Homemade Vanilla Extract

                  I could only imagine what was in the little glass bottle on top of my Mother's refrigerator, inside looked like a twisted sea creature floating in whiskey or maple syrup. The creature turned out to be a vanilla bean and the liquid, vodka (close to the whiskey guess), inside the bottle was a fragrant, flavorful vanilla extract.

My cousin, Paul, made this vanilla extract using whole vanilla beans, Smirnoff vodka, in 8 ounce glass clamp bottles, giving the extract as gifts to friends and family.

Initially, Paul thought this would be an inexpensive way to make a lot of holiday gifts, but ended up costing a bit more than he anticipated. Whole vanilla beans can be quite costly, especially when you buy them prepackaged at your local grocery store-as much as $10 per bean! Vanilla beans aren't actually beans but the long, thin, dried pods of an orchid, that have most likely have been imported all the way from Madagascar and Tahiti-no wonder prices are high!

Vanilla Beans

Paul, advises buying vanilla beans where they are sold in bulk- try your local natural food store, where vanilla beans are sold in bulk for about $2 per bean. Paul used Smirnoff Vodka (about $15 per liter) and 8 ounce glass clamp bottles like the one pictured ($2-6 a piece, prices will vary.)

1 vanilla bean per 8oz of vodka

1. Cut whole vanilla bean vertically-like peeling a banana. Then put it in the bottle.
2. Add 8 oz of Smirnoff vodka to the bottle per vanilla bean.
3. Close clamp and place bottle in a cool dry place for 2 months. 4. Shake the bottle to circulate flavors once every 2 weeks.

Although this gift idea might not be the thriftiest of ventures, it produces a superior flavored extract that the bakers on your list will cherish.

What kinds of extracts have you tried?
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 Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/tipstools/ingredients/2008/04/vanilla_bean#ixzz2GsK41Ijn
 Image Credit: http://www.bonappetit.com

My Holiday Chex Party Mix

 Crunchy party mix; a tasty, inexpensive, holiday gift for friends and neighbors.

  One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season was to make party mix with my Mom. My siblings and I got to choose 1 box of cereal, and dump the whole thing into the large lobster pot my mom used to bake her party mix in. The pot-still used today, is low and wide and holds a lot of cereal, pretzels, and nuts. A throw away turkey roasting pan also works great and is what I used for the following recipe.

Using my mom’s recipe, original Chex mix recipes, and a lot of tasting, I came up my version of party mix. I modified the recipe to suit my tastes and budget; substituting canola oil for butter, peanuts instead of fancy mixed nuts, and generic cereal instead of Chex brand. Wheat chex are my favorite, I add more than the rice and corn chex. The mix is salty, garlicky, and heavy on the worchershire sauce.  In the past, I have added corn nuts instead of peanuts in the past for a nut free alternative.  

Party Mix

(Yield 24 cups)

Ingredients

¾ cup canola oil

4 teaspoons garlic salt

4 tablespoons garlic powder

4 tablespoons onion powder

6 tablespoons worchershire sauce

2 cups roasted salted peanuts

2 cups mini pretzel rods

2 cups cheerios

1 14oz box of wheat chex or generic

About ¾ of a box corn and rice chex or generic

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 250 F. Add ¼ cup of canola oil, 2 T garlic salt, 2 T garlic powder, 2 T of onion powder, to the pan and place in the oven to warm up for 5 min.
2. Remove pan from the oven. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients (cereal, nuts, pretzels) to the pan and toss gently with a wooden spoon to coat. Put back in the oven for 15 min.
3. Remove pan from the oven. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients (cereal, nuts, pretzels) Pour ¼ cup of canola oil, 2 T garlic salt, 2 T garlic powder, 2 T of onion powder, over the dry goods then toss gently to coat. Put back in the oven for 15 min.
4. Repeat step 3.
5. Mix should bake for an hour total. Let it cool and package as desired.

 I ended up with about 24 cups of mix, that I divided into 6 quart sized (4 cup) ziplock holiday design bags  ( a little disappointing design wise but practical,) and added a bow. The quart sized bag is a good amount of mix, not too much and not too little, it makes a neat little sack that people love to receive, especially friends traveling for the holidays-plane and road snacks are a must!

What are your homemade holiday gift ideas?

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The Best Crispy Broccoli

This version of broccoli is so crispy and tasty, a true converter of reluctant vegetable eaters!

Broccoli is one of my favorite Superfoods; it's flavorful and easy to prepare, I often make it as a side dish. My usual preparation is to steam the little trees in the microwave and eat it as is.  Recently, a friend showed me the way she cooks broccoli for her kids, and they eat it up. After tasting this recipe I don't know if I'll ever make broccoli any other way.

Super Food Definition: Foods that appear to offer additional health benefits beyond simple nutrition. There really isn't one standard definition for super foods, but they usually are some combination of the following:

• Low in calories.
• Contain substantial amounts of omega-3 fatty acids or monounsaturated fatty acids.
• High in fiber.
• Contain phytochemicals that have been found to have the potential to prevent disease in laboratory or clinical research.
• Rich in vitamins and minerals.
• Low in unhealthy substances such as saturated fats, trans-fats or refined sugars. http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutritionglossary/g/superfoods.htm

Crispy Broccoli

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Wash and cut desired amount of raw broccoli into florets.

 

3. Put florets in a bowl, add enough canola oil to lightly coat the florets (use canola oil or another kind of oil that stands up to high heat like: coconut, peanut, sunflower, or grape seed oil.)

 

4. Spread coated florets on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt (I use Celtic sea salt.)

 

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until broccoli edges start to get crisp and brown.

