Before you faint or think you've surely landed on the wrong blog, yes, this is a picture of vodka and (here's the kicker), yes, it's mine! I know!! As my mom used to say, "Will wonders never cease?" But I didn't buy it to drink (as if any of you who know me thought that was even remotely possible). I bought it to make vanilla.
My thoughtful niece-in-law, Elyse, gave me a very entertaining and useful book for Christmas called "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" by Jennifer Reese, about things you should and shouldn't cook from scratch. Well, vanilla was one of the things she thought you should so I thought I would.
But first I needed vodka, rum, or brandy. I mean, I've made beer bread before and have practically costumed up to go into the convenience store to buy beer. But now this was about the hard stuff so the thought of obtaining it was daunting, to say the least.
I kept putting it off till one day a couple of weeks ago my driving job took me to a town about 45 minutes away. On the way to drop off my passenger I spotted a liquor store. I had about an hour to wait so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to make my uncomfortable purchase. It was ironic (and maybe a little ridiculous) that I didn't want to be seen going into a liquor store but I somehow thought it was okay to park my SPAN minivan out in the parking lot for all to see. And then transport the bottle with me, albeit in the well known brown paper bag, the rest of my workday. Hey, I saw you roll your eyes!! Crazy people do crazy things!
Anyway, I made it home with my vodka minus any mishaps along the way, thankfully. Little did I know that the biggest hurdle was explaining myself to Kaylee when she came to visit that afternoon. She was so flabbergasted she practically dropped her phone in her haste to take a picture of the bottle so she could send it to her brother because she knew he'd never believe her without proof. Sigh! I was beginning to wonder if all this rigamarole over a recipe for vanilla was worth it.
Well, I'll find out in three months when it's ready and I can use it in some deserving tasty dessert. Here's the unfinished product after the beans have soaked in the vodka for two weeks. Looks like the beginning of vanilla to me!
