Homemade Vanilla

I love vanilla.

I use alot of vanilla.

Really, really good vanilla is not cheap.  I've been buying watkins vanilla for years.

I decided to make my own! And the results were great! :)


Here's what you need to make homemade vanilla.
 - An air-tight glass jar/container.
 - One cup of 80 proof vodka
 - 3 vanilla beans. (The link takes you to the beans I buy off of amazon.  Great bang for the buck!)

How to make the vanilla
1.  Pour vodka into jar/container.
2.  Slice vanilla beans open lengthwise.
3.  Place beans in vodka, screw on lid tightly, and leave in a dark, room temperature place for 1 month minimum.  Maybe give it a shake every once in a while.

After a month you can use the vanilla as you would normally. You can see below the vanilla I made with vodka has a nice caramel color to it.  This is about 2 cups worth of vodka because, like I said, I use alot of vanilla.  Below it, is a 1 cup version I made with some bourbon I had on hand, much darker.  And it is amazing!  The bourbon vanilla is one that is best used for non-baking recipes to really appreciate the flavor, like whipped cream, puddings, etc. Or even a little in a hot tottie :)

Vodka Vanilla

Bourbon Vanilla

Whipped Cream

Most everyone I know grew up on cool whip or redi-whip.  I did too.  But now, I find it easier and infinitely better to make homemade whipped cream.  Especially once I made my own vanilla.  Hello, burbon vanilla whipped cream, ya'll!!!

I also tend to like my whipped cream not too sweet.  Mostly because I'm usually putting it on top of something sweet already :)  So here's my favorite version of whipped cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1.  About 10 mins prior to making, place your bowl in the freezer.

2.  Mix all ingredients together in freezer chilled bowl.

3. Using whisk attachment, beat mixture on high til stiff peaks form.

Refrigerator Pie

One of my favorite summer memories from when I was growing up was my grandmother's refrigerator pie.  I know... the name needs some work.

But!  There was nothing like eating a slice of this fruit pie.  Any fruit you wanted.  Peach was my favorite, but strawberry, raspberry, blackberry...  all are wonderful!

And for years, I thought I had lost the ability to ever enjoy this goodness again.  It was one of the few recipes I thought I had failed to procure from my grandmother.  And then, a few weeks ago, I found myself searching through the stack of handwritten recipe cards to find one entitled simply "Strawberry Pie".  I took a closer look and realized just what I had!  Refrigerator pie!  I was so thrilled I had to call my husband to gush to him about it on the phone.  The next day I went out and bought the ingredients.  And when I started making it, I was a little girl again learning to cook in my grandmother's kitchen!

And yes, it was just as good as I remembered and no, it did not last long in my fridge :)


Ingredients:
1 Graham cracker, ready made crust.
1 egg yolk
1 3 oz box flavored gelatin (aka Jello, the flavor of whatever fruit you are using)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 quart fresh fruit (for peaches though, we generally used canned)
Whipped cream

1. Brush pie crust with one egg yolk and bake for 10 mins at 350.  Doing this helps keep the crust from crumbling apart on you when you got to cut it.  Another one of the tricks my grandmother taught me.
2. In a small sauce pan, bring sugar, cornstarch, and water to a boil.  Cook until thick. Cool slightly. Add gelatin to thickened sugar mixture and set aside.
4.  Cover bottom of pie shell with fresh fruit.  Pour gelatin mixture slowly over fruit til full. Chill pie til solid.
5. Top with whipped cream and chill til ready to serve!