Homemade Vanilla Extract - Great Holiday Gift Idea!

I know, I know, it's only September and I shouldn't be thinking about Christmas yet - but I am!  I have been wanting to make homemade vanilla extract for months, and it's finally time to make some for myself and a few to give away as gifts.  I bake a lot, and considering that everything from my homemade granola cereal to my oatmeal energy balls contains vanilla extract, I go through a bottle of the stuff every couple of weeks (I can't always find the larger bottles of pure extract at the stores I frequent, so I'm forced to buy those little chintzy ones for $3 a pop).  That being said, making my own is quite a bit more cost effective, and I'm guessing it will be quite delish.

I purchased the three glass bottles pictured below (which stand approx. 8 inches tall) at a garage sale for $2 (old dressing bottles would work well if you're not a garage saler), in addition to 2 bottles of brandy for $22 plus tax.  The two bottles of brandy made all three vanilla extracts, in addition to a quart-sized jar of Elderberry Elixir (recipe coming soon!).   I bought the organic vanilla beans from Mountain Rose Herbs for $7.50 plus shipping, and received 12 beans in the package, so I have enough left over to make another jar of extract.  After all was said and done, each jar of vanilla extract was still cheaper than a much smaller jar of the high-quality extract you can find in some stores - and the beans used were organic, to boot!  This recipe is so easy (and the result so pretty, especially to foodies like me) that I hope you give it a try!


Homemade Vanilla Extract

9 to 12 whole vanilla beans
2 bottles of good brandy
3 or 4 decorative glass jars with corks or lids (sterilized)

Directions:
Sterilize your jars and lids in boiling water for 7 minutes.  Let dry.  Place 3 to 4 vanilla beans in each jar and cover completely with brandy.  Place the lid on tightly and let sit in a cool, dry cupboard for 8 weeks.  Liquid will darken over time.  Use as needed after 8 weeks.

*I've read that, once the 8 weeks are up and you are using your extract, you can leave the beans in the jars and top off with brandy as needed for quite a while to keep up your supply.*

Crunchy, Zesty and Easy Fridge Pickles Recipe

If you've read my previous post on grape picking and canning jam, then you know that I'm not a fan of the canning process.  That being said, this recipe requires no canning!  Just follow the directions, place in the fridge, wait two days and Voila!  You have two jars of pickles that are better (and cheaper) than most store-bought varieties.  If you're like me, you will stare at them every time you open the fridge until those two days have passed :)  As an added benefit, they will keep in the fridge for several months, but I doubt they will last that long!

Items Needed:
2 quart-sized Mason jars, bands and new lids
6-8 pickling cucumbers (the fresher, the better), cut into halves or spears
2 cups distilled white vinegar
2-1/2 cups water (filtered or distilled preferred)
6 Tbs kosher salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
6-10 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced in half
4-8 Tbs dill seed **
1 Tbs whole black peppercorns

**My first batch was a bit too zesty/salty, so I cut way down on the dill seed in my second batch.  You cannot cut down the salt, because the brine requires a specific proportion of vinegar and salt to pickle.  So adjust the dill seed according to your tastes.**

Directions:
-Sterilize the jars, bands and lids in boiling water (you really don't have to sterilize the jars, but I prefer to do so). 
-Divide the garlic, dill seeds, pepper flakes and peppercorns into the jars.
-Wash the cucumbers and cut off any bad spots, in addition to cutting off the stem ends.  Divide the sliced cucumbers into the two jars, leaving 1/2" to 3/4" space at the top.
-Combine the vinegar, water and salt in a non-reactive pot to make the brine.  Bring to a boil and stir until the salt is dissolved.
-Pour the hot brine over the cucumbers and leave 1/4" space at the top of the jars.  Wipe the top of the jars, put the lids on and tighten.
-Age for at least 2 days in the fridge.

