DIY: Vanilla Bean Sugar

I finally made something with whole vanilla beans! Scroll down for pictures! I also made vanilla extract, which you can read about here.
Vanilla sugar uses: Coffee, cookies, cupcakes, etc. I have yet to try it on different things, but I imagine you could eat it with anything you want. Maybe on buttered toast? Have you tried regular sugar on buttered toast? Yeah.
Found the idea and recipe here at Cookin' Cowgirl. I'd been thinking of something homemade to make for Christmas gifts, so I got really excited when I found this. I went crazy and spent an hour or so looking for other ideas and ordering vanilla beans. Those things ain't cheap, but they're so awesome. Here's the really simple vanilla bean sugar recipe:

Homemade Vanilla Bean Sugar

12 oz mason jar

1 1/2 cup sugar (or brown sugar, powdered/confectioners sugar)

2 vanilla beans (I used Madagascar)

(1) Pour sugar in a large bowl
(2) Cut 2 vanilla beans length-wise with a sharp knife & gently scrape knife across bean to get vanilla flecks off (See pics below!)
(3) Add vanilla to bowl of sugar & mix (and squish those gobs so the little flecks spread out).
(4) Put the 2vanilla beans in the jar
(5) Pour vanilla sugar over the beans & seal tightly
(6)  Let vanilla sugar sit for 2 weeks before using to get the maximum flavor
(7) Take 1/2 a cup of either the vanilla brown sugar, powdered sugar, sweetener or regular sugar and pour it into one of the small jars (if repackaging). You can transfer a vanilla bean over to the small jar if you prefer. You can decorate the jar with ribbon or twine & attach a gift tag.

 2 whole vanilla beans:

 I ordered 16 off of Amazon:

 The flecks up close (it kinda looks like caviar):

The empty bean pods:

 The sugar before mixing:

 

Four Pizookies from BJ's!

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse
Website here - many locations

Don't worry...I am aware that there are only three Pizookies above. Keep reading.

Pizookie = A "freshly baked, hot out of the oven, rich and delicious cookie topped with two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream and served in its own deep dish" (See menu)

Lisa and I went to BJ's in Moreno Valley (near Riverside) and ordered their Pizookie Trio ("Pick three from your choice of Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, Cookies ’N Cream or Triple Chocolate made with Ghirardelli®").
We chose Cookies 'N' Cream, Triple Chocolate made with Ghirardelli, & Chocolate Chunk, but they gave us the Red Velvet instead of the Triple Chocolate, so they let us keep that and also brought out the Triple Chocolate.

Here's their regular Pizookie (sooo good):

Triple Chocolate (the fourth pizookie) - Ghirardelli just knows how to do it:

Cookies 'N' Cream (delicious!):

 Red Velvet (tasted like a cupcake...I can't explain how, but it was way different than the other ones):

We both agreed that they were all good, but that the Triple Chocolate was the best and the Red Velvet was the least best (not that it was bad!!!). Man...what a sugar rush. They didn't list all of the types I just listed (got those options from their website). I wanna try the peanut butter one! 

I'm really happy (or maybe this isn't good) because the last time I tried one of these, I decided it was way too sweet and never wanted to try it again, but I chose to give it another chance and try different types, which is what I do for most foods (I just can't get myself to like most wines, raw celery, or oysters though).

In case you wanted to see the insides of each:

 

 

SOOOOOOO GOOOD!! And chocolatey, obviously.

Italian Chicken Soup

Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite bloggers. Michelle F loves her too, and we were feeling soupy, so we made this Italian chicken soup (recipe here)--minus the heavy cream, with less celery, minus the parmesan, and with a rotisserie chicken rather than a raw fry chicken. Very good. I'd make this again easily, and I love how versatile it is. You could add or subtract pretty much whatever you want (one of the great things about soup). I even made another soup with the leftover chicken parts (bones, skin, etc.) with water. So easy!

RECIPE (original here):

• 1 box Ditalini Pasta (very short Macaroni noodles)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 whole cut up fryer chicken (we used a rotisserie chicken)
• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 whole medium onion, diced
• 2 whole green bell peppers, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced (we used just two small strips of celery)
• 2 whole fresh jalapenos, diced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 can (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Tablespoons minced fresh oregano (didn't use fresh)
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste (doesn't have to be fresh pepper)
• Parmesan cheese shavings (we excluded this)

(1) Cook pasta according to package directions (don't overcook it!). Drain &rinse in cold water to cool. Toss in 1 tablespoon olive oil & set aside.
(2) Remove rotisserie chicken from pot and shred meat. Discard bones & set meat aside.
(3) Dice canned tomatoes & return them to their juice & set aside.
(4) Heat small skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil & oregano & turn off heat, stirring over the next minute to keep oregano from burning. Set this aside.
(5) Either pour chicken broth into a separate container or use a new pot to saute onion, green pepper, celery, & jalapenos in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until tender & golden brown (~10 min).
(6) Add chicken broth, shredded chicken, & tomatoes with their juice
(7) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer
(8) Add cooked pasta & all oregano & olive oil from small skillet. Stir to combine & turn off heat.

White Rabbit Coffee Co.'s Vanilla Bean Ice Blended - Yucaipa, CA

White Rabbit Coffee Co.
35256 Yucaipa Blvd
Yucaipa, CA 92399

Friday, 10/7/11

They also have good sandwiches here, but I didn't take a picture of mine (turkey with honey mustard, which I usually don't really like, but I loved it in this sandwich). I went here with Kavita and then went back with her again after we were done with our school business for drinks.

 I really should try their coffee before I post about a coffee place like this, but oh well. Someday. They had a few delicious-sounding flavors like Kona, Hawaiian Hazelnut, French Caramel, Highlander Grog (ok not sure what that one is), & Pumpkin Spice.

 

I thought The Coffee Bean only uses the term "ice blended." I really want to try a coffee-flavored ice blended here, but this time I chose the Vanilla Bean because that was the first one the employee recommended to me. Also, I've been a little obsessed with real vanilla beans lately. I'll tell you why later. Or maybe I should wait until after Christmas because it'll give away my holiday gift ideas. Hmmm...

I know it just looks like white frothy stuff, but it has little vanilla bean specks, and it really tastes like vanilla. Would I buy it again? If I had a vanilla craving...yes...but it's not one of my all-time favorite drinks. I'd give it a B+ if I had to grade it, although if you like vanilla, I'd give it an A. I reserve my As for drinks like Peet's Caffe Freddo Extra Bold and The Coffee Bean's Black Forest Iced Blended.