DIY Vanilla Extract: Bottling

About a year ago, Bonnie and I embarked on a journey toward DIY vanilla extract.  It has been a successfully journey so far, except in the blog department! :)

So now that we've already bottled 2 batches and are about to bottle the third, it's time for some documentation!

In the initial post, I shared the shopping list:

• Vanilla beans (whole) - from Penzeys
• You can also find these at World Market, Fresh Market, or numerous online sources
• 2 oz. amber bottles - from Elwood Thompson
• Vodka - from wherever you buy vodka
• General ratio is 4 beans for each 750mL of liquid
• Printable labels - we used brown kraft labels by Martha Stewart at Staples
• Optional:  ribbon for the neck of your bottle

First, a correction:  the original post shows that we only bought 4 2 oz. bottles each.  If either of us had done the math (usually my job and I failed) we would have known we needed way more bottles than that.  We needed 10 bottles for the 750mL of vanilla we brewed.  If you want larger bottles (they come in 4 or 8 oz. but that's as large as I'd go if they are gifts), do the math :)

Once our vanilla extract had been brewing in a cool, dark place for about 90 days, during which it was shaken every time we did laundry (good way to get into the routine of doing it - thanks for the tip, Bonnie!), we got to bottling:

For bottling, you'll need a strainer and some coffee filters so that the beans don't get into the extract bottles.  If bean particles in your extract is your sort of thing, skip this step go straight to the next one.

Pour the vodka/bean mixture through the filtered strainer:

The filters may become clogged, but we just switched them out between pours and all was well.

Then use a funnel to pour extract into each bottle...

...cap them and then comes the fun part!  The labels have an online template, so we just plugged in our text, a vanilla bean jpg and turned the font to brown to match our bottles:

Once we added the labels, we added some purple gingham ribbon for a little country touch, and voila!

LOVE! :)

Spring in my step

Winter sucked.  It snowed a lot but not enough to get out of work or school.  Except that one time.  Not enough! :)

Then spring came.  Then winter came back for a while.  Then it was spring again.  When we were fairly sure there would be no more frost, we headed to Lowe's, armed with a gift card, to pick up some cheerful flowers to add some color to the dreary deck.

We got dahlias:

Gerbera daisies:

And some strange cactus-not-a-cactus plant.  It's awesome

I repotted them and grouped them on my little Ikea table for a little shot of greenery among the patio furniture and wood.  They make that corner so cheerful and I can see them from the kitchen, so every time I walk by the back door I can enjoy them. :)  nerd.

This guy could barely wait for me to repot them.  He must have been hungry for some pollen!  He left me alone, so I left him alone, but I made Dave take his picture.

My deck box lilies came back too!  See, I can grow stuff!  Well, one thing :)

It's amazing what little water can do for a plant :)

I also reorganized my potting bench, but I won't bore you with the details, just:

Shower for Baby Brown

Baby Shower #3 for this year:  Check!

Ashley has probably been planning this event since she met Daniel, so she had a very clear idea of what she wanted:  DIY/ pink / white / burlap!

Instead of doing cheesy baby shower games, we created onesie- and headband-making stations so the guests could make a handmade gift for the baby to enjoy.  Jackie made adorable onesie cupcakes from a plain onesie, a burp cloth, and some burlap, so each guest chose one, unwrapped it and let their creative juices flow!

We had fabric markers, fabric, and paint to create decorations, and I was so impressed at some of the finished onesies!

made by, from top left:  cousin paige, me, sister paige, livi

As they were completed, they were hung on a clothesline to dry:

At the headband station, we laid out plain headbands in just about every color, plus a bunch of fabric flowers, pearls, and rhinestones.

So much fun!  Spoiler alert - Eleanora HATES them so far!  Or maybe she's just hungry ;) :

For decorations, Jackie made a HUGE banner that spanned the entire front window by the food table - so sweet!

Georgia wasn't able to attend, but sent this awesome diaper cake with her mom and sister - Baby Brown's dad is obsessed with Jaws and is an avid fossil hunter, so this shark-themed cake was so appropriate!  And adorable!

Ashley is using Ikea's origami fabric for Eleanora's nursery, so she created a message board using the same fabric and asked everyone to sign it as a guest book.

There was a great turnout, and Ashley received so many wonderful gifts!  We had a great time and were all so excited to meet Baby Brown! :)

Berry's Produce

One of my favorite things about spring is the re-emergence of farmers' markets and roadside vegetable stands!  

Richmond is sorely lacking in this department.  One weekend last summer Dave and I went downtown to the famous 17th Street Farmers' Market and there were like 3 booths there, and only one had vegetables.  Said vegetables had Dole and Chiquita labels on them.  WTF.

