Homemade Vanilla Extract (Part II)

Photo 1: Starting a new jar of homemade vanilla extract

The homemade vanilla extract I started earlier this year is finally ready for use!  It smells absolutely wonderful, and tastes great too!  I love the fact that we can get high quality stuff for a fraction of the price, and it also does not contain corn syrup like some vanilla extract products in the store do.

Encouraged by the success of my first batch, I started a new batch with a different blend.  Previously I had used all Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans to get that rich, traditional vanilla extract taste.  Now I am using primarily Tahitian Vanilla Beans.  I only had 10 of them, and you need 6 beans per cup so I just added a few more Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans to the mix.  

Photo 2: Tahitian Vanilla beans from www.vanillaproductsUSA.com 

To Learn How to Make Vanilla Extract Click Here: http://aptgarden.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-vanilla-extract.html

DIY Tailored Pelmet Window Treatment

Photo Credit: BURCU AVSAR, styling by Laura Fenton

There is an article in the Good Housekeeping magazine (August 2011 Issue) on how to create an inexpensive, tailored pelmet to hide those not so pretty curtain rods.  See photo above.  To learn how to create this window treatment, visit their website at http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/crafts/diy-window-treatment.

Tomatillos

Photo 1: Tomatillo fruit

Photo 2: Tomatillo flower

My tomatillo plant is finally forming fruit!  See Photo 1.  I was getting a little worried.  My tomatillo plant had been forming plenty of flowers for months without producing any fruit.  I am still not sure why it is not just starting to form fruit.

I have not noticed much of a weather change, and there have been plenty of bees and other pollinating insects in the garden.  The only thing I did differently was increase the amount of water I was giving it.  I have been fully saturating the ground with water everyday.