Teacher Gift or Hostess Gift– You Decide

When organizing a teacher gift, I try to follow a generic but personal policy. The carrot pickles with cilantro are a little bit of a risk and break this rule. I visited Sewing Sister last weekend, and she served some carrot pickles with grilled hamburgers for dinner. The pickles were surprisingly delicious, easy to make in large batches, and they looked really pretty in the jars. The risky part, however, is that it is a pretty specific food type– not very generic. I teach at the school my son attends and know my son’s teachers fairly well. I was pretty sure everyone would eat them (or at least try them).

If you don’t know your child’s teachers at all but want to send a small appreciation gift for the end of the year, I think the Insulated Drinking Cup with gift card or an Ice Cream Sundae Kit works better. If you know your teachers like trying new restaurants or enjoy good food, I would give this gift a try, especially if you need to make a large quantity. I needed about 15 teacher gifts.

I will also be bringing an extra jar to a friend’s house this weekend as a hostess gift.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. carrots, trimmed and peeled
• 8 oz. shallots, thinly sliced
• 6 sprigs cilantro
• 1 c. distilled white vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• 2 t. kosher salt
• 1 t. sugar
• 1/2 t. celery seeds
• 2 t. whole black peppercorns

Directions

• Cut the carrots into sticks that match the height of the jars you are using or slice using a bias cut (this is the diagonal, oval shaped cut).
• Combine the carrots, shallots, and dill in a glass container with a lid.
• In saucepan, combine 1 c. water, 1 c. vinegar, garlic, salt, sugar, celery seeds, and peppercorns. Heat until it simmers.
• Pour the heated vinegar mixture over the veggies, cover loosely, and let cool to room temperature.
• Tighten lid when cooled and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
• Can be kept in the refrigerator ~2 weeks.

NOTES

• I used a 5-lb bag of carrots, 5 shallots, and 2 bunches of cilantro to fill 17-20 jars. I used a mix of tall and wide mouth half pint jars. I needed 4 batches of the vinegar mixture.
• I tied a label to each jar with raffia ribbon explaining the contents and wishing the teachers a happy summer from our family. Click here for the Carrot Pickles with Cilantro Labels.
• The recipe is fairly forgiving, so you can double, triple, etc. pretty easily.
• The cilantro can be replaced with dill.
• The original recipe came from Simple Fresh Southern by the Lee Brothers. They have a whole section of pickle recipes. Sewing Sister also recommends the radish pickles and the watermelon pickles.

What homemade recipes have you given as teacher or hostess gifts that work well? Do you think this gift is a hit or miss? I will admit that I am giving Miss Priss’ teachers (who I do not know as well) the insulated cup gift!