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I have been baking off and on most of my life. My earliest memories are baking with my grandmother at a very young age. I enjoy doing things on my own, so naturally I started making my own vanilla extract a while back. Once you make your own, you won't use store bought again.  There are two grades of beans A and B. A grade are plump and oily and B grade are drier, smaller beans. Some folks use A for baking, scraping the caviar or seed with a knife for baking. Others suggest B grade for extracts since they are drier and you get more beans in an ounce. I find no difference since you are using one once of beans for 8 ounces of alcohol for a single fold extract. The important part is using an acholol volume of 35 to 40 percent. I use vodka which brings out a good vanilla flavor with out any added flavors. Some folks use spiced or coconut flavored acholol, but I really don't want any other flavors, just vanilla. I should point out at this point, I don't ...

I love camping. Although it's been awhile since I have had the RV out, I plan to put it to good use in the future. The biggest problem I have is storage. As you know, I love to prepare everything from scratch, but the space taken up by ingredients can be overwhelming. Recently, I discovered the Raw Ingredients Company. They have powder versions of a lot of spices and ingredients. I am not associated with them in any way, just a happy customer. This sauce is amazing, using their powders, only ketchup, brown sugar, and cherry extract and not in powder form. Ingredients: 1 cup ketchup  1/2 teaspoon onion powder  1/2 classic seasoning salt  1/2 to 1 teaspoon Hatch Chili powder  1/2 worschester powder  1/2 apple cider vinegar powder 1/4 teaspoon hickory smoke powder  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder  1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon molasses powder  2 teaspoon cherry extract  1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika Add everything to a...

I love a challenge. My son-in-law asked me to make something out of leftover pineapple and red cabbage. I accepted the challenge and this is the results. Very tasty. Ingredients: 1/2 head red cabbage  1 cup finely diced pineapple  2 carrots shredded  1/4 cup pineapple juice 1 tablespoon honey 1/4 teaspoon worschester sauce 1/2 teaspoon molasses  2 tablespoons red wine vinegar  1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard  1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper Begin by shredding the cabbage. Next dice the pineapple and shred the carrots. Combine these ingredients in a large bowl. Next make the vinegrette dressing. Combine the remaining ingredients and whisk together. Pour over the cabbage mixture and stir to combine. That's it. Enjoy!

Sometimes when I'm watching my granddaughters, I search YouTube for interesting ideas. I was watching a show on the a sandwich shop in Italy. The owner was talking about the special bread they bake for sandwiches. It was Tuscan Schiacciata bread. This is my version. I didn't have a square or rectangular pan, so I used a deep dish pizza pan. As a side note, if you are not an olive oil fan, you may pass on this one. Ingredients: Preferment  250 grams oo flour 250 grams  water 1 gram yeast Bread dough: 500 grams preferment  500 grams oo flour  250 grams water 6 grams salt 3 tablespoons olive oil The night before baking start your preferment. Add the water, flour and yeast to a medium size jar or bowl. Allow it to rise over night. The next day, mix the preferment with with the flour and water in a large container and mix well. Add the salt. Mix well. Let rise for two hours. While the dough is rising stretch and fold it like...

Sometimes I have too much time on my hands. This is the result of wanting cinnamon rolls but not having enough time for baking. Ingredients:  Pancakes batter: 3 cups pastry flour 3 cups buttermilk  3 eggs  2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon vanilla extract  3 tablespoons sugar  3 tablespoons melted butter 1/2 teaspoon salt   Swirl: 1/2 cups of prepared batter 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon molasses  1 teaspoon cinnamon  2 tablespoons melted butter 2 tablespoons pastry flour  Begin by combining all the dry batter ingredients. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients. Slowly add the wet to the dry stirring until everything is combined. Don't over mix or you will have tough pancakes.  Remove 1/2 cup of batter and add the swirl ingredients. Stir until combined. Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a small diameter tip. To your preheat griddle, pour your first pan...

A few months ago, my son in law sent me a post. I can't remember what it was about, but it mentioned liege waffle. (That, I remember.) After doing some research, I found a recipe that looked good. I bought a bag Swedish pearl sugar, and made a batch. They weren't anything like I  hoped for. The pearl sugar was hard, and crunchy.  Back to more research. It turns out there are 2 different types of pearl sugar. I needed Belgium pearl sugar.  Eureka!! That's what I was looking for. Ingredients 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup warm water  1 package instant yeast  2 tablespoon granulated sugar 3 tablespoon brown sugar 2 XL eggs, room temp and lightly beaten 2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract  1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature  6 cups AP flour 1 teaspoon salt Start by mixing the yeast, sugar and warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer. Allow to rest a few minutes making sure the yeast is active. It should be foamy. Add the other ingredients and mix...