This method is also great using sliced brussel sprouts. What are your favorite superfood recipes?

Reindeer Cupcakes

Reindeer cupcakes, too cute not to share. Wish I could take credit for creating them. . .

My friend Brian, a father of two with another baby on the way, made these festive treats for his daughter, Emma's second birthday. Busy with life and small children, Emma's parents chose to celebrate her second birthday a few days early with a creative dessert, and friends at a Christmas party-now that is what I call multitasking.
  
Ingredients needed to make Reindeer Cupcakes:
chocolate frosted cupcakes
Antlers: mini pretzels
Face: vanilla wafers
Eyes: white frosting and black gel frosting 
Nose: gum drops (make it stick using frosting as glue)

What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Holiday Pizza Crust

 The first holiday party I attended was, appropriately scheduled on the first day of December-my official start date for the winter holiday season. The guest list was filled with families with small children, so the host decided to cater to the appetites of the attending majority and make it a pizza making party.

Everyone who came to the party, brought a pizza topping, a children's book for the kid's book exchange, and a chocolate or beer themed item for the adult gift exchange.  

Jeanette, the hostess, supplied the essential pizza ingredients: red sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, and lots of wonderful pizza dough- you've got to try it. 

Jeanette's Pizza Hut Pizza Crust

1 c lukewarm (105-110) water

1 pkg yeast

1 T sugar

1 T oil

1 tsp salt

Mix yeast in water.  Add rest in order given.  Add 2 c flour, beat till smooth.  Add ½ c more flour until stiff.  Let rise a few minutes.  Roll out in round and pinch edges to hold fillings.  Fill with toppings. 

Sprinkle 1 tsp cornmeal on pizza peel, stone or pan.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Party goers made several pizzas with a variety of toppings cooked in Jeanette's double-decker oven, on "pizza peels." Several pizza peels were involved,other guests brought their own. I had never heard of a pizza peel before but, as soon as I saw one, I recognized it from the many pizza parlors I have dined at.  Pizza peels, a.k.a bread paddle or bakers shovel, look like big wooden cutting board that act as a pizza pan, with a long handle to keep your hands away from the heat when you slide it in the oven. 

Pizza on a peel, also known as a bread paddle or baker's shovel - (

quezi.com

Everyone left the party full and happy, carrying new books, chocolates, or a bottle of holiday ale, along with news and memories to carry through the New Year. The first holiday party of the year will be a hard one to top.

Making an Inviting Work Space at Home; Part 3

The quest continues: make a more inviting office space in a room that triples as a guest room and dressing area.  The Goal: make the room -a place where I must work, into somewhere I want to spend time. 

Step 1: Illuminate the room by replacing black out curtains with bright red and white curtains. (An Inviting Work Space At Home: Part 1, posted 11/8/12)

Step 2: The Little Things; hats and jewelry (posted 11/13/12)

Step 3: The Daybed; a new look.

After browsing in stores (more times and more stores than I'd like to admit) I decided on some new bedding for the day bed in my room. It was a big decision, the daybed is a large piece of furniture in the the small room, something I would have to look at everyday, and gets used a lot be overnight guests.

Before

 If you've ever shopped specifically for  "daybed" bedding you know how expensive and limited the options are -maybe the "daybed" just isn't a common piece of furniture?

However, there are oodles of choices for twin sized bedding materials. That is what I ended up purchasing at Macy's, specifically -a Fairfield Square Collection 6 piece reversible Bed Ensemble (a twin comforter set: sheets and sham included, on sale for $39.99 down from $100.00!)

After

The two peppermint candy looking pillows are from Ikea, ($9.99 each.) The black pattern on the comforter brings out the linear elegance of the cast iron bed frame and the red accents the new red and white curtains (see Making an Inviting Work Space at Home; Part 1.)


To be continued...

Cranberry Sauce; Not Just for Holidays

Whole cranberry sauce

Whole cranberry sauce, so easy , so good for you, why is it only served at Thanksgiving?

Cranberry sauce is more than a great companion to turkey, the holiday super food, called      "bounceberries" by some (that's how you can tell a good cranberry, it is shiny, firm, and it bounces when dropped.) These bouncy berries are high in free radical fighting antioxidants and vitamin C, store for long periods of time, and contain high levels of pectin, a natural thickening agent, making them an ideal ingredient for sauce.


 Whole cranberries do more than make a great sauce, they are rich in vitamin C an essential component in overall health, and antioxidants, your body's Allie in fending off cancer.

Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients, experts say. It may not be the cure for the common cold (though it's thought to help prevent more serious complications). But the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c

Cranberries are typically sold in 12 ounce plastic bags during peak cranberry season (September-December) during this time they can also be found for sale at local Farmers Markets. While, frozen whole cranberries are available year round, now is a good time to stock up, because of their acidity, whole cranberries store easily and for long periods of time, approximately, 1 month in the refrigerator and up to 1 year in the freezer.

This sauce is great on toast or served w/pork

The following whole cranberry sauce recipe is one I found on the back of an Oceanspray whole cranberry bag (about $2.00 for 12 oz.bag)

Whole Cranberry Sauce

• 1 bag whole cranberries rinsed and drained
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar (I bet you could add just 1/2 a cup and it would still be quite sweet)

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium sauce pan.
2. Add cranberries
3. Let mixture gently boil for 10 minutes
4. Transfer to a bowl and let cool at room temperature.
5. Chill in the refrigerator, then serve.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c

 http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/thanksgiving-superfoods-you-should-be-eating-year-round-2409021.html