
course sea salt
a food processor

to make this flavored salt you will need to slow-bake your blood orange slices in the oven at 200 degrees for a few hours on a baking sheet.  let them dry completely, possibly in sunlight for a few days.  dry your herbs on a wall or someplace sturdy.  wash tape helps hold them up and your drying herbs will also act as fine kitchen decor in the mean time.  when you're ready or when your baby is napping, put as much rock salt as you desire in a food processor along with dried oranges and lavender. you can pulse until smooth, but i prefer my salt to have some texture. 

place in neat little jars with a cute little tag and gift away! 

for other homemade holiday ideas, head, here & here & here, too!