Apple pie

and tea for breakfast.

Homemade vanilla extract

Talking about Christmas presents,

no, no. Not the Polish vodka! I received a generous stash of vanilla beans from my sister-in-law and her fiancé.

I'm not sure why I haven't thought to make vanilla extract at home before. It couldn't be simpler! Most sources online recommend a ratio of three beans per eight ounces of vodka (or rum). I sliced the beans down the centre, scraped the caviar and put all of it in sterilised bottles. Each bottle held a wee bit more than 16 ounces, so I used seven beans per bottle.

I've squirrelled the bottles away in the darkest part of the cabinet. Now all I have to do is give the bottles a good shake once in a while and more importantly, be patient!

2012

Things have been quiet here lately but I closed 2011 doing some of my favourite things. I had the opportunity to travel, celebrate holidays with family, try new recipes in the kitchen and finish a few sewing and knitting projects. Although I have been remiss in writing, I had to share one of my Christmas presents from my husband.

Voila! It was a complete surprise, too. He picked out this particular model based on reviews online, and so far so good.

He also rather wisely gave me some reading material to go along with it! After perusing the book, the serger manual and other blogs, it seemed like threading the machine would likely be my biggest challenge. I was prepared! It must have been beginner's luck but I managed fairly easily. I tied on the new thread to the spool the machine came threaded with and just pulled it through. It worked for one out of three spools. For the rest, I just followed the manual. I've already started a project from the book and will write more about it soon.

Happy 2012!