Homemade Birthday Gifts

Celebrating your birthday is a very special time of year. It’s your time to celebrate being alive with friends and family, and to celebrate your time here on Earth.

This year, I’ve had a very special birthday filled with homemade gifts from my loved ones. Somehow, these things feel much more special when I know that they were made with love and good intentions.

Homemade and handmade gifts are not only nice because of the love put into them, they’re also sustainable! The gifter gets to use things they already have to create something amazing for me; and on my end, it is something that I can eat or use without creating much waste.

Gifts like these feel close to home for me, my life and, my business. My mission is to encourage everyone (including myself) to use what they have, and to connect with others through food and flowers. This years birthday really hit the mark of that mission.

So without further ado.. here are my homemade birthday gifts.

My final thoughts on this years birthday…

Overall, I feel so loved that my friends and family spent time, effort and love to make me these wonderful gifts.

I am so lucky to be surrounded by people that love me so much, and that share my value and appreciation for living sustainably, and connecting with others through food.

Thank you to everyone for your love, time and care.

I truly encourage you to gift your loved ones something homemade. It does not have to be extravagant, it does not have to be laborious, it just has to be made with love.

Rhubarb Season Treat

It’s officially Rhubarb season! Now if you’re like me, by this point in the season you’re overrun by rhubarb plants, and wondering how on earth you’re going to use any of it.

Well, here’s a delicious dessert (or any time snack) that you can make to use some of it up.

I like to gift my friends and family homemade things. I feel as though it inspires a better connection. This dessert is the most recent thing that I have given them and I hope it warmed their hearts a little to know that it was made with love.

This is a recipe for Rhubarb Squares

Ingredients

Base:

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 cup cold butter

Filling:

• 2 cups sugar

• 7 tbsp all purpose flour

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 3 large eggs; beaten (we use farm fresh eggs available at the shop)

• 5 cups finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb; thawed and drained

Topping:

• 3/4 cup cream cheese; softened

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 vanilla extract

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream; whipped

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a greased 13x9” baking pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

2. While that is baking, make the filling. Combine sugar and flour in a bowl. Whisk in whipping cream and eggs. Stir in the rhubarb.

3. Pour over the crust. Bake again at 350° until the custard is set; 40-45 minutes. Let cool

4. For the topping, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth; fold in the whipped cream. Spread over top.

5. Cover and refrigerate until firm enough to cut; usually about 1 hour. Cut into squares; and store in the fridge.

Cutting & Gifting

I like to cut the squares into even squares. To do that I cut each row individually, and once I have my row cut, I will then cut squares. I try to make the width of each cut equally as wide.

If you want to be super precise, you can use a ruler to make each cut an exact measurement. But don’t stress too much about perfection, a homemade treat won't be judged on perfect cuts, (plus the taste will distract from any off-centred lines)!

When I am planning on giving these away to friends, I like to add a little flair to make them extra beautiful.

To do this, I start by place an edible viola and a mint leaf on top of each individual square. I like to think that it adds something special to the experience.

The last step to the perfect gifting process is to put them in a food-safe package, I get mine from Ma’s Pantry; which is right across the road from our farm shop!

I really, really encourage you to try this recipe, they are delicious; but they taste better when shared with loved ones.