Homemade vanilla extract

Today's adventure on my road to Control is homemade vanilla extract. 

Somedays I feel really dumb. About a year ago I was reading a recipe book and there was a recipe for vanilla extract. And the thought popped in my head 'you can make that yourself?' Like I said it was a dumb moment because I felt stupid for thinking that something like vanilla extract is a mystical item that comes from a secret place beyond the reach of us normal human beings.

My adventures with vanilla extract began when I really started baking although I'm ashamed to say I bought that generic clear imitation vanilla extract. I don't even want to think about what sort of toxic chemical experiment that is. 

My husband had been in Mexico years ago and brought my mother in law back some real vanilla extract from there. And we're not talking some little tiny 2oz bottle this was wine bottle size. My mother in law makes the best desserts!!! Anyhow this was before I had met my husband but when one of our friends was heading to Peru she asked if he would bring back some vanilla. It was quite a funny moment. I was handed this large bottle, in church, that looked like I had just left the liquor store, of course there was no 'proper' label and if you open it it really smelt like I had hit the liquor store! 'No Pastor I know I'm from Ireland but I haven't fallen off the wagon!!!' Promptly followed by 'my mother in law gave it to me!'

Anyhow I used this wonderful real stuff and instantly noticed the difference. Goodbye imitation!!! Sadly that bottle ran out as all good things must come to an end. If you are like me and a vanilla extract purest you have probably noticed that it's getting harder to find, costing more and the bottles keep getting smaller. 

So now to the Control of my food issue. The current bottle I'm using is from Target, the Archers farm brand. It cost me $6.99 for a 2 fl oz bottle. Look carefully at the label, water, alcohol, extractives of Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans. 

Nowhere in my research did I see water added to the process!!! Plus what type of alcohol did they use? Making your own is getting control of the ingredients. My label will say vodka and vanilla beans.

So I hit the internet and read probably every blog posting under the sun on the subject and researched beans. There is a difference grade a and grade b. So here's the low down. Grade a is the gourmet grade and grade b is the extract blend. It's simply a case of moisture content. When you are cooking with something that require a vanilla bean you want grade a because of the higher moisture content. If you are making extract you want grade b as it is cured differently leading to a more intense flavor. Got it? 

So where do you get beans! Obviously the grocery store is not the answer and unless a trip to Madagascar is possible to the internet we go. I ordered from the Vanilla Bean Company on amazon because I love amazon and have prime. The same company is also on eBay. The beans arrived well packaged and I love the instant smell of vanilla when I opened the envelop.

Now there are a lot of beans out there from different locations and like all things grown, where they grow has an impact on taste. I'm sure it takes a true vanilla connoisseur to taste the subtle differences but as Madagascar beans seem to the popular one for extract, that's what I went with.     

Next we need alcohol. I was under the impression I needed to use bourbon but after much research the jury has decided that vodka is best. I was also under the impression that the lovely dark brown color came from the bourbon but actually as it matures it darkens the alcohol! Magic beans!!!! Ok it's nice to keep a little mystery to the process, although the homeschool mama in me will have to do a science study on that one with my boys one day! You can use bourbon and I'm sure at some stage I will experiment and even try rum so see what the difference is! I have chosen vodka because I have a bottle in my house. It's Smirnoff and everyone says to use the cheapest you can find but as a former vodka drinker I'm going to go with what I know because cheaper can taste so nasty!!! And huge FYI don't do flavored vodka just the raw stuff. Although that might be another interesting experiment!

So with my canning experiments I have mason jars everywhere so that was my choice of maturing vessel. Please don't use plastic. Although BPA has been taken out of so much I'm sure they have found an equally toxic chemical to replace it with that we just don't know the risk to. The plastic can leech into the vanilla extract and there's no telling what it will do. Let's boost the glass making industry because it's safer for taste and our health. The internet has a ton of gorgeous bottles with swing caps to pick from. My next batch I think of will splurge and get a pretty bottle! Whatever you use just make sure it seals.

So now for the process. Obviously this is going to take some time to see the finished product and I will do an updated post when I get there. So why not order some beans, grab the vodka and share your vanilla extract progress with me, there still is a little magic to this one so let's enjoy it!!

Vanilla Extract

5 Madagascar grade b vanilla beans

1 cup vodka (or bourbon, brandy or rum)

1. Split vanilla beans down the middle leaving about 1/2 inch at each end and cut bean in half. 

2. Add to a clean sterile jar.

3. Pour in the vodka and seal jar.

4. Give it a good shake.

5. Store in a dark cool place for about 6 - 8 weeks or longer. (The longer the better)

6. Once or twice a week give the jar a good shaking.

7. You can remove the beans and strain it to get the store bought look or just leave the beans in there to continue to mature. 

Happy Home Cooking!

Click those ruby slippers three time...

I've got to say when I first realized I was going to be overhauling our diet it seemed an overwhelming task. It not only means learning new things but also reprogramming my way of looking at food.

This journey began for me Valentines Day 2007 when I got the PCOS diagnosis. Honestly it probably began July 11th 2003 when I became a wife and homemaker. Up until this point food had really been mindless for me. And not healthy mindless. I love junk food and have had an unhealthy relationship with it. PCOS was only the first step on this journey; moving from processed to homemade. 

Now the road map has changed because mainly one rainy afternoon about 3 months ago my hubby was bored and while flick the channels found the movie Food Inc. I really recommend you watch this although be ready to have a Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz moment when Toto pulls back the curtain. 

