color blind

:-)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year dear friends!

merry x-mas, part II

It's too funny not to share...

happy holidays everyone!

Merry X-mas!

Dear All,

Best wishes for happy Holidays and a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!

Love, Jaap & Mickey

home made vanilla extract - in the making!

It was in the plans for a long time already. Last year I received some home made vanilla extract from my friend Debbie. I haven't used anything else since. But now there's only a few drops left.
So...



Yesterday I finally got out my vanilla beans, bought some vodka, split the beans, scraped out some of the seeds (got lovely smelling hands!), put it all in the bottle and in about 8 weeks, with a weekly shake and a hiding in a dark closet my homemade vanilla extract will be ready. Dark, syruppy, vanilla-y, pure, fragant gorgeous vanilla extract.



How to do it? Uhm...get some vodka, get some vanilla beans, split, mix, and wait.:-)
And read more here.

Do read all the comments as well for tips on what other alcohol you could use instead of vodka.
Since I had lots of vanilla, a whole bottle of vodka and no jar or other, smaller bottle available I decided just to infuse the whole bottle and I used about 10 vanilla pods for that. It also ment I did not have to sterilize my jar :-).
There'll be no shortage of vanilla extract in this house for a while!!





PS. Vanilla extract works wonders for smelly fridges, I learned last week after leaving half an onion in uncovered (blegh!). The usual trick (leaving some bicarb of soda in the fridge to absorb the odour) did not work so I searched online and found this tip: clean the fridge with hot water with 3 tablespoons of bicarb, and a splash of vanilla. It worked like a charm!

happy B-day

Oh yeah, I am now the proud owner of a PINK KitchenAid standmixer! Thank you hubby and Happy B-day to me :-)

NY food - Serendipity 3

Today I saw an old Oprah-show in which she said you HAVE to put Serendipity 3 in New York City on your bucket list. Or, to be more precise, the 'frozen hot chocolate' at Serendipity 3.
I have seen that one featured in many food shows on tv, a blog or two and just about every travel guide out there. Serendipity 3.
THE placee to go. For Frozen Hot Chocolate :-)

Or, if you fancy, for the famous us$ 1000 golden opulence sunday. Choclolate icecream, yes. With edible gold.



Since I did not have an extra $1000 in my pocket I went there for the FHC. Online I studied the menu, they had a lot of all time american favourites besides the FHC.
And a waiting line of about half an hour. Not too bad, so I decided to wait for my 'table for one'. While I was standing there another single girl came in and we decided to join up and share a table for two. We ended up sharing a cheeseburger as well, but decided on a FHC each.



Well...what shall I say.
I'm not sure it is the best chocolate milkshake I ever had. I mean, it was nice enough, and certainly big enough, but the taste? It is made with a chocolate blend from 17 different chocolates, made into a powder, their signature mix. One cup full of this powder is mixed with one cup of milk and three cups of ice, and blended 'till smooth. Then you add whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.
I have to say, it reminded me a lot of the taste of the chocolate milk made from little dissolvable chocolate powder balls called 'Benco' from when I was a child.(I loved that stuff, by the way). Or perhaps even nesquick powder.
I was a little dissapointed, so to speak. My expectations ofcourse were quite high, with all this media coverage.
But...What a charming lovely place, and what a nice afternoon I spend there with my friend-for-the-afternoon, we shared the burger, laughter and facts of life and later on had fun in Dylans Candy store next door, before each going our own way.
And Serendipity 3? Don't let my opinion stop you. If so many people like their FHC, and they sell the mix online to all over the world - it's definitely worth a try!
Wether it has to be on one's bucketlist...well..I dare to disagree with Oprah on that one!