Homemade Celery Salt

I am working my way through possible holiday gift projects.  Last year, I doled out homemade Baileys/Irish Cream, which was festive if slightly ironic considering I was pregnant and unable to enjoy it!  Previous years I've made salad dressing, flavored olive oils and homemade body scrubs. It is fun.

With two weeks of CSA celery stalks teetering towards wilt in my crisper, and the following recipe in my inbox, it was time for celery salt.  So easy to make, even easier to enjoy.  Perfect on fish, in a salad, topping soup and, my latest obsession, over scrambled eggs. 

This may just make the Holiday 2012 cut!  Do you have a go-to homemade gift? I'd love to hear about it below.

Homemade Celery Salt

Courtesy of 101 Cookbooks, a favorite food blog

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 7 min

Ingredients

• Leaves from one bunch of celery
• Flaky sea salt (Maldon sea salt is recommended)

Directions

• Pick all the leaves from the celery stalk, leaving stems behind.
• Rinse the leaves with cold water and then shake off as much water as you can. Gently pat them dry in a clean dish towel, or with paper towels ensuring they are as dry as possible. 
• Arrange the leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet, then roast in a 350F / 180C oven for about 5-7 minutes. Bake until dehydrated and crispy, but not browned.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cool, use your fingers to crumble the leaves completely, discarding any leaves that aren't crispy.
• Combine equal parts celery leaves and salt in a jar, and shake to distribute the celery leaves evenly. Voila.