Chesterfield Berry Farm is a trek for us, but it is one of the rare places in this town where you can get strawberries in the spring and pumpkins in the fall (even if they also carry Dole and Chiquita "home-grown" products in their markets.  Last weekend, Dave and I hit up their new market in the old Memories Galore (RIP) space at Brandermill.  Dave wanted to find some fresh cilantro and I wanted some strawberries.  We found both, but I was very disappointed in the quality of both.

I didn't take any pictures (you're welcome) of the wilted strawberries with gnats flying all around, or the wilted flowers gracing the sidewalk out front.  Sure, their prices are great!  But, you get what you pay for, I guess.  We won't be back.

So since that was a bust, Sunday morning I headed out to Mechanicsville to my most favorite vegetable stand, Berry's Produce!  They are so friendly, always have a great selection of veggies, and everything looks so fresh, clean, and scrumptious!

I took a lap around the entire place to see what they had before I went crazy picking stuff up!  That was rough! :)  I had a menu planned in my head, so I knew I needed 2 baking potatoes, several small potatoes for a stew, strawberries, and some pecans if they had them.  And they delivered!  All locally grown, none sprayed, and great prices!

Everything is so nice and organized!

These guys tempted me, but I have to remain faithful to my kitchen windowsill variety :)

$2.50 a quart!

89 cents a pound, what?

In addition to their veggies, they have a great selection of herbs, flowers, and yard accessories like flags and rain gauges.  I just love this place.  It's a bit of a distance from south side, but it's worth it to get locally grown vegetables with great customer service.  Plus it's just fun to get in the car and take a road trip with the windows down and music blaring on a lovely, breezy Sunday morning.  That's my church! :)

Check them out on Facebook and visit their website to see the very famous visitor they welcomed last summer. I hope their business booms this year from the publicity of that visit! Love this place and they deserve it! :)

Homegrown green onions - Update!

Well, not homegrown, but home-regenerated?  Whatever.

Here's where we started:

After a slow start [it took about 2 weeks to get good growth the first time], and an AWFUL smell [the entire house smelled like novocaine for 3-4 days during the first iteration], we have quite a yield so far!

Pictured below is the first growth cycle:

I change the water every 2 days just to keep things fresh since the bowl is so small.  After I cut them down each time, I peel the dry layers from the outside stemming from the root.  This seems to have helped the smaller stems survive, since there's plenty of healthy growth underneath.

We've had probably 4 iterations so far, and last night I cut them down again:

Here's our total yield, minus some used for omelettes, baked potatoes, and random meals:

We're gonna need a bigger water bottle!  We're keeping it in the freezer, but it's so convenient to just take out the bottle and shake out however many onions you need.  They thaw very quickly since they're so small so there's no waiting involved.  They're ready to go!

1964: The Tribute

Our friend Joe is a quiet one, but he sure is thoughtful! :) He took Sharon to a Broadway in Richmond show a few years ago and is still on their email list, so whenever he sees something we might like on the upcoming schedule, he forwards it on.

The most recent one he sent was perfect - a Beatles tribute band! I knew Dave would love it, even though I felt kinda 'meh' about it. Dave has been enamored with the Beatles since he was a boy, has all their albums, and knows all sorts of random trivia about them, so I knew he'd jump at the chance to see 1964: The Tribute. {insert katniss volunteering as tribute joke here}

We had a very fancy dinner at Coppola's in Carytown before heading down to the Carpenter Center (I will not call it Center Stage...like, ever).

I hadn't researched the show much, so I assumed we were going to see a bunch of hipsters play Beatles songs. I noticed how wrong I was when I saw this concert poster outside the Carpenter Center and thought I was looking at a picture of the Beatles. Nope, that's the tribute band.

The costumes, instruments, accents, hair, and banter between the band members - so authentic! It made it much more appealing to me - more of an experience back in time (cheesy?) than hearing a cover band, you know?

They didn't just play the greatest hits, which I enjoyed. I've heard all the famous songs but less familiar with most of their others. My favorite of the night was This Boy - I'd never heard it before and it's damn good. Paul warned the audience "John's going to scream in the middle of this one, don't be alarmed!" I expected a different kind of screaming, but loved the alternative! My new favorite Beatles song.

Here's a video Dave put together from parts of their performance.

The only negative part of the whole night, which Paul McCartney handled so well, was a groupie in the front row who knew thought she knew their set list, and yelled out the name of the next song while they were introducing it. He talked back to her once, announced he was being heckled and the band made a joke of it, and we all ignored her for the rest of the night! Ha!

