Time for this week’s Thursday Things:
1. Vanilla Bean Sampler – 3 beans each from 9 countries = 27 beans for $44.95
-
- Madagascan
- Mexican
- Ugandan
- Indonesian
- Tongan
- Indian
- Bourbon (Papua New Guinea)
- Tahitian (Papua New Guinea)
- Tahitian (Tahiti)
High quality beans for less than $2 bucks each? Score.
I love vanilla in anything. From body spray to candles to….
2.
…Cookies!
Puffy Vanilla Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
3. These lamps from Pottery Barn – love the eggplant base and the rustic burlap shades
4. I heated some milk for a recipe I was working on, forgot about it, and a skin formed. Milk skin. Lovely.
But it going me thinking and I researched what milk skin actually is.
When milk is heated, the water the starts to evaporate and the other elements, namely protein and fat, become increasingly concentrated. The proteins – casein and whey – also have a tendency to coagulate once the milk reaches a temperature of about 150°F.
Stir more and the problem is solved. More than you ever wanted to know, but I like food trivia.
5. Congrats to the Top 100 Mom Food Blogs 2012
Many of friends are named in this list – nice going, ladies!
I didn’t make the list but Skylar still thinks I’m a Top Mom. She thanked me yesterday for making her hair look cute and told me I was the best mom ever. I melted.
6. I have tomato jam and chutney on the brain and need to make my own.
My inspirations include:
Spicy Tomato Peach Jam from Lindsay
Spicy Heirloom Tomato Jam from Brandon (a fellow San Diegan – I told him I’d buy it off him)
Tomato Chutney from Liz (also a fellow San Diegan – and I’d buy hers, too)
Clearly I need to make my own.
7. Would you like 2 boxes of the new Cascadian Farms Ancient Grains cereal?
Made with whole grain oats, crisp rice, a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon, a touch of quinoa, spelt and kamut khorasan® wheat, our Ancient Grains Granola is an excellent source of fiber while also packing in 35 grams of Whole Grains per serving and 5 grams of protein
Leave a comment on this post telling me at that you’d like to be entered in the giveaway and what your favorite cereal of all time is.
I’ll announce the winner in my next post.
8. I’ve been thinking about something gooey with caramel and chocolate all day and these came to mind.
Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars (GF with Vegan adaptation)
9. Enamel-dipped servers from Antrhro – $36 for the pair which I think is a great price.
They remind me of something Tiffany without Tiffany pricing and for Anthro, pretty darn cheap.
10. The winner of the Magimix by Robot-Coupe Food Processor & Juice Extractor Giveaway (1000+ entries later)
is…
Michele Sparrow July 5, 2012 at 11:23 pm
I think the first thing I would make in the food processor is a homemade salsa or some kind of coconut yogurt. That processor is AMAZING!!
Congrats, Michele!
What are your Thursday Things?
If you’ve made anything, done, seen, or bought anything fabulous, feel free to link it up in the comments.
Do you like vanilla or ever make your own vanilla extract?
Yes and yes.
Split open 3 or 4 vanilla beans, put them in a tall jar with 1 cup of vodka with a lid like a canning jar, let them sit for at least a month, probably 6 to 8 weeks, shaking the jar a couple times a week.
In two months, you have vanilla extract. You can strain out the seeds if you want before you use it, but don’t. They are little flavor bombs – keep them and your food will have flecks of real vanilla beans in it; so pretty.
Top off your jar with more vodka and keep the cycle going. Add more vanilla beans every now and then.
Voila, homemade vanilla extract for a fraction of the price of storebought.
You can also use rum (dark or light) or bourbon, but they are not as clean-tasting as vodka. Sometimes not clean is a good thing though.
Thanks for the Zoku Quick Pop Maker and Chocolate Station Giveaway entries
2 things:
-we went to Tahiti on our honeymoon and vanilla bean plants were EVERYWHERE. I seriously contemplated how to smuggle them past customs for days on end. (I didn’t in the end)
-Ali @ Gimme some oven posted an earl grey peach jam that I absolutely cannot get out of my head. It has to happen this weekend!
