Vanilla

When I told my hubby that I wanted to make homemade vanilla, he thought I was a bit odd.  But he shrugged it off and I think that he chalked it up to me reading foodie blogs...

So I ran to Southern Season (and by "ran" I mean, drove 45 minutes each way) and picked up a vanilla bean and 2 glass jars - one for the vanilla and one for vanilla sugar. (Waste not, want not, right)

I read about this on a foodie blog (yes, my hubby knows me so well!) and supposedly homemade vanilla has a much richer flavor - and also it has the appeal of a bread starter (if you start to run low, you can "replenish" your supply very easily with ingredients on hand.)

So here are the needed ingredients: Vodka. Vanilla bean. Jar.  Sounds simple enough, right?

The rest of the directions are as simple: scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean - add to the jar, and add one cup of vodka. Cover tightly and place in a dark cupboard for 6-8 weeks (shaking the bottle once or twice per week) - and VOILA! the end result should be vanilla extract. 

And just so I didn't waste one speck of the $3 I spent on the vanilla bean, I added the pod to white sugar to make vanilla sugar. (I have a few recipes that call for vanilla sugar, and I've never made any before)

So it appears that I am my own personal test kitchen this week. I'll let yall know how my vanilla experiment turns out.  If this works I will be a convert!