If you bake a lot (like me)… and love vanilla (like me)…

you go through a lot of vanilla…

I know I do…

So while I was Stumbling around last week I saw a recipe on how to make your own Vanilla extract… It was so easy that I just memorized how and today I bought the ingredients…

and just put it together… I will in 6-8 weeks share exactly how it turns out but I have a good feeling about it…

Vodka, vanilla beans and a bit of rum…

pour the vodka into a mason jar…

add a bit of dark rum (if you have some) it adds a bit of sweet…

admire the vanilla beans…

split the vanilla beans…

look at the vanilla goodness….

halve them…

add the beans to the vodka…

and place in a dark cupboard and shake for about 30 seconds everyday for about 8 weeks… until ready….

Simon has been wanting me to make some chocolate chip cookies… so when he asked me again today I got right to it…

I wanted to find a new cookie since though I love the ones I used to make I also like trying new one…  the last ones I tried were too cakey.. so this time I went to foodgawker and typed in chocolate chip and ended up here…

Then we choose the first one that looked like the chocolate chip cookie that we have been craving…

To my surprise it ended being the Alton Brown Recipe for “the chewy” (recipe below)

So I made them… omg they are amazing!!!

The dough is just perfect… and you can see right away that they are going to be chewy…

After chilling the dough I scooped them out and then put them back in the fridge for a few minutes… then put them in the oven…

For so many years I have had an oven that we could not see into and I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to watch things bake…

The boys are discovering that pleasure for the first time…

A great chewy perfect chocolate chip cookie!!!

Ingredients

* 1 cup unsalted butter
* 2 1/4 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift or mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in a bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto baking sheets.(I used a 1/8 cup measuring cup)

They really get the thumbs up!

I have been cursing at our old range for a while now…

We bought it used and cheap almost 10 years ago… and though it was still usable it was making it harder and harder to cook things efficiently..

Last week when I went out for some last minute shopping I stopped and looked at the ranges and just fell in love with the oven size of one… then the sales lady showed me a new one that had just come in and would be on special for boxing day… big convection oven, warming drawer, ceramic flat top and of course…  self cleaning…

She told me that I could just call her if I wanted to buy it so I didn’t have to go in… I have to admit that I was sold right there…

I talked to Simon about it and well… I called on the 26th at about 1pm and ordered it and it was delivered on Wednesday…

When I shared with Annie what I had purchased she brought up the concern of canning… but there won’t be a problem!  I can in my stock pot (which has a flat bottom) with a canning rack and even in the manual there is no mention at all about canning… and some searching on the net showed that newer models don’t have the same problems as the older ones it seems…

I did though have to buy a new cast iron pan… the one that I used all the time had a rim so it was not flat on the bottom so I went and picked up a new one… It works beautifully… the stove top heats quickly and when you put the temp down it actually goes down… (the other one had plaques that took forever to heat up and then stayed hot… so to simmer you needed to start warming another element to the temp you needed and then switch the pan over)

Anyway… to date I love it… the first thing I did was bake bread in it… and I love that I can see through the door (the other you couldn’t see through the door at all)…

and because of the convection feature the bread browned all evenly all over and baked to perfection…

We had a really nice evening last night… some friends came over and we ate and drank and talked and played and went to bed late…

The boys ate their supper and fell asleep pretty early and we ate late so it was really a quiet “adult” supper…

Khéna woke up though at about 1am and stayed up for a while so we finally all headed to bed at about 1:45am…

The friends that came over is a friend of Simon’s that we have shared the holidays with for years now… before Xavier born even… Last year he met a woman from Cancun, Mexico and they got married and we have been getting to know her better… It is a bit of a shock for her to feel the cold of a Quebec winter…today we are having normal temps at -19 (-28 with the wind) and it is due to get colder as  January and February bring the coldest weather…

I look forward to seeing her next time because she will be bringing her ingredients here and teaching me how to make corn tortillas and authentic Mexican cuisine…

I am sure to take pics of that and share!!!

