Vanilla Extract

So a third really easy project I decided to tackle is making my own vanilla extract. I've seen numerous websites all with the same basic instructions. Alton Brown from Good Eats told me the truth of about artificial vanilla flavoring being made from tree sap and wood pulp. No lie. Google it. Though it's not harmful as far as I've read, Vanilla should be made from Vanilla Beans!! And since a tiny bottle of the real stuff will cost you more at the super market by far, making it at home can save some pennies if you can find a good price on the beans, and you happen to have some vodka laying around. I found the beans, again at that awesome Food Coop, and had to buy a little bottle of vodka. And just for reference when you go into the store and ask for the cheapest bottle of vodka on hand, they're gonna look at you like you're nuts.

So there we have it vanilla beans and cheap vodka. You'll also need a jar to combine the two in. So cut up your vanilla beans into portions that will fit in your jar. Then you'll want to slice them in half length wise so that you can see the insides! It'll look something like this.

 It's going to feel almost greasy and smell wonderful. Take all your pieces you cut up and toss them in your jar and then fill it up with your vodka leaving just a bit of room so you can shake it all up.

 There is another gorgeous pint jar again. I put my cutting board up behind it so you can see that its not quite clear since that vanilla flavor is mixing in!

Scented Sugars

So I use Stumble...a lot. According to my profile I'm up to 57K which is probably still far from their record but for me it's a touch embarrassing to admit I'm an addict. BUT there are just so many good ideas out there! Like Martha Stewart's scented sugars recipe. This is another really easy one that you could do in a few minutes with minimal dishes. So for my first try I went to the local Food Coop and grabbed some freshly packaged Spearmint and organic cane sugar.

Ignore that pint jar to the right, I'll talk about that next post.

Martha recommends drying your herbs for a day. LISTEN TO MARTHA. (I rushed a bit and bad things happened later on.) So in a jar you'll want to layer your "aromatic edibles" (Martha!) with your sugar and then pop a lid on and let it sit for awhile.

Homemade Butter

So for my first real experiment with my mixer I decided to try making my own butter. Now I know what you are thinking "That's too much work." or "I can't do it." After all who makes their own butter anymore? Well I do. And trust me, once you make it yourself store bought butter will pale in comparison. So here's what you'll need to whip up a batch of butter- whipping cream & salt. That's it. No really, that's it. I will highly recommend using an electric stand mixer, it's pretty much the only way to go. So take your whipping cream and pour it into your mixer's bowl with the wisk attachment on. Set the speed to medium high and let it go...and go...and go. The cream will get a little frothy and then smooth out after that is the whip cream stage but don't stop here (you might need to pause to scrape down the bowl sides). It'll start to get grainy in texture and eventually you'll start to see butter milk separate from butter.

Once again keep going, and in what will seem like ten seconds it'll begin to splatter in the bowl. Now you can stop. Set a bowl under your mesh strainer and dump your mixing bowl into the strainer.

 Ta Da! You have butter! Well...almost. Now you'll have to knead your butter to squeeze out the remaining butter milk. So get your hands in there and start squeezing clumps through your fingers. This part gets messy.

This is where you can add salt if you want salted butter. I added just a touch, probably around a teaspoon worth. Once you've finished kneading out any remaining butter milk and kneading in any salt you wished to add you're all finished! Choose a container for your butter (air tight is best) and another container for your butter milk. I labeled both of mine with today's date just for personal reference.

All together I ended up with two almost full pint jars of home made butter, and I'd guess around 4 or 5 cups of butter milk (great for other baking adventures).

So you might be asking "How does it taste?" It's NOTHING like any butter knock off. The flavor is much less artificial and it's wonderfully creamy. It does set hard in the fridge, so it isn't exactly spreadable, but its worth it. Just ask my slightly home made banana bread. Yum!