Dripping Springs Vanilla Extract, Why Not....

Homemade vanilla extract is so easy to make and you can be sure there are no added ingredients (caramel coloring anyone?).  Now that we make homemade almond milk we go through quite a bit of vanilla extract.  It's more cost efficient for us to make it at home.  We use vodka and vanilla beans we bought from amazon and pour them in old vanilla extract bottles.  Let the bottles sit for a while, the longer the better, and you've got extract.  I made this batch on April 17 and it's ready to go now (June 15)!  I always have extra batches waiting while I'm using the current batch.  I cut my vanilla beans in half and then split them before putting them in the jar.  I use 2-6 beans depending on the size of my jar.

We do tailor this to fit the needs of our family, for example, my husband is gluten free so we use a gluten free vodka!

April 2014

June 2014

Sugar and Spice....

In one of my first posts I wrote about the extra ingredients you can find in your spice cabinet.  It truly is amazing how many of our foods have hidden preservatives and sugars.  My husband and I read ingredient labels very carefully, including those on our spices. It is difficult to find spices that do not contain additional ingredients and do not cost an arm and a leg.  Therefore, we have started grinding our own spices.  

Depending on the spice, we use either our Vitamix or a coffee grinder for spices.

We grind our own cinnamon and it is DELICIOUS!  It really tastes better than the cinnamon found in the store.  

                  

We also grind cumin, coriander, cloves, and black peppercorns in our spice grinder.  

Finally, we make our own homemade chili powder from chili pods found in the Mexican section of the grocery store.  To make a milder chili powder, remove the seeds.  For medium spice, leave a few seeds, and for hot, leave all off the seeds in the pod.  

My family and friends benefit from our clean eating lifestyle as well; ground cinnamon in a cute jar makes a thoughtful and delicious gift.        

Grinding your own spices is easy and cuts down on the cost of buying organic spices from the store.  

When we have more kitchen space, I look forward to having a beautiful spice box on my counter for my spices.  For the time being, I store them in repurposed jars and other containers.  

   

This is one simple change you can make in a short amount of time.  

Get grinding!

Rich and Warm Pasta Sauce

Growing up my favorite meal was my mom's homemade spaghetti and meatballs.  My mom let the sauce simmer on the stove all day which made the house smell beautiful.  If rich and warm had a smell, it would definitely smell like my mom's pasta sauce.  When spaghetti and meatballs were on the menu, we snacked all day long on the sauce.  If you were lucky, you got to try the sauce with a little piece of meatball.  We had to be careful not to eat too much so that we could actually eat dinner.  On those special nights, we ate and ate and ate until we could eat no more.  After shoving a few 'last bites' in, we finally gave up, said we were finished, unbuttoned our pants, and praised my mom for making the "best batch of sauce so far".  Then we did it all over again the next day with the leftovers.

We even had spaghetti and meatballs with homemade pizza as our Christmas Eve dinner, we loved it that much.

The recipe actually came from my paternal grandmother.  I'm not sure where she got it, it could possibly be a very old family recipe.  Either way, it is delicious and I'm happy to share my version of a Blount family favorite (and now an O'Toole favorite), my grandmother and mother's Rich and Warm Pasta Sauce.

You will need:

1 chopped onion (red or yellow depending on your preference)
2 jars/cans of tomato paste
4 cans of diced/chopped tomatoes (I use two boxes of chopped tomatoes)
at least 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (I use more, but I LOVE garlic)
1 Tbs olive oil
1-2 Tbs fresh basil, chopped
1-2 Tbs Italian seasoning, divided
1 Tbs balsamic vinaigrette
Pinch of cayenne pepper

The Process

In a stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and sauté until transparent (7-10 minutes stirring occasionally).  Add garlic and half of the Italian seasoning, sauté for 2-3 minutes stirring frequently.  Add tomato paste and diced tomatoes.  Let ingredients simmer on the stove for at least 30 minutes and as long at 4 hours.  Add remaining ingredients, stir, and let simmer for an additional 10 minutes or longer. You will need to add salt if you use tomatoes that do not have salt added.

It's that simple!  This quick and clean sauce works well on pasta, spaghetti squash, pizza, and any other dish requiring a rich pasta sauce.  I always have the ingredients on hand because I can make this in a pinch and it's always a hit!

I hope you LOVE this recipe as much as I do.

This is the brand of tomatoes we usually use.

This is the new brand we tried for this sauce.