**This recipe has been adapted from this website, and can also be used to pickle green tomatoes.**

4 Easy Ways to Keep A Preschooler Busy (While Trying to School or Otherwise Engage an Older Child)

As my homeschooling journey begins, (my Kindergartner starts next week), so does my very stressful journey of trying to keep my preschooler happily engaged while I am paying attention to her older sister.  Weeks ago, I started hoarding items from the Dollar Store (foam stickers, pipe cleaners, foam puzzles, googlie eyes, etc.) and scouring Pinterest for ideas.  Aside from the obvious Dollar Store item activities, (painting, sticking stickers on anything and everything, playing with foam puzzles,) below are my top 4 activities for keeping a preschooler busy - they are easy on you, fun for the kid, and most importantly, are not going to cause a mess that will only give you more work at the end of the day!  I hope your preschooler enjoys them, and that they provide you with whine- and cry-free time with an older child :).

1.) Homemade Flubber

Make it in advance, provide a few props (I use Playdoh dishes, molds and cutters) and let them go to town!  This stuff keeps my preschooler busy for up to an hour on some days.  The recipe can be found on this website.

2.) Color Sorting Activity

All you need to make this activity are multicolored pom poms from the Dollar Store, 4 old jars, and red, yellow, blue and green paint or tape.  Paint the lids of the jars and a stripe around the middle of the jars, (or paint the whole jars if you're feeling crafty).  You can also use colored tape (I used tape for the green one because I didn't have any green paint on hand).  Then have the preschooler sort the pom poms into the jar of the proper color.

3.) Build-Your-Own Felt Cupcake

I saw this on Pinterest, but it didn't have any instructions.  It intrigued me, though, because my preschooler plays the "Build-Your-Own Cupcake" app on my husband's iPhone all the time.  So, I used some felt and other items that I had on hand to make the cupcakes (sorry, I know they're sad -I'm not very crafty - and I only had about 30 minutes to make them!).  All I did was print out some cupcake and candy templates online and glue them to a piece of thin cardboard.  I then cut them out and used a hot glue gun to attach the felt.  I happened to have a strip of Velcro with an adhesive side lying around, so I cut it into pieces and attached only the rough side to the cupcake "decorations".  They stuck very nicely to the felt, and the girls had fun building with them. 

 

4.) Scissor Cutting and Tracing Exercises

I found this printable scissor cutting exercise (and a BUNCH more of them) on this website.  There are also some quality, printable tracing exercises on this website.  What preschooler doesn't want to play with scissors?!

 



Easy Garlic Cayenne Oxymel Recipe For Cold & Flu Season (Start Preparing Early!)

What, you may be asking, is an oxymel??  According to herbalist Rosalee de la Foret,

"Oxymels are herbal preparations that date back as far as the ancient Greeks. They are made by combining herbs with both honey and vinegar.  These sweet and sour preparations are specific to the respiratory system and can be used for bronchial complaints, especially when there is a lot of mucous present - such as coughs that are thick with mucous.  I learned from herbalist Paul Bergner that William Cook, a Physiomedicalist of the 1800s preferred vinegar as a menstruum for issues of the respiratory system. He felt that it concentrated the herb’s actions to the respiratory system.  Honey in itself offers us a wide range of benefits for coughs and sore throats. It’s anti-microbial, inhibiting the growth of pathogens as well as slightly expectorant. As most of us know, a spoonful of honey can soothe a sore throat."

Now that you know what an oxymel is, this recipe is a quicker version than most others, which usually include the infusion of the herbs in the vinegar for several days or weeks.  As a result, this recipe probably produces a somewhat weaker end product, but let me tell you, it doesn't taste that way!  Just a half teaspoon cleared my sinuses right up!  This is most likely not a preparation that you will be able to get your kids to take, (while I was making it, my kids covered their noses and wouldn't come near the kitchen,) but it's definitely worth having on hand for cold and flu season.  Plus, I think it would make a yummy salad dressing.

Without further ado...

