And the adventure begins

 

a dream come true…. a little, tiny dream, but still coming true.

 

Yesterday an envelope arrived. I had been waiting for that for a long time (well actually just a week, but it contained something i had longed for for quite a long time)

i have been “stalking” her for all this time, and she never told me or let me infer i was bothering her too much. I have to thank her if i’m holding the content of that envelope right now. Thanks Martina, for all the support and patience you’ve had.

 

 

here a single pod costs 3 euros (you make the conversion, Saint Google might be of some help… i just don’t want to get it wrong and i’m likely to get it wrong ;))

that’s the reson i had never bought a vanilla pod in my life (until i bought a 2-pod packet for 5 euros last month)

Instead thanks to Martina i got to buy 100 g of vanilla pods for 15 euros (shipping costs included). Amazing!

I’m so happy now! Well what doesn’t really make me happy though is the fact that i have to wait until summer to use it! Only by then the vanilla extract will be ready to use :( Out of sight, out of mind, i’ve hidden the bottles so i won’t risk being tempted and using it too early.

 

Vanilla extract resources i’ve checked/found helpful: (told you i love “wasting my time” on comparing recipes and sources ;) )

- http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2009/02/homemade_vanilla_extract.php

- http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/06/how-to-make-vanilla-extract/

- http://www.thethriftymama.com/2010/10/homemade-vanilla-extract.html

- http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2010/10/how-to-make-homemade-vanilla-extract/

- http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_vanilla_extract/

- http://userealbutter.com/2010/04/29/vanilla-extract-recipe/

- http://bossacafez.blogspot.com/2010/04/homemade-vanilla-extract.html

- http://thelittleteochew.blogspot.com/2010/05/homemade-vanilla-extract-and-vanilla.html

- http://kelseyskitchen.com/2010/12/homemade-vanilla-extract/

- http://www.avoision.com/2009/03/02/making_homemade_vanilla_extrac.php

- http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/how-to-make-homemade-vanilla-extract/

 

- http://aniceecannella.blogspot.com/2010/01/estratto-di-vaniglia-fatto-in-casa.html {it} – (this one calls for a sugar syrup along with alcohol and vanilla pods)

- http://www.cilieginasullatorta.it/2009/08/estratto-di-vaniglia-homemade.html {it}

Need for some vanilla stuff

Right then. The story goes so.

I had made to make a batch of brownies, for a round-up/contest/dunnohowtocallit. Anyway, since i’ve become the kind of person i didn’t want to become (the kind that sees the picture in their mind before even taking it), i already knew how (i hoped) i was going to serve (and shoot) my brownies. Served with ice cream on top. Well, ice cream is always ice cream, it’s delicious no matter what the taste is. But you all know (don’t you?) that vanilla ice cream and brownies are the perfect match (ok, right, each to his own taste, but…). Anyway, i wanted, needed vanilla ice cream, but didn’t happen to have some in the freezer (how could this have been possible????). So the night before, without working too much on it (i didn’t really want to spend too much time on ice cream-making, that wasn’t the purpose of the whole thing), i tried this.

I also had some yogurt that needed to be used, so i killed two birds with one stone.

Oh and yes, i almost forgot to mention it. No ice cream machine needed. Not even a mixer. You’ll see. This is super easy, i mean it.

 

No-churn vanilla ice cream (eggless)

 

Ingredients

serves 6

 

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

3 tbsp vodka

9 oz (250 g) plain or vanilla yogurt (no fat free or any other light version) – divided into two

seeds of a vanilla pod

1 scant cup (200 ml) whipping cream

6 oz (170 g) condensed milk (kept in the refrigerator until the moment it is used)

 

Method

place into a casserole on low heat half of the yogurt with the sugar and the vanilla seeds, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved into the yogurt;

allow to cool completely, then whisk in the rest of the yogurt and vodka;

make sure this mix is very cold (chill it if necessary. If it’s winter, and you don’t live in California, or anywhere else where it’s 120°F {50°C} also in winter, you can put it on your windowsill, covered with aluminum foil) before moving to the next step;

whip cream while adding condensed milk to it (do it very gingerly, almost by pouring it over cream very gingerly)

when it’s stiff and well whipped, fold this into the yogurt mixture, very gently;

very gently scraper this whipped, fluffy mixture into a freezer safe container (i used a 32 oz. emptied yogurt container)

Cover with the lid, allow to set in your freezer for a minimum of 6 hours. All you need to to at this point is scooping into a bowl and eating it.

It keeps always creamy, no matter how long you keep it in the freezer (but i’m sure it won’t last even a week).

 

enjoy it plain

 

or topped with caramel sauce, fruit topping, or chocolate syrup