Homemade Vanilla Extract

 

 Here is my homemade vanilla extract.  This is the first time I have made any, but I can't wait to use it in a recipe.  It is very simple to make, all you have to do is add some vanilla beans into vodka, let it sit for a month, and the strain it through cheese cloth.  It is as simple as that.  This is the real thing, not some imitation.  I will for sure be using this in my zucchini bread this year that I make for market.  I just strained it today and it looks, smells and tastes great!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

4 split vanilla beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 pint cognac or vodka

Place vanilla beans and cognac or vodka in a sterilized pint jar. Cap and seal.

Let stand in a cool dark place 1 month.  Shake bottle gently from time to time.

Pour liquid through a cheesecloth into a sterilized pint jar.  Seal tightly, and store in a cool dark place.

Just thought I would post a picture of what my hoophouse looks like so far.  Unfortunately I have not been able to work on it for a few days since it has been raining and now snowing.  It has been kind of slow going, since the days I have gotten a chance to work on it, by the time I get home from work and get everything together, I only have around 2 hours to get anything done.  So sadly at the pace I am going, I still probably have another 3 days of work before I get to cover it with plastic, which would not be too bad if I could get some nice days where it does not rain or snow.  Oh well it will eventually get done in time for spring, so I will be able to start some stuff in there.

The Start Of My New Hoophouse

 

Ok, so it isn't exactly finished, but here is the start of my new hoophouse.  It is going to be small, not for actually planting things in the ground in.  The main purpose of this hoophouse is going to be for protecting my transplants when it is still colder outside and before they get 100% use to outside conditions.  I will also be able to start some of my more hardy plants directly out here and skip the inside under lights step.  The actual size is 7'x8'.  I think if I get one nice day I should be able to almost finish it, so hopefully we will get a reasonably nice day here sometime soon.  I will post a picture when I have it finished.

Hot Peppers for 2012

Last year was one of the first years that I really grew a larger variety of hot pepper, and since they seemed to sell reasonably well I figured I would grow even more this year. I know most people seemed to interested in the hotter peppers so this year I kept that in mind while deciding which peppers I was going to grow. Here is a list of a bunch of the hot peppers that I plane to grow for this year.

*Jamaican Red Pepper
The package reads "If you have a passion for heat, this is the pepper to grow!" This pepper is said to be 50 times hotter than the Jalapeno. The Jamaican Red is a close relative to the Habanero. 100,000- 350,000 scovilles.

*Habanero Mix Hot Peppers

*Chocolate Habanero Pepper
Chocolate brown habaneros, that are about 2" long. Measure in at over 300,000 scoville units.

*Lightning Mix Peppers
A habanero type of pepper, which is very hot. Come in a variety of different colors, including red, yellow, green, peach, brown, orange, mustard, and coffee tones.

*Tabasco Pepper
Yellow hot pepper usually under 2 inches long which ripens to red. Very hot pepper used to make, can you guess it? Tabasco Sauce! 30,000 to 50,000 scovilles.

*Bhut Jolkia Pepper
Also known as Ghost Pepper. May possibly be the worlds hottest pepper, measuring over 1,000,000 scoville units.

*Lemon Drop Pepper
A yellow when ripe chilli pepper, with a unusual citrus flavor. 5,000- 15,000 scoville units.

*Cayenne Peppers

*Jalapeno Peppers

I may plant a couple other varieties, but it all just depends on how much planting room I end up having in the end. Any other varieties that I plant will probably not be any super hot types. I may plant a hot pepper that can be used as a stuffing pepper. But we will see.



I thought this was interesting it is a link to the wikipedia's explanation of scoville scale, just in case anyone is interested in what exactly it means. It is kind of interesting.
Wikipedia- Scoville Scale

More on Omega 3's and Omega 6's - Fish

I just thought that I would do a chart of Omega 3's and Omega 6's in different types of fish, especially since most fish is very high in omega 3's. It was pretty interesting. First off check out the omega 6's in fish sticks verses the omega 3's. Crazy, isn't it. That explains why so many people have health problems, eating boxed stuff that they have no idea what is in it. How these companies can take something that can be so healthy for you and turn in into something so bad for you I have no idea.

Also another thing to point out is the difference between tuna in oil and tuna in water. Tuna in oil is way higher in omega 6's, which is because of the oil.

Something else to keep in mind is just because something you buy in the store says on it that it is high in omega 3's does not necessarily mean that you will benefit from it. If it is high in omega 3's but much higher in omega 6's, such as for example tuna in oil, you are not going to benefit from this like you would tuna in water. So really when it comes down to it you have to do your own research.

