For the longest time this plant didn’t do anything except get huge and bushy and all in the way. I thought about ripping it out. Really. I’m glad I didn’t because once it started growing this, I knew I was on to something. I didn’t realize it would be this, though. Now I am practically on 24 hour watch to keep it safe. Wish me luck, cause this will make one heck of a Caprese salad!
Have you heard of TED? I love it. Granted, I’m a big ol’ nerd who is in a constant search or ideas, facts, opinions, news and innovations. This is one of my favorite TED Talks. It’s a kid. From North Carolina by the way. Who has more sense about the food he is putting into his body, and the food system. Food is a very emotionally charged and highly political subject, whether we want to admit it or not. Check it out. It will only take about 5 minutes of your day. Totally worth it. Totally.
A few months ago,I got the crazy idea to try making my own vanilla extract. I love vanilla. I even like it better than chocolate. So I decided with the crazy cost of real vanilla extract that I would make my own. I looked around town for affordable vanilla beans, but I couldn’t find any that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, or at least a few fingers. So I went online and found a great deal on Amazon.com. Then I headed out to the store and bought a bottle of vodka and a bottle of rum. I looked like a baker with a drinking problem. I came home, split the beans, and popped them in a couple of repurposed peanut butter jars. Then I covered the beans with vodka in one jar and rum in another. I was glad I got a deal on the vanilla beans because I had to use several beans per jar. I gave each jar a bit of a shake, screwed on the lid, and put them in a cool dark place. Every once in awhile I would take them out and give them another shake. A few months have passed and this is what they look like now.
I used some to bake cookies the other day, and it may have been my imagination, but I thought they were extra delicious and full of vanilla goodness. I didn’t keep track of everything I spent but I feel like this is a much cheaper way to get my vanilla fix. And even if it isn’t, it was fun to try. The only bad part is you really have to plan ahead. It takes months for the alcohol to extract the vanilla goodness. On the bright side if you’re not doing a lot of baking very closely together you can you add more alcohol and it will continue to extract the goodness from the same beans. The vodka extract leaves a cleaner, vanilla taste, and the rum imparts a richer, warmer flavor. Both are super yummy. I bet they’ll both make a super yummy post planting cocktail. I’ll have to get back to you on that. 🙂
Nerd In Flip Flops 