Vanilla

On one of the food blogs that I read (I know, you're shocked that Andy reads about food), the author talked about buying cheap saffron and vanilla from saffron.com. I can't remember what prompted me to do it, but I decided to buy some vanilla to see what all the fuss is really about. If you buy it at the grocery store in the spice section, you'll pay anywhere from $10 - $15 for 2 beans. I got mine here for $15 (they have a $12 min. order) for a 1/2 pound. The website says that's 80-92 beans. That's as good as 16 cents / bean instead of $7.50!!! And I have to say, this stuff makes the BEST vanilla ice cream you've ever had. It is absolutely incredible, and the recipe is so simple, I've actually memorized it. It's Alton' Brown's Supreme Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, or something like that. You can find the original on www.foodnetwork.com. I've modified it a bit - it's better, but takes a bit more effort.

1/2 pint whipping cream (small container)
1 pint half & half (normal size container)
1 cup minus 2 Tbs sugar
A splash of Egg Beaters, or some other egg substitute
1 Vanilla bean

Put the cream, half & half, sugar and egg beater in a pot. Split the bean, scrape the seeds, and add the seeds and bean to the pot. Turn on the heat to medium-low and heat, stirring, until a thermometer reads 170 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, go until you start to see small bubbles form around the side. DON'T LET IT BOIL. You'll know you're getting close because it will start to get thicker, kind of like custard. I don't actually stand there stirring the whole time, I just mess with it every once in a while. When it hits 170, pull it off the heat, and let it cool enough so you can pour it into some kind of Gladware-like vessel. Into the fridge for a few hours. I usually make it early in the morning so I can pull it out of the fridge mid-afternoon. Or do it the night before. Then throw it in your ice cream maker, and let it work its magic. You'll probably want to put the finished ice cream in the freezer, as this stuff sets up really soft.

Kristi likes to eat it with smushed up strawberries poured on top. I made a batch with malted milk mix. I made another one with smushed up raspberries. That was tasty, but I should have run the raspberries through the blender first - I just mashed them with the fork, and the little frozen pods were really cold.

I've also used the beans to make vanilla milk (awesome), and I'm hoping that Kristi will find a way to put them into her chocolate chip cookies, which are the BEST in the world. Seriously, you should try them some time.