Once again all my info came from NutritionData.com

1 ounce
	Omega 3 mg	Omega 6 mg
Fish Sticks, frozen	202	1396
Tuna, light, canned in oil, drained	56.6	751
Tuna, light, canned in water, drained	78.7	2.5
Tuna, white, canned in oil, drained	127	697
Tuna, white, canned in water, drained	266	15.4
Salmon, Atlantic, Wild, cooked	724	61.6
Salmon, Atlantic, Farmed, cooked	633	186
Walleye, Pike, cooked	130	9.2
Perch, Ocean, cooked	133	10.1
Perch, Mixed Species, cooked	105	3.9
Bass, Freshwater, cooked	284	31.4
Cod, Atlantic, cooked	48.2	1.7
Orange Roughy, cooked	9	35.3
Trout, cooked	384	62.7
Sheepshead, cooked	64.4	11.8
Tilapia, cooked	67.2	84
Burbot, cooked	68.9	3.4
Carp, cooked	253	186
Catfish, cooked, breaded	161	732
Catfish, farmed, cooked	72.5	288
Catfish, wild, cooked	93.3	39.8
Flounder and Sole Species, cooked	158	3.9
Haddock, cooked	74.2	3.4
Haddock, smoked	77	3.4
Herring, Atlantic, cooked	621	46.8
Halibut, Atlantic and Pacific, cooked	187	10.6
Mackerel, Atlantic, cooked	398	41.2
Pike, Northern, cooked	51	11.5
Sardine, Atlantic, canned in oil	414	992
Swordfish, cooked	296	10.4

Omega 6, Omega 3 Ratio

Just thought that I would post a link to a page from the National Institutes of Health website, it is about the importance to balancing out your Omega 6 and Omega 3 intake. Ever since my friend and my dog, Copper have had health issues, I have become a lot more aware of the benefits of what you eat. I have also realized how important it is to your health to properly balance out your Omega 6 and Omega 3 intake. I have recently started feeding Copper (who has diabetes) a food that is higher in Omega 3 than Omega 6, and I have already seen some remarkable changes in him, and it has only been a couple of weeks. Before I switched his food I was giving him 9 units insulin, now I have been giving him 4 units insulin. Also with the other foods that I have fed him is seems as if it just goes right through him, now with this food it seems like his body may actually be absorbing and digesting his food better. We will see how it goes.

But anyhow here is the like to that page, it is really interesting.
The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3

Basically in this article they state that most people consume way to much omega 6 and not enough omega 3, which promotes may diseases.

They state what the following Omega-6/Omega-3 ratios have helped with the following diseases:
4/1 ratio - helped decrease cardiovascular disease
2.5/1 ratio - helped patients with colorectal cancer - where 4/1 ratio had no effect
2-3/1 ratio - decreased inflammation in those with rheumatoid arthritis
5/1 ratio - helped patients with asthma - where 10/1 ratio had the opposite effect


Also here is a link to the food that I have been feeding Copper:
Nature's Variety: Instinct Raw Frozen Diet Rabbit



Here is a table I made up of the amount of omega 3's and omega 6's in vegetables.
I got my information from NutritionData.com

1 ounce vegetables
	Omega 3 mg	Omega 6 mg
Artichoke, boiled	10.6	29.4
Asparagus, boiled	8.1	21.3
Beans, green, boiled	24.9	15.7
Beets, boiled	1.4	16.2
Beet greens, boiled	1.7	18.2
Beet greens, raw	1.1	11.5
Broccoli, boiled	33.3	14.3
Broccoli, raw	5.9	4.8
Brussels Sprouts, boiled	48.4	22.1
Brussels Sprouts, raw	27.7	12.6
Cabbage, boiled	3.9	2.5
Carrots, boiled	0.3	24.4
Carrots, raw	.6	32.2
Cauliflower, boiled	46.8	14
Cauliflower, raw	10.4	3.1
Celery		21
Sweet Corn, yellow, boiled	5	164
Cucumber, with peel, raw	1.4	7.8
Eggplant, boiled	4.2	21.8
Mustard Greens, boiled	6.2	6.7
Mustard Greens, raw	5.0	5.6
Pac Choi, boiled	11.5	8.7
Kale, boiled	28.8	22.1
Kale, raw	50.4	36.6
Collards, boiled	26	19.6
Collards, raw	30.2	23.0
Kohlrabi, boiled	7.8	6.2
Kohlrabi, raw	7.3	5.6
Leeks, boiled	18.5	12.6
Lettuce, green leaf, raw	16.2	6.7
Cantaloupe, raw	12.9	9.8
Okra, boiled	0.3	12.6
Onions, boiled	1.1	19.6
Peas, boiled	4.2	23.8
Peas, raw	3.6	21.0
Peppers, sweet, green, boiled	2.8	26.9
Peppers, sweet, green, raw	2.2	15.1
Potato, baked	3.6	12
Pumpkin, boiled	0.6	0.6
Radishes, raw	8.7	4.8
Rutabaga, boiled	16	10.6
Shallots, raw	0.6	10.4
Spinach, boiled	25.8	4.8
Spinach, raw	36.6	7.3
Summer Squash, boiled	23	13.7
Summer Squash, raw	15.7	9.2
Winter Squash, boiled	25.8	15.4
Sweet Potatoes, baked	1.1	16.8
Swiss Chard, boiled	0.8	7
Swiss Chard, raw	2.0	17.6
Tomatoes, red, raw	0.8	22.4
Turnips, boiled	9	2.5
Turnips, raw	11.2	3.4
Turnips, greens, boiled	17.9	7.8
Turnips, greens, raw	23.5	10.1
Watermelons, raw		14

Also here are some other foods and their omega 3/omega6 ratios:

1 ounce
	Omega 3 mg	Omega 6 mg
Chicken breast	21.3	829
Beef ground	11.8	103
Turkey	30.8	302
Egg, hard-boiled	21.8	333
Rice, white	3.6	17.4
Oranges	3.1	8.7
Apples	2.5	12.0
Pasta	13.7	129