Homemade Vanilla

About a month ago I had some girlfriends over as part of our on-going "Women's Institute". The goal of each sesssion is to learn a new crafting or home skill. My session was homemade vanilla. Homemade vanilla is dead easy to make, I probably didn't need to 'teach' a session on it, but it was fun regardless.

Homemade Vanilla

8 oz glass bottle thats tall enough to fit a vanilla bean
2-3 vanilla beans
1 cup of vodka

Slice the vanilla beans open so the seeds are exposed. Pour 1 cup of vodka into the bottle and drop the vanilla beans in. You'll need to store the bottle in a cool, dark place for about 1 month before using it.



Finished product - after 1 month in the cupboard 



Homemade vanilla makes a really great gift, just remember to start it early.

Out of the blue

I love brunch. It's very American but places in London do serve it - the pancakes, the maple syrup, the bacon. Yum! I also love sandwiches and lunch in general, making brunch basically irresistible. Maybe it's my old age and need to sleep for ridiculously long periods of time but I am becoming a huge fan of meeting up for lunch rather than dinner. Maybe it's because there are so many great spots in London to discover. Out of the blue is a fabulous cafe in Clapham Junction that I would hands down say is worth a visit to.

I went with the mister and two friends and besides the Mediterranean wrap which was apparently decidedly average, we all raved about our food. I had the tuna melt which was the best I've ever had!

We weren't able to snag a table outside on the pavement but it looks like that's the place to be on a warm sunny day.

Out of the blue
140 St. Johns Hill
SW11 1SL
Meals, sodas and a jug of Pims worked out to be roughly £15/person

Full Blue breakfast

The burger

Tuna melt

Mediterranean wrap

Speedy guacamole

While doing the weekly shop at Waitrose earlier this week I decided to buy a couple of avocados to make some guacamole with. There are a lot of recipes out there claiming to make the perfect guacamole but simple guac with fresh ripe avocados really can't be beat.

Here are a couple variations I've tried. Both require very little forethought in regards to ingredients.

2 avocados
1 medium tomato
juice from half a lime
chopped onions if you have them
Salt and pepper to taste2 avocados

2 avocados
1 medium tomato
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
A few drops of hot sauce if you have it
Salt and pepper to taste

I am slightly obsessed with Anthropologie's kitchen section. To be honest I'm obsessed with almost everything they sell. Theses items were too cute not to share.

Do I dare buy a partially white apron?

cook book stand

bottle opener

measuring cups

 

milk bottle measuring cups

* all images via

40th Birthday break

Both my sister in-laws have their 40th birthdays this month. I love buying presents for others but for such big occasions it can be quite stressful. For the mister's sister (the other birthday girl being the mister's brother's wife) I was thinking of buying her 2 tickets to Outstanding in the Field and possibly a night's stay at The Bell at Skenfrith. The is probably a bit lavish but very well deserved.
 

The Bell at Skenfrith (how beautiful!)
image [via]

I nearly bought this for the mister's birthday present as it is somewhat near his actaul birthday, but it being on a Thursday really put a damper on things.

The concept behind Outstanding in the Field is simple, bring together people who love food with local communities of growers and food enthusiants on the ground which the food is grown.* Most dinners take place outside. The pictures are absolutely dreamy and I can only imagine what the food is like. Swoon.

image [via]

image [via]

image [via]

*Here's their about us which is a bit more elegantly worded.

His & Hers date night

When I stumbled upon Moët & Movies I knew this was exactly the type of thing that both the mister and I would love to do for a date night. Our date night always revolve around going to dinner and if the mister had his way they would always involve movies.

Axis, the restaurant at One Aldwych, hosts the evening. It includes a movie (in their private theatre), glass of Moët, popcorn and a 3 course meal. The mister and I went to see Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. The movies are a bit old but I didn't mind especially after a glass of champagne. 



I didn't have extremely high expectations for the dinner portion as hotel restaurants are usually pretty blah (this of course is less true in London but was the rule of thumb in Seattle).

I ordered the fried English mozzarella with green sauce and the mister had the beetroot cured salmon with watercress and horseradish mousse, pickled samphire for a starter. Both were extremely bland and mine lacked the "green sauce" whatever that was?

the mister's starter

my starter

Thankfully the mains and desserts were quite good. Because it was three courses (and I never need that much food anyway) I didn't mind that the starters were a little below par.

My main - Smoked haddock and crab fishcake

The mister's main - Celeriac risotto with stilton, grilled
apple and cider vinaigrette

My dessert - Warm chocolate pudding with salted caramel
ice cream

The mister's dessert: Sticky toffee parfait with date compote

All up, the evening cost £42.50 per person plus alcohol (the glass of Moët is included in that price). For a night out in London I was pleased with the price and value for money. They update their movie list every month or so, so check back and see if they're playing something good.

Ina shows me how it's done

For my birthday my in-laws bought me Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips. Seconds after ripping open the wrapping paper I had already mentally bookmarked a dozen recipes that I wanted to make. Seeing as how I'm not a great cook (a better baker) the simplicity of the recipes is really what drew me in.

As I was away in Vegas for my actual birthday (actually sleeping on a flight home after an insane weekend) the mister and I haven't had a chance to celebrate. Really looking forward to his gift, although he's not giving any hints on what it is!