Curiosity

TRS is not above self-deprecation. Yesterday, I wrote Part 2 of the DIY Vanilla Extract experiment.

Today, I post a link to what I did after adding a few more beans to the bottle: http://youtu.be/duySEM_HI2g

The background music is “Adiemus” from Songs of Sanctuary. I believe my comments at the end are sufficient.

DIY Vanilla Extract, Again

Earlier this year, I experimented with making my own extracts. I was under the false impression that 2 vanilla beans would be rather sufficient for the amount of vodka, but I realized that I’m used to seeing that amount of store-bought vanilla extract with the boost of a real vanilla bean as opposed to starting from scratch with the alcohol and vanilla.

I was in luck yesterday in investigating the spice aisle – vanilla beans were on sale! I got 4 (four) beans for about $13. If you aren’t aware of grocery prices in this area – that’s an awesome deal.

Later at home. Here is what 2 months with 2 beans in 750 mL of cheap vodka looks like:

Beans!

Slice open two beans. I’m still holding out that 4 will be sufficient. I also scrape out some of the seeds.

Shake it up, woohoo!

And hope that the color and flavor darkens.

Stay tuned for what happened about 30 seconds later.

Things I Miss…

It’s a typical night here in Indy. I’ve come home from school; I relaxed and ate. I did my work for the next day and now I’m blogging. But something about this night feels wrong. And once I identified it, I’m not sure how to fix it.

Ready?

The Answer

Yesterday, I posted this:

And asked you to guess what it was.

Summer Party

Yesterday, I showed some not so tasty pictures. Sorry.

Vegetarians, beware. The next 3 pictures are not for you. However, omnivores and paleo folk will be happy!

Kitchen Jeopardy

Answer: Something TRS thought she could salvage for some use, possibly even dinner.

(She didn’t and ended up throwing out the concoction anyway)

Thawed

So, in my moving frenzy, I made a mistake last Sunday – I went to sleep. Here’s how last week shaped up:

Wednesday, August 8: everything from my storage unit was transferred to a truck and moved to my house in Indy.

Friday, August 10: I loaded a bunch of stuff into my RAV4, and my goal for the evening is sorting enough in my bedroom so I could sleep on my bed and see part of the floor.

Sunday, August 12: I pick up my remaining items in Bloomington, along with my fridge and freezer items. I promptly bring everything into the house, however, before I remember to put it in the freezer, I collapse on my bed. Since I haven’t been sleeping well the past week and a half, I was up at 4:30 or 5 AM.

My first thought: “Oh, crap! Freezer!”

My Next 30 Years

I’m still debriefing from my birthday.

I had to look up Randy Stonehill on my birthday. I get what his song is saying, but I can’t relate one bit. I did, however, find out that he’ll be playing in Indianapolis right after I move there. I might need to satiate my CCM fixation for the year.

Then I thought about the Tim McGraw song “My next 30 years.”

I remembered the post on Things to do in your 20s. I don’t think I ever intended to do everything on the list, beings as some of it is humor from the authors, however, I was drawn to the intent: live a life where you can tell stories and convey meaning and depth.

But since I do appreciate crossing items off a list, here’s my update on those suggestions, and some adjustments, etc.

DIY Project: Baking Extracts

I’ve been lost in the frenzy of summer, so please forgive me for the delay in postings.

Even with a limited and not-so-snazzy kitchen this summer, I have found some entertainment and joy in DIY Extracts.

Brownies: Study Distraction Extraordinaire!

So, I have some finals in the next few weeks. You know what that means? Baking and whining. Yep, those be my go-to vices for dealing with the stress of tests, work, and impending move. Yet, I know if there weren’t at least 3 important future events at all times in my life – well, nothing would get done!

I’ve been experimenting with brownie recipes lately – mostly inspired by this recipe for brownie frosting I found at work a few weeks ago. It was good, but after making it a few times, the frosting was too sweet. It’s brownies with fudge on top. One word: OVERLOAD!!! Seriously, I think I’ve lost a little weight in the past few months, and those suckers are not helping me maintain at all.

The second time I made the above frosting, I needed a different brownie recipe as I don’t have any boxes of brownie mix on hand and the previous brownie recipe was disappointing. I looked through my cookbooks and came across one called “Beat This!” by Ann Hodgman.

God bless that woman!