| Author | Content |
leeflea51
Golden, MS (Zone 7a)
December 20, 2008 7:38 AM Post #5911011
| Benjamin, your article on the scents of Christmas really hit home for me. There is nothing I associate with Christmas more than the aromas, especially tangerines and oranges. Thanks for allowing me to feel some nostalgia. Lee |
onewish1
Denville, NJ (Zone 6b)
December 20, 2008 1:31 PM Post #5911244
| I am so with you on the vanilla... I use the beans and make vanilla sugar for my baking ... it only takes 2 weeks to add sent and flavor to sugar... great stuff! |
critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
December 20, 2008 3:36 PM Post #5911555
| Lovely article, Benjamin! Thanks for sharing your recollections with us. I agree that some of vanilla's exotic mystique might be lost by growing your own... but if I could grow orchids, I'd probably try to grow vanilla, just for the adventure!
There's nothing like the scent of real vanilla. I always begged for a little lick from the bottle, because it smelled so scrumptious... and it was always sooo disappointing! Yuck! LOL |
onewish1
Denville, NJ (Zone 6b)
December 20, 2008 3:58 PM Post #5911642
| it is nasty out of the bottle... i licked my finger once when I spilled it... ooohhh that was bad |
BennysPlace
Beverly Hills, CA
December 20, 2008 8:08 PM Post #5912569
| Hello Lee,
I thank you kindly for your kind words and I am so happy I was able to bring forth some nostalgia. The aromas of Christmas have a determined way to bring back all the memories (good or bad). For example, I am sure all who have artificial trees know they have a certain odor. When that odor hits my nose I can remember all the way back to five or six when my dad would take the tree out of the box. We used to get tangerines in our stockings too! Merry Christmas Lee and I hope your holiday is blessed.
Hi there onewish
Terry told me about vanilla sugar. I am going to try that too and I am going to enjoy writing an article about making the vanilla extract. It will be a lot of fun and rewarding but not as rewarding as making it! You take care and I wish you nothing but the very best this holiday season.
Hiya Jill
Thank you so much for your very kind words. I appreciate it a lot. I have a confession to make. After I placed this order, Logees was quite evil and sent me a follow up email saying if you like this, you will love this an it is on sale. Well, the item was a vanilla orchid vine! I looked at it and looked at it and at first talked myself out of buying it and I went to it again and well, SOMEHOW I ended up at the site. My fingers had a mind of their own. The vine ended up in my shopping cart and well, the rest is history. 
Oh and Jill and onewish... I did more than take a lick from the bottle. When my mom wasn't looking I took a swig and made a quick run to the bathroom immediately following. Lesson learned.
HAPPY, HAPPY, BLESSED HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!
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critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
December 20, 2008 8:38 PM Post #5912627
| LOL! I'm glad you're getting a vanilla orchid... I'm sure it will thrive under your care! Keep us posted...
Vanilla sugar is a good thing to do with the pod after you've scraped out the bean for another recipe, I think. There's also a recipe for coffee liquor (similar to Kahlua) on the Limoncello thread in the recipe forum that calls for a section of vanilla bean in the bottle... and again, I think a partly "used" bean would probably do. I think I need to order some beans and play with them!
Vanilla... oranges... and cinnamon! Boy, scents do trigger fond memories. |
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
December 20, 2008 8:56 PM Post #5912674
| Lovely memories... thanks for reminding me! |
BennysPlace
Beverly Hills, CA
December 20, 2008 9:04 PM Post #5912689
| Hiya Jill
Laughing too! I can't believe I got it. We have another orchid in the house currently and it is doing really well. In for a penny, in for a pound they say. Here is the link to what I got. It should be here Monday: [HYPERLINK@www.logees.com]
Thank you for the heads up on the Limoncello thread. Terry mentioned a cool place to order some beans. When I need more, I think I will order some. They are rather expensive though: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysvanillabeans...
Mmmmm... Cinnamon. I was going to write one about that but I think I fancy peppermint instead.
Hi there Darius
Thank you kindly! I hope your holidays are blessed. Take good care! |
critterologist
Frederick, MD (Zone 6b)
December 20, 2008 9:08 PM Post #5912699
| The "Kahlua" recipe came from another thread... and on there, somebody had a link for inexpensive (or at least less expensive) vanilla beans.
I've got a couple of recent articles about cinnamon... :-) |
darius
So.App.Mtns.
United States (Zone 5b)
December 20, 2008 9:33 PM Post #5912758
| Have you checked Frontier herbs? Maybe share an order with someone?
http://www.frontiercoop.com/products.php?ct=spicesaz&cn=Vani...
|
carrielamont
Euless, TX (Zone 8a)
December 20, 2008 9:35 PM Post #5912766
| All this scentimental stuff is reminding me of my pomander ball article - my husband couldn't get over the way the whole house smelled like Christmas! (My first article ever, so extremely scentimental!) And yeah, as a kid, I tried vanilla, unsweetened chocolate, straight nutmeg, all the things that smell good and none of which taste good alone!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/366/ |
onewish1
Denville, NJ (Zone 6b)
December 21, 2008 6:00 AM Post #5914216
| this one is a bit cheaper then penzeys... and I have bought from them once before
[HYPERLINK@www.bostonvanillabeans.com] |
