Supplies
This weekend it's going to be 39C on Saturday, and 40C on Sunday. I went out at 8am today for supplies and returned by 9.30, and have decided to not move for the rest of the weekend.
Some of my supplies included vanilla beans and vodka!
This is the start of the great vanilla extract experiment! You can already see some of the colour's seeping out into the alcohol. Exciting!
Hopefully the quality of the vodka will be okay for vanilla extract. I chose the brand (Absolut) by the shape of the bottle rather than anything else - when it's (eventually) empty, I can use it as a vase for flowers!
Eight weeks are going to go by very slowly.
I think this may be the first time I've ever directly handled vanilla beans - I'm sure my sister must have used them, but I usually just consume the food, not get involved in the preparation. Anyway, they are so beautiful. They look so dry and dessicated when you see them, but then you touch them and they feel almost oily, and then you cut into them! And the seeds and they're almost paste-y when they come out! I can still smell a little bit of the vanilla on my fingertips. So delicious.
I bought the bottle specially - I was thinking of making two cups of extract, but then I actually saw the price of vanilla beans ($7.99 for two)... So it looks a little empty.
In other news, I cleaned my bathroom and did laundry (accidentally dying my bedsheet a subtle pink, because I was lazy and didn't separate the sheets... oops). The grocery shopping was pretty good - I've found the local Asian supermarkets, and finally got to the central markets when they were open. Of course, it was after I'd visited the usual big supermarket, but now I'll know for next time!
I really should go take some photos outside my apartment. Maybe on another weekend.
Some of my supplies included vanilla beans and vodka!
This is the start of the great vanilla extract experiment! You can already see some of the colour's seeping out into the alcohol. Exciting!
Hopefully the quality of the vodka will be okay for vanilla extract. I chose the brand (Absolut) by the shape of the bottle rather than anything else - when it's (eventually) empty, I can use it as a vase for flowers!
Eight weeks are going to go by very slowly.
I think this may be the first time I've ever directly handled vanilla beans - I'm sure my sister must have used them, but I usually just consume the food, not get involved in the preparation. Anyway, they are so beautiful. They look so dry and dessicated when you see them, but then you touch them and they feel almost oily, and then you cut into them! And the seeds and they're almost paste-y when they come out! I can still smell a little bit of the vanilla on my fingertips. So delicious.
I bought the bottle specially - I was thinking of making two cups of extract, but then I actually saw the price of vanilla beans ($7.99 for two)... So it looks a little empty.
In other news, I cleaned my bathroom and did laundry (accidentally dying my bedsheet a subtle pink, because I was lazy and didn't separate the sheets... oops). The grocery shopping was pretty good - I've found the local Asian supermarkets, and finally got to the central markets when they were open. Of course, it was after I'd visited the usual big supermarket, but now I'll know for next time!
I really should go take some photos outside my apartment. Maybe on another weekend.