Mmm, fall is in the air, and lots of baking is going to be happening at our house!  I am looking forward to using my own homemade vanilla in all of my cooking and baking.  The first batch I made will be finished in roughly 2 weeks and I can officially 'try' it. 

Since I mentioned making my own vanilla, I've had a few requests for the recipe/method, and my friend Mennobrarian kindly suggested that a tutorial might be in order.  Sooo, bear with me as I add my first real tutorial for making your own vanilla!  And thanks, Mennobrarian, for the suggestion! :)  By the way, a Disclaimer:  I am not accustomed to frequenting the liquor stores, so venturing in for a bottle of vodka to make my vanilla was almost too much for me! No, I'm no prude, but I don't know enough about alcohol to tell one thing from another...so I coaxed my hubby into purchasing it for me.  Maybe next time, huh?

HOMEMADE VANILLA

The players:  vanilla beans (buy them online - much cheaper! My source listed below.); vodka (75-80 proof); 1/2 pint jar with lid; sharp knife.

Step 1:  Count out and sort your vanilla beans.  The recipe I used first called for 4 beans per 8 ounces vodka (1/2 pint jar) but other sources suggest that anything less than 6 or 8 beans per 1/2 pint is only vanilla-flavored alcohol.  I used 6 beans per jar for my first batch and 7 beans per jar for the batch you see here.

Step 2:  Cut the beans in half horizontally.  I also cut off the ends to make it easier later on...but I add the ends to the jar, so don't throw them away!

Step 3:  Cut the halves in half lengthwise.  Set these all aside in a pile.

Step 4:  Using the back edge of your sharp knife, hold it at about a 45 degree angle to the bean pod and scrape the insides of the bean, also known as "caviar".  Put the caviar in a pile at the side of your cutting board or go ahead and put it in your jar.  You'll have to use your fingers to get it all off.

Step 5:  After scraping out all the caviar, chop your bean pods up into small pieces.  Add these to your jar also.

Step 6:  Add 8 oz. vodka to the jar with the pods and caviar.  Put a lid on and shake, shake, shake!

Step 7:  Put this in a dark place to do its thing.  For the first week, you'll need to shake it DAILY.  It's okay to open it up and smell it, too!

After the first week, you will need to shake the jar(s) once every couple or three days, until week 4.  Then just shake occasionally as you remember.  After week 4, you can use some of it and just top off the jar with more vodka.  It will continue to "ripen" as long as the bean pods are in it. 

I plan to finish my first batch in no more than a couple of weeks because I want to try it.  To finish, you will need to strain the vanilla through a couple of layers of cheesecloth into another clean jar with a well fitting lid.  Obviously I haven't gotten to that part yet or I would add pictures!  I'll try to update this tutorial when I get to the straining part. 

Well, that's about it.  To sum it up, you'll need some vanilla beans - I get mine online as I can get 20 or 30 beans for less than I would pay for 2 or 3 in a store here - some vodka, and an 8 oz. jar (or several jars, if you plan to make a bunch).  You need a good sharp knife and the cute cutting board like I used just makes everything more cheerful, but any cutting board will do.  It takes just a little while to make up, and then all you have to do is remember to SHAKE IT! 

*I buy my vanilla beans from The Organic Vanilla Bean Company - I have been VERY pleased with them.  The website is:  organic-vanilla.com.

Enjoy!  And let me know how your vanilla turns out!

Mmm, Mmmm, Mmmm!  My kitchen smells soooo yummy right now!  I am making another batch of fig preserves and it is simmering away on the stove as I type.  It gives such a warm, cozy feeling to know that I am preserving bounty from the season to be able to share with friends and family this fall and winter!

I am actually making two different kinds of fig preserves - one is a Spiced Fig Jam and the other is Fig Preserves (the way our great-grandparents used to make it...no preservatives, no pectin, all natural!).  They both taste so great!  I thought maybe someone else might have a bounty of figs (Wish ours were free! We buy them from an older couple near here who grow them pesticide-free and sell by the quart, very reasonably, I might add, thank goodness!) so am posting the recipe I use for the spicy fig jam.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do - and by all means, leave a comment to let me know you tried it!

Spiced Fig Jam

Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

Ingredients:  1/2 lemon (unpeeled), thickly sliced and seeded

                   1 1/2 pounds fresh ripe figs, halved (about 4 cups)

                   2 1/4 cups sugar (I use organic or Rapadura)

                   1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick

                   2 1/4 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

                   1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

PREPARATION: 

Finely chop lemon in processor.  Add figs.  Using on/off turns, process until figs are coarsely pureed.  Transfer mixture to heavy large saucepan.  Add 2 1/4 cups sugar, cinnamon stick, 2 1/4 teaspoons minced ginger and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.  Simmer until mixture thickens to jam consistency and candy thermometer registers 200 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring pretty often.  This should take about 20 minutes or so.  Discard cinnamon stick.  Divide hot preserves among hot clean jars.  Process about 10 minutes in hot water bath canner. 

