Vanilla Extract Part 2

I picked up some Mexican vanilla beans at this great little Organic bulk food store near my house called The Nuthouse and decided to make a 2nd batch of vanilla to see if I could taste the difference.  It's such a wonderfully quick process... Also, here's a comparison shot between where the beans started and where they're headed!

Home-Made Vanilla

I had recently collected three of the perfect sized glass juice bottles to make vanilla extract in from the grocery store. I took three bourbon vanilla beans per bottle and sliced them lengthwise to expose the seeds and placed them into the bottles.  I then filled the bottles with vodka, put the lids on and will leave them be for a few months!  Time taken to make–maybe 10 minutes.  Will it be worth it? Probably!!

A Run of Recipes...

So I seem to be cooking a lot this week... Those whole spices really inspired me. I decided to make a nice big warming pot of rice pudding today. After cooking the brown rice as per the cooking instructions, I added a can of Organic coconut milk to the pot as well as a whole cinnamon stick, some whole cloves, a vanilla bean, and a few cardamom pods to simmer down with the milk. I should have though of putting them in right from when I was simmering the rice in water–oh well, next time.

 After it was ready, I topped it with beautiful local cherries and organic maple syrup from Quebec. HO-LY DELICIOUS!!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Making homemade vanilla is on my preserving to do list this year.  I use a fair bit, in my porridge most days, and I think it would make a lovely gift, too!
Here's a great description on how to do it:
http://www.averiecooks.com/2012/11/homemade-vanilla-extract.html