Sunday, June 24, 2012

Big day


Friday was a big day for my daughter me. My 4-year old had an introduction to her new school, class and teacher. Her first taste of big school before her official start in September!

While she happily waved bye and headed into the classroom without even looking behind, I have to say that those strings tugged hard at my heart. No, I didn’t have to pull out the tissues…because I’m strong! And I had just eaten a big bar of chocolate an hour before and so was riding the happy sugar rush.
But it wasn’t so long ago that she looked like this:

4 years later, she looks like this:

So I headed home and pulled out the biggest bottle of vodka (not very big) that I could find…to make some vanilla extract.
After coming across a few blog posts on how easy it is to make your own vanilla extract, I decided to make my own. It sounded easy enough. All I needed were vanilla pods and alcohol – I used vodka as that was all I had in the house. That and wine. I didn’t think that red wine would be very suitable…though now that I think about it, red wine and vanilla – yum!
Anyway, I scraped the vanilla pods, put the pods and seeds in an empty bottle (which I‘sterilised’ first by putting It in the dishwasher), then filled the bottle up. A bit of shaking and that was it.

Ingredients:
Roughly 5 vanilla pods (I probably didn’t need that many but was a bit overenthusiastic)
About 250-300ml ml vodka

This is what it looked like on Friday.
By today (2 days later), the colour of the liquid had changed significantly.

All it needs now is a little patience and at least 6 weeks for it to magically transform into liquid gold!

23 comments:

  1. I made the same a few months ago, but used 2 vanilla p. .. they are wuite expensive here and yeah i SEE the difference compared to yours! jajaja

    COngrats for yout kid! They grow up so fast right? She is stunning btw

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    1. I get my vanilla pods on Amazon or eBay. Luckily I tend to find fairly inexpensive ones. And yes, as the cliche goes, kids do grow up so fast! Hehe - all the good genes come from me of course :-)

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  2. wow! time flies eh? too bad i am allergic to vodka! maybe i'll infuse some honey with vanilla? hmm... sprite? hehehe

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    1. Yep - time definitely flies! Honey with vanilla sounds better than vodka!! I guess you'll just have to stick with vanilla sugar :-(

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  3. WOW... who would have thought that vodka makes Vanilla essence???
    Yum!!!!!

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    1. It's great what a little bit of alcohol can do :-)

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  4. Very moving post - and I'm impressed you're making yoru own extract. I love your blog - I'm into all things Asian so it's right up my street :-)

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    1. Thanks for dropping by! Let's hope the extract turns out well!

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  5. Your daughter is beautiful and time flies! I'd really love to have a bottle of that liquid gold...(in 6 weeks ;D)

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    1. Just need P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E! which I don't have.

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  6. Time sure flies! She is a cutie! Your vanilla looks good.

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  7. Ah, the joy of motherhood! Your daughter looks so beautiful!

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  8. I have been planning to make some liquid gold at home but ran out of vodka! Thanks for reminding me :) and ur daughter is adorable
    !

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  9. She's adorable! I wondered what she looked like now, but weren't sure if you were gonna share pictures. What about #2? Don't leave her out.

    My friend brought me vanilla pods from her vacation to Tahiti, but I just put them in sugar and haven't gotten around to cooking with them yet.

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  10. She's gorgeous :D
    Congratulations on your first day in school, sweetie :D

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  11. She was very brave and do not look back, and I understand you feelings.She is so cute

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  12. Little Corner: Yep - time flies a little too fast for me!

    Anh: Thanks!

    Kankana: All her genes from my side of course :-)

    WanderingChopstick: Thanks! Hehe, #2 moves so much that I have so many blurred photos of her. Vanilla sugar! I have a bottle of that sitting on my shelf too.

    LisaH: Thanks! She had fun.

    Sylvia: Glad to see you here!

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  13. Your daughter looks so pretty! Love your sweet smile! I saw the recipe but never try it as I'm not sure whether this method is suitable to bake things that will be consumed by toddlers.

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  14. Wow, I remember that first photo of your daughter that you shared last time! and time surely flies! She is a pretty sweet girl now!

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  15. Food for tots: It should be fine for children if you use the extract in baking or cooking as the heat burns off the alcohol. Using it in drinks however is probably another matter!

    Tigerfish: Yep - time flies. I feel old!

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  16. She is so cute, thanks you for sharing the recipes, good ideas, I will make it next time :)

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  17. Everything4Sweets: Thanks for popping by!

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  18. Oh your little princess looks just pretty & sweet. No worries, today kids are simply genius...they always know what are they doing. My children already teenagers...just imagine how fast they grew. My boy even taller than me. haha...
    Kristy

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Thanks for dropping by!

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