In the video on Homemade Vanilla Extract from my previous post, I mentioned Cardamon Sweet Buns.  It was my first time trying this recipe and we LOVED them!  So much so that I wanted to share the recipe with you.  It is from the Bethel Lutheran Church cookbook in Hudson WI.  Recipe by Joyce Johnsen.

1/2 cup butter

2 1/4 cups milk (I used the whey from my homemade yogurt)

2 tsp. dry yeast

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. ground cardamon

5 1/2 cups flour

Melt butter in pan; add milk and heat to 98 degrees.  (I wasn’t exact…just until warm but not hot.)  Mix in separate bowl the salt, sugar, cardamon, yeast, and about 3/4 of the flour.  Add milk and butter; mix well.  Add the rest of the flour gradually until dough does not stick to the bowl.  (No need to knead!!)  Cover bowl; let dough raise to double in bulk, in a warm and draft free place.  (About an hour for me.)  Form into buns.  (I got 24.)  Put on a greased cookie sheet.  Cover and let raise again to double in size.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes.  Brush with melted butter after baking if you want.

In other baking news, I totally made a flop of a cake yesterday.  Tony was so excited about it and even made the frosting himself while the cake baked.  He was very disappointed.  I think the problem was that I used whey from my homemade yogurt instead of milk.  Not sure why since everything else I have baked with whey has turned out perfectly.  After one bite, Tony declared the cake inedible and pushed it away.  I’m still eating it.  Go figure.   It’s gone.  ah-hem…

I have been wanting to make my own vanilla extract for some time now, and finally got it done today!  Not sure what took me so long and you will soon see it is VERY easy.   A couple additional comments below the video.  Oh, and I close with a dumb statement about enjoying your work week ahead.  Ummm…I hope you do enjoy it when it comes, but let’s just soak up the weekend for now!!

Homemade Vanilla Extract:  Vodka+Vanilla Beans

Untitled from Ingrid Barlow on Vimeo.

Couple things I forgot to mention:

–Store in a dark area while you let it “cook.”  I’m going to store mine under the stairs for 3 weeks and then check it.  It will be dark colored and smell like vanilla when it is ready.

–Once you start using it, you can just leave the vanilla beans in your container–no need to take them out!

–Some people say to split the beans before you put them in the vodka, others don’t.  I’m trying mine without splitting the beans first.

–My comments about alcohol…me just saying I really don’t think it matters what kind of vodka you use.  I think you can use whiskey or rum too??  (I just don’t want you to think I’m a teetotaler snob!)

Tony’s grandparents brought us over 3 buckets of apples from the tree in their backyard the other day.  I love that we are able to use apples from a family tree and that they are imperfect so I feel justified making them into applesauce.  The recipe I use for applesauce is really easy, so I thought I would share it with you.

Tony may or may not have sweetly commented about the time of night I started this project…  I may or may not have gently reminded him that he did not need to coach me on running my household…  You may want to start your applesauce at a more sane time of day.

I have an apple-peeler-corer, but when you use oddly shaped apples sometimes it is just easier to hand peel them.  Last year I was so frustrated with the peeler-corer that I opted for the hand method this year.  Good choice.  So, peel and core all your apples.

Throw them into a big pot on the stove.  For about every 4 cups of apples, add a 1/2 cup of water.  (This is not an exact science!)  It will look like you have way too many apples, but they will cook down and create juice.

Let your apples simmer and break down for about 20 minutes.  Take a taste and add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  I made half my applesauce with just sugar and the other half I added the cinnamon and nutmeg.  This way, if one of the kids prefers plain applesauce, I have that option.

After the applesauce cools, I used the blender to make it a little less chunky.  WARNING:  If you blend it too much it becomes the consistency of baby food and is NOT appetizing.  I know!  I did it, but then just mixed it in with some of the chunkier stuff and it was fine.  (Chunkier is not a nice word, but I don’t know how else to say it…)

Straight from the jar is a perfect way to eat it!

Throw in jars and freeze!