Surely the food on the shelves of the grocery store are safe? Surely the advertisements of happy farmers in blue skies fields with happy livestock and produce are true? Or behind the convenience curtain lies a reality that we have fallen asleep and grown ignorant to the reality. Surely the Bees cartoon movie was just a liberal tree hugging propaganda show? Or is the reality that GMO crops with pesticide in them is killing our bee population? 

The curtain for me has been pulled back and that sinking feeling of being stuck in poisonous poppy field Oz is becoming a reality. So what could possibly be the ruby shoes of this situation? 

Education and reprogramming! 

Over the past few months going to the grocery store has left me feeling miserable. I can honestly say I hate it now. I rarely go down a middle aisle and with distrust purchase the produce and meats. My reality is my body isn't functioning right. I have a nasty cold this week that has left me drained of all energy which is making my normal functioning harder.

I'm caught in transition and like every interchange point it's hard and miserable. If money was no issue I could buy only organic, grass fed but even the processed version is over priced this weather. They don't do coupons for produce. We don't have land so growing it ourselves is difficult. We rent a house in a 'difficult' subdivision, so no chickens. In my dream world subdivisions wouldn't waste space with lawns but would have edible landscapes. As I watched my neighbors sprinklers run today I thought what a waste of land and water for just grass. Rows of beautiful homegrown produce would be much nicer to look at.

But what I can do is clip my ruby slippers three times and say 'there's no food like homemade!' Last month I got what I needed to can. I read books and with the kind hand holding of my mother in law I canned 12 pint jars of tomatoes. Guess what it wasn't that scary!!!

My first canned tomatoes! Aren't they pretty!

Homemade salsa

Two of my Roma Tomato plants with the flowers just starting!

Bell pepper plants

Cherry Tomatoes or Potatoes as my 4 year old calls them!

Then I took some of those canned tomatoes and made homemade tomato sauce for the meatballs. Now I have control because guess what my canned tomatoes were fresh and organic and there's no salt added!

I didn't use all of the 25lbs of tomatoes I got from a local farmers market so I made salsa, one fresh and then one for canning. Next on my list is tomato paste and ketchup when the tomatoes are in full season. 

And with a little bit of luck hopefully they will be from the four Roma tomato plants I have growing in containers outside. Visions of a shelf of canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, tomato purée, salsa and ketchup are filling my heads. Control!!!

I see a pressure cooking down the road too! For all the low acid things I want to can. I can honestly say I have a kinda canning addiction now!

We recently gave the boys a huge life rocking announcement. The candy and junk was leaving for good. If mama doesn't make it it won't be here. So far so good!!! And nothing beats a homemade chocolate chip cookie! 

It's blueberry season and the pick your own farms are opening. Pick your own equals control!!!! So last Saturday we went and picked 6.75lbs of blueberries. They are delicious. Those store bought junk should be in the candy aisle in comparison. And the coolest part was there was a beehive in the middle of the farm and I got honey from that hive, wild flower from the blueberry and blackberry bushes and all the other wonderful pollinating plants. 

I could just eat these delicious things raw but I wanted to preserve them. So I tried jam for the first time. Very little sugar and a little hard work and I now have jars of homemade organic jam. Control!!! 

No more high fructose corn syrup on the boys pancakes they have homemade blueberry syrup instead.

The list of my recent adventures could go on. And yes it's probably not cheaper. Sure I can buy barbecue sauce buy one get one free with an additional coupon for $1 but would I rather spend my money on raw healthy ingredients and put forth a little effort or do I want to go spend money on doctor bills and medicine? That's the choice people. For the first time in history the poorest in society are the fattest. We are killing ourselves with every bite.

Before the grocery store we ate real food not science experiments in bright packaging. I was lucky, I remember a milkman dropping fresh milk from a local farm at our front door everyday. I remember look out at rows of beautiful produce growing the garden. I remember helping my parents take horse manure from the 'dung hill' to fertilizer the garden. I remember going to the bakery, the butchers shop, the produce market and only thinking the one small grocery store was for toilet paper and cleaning products. I knew milk came from a cow and not a white carton. And I'm only 35! 

I want that way of life back. I don't think I'm asking too much. Honestly people when you stop and really think about it, really look into our food source, really see that the variety and choice we have is just the different names of chemical or toxins we are putting into our bodies. But if we all just one vegetable at a time, one meal at a time, made a change then we can do this. We can tell the grocery stores to keep their junk and grow it or visit a farmer and buy it. 

I know some of you work extremely hard and time to breath never mind garden is a luxury. That's where farmers markets come in. They say for every job lost at a grocery store it would create 3 jobs in the agriculture industry.

For some of you like me you just haven't tried to garden. I have a bad track record if killing plants, but this year I gave it another go. Much to my increasing frustration I can't dig up the back yard because we rent this house. So I thought containers and I'm talking those plastic storage tubs because they are cheaper. I have over 20 bell peppers growing at the minute, more cherry tomatoes than I know what to do with. We've already eaten the lettuces and I have a constant supply of scallions.

And I've failed. I had to pull up my cucumbers and start again because they got too much water from the heavy rain and the stems split. My peas got overwatered and died. But this is a learning curve and I'm trying. Because I want control of my food back. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

So come on give it a go with me. We can hold each other's hand! 

Happy Home Cooking the Home Grown way!!!

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