Kitchen Ranch

Kaleidoscope

Above is a photo of Rich working in his new office.  He rode his bike home from work the other day and said, "Life here is a kaleidoscope of beautiful images . . ."

I agreed. 

Making Vanilla Extract

There have been a lot of new developments around here but, before I expand on that, I'd like to document this effort to make vanilla extract.

We eat pretty local living here in the rural jungle.  Some of the local offerings are easy to incorporate into our diet and other offerings are exciting but a little intimidating.  Vanilla extract seemed like a good place to start because I use a lot of vanilla when I bake and I use vanilla almost daily when I make almond milk.  

One of the exciting things about making your own vanilla extract is that as the vanilla is used, one can top off the jar with more vodka and continue using the extract for a couple years!  

These vanilla pods are organic and cost me $3 at the farmer's market.  Place 3-4 pods in a jar and fill the jar with vodke.  Wait two weeks before using your extract.  After two weeks your jar should be a lusty brown color.

Just bottled.  I will follow up on this in two weeks.  In the meantime, I have cacao nuts on my kitchen shelf and I plan to have a go at making chocolate.

Spiced Orange Cake and Giddy

I am pretty giddy right now about the travel post I wrote over at Babyccino.  And, if you ever have guests for brunch, here is your perfect recipe: Spiced Orange Cake.

Mountain Fresh.

I cannot believe it is already May.  The rainy season is upon us here and as a result, the blooms are stunning.  Let's not talk about the bugs, okay?  

We have been so happy to host some of our favorite people for the last two weeks.  Here are some snapshots of goings-ons:  

Beer drinking, laughing and eating.

Waiting for more food.

Happy diner.

Happy third birthday Beckett!

Best venue ever for a kid's birthday party: Angler's beachside bar.

Mountain get-a-way to escape the bugs and heat.

The mountains are so fresh and cool.  A round of hot cocoas for the kid's table please . . .

A bath with a view.

Under the canopy hike.

The essential train ride through the cloud forest before heading heading home to Nosara.  

What a lot of action.