Charlotte Grace

Now that she's more than a month old (oops!) it's time to introduce Charlotte Grace!

Eddie and Crystal have been hoping and praying for her for a long time, and she is finally here!  When we went to see her in the hospital (at maybe 36 hours old) she already had strong opinions about being cold and/or exposed and was doing karate kicks from inside her swaddle.  Strong girl!

We played pass the baby for a while, Dave gave her some valuable life advice (like when faced with the choice between The Who and Zeppelin, Uncle Nate will push you toward Zeppelin but don't overlook The Who too easily)...

...and Sharon manhandled her and then took out of her swaddle "to see what we're working with."

What did we learn about Charlotte earlier?  Leave her in the swaddle!  Eddie knew what was about to happen and kept saying "oh no, oh no, oh no" but Sharon kept her happy.  Phew - crisis averted! :)

Welcome to the world, Charlotte Grace!  We can't wait to spoil you :)

Cookbook Challenge: Week 10

Back to the Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker cookbook this week - so far everything out of this book tastes so good!  I love my baker - even though the handle on the lid recently popped off while Dave was washing it.  I got the information to send it in for a replacement, but have been putting it off because I don't know how long I'll have to live without it.  We use it at least twice a week and I will miss it! :(

Anyway - last night for dinner Dave made Easy Chicken Pot Pie.  He didn't think it was easy because it required specific steps in a specific order and he couldn't just throw the ingredients in a bowl, stir, add a crust, and voila!  Next time we make this we can make it more efficient :)

Here's the recipe:

Easy Chicken Pot Pie
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp salt1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup 2% milk

2 cups frozen peas/carrots

1/2 pkg frozen puff pastry sheets
1 egg
1 tbsp water

1.  Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter and flour on stove, whisking until smooth.  Add chicken broth, whisking constantly until smooth.  Add thyme, pressed garlic, salt and pepper.  Simmer, 6-8 minutes or until sauce is thickened.  Remove from heat.  Stir in chicken and milk.

2. Add finely chopped onion, frozen veggies and chicken mixture to Deep Covered Baker; mix well.  Unfold pastry onto lightly floured surface, seal seams and score to make 8 rectangles.  Lay pastry over filling; press edges against sides of baker and trim excess.  Lightly brush pastry with egg and water mixture.

3. Bake, uncovered, 30-40 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.  Remove baker from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I think the only time either of us has used puff pastry sheets was for cream horns a while ago, so that added another "new" thing that put him off.  But it tasted awesome and that's what counts!  The filling was thick, hearty, and creamy; the golden crust had just enough crunch - yum!

Cookbook Challenge: Week 9

From the Williams Sonoma Comfort Foods cookbook, we made Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce.

This recipe looked haaaaard, so we cheated a bit. Well, that's not entirely why we cheated - Martin's (at least the Stony Point one) doesn't carry tomatillos, so I bought pre-made sauce. Does that make me a horrible person? No.

I cooked the chicken in my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker while sauteeing some onions. When both were done I diced and combined them into 1 bowl. In another bowl was the tomatillo sauce.

To assemble the enchiladas:

• Dave spread a thin layer of tomatillo sauce on the tortilla, followed by a thin layer of pepper jack cheese
• I added a heaping spoonful of chicken and onions to half the tortilla, added a swirl of Sriracha, and rolled it up
• As I rolled some chicken and onions spread toward the empty side
• Once they were fully rolled I put them, seam side down, into a 9x13 casserole dish
• Repeat 5 times to get 6 enchiladas...

Once we had all the kids in the casserole dish, I poured the extra chicken and onion mixture on top just so we wouldn't waste any, and then poured the rest of the tomatillo sauce evenly on top. Lastly, we covered the whole thing with mozzarella cheese and threw it in the oven for ~15 minutes, just to melt the cheese and make sure everything was nice and hot.

Once the cheese was gooey and golden brown on the edges, we scooped out 2 enchiladas each and topped with sour cream.

I want to eat this for every meal for the rest of my life! That's not possible, but it sure does sound nice.

Cookbook Challenge: Week 8

Next up is Creamy Lemon-Pesto Chicken & Linguine, from the Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker cookbook.

Everything we've tried from this book so far has been excellent!  The DCB is my new favorite cooking apparatus - you can make baked potatoes in 20 minutes, cook a chicken breats in 4 1/2 - it's amazing!

image credit

Ours did not look like the stock photo, and I'll save you a photo of it.  The one from Pampered Chef's Facebook page (above) looks much. Trust me.