When a new year comes I love to look at what is coming… This is the year that Xavier will be 7, Colin will be 5 and Khéna will be 3… this is the year that my good friend will be becoming a mom for the first and second time… (quite soon actually)…

I have a feeling that Xavier will be reading and admitting it by the time that the year is out… and I think that Colin might follow when he sees his big brother doing it…

Khéna will be talking in full force quite soon and I think that he will follow Colin and be a non-stop talker…

This year will also mark our 10th anniversary… we got married May 8th 1999…

So happy new year everyone! I hope the year brings you what you need and even what you desire…

but after 6 1/2 years of non-stop nursing I am realizing that I am venturing into unchartered territory…

I have never nursed a 2 year old by himself… (or in this case with only his older brother and not a new babe)… both Xavier and Colin were 2 years and 2 months when their brother was born… both of them had experienced the change of my milk in pregnancy and were nursing a bit less at the end because of the belly and the milk…

but this time, there is no belly, no change in milk and  no change in nursing habits… nursing often and for longer periods of time than his brothers at the same age…

and it is not only the nursing that is different, but the fact that he is still the baby of the family. That at 2, he is not becoming a big brother so he doesn’t have any of the “responsibilities” that big brothers have… he still has first dibs on nursing or having his needs met… especially now that his brothers are getting older and can do more things for themselves…

I do want another little one… but I am happy that we are waiting…  I am enjoying having the kids get older and having things get “easier”… there are challenges of course but doing things as a family and getting out the door is getting easier and when the baby that we have now is doing things more for himself I will be ready to have a baby again…

So for now I am enjoying the uncharted territory of the 2 year old whose only role is being little brother and the baby of the family…

We had a great x-mas eve and x-mas day… the boys woke up with big smiles at the gifts under the tree…

Khéna was ready to dive right in so he opened the first gift while the boys watched…and then each took their turn…

Colin saw the big box under the tree and said without hesitation… “That is my big box of Star Wars “bonhommes”"…

It was the only thing that he had been asking for for months now and was really confident that he would get it… Thankfully… Simon had picked out a bunch of star wars figurines and we put them in a big box and it was exactly what he was expecting…

As per our tradition.. the fondue from the night before became leftovers for x-mas day which meant that there was nothing to do for supper… and we could just relax and play…

Our family gift was a big hit also… we got a Wii !

We have been having so much fun with it… along with the wii Sports and wii Play that came with the game and the extra remote,  I got Zelda and the boys got Star wars Lego and then Mario Cart from their Aunt… Xavier was a bit hesitant to try the sport games but they have quickly become a favourite… especially bowling and boxing…

Simon is going back to work tomorrow for 2 days and then he is only going back on the following Monday… it is feeling great having family time and just having fun with the kids and relaxing…

I love eggnog but had never made it before… or even had fresh eggnog before… but I won’t buy the fake chemical laden grocery stuff anymore so to get my eggnog fix I bit the bullet and found a recipe… and it is SO easy to make and SO much better!

• 4 eggs yolks
• 1/3 cup of sugar + 1 Tbsp
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 cup of cream
• 3 oz of rum
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 4 egg whites

beat egg yolks until light, add 1/3 cup of sugar and beat until completely dissolved.. add milk, cream, nutmeg and rum and mix together well…

Whip egg whites until soft peaks, then start adding sugar and whip until stiff peaks…stir the egg whites into the the mixture and then chill…

This makes about 5-6 glasses worth…

Tonight is the eve and we are all getting ready to get dressed up and have a supper together…

We are having a favourite here tonight… Chinese Fondue…. thin strips of meat that you cook in a flavourful broth on the table… accompanied of course by homemade dipping sauces, veggies, cheeses and  homemade sourdough bread…

Then we are going to read “The night before Christmas”,watch a movie, cuddle and then put their kids in their beds after they have fallen asleep and then finish the preparations for tomorrow morning (still a few gifts to wrap) and then cuddle again with eggnog in hand and relax together…

If you are reading… have a great night what ever you are doing…