Never Buy Vanilla Extract Again!

The holidays have come and gone, and man was I busy!  I did a lot of cooking and baking around Christmastime, but haven't really done anything since.  I just haven't felt like it.  I've made some fancy dinners that I'll post on here probably tomorrow, or when I get some time (did I mention I've been really busy?). 

However, I did have time to make vanilla extract!  It's so easy, and really...everyone should do it.  If you're going to go through all the trouble and take all the time to impress someone with some delicious and beautiful baked goods...why not use good ingredients?  Besides, I always like knowing what's in my food...and how it was made.  I'm just nosey like that. 

Sure, vanilla beans are expensive.  BUT... you can sometimes find premium ones at good prices.  Besides, if you do a lot of baking, purchasing all that extract really adds up.  Especially if you buy the good stuff.  I know I've spent more than 50 dollars this past year on extract alone, probably more than 100.

Now it's a new year, so I've said enough!  I'm making my own!  I found a cool looking bottle from the thrift store, bought a few beans from the co-op, and a bottle of good vodka.  And that's it!  In about 6 months I should be set for quite a long time.

Start with a bottle, really any bottle will do.  You just want to make sure it has a good, airtight seal on it.  You could even use a mason jar if you wanted.

Get your beans.  These are Premium Bourbon-Madagascar beans.  I got them from my local co-op, but they are available online from many places.  Just google them. I paid 7 dollars for all three beans, which is an okay price, I guess.  Personally, I think it's a little high...but that's just me, and maybe you?  It's okay though.  It isn't the first time I spent too much money on something culinary related, and it won't be the last.

Next, split your bean.  Some people think you should chop off the ends of the bean too.  They also think you should scrape the bean.  You could. But you don't have to. Just split it, that's all you really need to do.

Toss the beans back in the bottle.  Some people also think you should chop the beans up in pieces.  You could. But you don't have to.  I mean, if you you small mason jars you probably should.  You do want the vodka to cover the entire bean, but if you use a nice big bottle or a roomy jar, you should be able to just toss 'em back in.

Grab your vodka.  Make sure its a vodka you'd like to drink.  Don't use something cheap or something you drank your freshman year of college---no Karkov here.  We're talking a nice smooth vodka. You don't want something that smells like finger nail polish remover. This is Grey Goose and it's perfect.  Sure, it's a little pricey...but hey! I can make myself some delicious martinis with the leftovers!

Pour the vodka in!  You might want to use a funnel, unless you are really good at not spilling.  Pour in enough so that your beans are covered.  For a pretty strong extract you'd use about 1 cup vodka to 3 vanilla beans.  I want mine to be a little more mild, so I used about 2 cup vodka to 3 beans. Use what you want really...that's what's so great when you make your own!  You can make it to your taste!

Put the lid on and make sure it's sealed well.  Shake, shake, shake!  You want to shake her up for about a minute.  You'll do this daily (if you remember) for the first week.  Then about once a week there after for the next few months.  This is just to help mix everything up.

You have to wait about 6 months before you can use the extract, so you'll want to get started right away!  I made mine December 31, so I have quite a while to wait.  I check on it daily though...and the alcohol has finally turned all brown.  I'm excited about this one!

On a side note.  I got a new camera for Christmas.  I'm not very good at using it yet...and our apartment has HORRIBLE lighting.  There isn't even a living room light, so we had to buy one of those crappy floor lamps, and that's all we have.  So, sometimes when you see photos and they have weird lighting, that's probably why. But, I wanted to show you a few photos that I took recently, they're not food related...but they're still fun!

This is our cat, Harry.  He is NOT happy.  He hurt his paw some how and won't let the wound heal, so he has to wear a cast.  Because he likes to chew off his cast, he has to wear a pink collar thing.  He hates us for it, and would probably curse me if he knew I was showing the world.

Our other cat, Penny didn't know what the heck was going on, and she coudln't stop staring.  She did this all night.  Harry just laid there like he was paralyzed.

Penny

Piyush LOVES to golf.  He's heartbroken he can't golf during the winter, so instead he spends his weekends wii-golfing.  He takes it very seriously too.  It's funny.

Look at his cast, I told you he tries to knaw it off.  We re-tape it though.  We're one step ahead.

Swaagat hai! Welcome! and a Trip down memory lane...

After months and months of saying I was going to start a blog, I have finally decided to do it. I had a blog once, for about 5 or 6 years actually. It was around 2000 or so and they weren't quite popular yet. I was a teenager and it became some sort of theraputic outlet for me. Maybe this one will become the same.

I'll start with an introduction. My name is Shari, and I love to cook. Actually, I love to experiment. Once I find a recipe that works I seldom stick to that recipe. Once, I made Chicken Tikka Masala to perfection. Only once. Afterwards, I decided that since I've conquered it I could afford to improvise. It doesn't usually work. My unfortunate husband, Piyush ends up eating all sorts of wild, Indo-American creations. I call them the "Shari Specials". He doesn't complain though. No, he ne never complains, but he does critique. And between you and me, he is one hard critic.

Piyush is the one who taught me how to cook Indian food. He taught me Chicken Curry...and can you believe it, the first time I made it he told me I made better curry than he did. He may have been joking, but I took him seriously. I seldom ever use the recipe he taught me anymore, mostly because I like a little thicker gravy and he prefers a watery curry.

Look....Here is the very first time I ever learned to make curry, the photos are kind of silly, but they're all in good fun!  I'll also include a quick run-down of his recipe if you're interested.  There aren't really any measurements, and I guess with most of the things I cook there aren't.  I can guess, but really a lot of it depends on tasting your own food and deciding for yourself how spicey you like it.  I promise his curry tastes really good, I might even make it for him tomorrow as a surprise (with a few of my own special touches, of course!).

Piyush's Chicken Curry

First, heat some oil in a saucepan.  Pour some Cumin seeds in. 

That might be a lot of cumin, I'm not sure.  It's probably a tablespoon?  Let those heat in the oil until you hear them start to pop.  You don't want to let them sit unattended though, or else they will burn.  This will wreck the flavor of your entire dish.

This is the photo we took so that I would remember what ingredients to use to make the curry when I decided to try and make it myself.  Funny thing though, I never recall using the chicken curry masala...I don't even recall him using that.  ...weird.

Next Add 1 medium chopped onion.  Piyush prefers the purple ones.  Let the onion fry until it is translucent. Once it's at that point he likes to add his tomato sauce.  Piyush prefers Prego.  haha, I personally think the Italian seasonings mess with the Indian flavor, but he says it's easy.  If you would like you can use fresh tomatoes (as I do) or even just plain tomato sauce with a little tomato paste.

My hubby (then, boyfriend) chopping some chicken, I think.

After that simmers awhile (or once your fresh tomatoes break down and kind of turn to a mushy paste) you would add some ground corriander, turmeric, black pepper, garam masala, salt, cumin powder, ginger paste and garlic paste.

Now...add the chicken!   Stir and fry for a couple minutes and then add about 2 cups of water or maybe a little more, depending how watery you like your curry to be.

Let the curry sit on a medium-high heat for about 45 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through at least.  The longer it cooks, the better it will taste.

2 happy kids makin' some curry

...and that is a little about me, and how I learned to cook Indian food.