Extracts

(from left to right: Lemon Extract, Mint Extract, Almond Extract, Vanilla Extract)

As with many other things I do in my kitchen, I found out how easy it was to make my own vanilla extract. I happily made my vanilla extract and excitedly checked every couple of days to watch the color change and darken. Ahh, finally I had my own extract to use in all of my baking projects.

And then like with everything else in the kitchen, I decided to see how many extracts t hat I could make on my own. I made almond next because I like it in a lot of cookie recipes.  I love lemon anything so that was next. I don't know why I thought I needed an entire quart jar of lemon extract, but that is what I made. Sometimes I get a little over excited in the kitchen. I see lots of lemon desserts in our future. I received quite a bit of mint in my Bountiful Basket last pick up and used part of it to make a mint extract. I was going to make some coconut too, but I ran out of vodka!

Vanilla extract I used 3 vanilla beans split and 1 cup of vodka. You can use bourbon or rum, but since I was making others around the same time, I stuck with the vodka.

Almond extract: I used 1/2 cup of sliced almonds that still had the skin per 1 cup of vodka. The almond extract that you buy in the store, I believe, is made with raw almonds,which are harder to come by. The extract is a little weaker than the one in the store, but this still has a lot of flavor.

Lemon Extract: I took three organic lemons and used a vegetable peeler to peel the outer layer each lemon and added vodka. 

Mint Extract: 1/2 cup of mint leaves to 1 cup of vodka.

I use the vanilla all the time and have been very happy with the taste. Last year for Christmas I made smaller bottles to give to some of my baker friends. I left one on my boss's desk and she called me to thank me and said "I think this is what heaven will smell like"! The bottles were a big hit.

Really Can't Eat Just One of These!

In my quest for eating a real food diet, I decided I didn't have to give up eating everything that I like. I just  had to give up the overly processed versions. Basically, if I can cook it in my kitchen, I can eat it. I have since learned to make many of the things that I buy in bags and boxes.

I really like potato chips. Homemade chips are just amazing and very simple.

Potatoes, oil and seasoning.

Potatoes are sliced very thin using the slicer attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. I have also done these on a mandolin slicer, but the one I have currently doesn't get them quite thin enough. 

Potatoes are dropped into hot oil to simmer and bubble. I usually watch them pretty closely and remove them when the are golden brown.

I know some brands of potato chips on the market only have the same ingredients that I used, but then I have an entire bag of chips to eat. When I make them at home, I only make the amount that we will eat for dinner that night because they really are addictive.

My favorite way to eat them is at this point, when they are good and brown but before they burn. Yum!!

You can season them any way you want, these were seasoned with just seasoning salt, but you can a dd whatever seasonings you are in the mood for or happen to have on hand.