Vanilla Extract Six Month Later

Back in June we started the process of making homemade vanilla extract.  We have been waiting patiently, and right before Christmas we bottled up the first batch.  We didn’t have a funnel quite small enough to fit the bottles, but JGL had the ingenius idea to use a condiment container we found at the grocery store for less than a dollar.   It made it easy to get the liquid out of the bottle, and easy to dispense into the smaller containers.

And the vanilla extract itself?  Amazing!  I’ve never had such flavorful or potent vanilla extract to work with ever, so even with my lower than normal energy I’ve been looking for reasons to bake and use it.  The best part?  Aside from knowing exactly what has gone into each bottle, all in with ingredients, supplies and bottling equipment, each 2 ounce bottle only costs a little over $2.00.

Expecting

It’s been a whirlwind few months.  We’ve continued to plod along with our home renovations (more on that later), we made it through another travel season and field hockey season at work, put our gardens to bed, put up a bunch of apples and fall produce, and finished up the first batch of vanilla (and more on that soon!).

The biggest thing to happen, though, and the reason for the radio silence here is JGL and I found out shortly after my last post that we are expecting.  What has followed is one of the craziest five month stretches ever–thinking I had early onset arthritis and getting x-rayed and scanned only to find out nothing conclusive was wrong; peeing on a stick a week later and thinking I’d inadvertently scrambled my eggs; morning sickness while traveling (and let me tell you, can tell you the best places to stop and lose your business from here to Maine), seeing Squirt for the first time and feeling the sweetest relief ever that I hadn’t killed this beautiful gift we’d been trying for so long to create;  hitting the second trimester and NAILING IT (I feel AWESOME, thank goodness!); and the list goes on.  Squirt, as we’re calling him, is due the first week of May, and is happy, healthy and growing like a weed.  And JGL and I are elated and humbled at this incredible opportunity.  Becoming parents to a real “human baby” is a gift we are not taking for granted.

But there is much more to catch up on here, and I’m hoping to be better in this new year about posting and seeing where our new adventures are going to take us.  Wishing you all the very best as we head into 2013!

A Kitchen Upgrade: Part One of Three

 

 

 

 

 

It feels like we started this process ages ago.  We had a thought (Hey, let’s redo the kitchen this summer!), put some money down on new counter top and told Home Depot “Let ‘er rip!”  We were thinking at most that this process would be a week from start to finish.

And then the Derecho hit.  And then work got crazy for JGL.  And now work is crazy for me.  And until last night we were still left with phase one of a potentially three part process still not done.  But after some cracker jack timing by my dear JGL, we can officially call part one a wrap.

What was part one?  Part one was replacing the countertop.  And because we can never do anything easy here, when the countertop assessment crew came they shared that we would have to take the first line of tile out in order for the new countertops to fit.  So replacing the countertop and retiling.  Check.

The old countertops were the original laminate ones the house was built with years ago.  You would look at them and just think, I shall can tomatoes today, and before you even started the project they were stained.  I fought valiantly against the stainage for the first year or so we lived here and then gave up.

 

So with no power and during the hottest week of the summer, we ripped the old countertops out.  So long, farewell, good riddance!  From there we were able to get in and knock the line of tile out, and then the wonderful countertop crew came in and put in our new countertop.  A countertop that is stain resistant.  Stain Resistant!  It’s truly a miracle.  We also found new facets that we love, so last weekend JGL installed those as well.

 

But then we hit a snag.  We had thought purchasing new replacement tile would be the way to go, but sadly our local home store didn’t have an exact match for our kitchen.  So after a week of soaking the old tile, my Dad came up with the solution that would eventually work–put them in the crock pot overnight.  And as crazy as it sounds, it actually worked–the old mastic peeled right off.  So last night we cut, replaced, and grouted the tile, and laid a bead of silicone at the base to seal it all up.

 

And folks, part one is now a wrap.  It’s not a huge change, but I’m so happy with how it’s starting to look.  It’s a small kitchen and for me it has to be one that can take a beating, and we are well on our way there.

Part two is painting the cabinets and ceiling, and replacing the hardware to match the new faucets.  We’re a little nervous that once we paint the cabinets it’s going to make the rest of the house look like it desperately needs a paint job as well, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Part three, you ask?  See the ugly range above the stove?  My dream is to take that out and take the cabinets above the stove out and replace it with a Microhood Combination Convection Microwave Oven.   Like I said, it’s a little kitchen and for our family it needs to be a workhorse, and if I can’t have my Julia Child-esque double ovens just yet, this might be the next best thing.  Baby steps, though, baby steps

 

 

Blackberry and Peach Vinegars

We’ll be trying them out tonight, but couldn’t resist posting a sneak peak–the smell divine!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Movement

JGL working on the molding so we could lay the flooring down in the bathroom

Blackberry Vinegar

One of my favorite salad dressings of all time is a good old raspberry vinaigrette.  It makes a warm day seem sunnier, and a cold winters day seem more like springtime.  It’s just plain good.

There’s been so much going on here between clean up from the storm, renovations to our kitchen and bath, and heading back to work that I just want some simplicity and routine in my life.  Something happy, sunny and simple.  So after blackberry picking today, I decided it was high time to make my own berry vinegar so we would have it.

Like the vanilla extract, this is something that you make today and let steep for a while before you can actually use it.  In this case, it’ll be about two weeks before I know if I nailed this guy on the head or not.   But it looks and smells amazing, so I have high hopes for this one!

Blackberry Vinegar

2 cups white vinegar

1 cup blackberries

 

Put vinegar and blackberries into a pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 3 minutes.  Let sit for 30 minutes until cool.  Pour into a quart jar, place plastic wrap on top and seal with metal rim.  Let sit for two weeks, then strain berries out and put liquid into a pint jar.  Will store for up to six months.

Roughing It: Buttermilk-Peach Corn Bread

We had a half peck of peaches that I had been hoarding to take to New Hampshire with us. With this whole no power thing, we knew they would go really quickly. But honestly, what do you make when the power is out and all you have is a grill?

I did a lot of thinking, and then just started cutting until they were all taken care of, but I still wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. After some hemming and hawing and digging in the pantry I found my secret stash of powdered buttermilk and some cornmeal, and working up cornbread in the cast iron skillet seemed like the perfect solution.

 

Buttermilk-Peach Skillet Cornbread

Peaches
1 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup honey
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (or one buttermilk packet and 1 cup water)
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar

Peel and slice about 4 peaches and put the slices in the bottom of your cast iron skillet; drizzle honey on top to help caramelize. Chop remaining peaches and put them aside.

Mix dry ingredients together, and then incorporate the wet ingredients and the chopped peaches (minus the brown sugar). Pour mixture over peach slices, then top with brown sugar.

Throw in a hot grill until it looks done, about 30 minutes or so. Works as breakfast or dessert.