Yay!
On other news, the appearance of candy corn pumpkins in the stores is also nothing to sneeze at.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Great Vanilla Project, Week 1
Yay!
On other news, the appearance of candy corn pumpkins in the stores is also nothing to sneeze at.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Vanilla-tastic
Ok, I am SO excited about this.
I recently heard about how its possible to actually make your own vanilla extract. I immediately decided that my Christmas gifts were going to be very heavy on extract. So, I searched the internets far and wide, and found a number of sources of vanilla beans (they are so much cheaper than at the grocery store its actually ridiculous).
I got mine at Beanilla. I picked out Bourbon vanilla beans (instead of Tahitian, or Mexican, or Madagascar or the other choices). Mainly, I picked it because I don't know much about it and the sites I read said that that would give the most traditional vanilla flavor. I got half a pound. This is because I didn't want to be short, and I wanted to make a lot of extract, and I didn't really know how much vanilla beans weigh. Trust me on this on - NO ONE needs half a pound of vanilla beans. NO ONE.
So, today I got this in the mail (see how that is a crap-ton of vanilla beans?)
Then I, needed something to put them in. Based on the advice of the person who got me started on this, I used cognac (this would be more rewarding for someone who likes cognac, because I had maybe 1 drink worth of it left after I made room for the beans, and there was no way I could stomach that stuff). You can use vodka too. Since I realized I had a lifetime supply of vanilla beans, I spontaneously expanded my Christmas list, and bought 2 bottles. I will now be the proud owner of 6 cups of extract. I might need to kill the jewelry store and start a bake shop!
Then, based on this website I cut up the beans length wise, and scraped out the "caviar". You can't imagine how good this smelled. The site I read recommended a minimum of .8oz beans/cup alcohol (thats the FDA requirement for an extract), but said more was better. I did a little bit more than that.
I cut them in half the other direction, and stuck them in the bottle. Now I have to shake it every day for a week, then periodically turn it. In a few months (like, by Christmas), I will have delicious vanilla (or at least I seriously hope so)
By the way. If anyone knows what to do with a large amount of left over vanilla beans, by all means please speak up.
I recently heard about how its possible to actually make your own vanilla extract. I immediately decided that my Christmas gifts were going to be very heavy on extract. So, I searched the internets far and wide, and found a number of sources of vanilla beans (they are so much cheaper than at the grocery store its actually ridiculous).
I got mine at Beanilla. I picked out Bourbon vanilla beans (instead of Tahitian, or Mexican, or Madagascar or the other choices). Mainly, I picked it because I don't know much about it and the sites I read said that that would give the most traditional vanilla flavor. I got half a pound. This is because I didn't want to be short, and I wanted to make a lot of extract, and I didn't really know how much vanilla beans weigh. Trust me on this on - NO ONE needs half a pound of vanilla beans. NO ONE.
So, today I got this in the mail (see how that is a crap-ton of vanilla beans?)
Then I, needed something to put them in. Based on the advice of the person who got me started on this, I used cognac (this would be more rewarding for someone who likes cognac, because I had maybe 1 drink worth of it left after I made room for the beans, and there was no way I could stomach that stuff). You can use vodka too. Since I realized I had a lifetime supply of vanilla beans, I spontaneously expanded my Christmas list, and bought 2 bottles. I will now be the proud owner of 6 cups of extract. I might need to kill the jewelry store and start a bake shop!
Then, based on this website I cut up the beans length wise, and scraped out the "caviar". You can't imagine how good this smelled. The site I read recommended a minimum of .8oz beans/cup alcohol (thats the FDA requirement for an extract), but said more was better. I did a little bit more than that.
I cut them in half the other direction, and stuck them in the bottle. Now I have to shake it every day for a week, then periodically turn it. In a few months (like, by Christmas), I will have delicious vanilla (or at least I seriously hope so)
By the way. If anyone knows what to do with a large amount of left over vanilla beans, by all means please speak up.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Two pictures at once!
do two at once!
Something Pretty
I'm practicing doing email posting and flickr posting (whoooo, I feel so fancy). So, this is just a random photo from my flickr. I think its pretty.
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