Vanilla Sugar

In my previous post I discussed in passing, my previous obsession with vanilla extract. During my quest for the best tasting vanilla extract I fell in love with the flavor of vanilla, when it stands alone. One of the ways to use vanilla in a more pronounced way is to make vanilla sugar.


Of course this set me off on a whole expedition to find the perfect container to put my sugar in, the perfect vanilla beans, and finally the recipe for vanilla sugar that seemed best. The container portion didnt turn out to be that hard. A quick trip to my local container store and I found a jar with a wide opening so I would be able to measure out the sugar easily. The vanilla beans turned out to be pretty easy as well. My favorite vanilla extract company also produces beans and not surprisingly vanilla sugar. The hardest part then, became finding a recipe that seemed right. After searching through different recipes it became apparent that vanilla sugar is more a method than a formula.

I haven't tried my vanilla sugar yet, because it has to "steep" for a few weeks but I am excited and I do plan to use it in my baking in the future.

VANILLA SUGAR

2-4 cups of granulated sugar
2-3 vanilla beans

Split the vanilla beans open with a kitchen knife and scrape the insides out and place in the sugar. Mix the sugar and the vanilla beans "stuff" and place in an airtight container with the vanilla bean "shells" placed at the bottom. Place the container of sugar in a dark place for a few days or a few weeks.

* I used my food processor to combine the beans and the sugar
** click here for some fun facts on vanilla.

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Fascination with food

I have always enjoyed good food but it wasn't until this past summer that I became a "foodie." It started with a classic caprese salad at Ruth's Chris. From there I became completely obsessed with basil and tomatoes, and this obsession spilled over into other magical ingredients. I've spent time on leeks, parsley, vanilla extract, beef, and now my latest is almond extract.



I had to have the almond extract, maybe it was the pretty packaging. But what good is the magic ingredient without a good recipe to put it to test. The recipe came during a moment of pure uninspiration. I think I was taking a nap in front of the TV and I woke up to none other than Giada baking blueberry almond cookies.


I made these cookies at the worst possible time. I had an hour to make them, including chilling and baking, before I had to go to class. Luckily they came out yummy anyway. Here is the recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis on her show Everyday Italian.

Almond Blueberry Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4-1/3 cup whole milk*
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup blueberries

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt

In another bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolk and incorporate. Add milk, almond extract and lemon zest.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the blueberries. Chill the dough in the refriderator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F)

Using two small spoons, dollop mix onto cookie sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

* I probably added about 1/2 cup of milk
** I omitted the 1/2 cup of chopped toasted almonds.

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Orange Juice

I want this blog to not only include mouth watering recipes but to also highlight objects I think are beautiful and make my kitchen a prettier place.

Now even though I don't prefer orange juice or any fruit juice for that matter I have never been one to pass up something cute for practical reasons. This explains my recent purchase of this ceramic juicer. It has clever little holes in the top to catch the seeds and the juice strains through to the pot. I love it but will I ever use it? Does it matter?

Again, please forgive my very amatuer photo skills. I promise to get better, notice the sunlight?

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Yes another food blog!

And by a law student at that. I am completely unoriginal in this endeavor but I won’t let that stop me from shamelessly soliciting help and feedback on my new favorite activity - cooking.

With that being said I can promise any reader who happens to stop by that I will not write in overly stylistic, trying- to- get- a- book- deal prose. I will not over-gourmetify food for the sake of the blog. I will not post regularly all the time but regularly enough to keep it interesting. I will not post only about my messes and successes but other kitchen news (such as my new plates, teacups, etc). And I am absolutely certain that I will go off topic occasionally. Lastly, I promise that while I am butchering the English language talking about my adventures, not-quite professional pictures of the whole endeavor will accompany the posts.

In that vain, enjoy some of the pictures of my recent cooking successes taken with the camera on my iphone. The pictures will get better, I promise.

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