Vanilla Days
Boy, they're not kidding when they say being a mom is a full-time job. It's true what they say about mothers being biologically tuned to their babies' cries. I always thought that I'd be able to let her cry when there was no real reason she was doing so, but it's like holding my breath to listen to her. So there are many days when the breakfast dishes don't get done till lunch, or dinner.
But we had a couple of good naps today, and I was reading Cooking for Geeks in the bathroom and came across a recipe for making your own vanilla extract. I use vanilla oil in my oatmeal every morning, and I couldn't resist this.
Vanilla Extract (from Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter):
1 vanilla bean, sliced open lengthwise and chopped into strips to fit jar
1 0z (30 grams) vodka (use enough to cover the bean
Store in a cool, dark place for at least a few days. Give at least several weeks to steep.
I tried this with vodka and with rum. Potter claims that I can use beans that have already been used for something else, and www.vanillareview.com/ tells me that I can use the beans after extraction to make vanilla sugar. Seems like I can make them stretch quite far, a good thing since they're so expensive, and you need quite a bit for homemade vanilla ice cream!