Easy Garlic Cayenne Oxymel

4 ounces apple cider vinegar (with the "mother", if possible)   5 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 cup fresh sage*
a few sprigs of fresh thyme*
a small handful of fresh rosemary*
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
5 ounces raw honey
*Note:  When substituting dried herbs for fresh, use 1/3 to 1/2 the amount.  Dried herbs are always stronger.*

Directions:
Heat apple cider vinegar to a boil.  (Make sure the garlic is pressed and the herbs are roughly chopped at this point).  Remove from heat and add all ingredients but the honey.  Stir and let steep with lid on for 15 minutes.  Strain through a coffee filter or cheese cloth.  Add honey and reheat ON LOW until just combined - not too much or the honey will begin to lose enzymes.  Pour into a glass jar with a plastic lid (or make sure there is some type of cloth or plastic wrap between the oxymel and a metal lid due to the vinegar content), and place in the fridge.  Will keep for up to one year.  Dosage is approximately 1 tablespoon as needed for colds or congestion.  Can also be mixed into a cup of tea.

*This recipe is from this website with slight alterations

***Keep an eye out for an Elderberry Elixir recipe for cold and flu season, which is a more "adult" version of my Elderberry Syrup recipe, coming soon!!***

Detox Project: Easy Sea Salt Face & Body Spray

 This is by far one of the easiest (and cheapest) of the detox projects I have done thus far, and I was amazed at the results!  I have "hormonal" skin, (i.e. acne), and for the past month I have sprayed this on my face after showering or before bed every night.  It has cleared up my acne better than all OTC and prescription creams I have tried - no joke.  And it smells great, which is another added benefit!  Give it a try - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.  The recipe is originally from this website, but I re-wrote it below the way I made it for the sake of ease. 

Easy Sea Salt Face & Body Spray    

1 cup pre-boiled (heated to almost boiling) or distilled water        

1 Tablespoon sea salt

1 generous pinch Epsom salt

10 to 20 drops lavender essential oil           

Directions: Add the salts to the water while it is warm.  Then let the water cool if you are using a plastic spray bottle.  Pour the water and salt mixture into the spray bottle and add essential oils at the end.  Shake well.        





Oatmeal Energy Ball Recipe

This is possibly the best energy ball recipe I have found!  Unfortunately, I scribbled it on a piece of paper after seeing it on Facebook, so I have no idea where it came from.  They are delicious, however, and have been given rave reviews in my house by adults and children alike.  The recipe takes about 10 minutes from start to finish, and the last batch I made lasted in the fridge for approximately 3 weeks.  Too good not to give them a try!


Oatmeal Energy Ball Recipe

1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup flax meal
1/2 cup almond butter (or peanut butter, but I prefer the taste of the almond butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

*Optional ingredients include coconut or dried cranberries.*

Directions:  Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Form into balls with clean hands (if your hands get too sticky, you will have a hard time).  Place in an airtight container in the fridge.  *Makes approximately 20 balls.*

Detox Project: Homemade Bug Spray!

I never had to use bug spray growing up, since I was a city girl, and city girls don't need bug spray.  However, after having children and moving to a house with a heavily wooded yard, I found myself in dire need of some.  The problem is, I refuse to use the chemical-laden kind available at the stores.  So, in that case, what's a city-girl-turned-country-girl to do?  MAKE HER OWN!  I found a great recipe on this website, and it has variations depending on the types of essential oils you have on hand.  Due to it being a very rainy summer around here, the mosquitoes are breeding quite rapidly and plentifully.  So, I doused myself with this bug spray just last night and went out to the woods at dusk.  I couldn't believe it, but it actually worked!  Not a single mosquito bite, despite the fact that I was practically in a swarm of them for at least a half hour.  Give it a try!  Next spring, I'm definitely going to make the more powerful Vinegar of the Four Thieves Insect Repellent variation. 

This is what I used:

1/2 Cup boiled or distilled water
1/2-3/4 Cup witch hazel
30 drops lavender essential oil
20 drops peppermint essential oil

There are more variations of essential oils that you can use here.  Give it a try!