Yesterday my two littlest darlings (ages 3 and 1) and I made homemade playdough!  I have never done this with them, even though I used to make it for my oldest two when they were 2 or 3 years old.  I have a tried-and-true recipe handed down from Gram that she used when *I* was little ... but I couldn't find it yesterday.  So I hopped online and found the following recipe, which I tweaked a bit (I'm turning into a habitual recipe-tweaker!):

PLAYDOUGH

4 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 4 cups water, 4 TBSP oil, 1/2 cup cream of tartar

Mix all ingredients into a bigger saucepan (Here is where I tweaked it:  Don't know about you, but I have cream of tartar in those small little spice bottles, so didn't have anywhere NEAR 1/2 cup of the stuff.  So I added about a TBSP or maybe two, then added 2 TBSP cornstarch for no particular reason.  I also added some food coloring here as I was stirring so it would blend evenly).  Cook and stir over low/medium heat until playdough is completely formed and no longer sticky.  Allow to cool slightly before storing in an airtight container or zip lock bag.

Be forewarned, this makes a big batch.  You might want to half it if you don't want a bunch.  Or at least divide into halves or fourths and color each portion a different color for variety.  We made the whole batch and used one color, not realizing it would make so much!  So we've got a whole lotta blue playdough and have been having a ball with it!

In case you're interested, I think I read somewhere that you can substitute 1/2 baking soda and 1/2 baking powder for cream of tartar when you're in a pinch.  Never actually tried it, though.  If you choose to go this route, you'd use 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup baking powder in this recipe.  If you try it, let me know how it turns out!  In the meantime, I'm gonna give Gram a ring and have her look up the original playdough recipe I know and love ... but for now, this one turned out to be a definite close second!

I found out long ago that planning our menus out for 2 weeks or more at a time helped keep us from going through the drive-through or wandering aimlessly through the grocery aisles when we should be sitting down to a nutritious meal.  SOOOO, I thought, "Others share their menu plans, so why not me, too?"  I have one large calendar dedicated to menu plans and I fill in 2 weeks (sometimes more) at a time, then make my grocery list from that, combining as much as possible with loss leaders at local grocery stores.  Sometimes we deviate from the plan (switching one night's menu with another or making a different meal with the same general ingredients), but at least there is some structure and that's what counts.  So without further ado, here is what's on the menu at our house this week:

Monday 

Pork Chop Romance with Oven Baked Yellow Rice

http://chefmom.com/recipebox/recipes/1315.htm

http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotporkchops/r/bl77n1.htm?p=1

Tuesday - Chicken Noodles, Peas, Bread

Wednesday - Sloppy Joes, French Fries, Macaroni & Cheese

Thursday - Mexican Night:  Chips 'n' Dip

Friday - Chicken Fried Rice, Toasty Bread

Saturday - Grill Out!  Steaks, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans

Sunday -  Family Outing, so we will Eat Out

I've listed the sites for the two newest recipes I'm using (sorry I haven't quite got the hang of tiny url's here yet!), and the other menu items are either family recipes or just quick versions using some ready-made ingredients.  If you're interested in a particular recipe, just send me a message!  I'll be happy to share - there's nothing gourmet here, just GOOD food!

Just tried out a new recipe and, though *I* think it still needs a little something (I like to "tweak" recipes to suit us even better), thought it would be nice to share.  I don't recall where I got the recipe (I hand-copied it in one of my notebooks - I'm always finding recipes and such, especially if I have to sit in a waiting room - and copy them down to try).  I am posting it as I copied it, but will say that I substituted a little, and when I make it again, will do more substitutions to "tweak" it.  So here it is, without further ado!

Lemon Cheesecake

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese

2 cups milk, divided

1 pkg (3.5 oz.) instant lemon pudding (I subbed French Vanilla here)

1 - 9 inch graham cracker pie crust (make your own or buy ready-made)

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy.  Add 1/2 cup of the milk, a small amount at a time, blending after each addition til mixture is very smooth.

Add remaining milk and the pudding mix.  Beat for about 1 minute or until well mixed.  Pour into crust.  Chill one hour.

That's it!  Easy!  I will probably try adding some sugar next time, and maybe just a bit more cream cheese as well.  I LOOOOOOVE cheesecake, as does DH.  This one was good - we spooned cherry pie filling over it - but it could always be better!  Let me know if you use the recipe and tell me if you "tweaked" it as well!