We had a bumper crop of tomatoes in our garden this year, which is a good thing since the last 2 years haven’t been that great.  For the last 4 years I have been making tomato sauce for our freezer so that I don’t have to buy any.  It is perfect for spaghetti and pizza sauce!  Oh, and chili and tomato soup.  The goal is to make it one whole year until next summer’s crop comes in.  (When I pick tomatoes at the greenhouse in the spring, I always look for “beefy” tomatoes–ones with a lot of “meat.”  Then I always have great intentions of labeling and recording which varieties I like the best…ummm…hasn’t happened yet.)  Here is how I make tomato sauce…it may not be the right way, but it is easy and works for us!

*This is a rustic recipe!  Things don’t have to be perfect or pretty while you make it.

You have to remove the skins on the tomatoes, so get a big pot of water on to boil.  Once boiling, fill it with tomatoes and wait like 30 seconds to a minute until you see the skins split.  Take the tomatoes and put them under cold water.  The skins will come off with little help at this point.  (You can see I even use Cherry Tomatoes!  Why not?  The more the merrier.)

Chop your tomatoes up roughly.  Doesn’t have to be pretty and they don’t have to be that small since they will break down as you cook them.

I set my rough chopped tomatoes in a colander over a bowl at this point to help some of the liquid drain off.

In another large pot, put a healthy drizzle of olive oil in the bottom over medium heat.  Chop an onion up and throw it in.  A whole onion may look like a lot, but remember that they cook down as well.  Let your onions get tender.   Mince up some garlic.  I put 4 large cloves in a big pot.  Throw your garlic in with your onions just before you add your tomatoes.  Garlic only needs about 30 seconds in the pot before you add tomatoes.  You just want to cook it until you start to smell it, otherwise it might burn.

Dump in your chopped and drained tomatoes.

Add your seasonings.  I add dried oregano and basil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Don’t be skimpy!   Be creative and add whatever you think would be good.  Fresh herbs work as well.

Give your pot a stir and let it simmer away.  You don’t want to cover it because you want a lot of the liquid to evaporate off.  I usually leave mine simmering for at least a couple hours.

After it simmers I give it a taste and adjust my seasonings.  I also add a bit of brown sugar at this point.  A hint of sweet!

Throw your cooled sauce into jars and pop into the freezer.  That easy!

When I go to use it, I just reheat the amount I want on the stove top.  I also add a couple Tablespoons of tomato paste (bought from the store) to thicken it a bit.  You can also adjust your seasonings again at this point depending on what you are making.

It is sooo worth it to make your own sauce.  Tastes WAY better and will save you some green!

As promised, here is the homemade yogurt recipe that was passed on to me a couple weeks ago.  I have made two batches of it and am really enjoying it!

Here is this simple recipe!

In a crockpot, pour 1 gallon of milk.  I use whole milk, but am going to try 2% next.  (2% works great!)  I’ve been told it doesn’t matter what kind of milk.  With 1 gallon, my crockpot is very full.  Turn the pot on high for 3 hours.  After 3 hours turn the crockpot off and just leave it for another 3 hours.  Next, take 1/2 cup of yogurt (don’t use Greek.  I like Stonyfield) and 1 cup of the milk from the crockpot and whisk together.  (I know it seems odd to use yogurt to make yogurt, but you need the active cultures!)  Pour this back into the crockpot, whisk, and wrap the entire crockpot with towels or blankets.  (The entire crockpot!  My husband laughed at this stage and just shook his head.)  You can leave the crockpot like this for 8 hours or overnight.  Now you need to strain the milk to get your yogurt.  I put a colander in a pot, then put a flour sack dish cloth (or cheese cloth) in the colander and pour my milk in.  The longer you leave the yogurt to strain, the thicker it will be.  I like mine thick, so I leave it for a couple hours.  Plus, if you add juicy berries it will thin it a little.  (This pic is from my first batch with Greek yogurt and the texture came out a little lumpy…still good but lumpy…my batches with Stonyfield yogurt are creamy and wonderful!!)

While it sits and strains, I set the top of the pot back on…protection from bugs, dust, flying toys…

Once your yogurt is the consistency you like, pour it into containers.  From 1 gallon of milk + 1/2 cup of yogurt, I get back 4 jars and 1 recycled yogurt container full.

Elias and I have been loving our yogurt in the mornings with fresh berries and our homemade vanilla sugar!!  Oh so good!   It’s so good that at night I think about eating it in the morning with great anticipation!

Mr. Yogurt Beard is ready for more!