A good reason for vodka

Whenever my niece is here we cook all day long. I have no idea why. It's just what we do. Half-way through dumping ingredients for banana bread into the stand mixer today, after she falsely accused me of not having enough flour, we realized the vanilla extract did not smell like vanilla.

It was time.

*rubbing my hands together in glee*

There are, perhaps, many reason to have vodka in the house. Or, perhaps, not... depending on your relationship or lack thereof with alcohol. But every house needs vodka, I think, for this one reason if for no other.

The lovely couple: A cheap bottle of vodka and a stunningly gorgeous organic vanilla bean.



Grab a knife. Things are gonna get just a bit violent. But first, good luck getting the bean back while everyone is waving it under their nose once. Or twice. You may have to threaten and blackmail and arm wrestle some of the small children to get it back.

The bean is that unreal.

Amazing new technology! Scratch and sniff! Watch out for the knife.



Didn't work? Sorry.

Ha. Hahahah!

Did I mention vodka?

Caution: Don't drink while dissecting your vanilla bean (or blogging)



Slice one side all the way down the length, but only half-way through the width. This exposes all the millions of wonderful tiny itty bitty balls of vanilla goodness that are hiding in there. Do it on wax paper in case any of them escape. You must not lose a single one.

It's okay if they get on your fingers.

Mmmmmmmm...



I've been using reusing this old vanilla extract bottle since 2004. I've been using reusing my jug of laundry detergent that long too. I'm darn proud of both.

Here's the really difficult part. Put the vodka down and pay attention!

(It took me over a minute to find an exclamation point for that last sentence. And did any of you notice that at the end of yesterday's blog post I thought today was the 10th? I took half of my 10 on 10 pictures before I realized it. Help. Someone help me. I've misplaced my brain. And there's a hen sleeping in my entryway.)

Yes, pay attention people.

Bravely shove that bean right in.



Then, drown it.



And there you have it. Homemade vanilla extract for a tiny fraction of the cost of store bought. Today it doesn't smell like anything special, but let it sit for a couple weeks and the wonderful will nearly kill you every time you open the lid. As you use it bit by bit, keep adding more vodka to fill it up. A year and a half later when it loses that yummy vanilla scent, you grab yourself a new bean and start fresh again.

So easy. And frugal. And fun.

I love this.

Making fish

I finally found out what our six year old wants for Christmas. What he really, really wants.

Just to put this in perspective, for his birthday last year he wanted plumbing. Pipes, couplings, hoses, and a pump... it was all he wanted. And believe me, his joy was complete.

I tell no lie.

For Christmas, he wants fish. Specifically, six inches long, with a one inch tail.

I love that kid so much.

Thankfully, I keep a shoebox stashed full of fish-making supplies. Living way out here on the frozen tundra, it would be nothing short of foolish not to.



That kid deserves to have fish.

I wonder if I should have measured them?