I’ve seen her jam and have been thinking about it too! And your honeymoon…I would have been more than tempted, too. Probably would have taken action :)
I looove Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereals. I have never tried Cascadian Farms. But it looks tasty! (:
That vanilla bean sampler looks awesome! Oh and now I want some totally expensive lamp…thanks :) Also, congrats to the winner…although I’m sad its’ not me…haha ;)
It’s amazing you don’t know what you just have to have til you see it online, right? :)
Those vanilla beans look amazing. I love vanilla. I’ve thought about making vanilla extract before but haven’t because I make so much and the stote bought stuff is of very high quality.
That Jam sounds so good! I’d love to win the cereal! I’m trying various cereals with Kay right now. My favorite cereal of all time? oh gosh…mini wheats. I rarely buy them because I have 0 control ;) I also adore pb puffins
I had no idea thats how you can make vanilla extract, so interesting! I bet you could get creative with different versions and liquors.
You can – but like komboucha making, I’d do it AFTER I had my “mother batch” already made; like don’t put orange extract in your main batch type thing.
I want to slam my face into those gooey bars. Sigh. I love my vanilla extract. I got my beans in Hawaii and it feels like a taste of the islands with every recipe. Cute utensils from Anthro but man I’ve gotta wait until they have a sale because I got into financial shock otherwise!
Your beans sound awesome and I know what you mean about the gooey bars :)
That peach jam looks wonderful!! I happen to LOVE cascadian farms and i would have to say my favorite cereal is Quaker Oat Squares, in any flavor.
Ok love those spoons. Gorgeous. Let’s see, favorite cereal of all time? Gonna have to go with Apple Jacks. I could eat that stuff by the box when I was a kid. Let’s just say we didn’t get it that often. I’ve not tried the Cascadian Farms cereals – had granola bars but not cereal so would love to get 2 boxes.
That’s a cereal I haven’t had or thought about in oh, about 20 years…and now I want some!
I love Cascadian Farms cereals so I’d love to win some! My favorite cereal is Peanut Butter Puffins but I rarely buy them because I can finish an entire box in about 2 days (if I’m pacing myself!).
I do love vanilla too, I bought a solid perfume from Lush a couple weeks ago called Vanillary, it’s a great, light vanilla scent
GREAT tip on the perfume – I’m going to check it out. And I too adore Puffins and am on the same pace as you with a box!
Love Beanilla! And LOVE those burlap lamps — way too cute! :)
And Gina/runningtokitchen just mentioned your earl gray jam in her comment to me and I agree – I want it!
Found you through a friend sharing your protein bar recipe, and have now been sucked into your site – and am chomping at the bit to try some of these recipes. You’ll make that top 100 list next year, easy. And you make me want to be a food blogger ;)
It’s been 4 years – they never pick me. Not on their radar screen but that’s okay :) Glad you found me and LMK if you end up trying any recipes!
I’m loving all those varieties of vanilla. I’d love to make all sorts of extracts and see which is my favorite. …ummm probably all of them! :)
I’d use them to make more cupcakes. Speaking of cupcakes, here’s my Thursday Thing: my new cupcake holder. Squeeeeal!! https://queen-acres.blogspot.com/2012/07/lady-jane.html
cute!
That’s so sweet about Skylar’s comments. No wonder your heart melted! :)
Interesting milk trivia. One of my colleagues loves milk skin. I just don’t get it!
Also, I’m loving those lamps! My husband and I are moving into a new place in a few weeks, and I’m definitely into getting all the decoration inspiration I can at the moment. I’ve been a bit lost on Pinterest on a few occasions recently- where does the time go on there!? haha
Pinterest is one of my biggest time sucks – and I love it. Good luck with your move!
Milk skin always reminds me of the Jell-O chocolate pudding my nanny used to make me when I was little. The skin was the best part! Sinking your spoon into it to get to the creamy bottom. So, so good. I need to have it sometime for old time’s sake. :)
Jell-O pudding memories..the stuff potluck dinners in school gymnasium basements, complete with pudding skin and all. I remember them well :)
I do make my own vanilla extract! It’s so easy…
As for a Thursday thing, I am in love with summer berry pudding, the purple color is soooo lovely!
now that’s the brightest bread pudding I’ve ever seen!