My husband and I are both very busy! Careers, home improvements, children and dogs often leave us exhausted and with little time for ourselves as a couple. A few years ago we started incorporating one-on-one time into our daily routines. It may be as simple as standing in the kitchen chopping vegetables for dinner together to something as elaborate as remodeling a bathroom.  The time apart from the daily stress of life brings us closer together and helps us function better as a team in our family life.

I try to take an avid interest in my husband's hobbies. Some such as running and rebuilding cars I leave to him, but when it comes to chemistry and food I am more than willing to lend a helping hand. The craft of brewing and fermentation fascinates me. I think it is amazing that yeast, apple juice and sugars can transform themselves into such a delicious and complex creation. Working for a vanilla company I am always looking for unique recipes and applications to pass on to you. When my husband suggested a hard cider for our next brewing project, I jumped at the prospect. Hard cider is one of the simplest alcoholic beverages to create. Apple juice or cider, yeast and a glass carboy is really all you need. We also added a brown sugar and vanilla simple syrup for interest and flavor.  Pour apple juice, cooled brown sugar simple syrup into a glass carboy, sprinkle the yeast on top and four weeks later you have a cider that is ready for carbonation. The result is a slightly sweet, light and refreshing hard cider with notes of vanilla and brown sugar at the finish.

When choosing a vanilla for an application such as hard cider, you want to consider what you want the finish of the beverage to taste like. We added brown sugar simple syrup to add a depth and caramelized flavor to our creation along with our Organic Vanilla extract. Our Organic Vanilla Extract is made from a blend of select Bourbon vanillas used to create an equal balance of flavor and aroma. The perfect finish to this light and slightly sweet cider!

It's been over a month since we began our journey to a healthier and happier family. Overall the progress has been good. My husband participated in the 36^th Annual Fifth Third River Bank Run a couple of weekends ago! I have been working out and walk/running with our adorable border collie on a fairly consistent basis, though I have been finding it hard to make the "time" lately. Occasionally our son, and more frequently our daughter, has been joining me, which has made it more pleasant and much easier to get out there and do it (those of you who have teenagers know that any one-on-one time is precious and rare).

We have been working very hard towards healthier eating habits together as a family. French fries have been traded for fresh fruit, red meat has been substituted for fresh fish and seafood and sweets rarely make an appearance anymore. The sweets have been the hardest. I work almost daily photographing and writing about them for a living. I have learned to scale down the recipes and only make what I need for a web post or to photograph (although, there have been a few that I simply could not resist!).

One of the healthiest and most interactive tools we have acquired is a juicer. The ability to make fresh juice and personalize it to our families taste buds has really been fun.  Most recently, we took a delicious combination of fresh pineapple, oranges, bananas and vanilla then turned it into popsicles. These have proven to be a simple, healthy and fun way for the kids to start off the morning.

To enhance the flavor of the popsicle I chose to add an interesting ingredient, Organic vanilla bean powder. Our organic vanilla powder is a dark cream in color. The darker the vanilla powder, the more pure it is. Vanilla powders that are light in color contain very little vanilla extractives, and are often substituted with other flavor ingredients. This powder is excellent with cereals, teas, berries, French toast, and a wide variety of baking recipes. Blend this powder into a latte, coffee, or hot cocoa for a wonderful flavor and vanilla aroma. I incorporated the powder into the recipe to enhance the flavor of the fruit, but not take away from the look of the popsicle as a finished product as a vanilla bean caviar would.

Lemon Budino is delicious. It is a cross between tart and creamy lemon curd and a soft, light and airy genoise cake. I made this for the first time about seven years ago, fully expecting it not to turn out. Not only did it exceed my expectations in flavor, texture and appearance, but it was really simple to make! The first spoonful of Lemon Budino is a culinary delight. The dessert has two very distinct layers of creamy lemon custard and soft sponge like cake, and each spoonful is light airy and utterly delicious. Lemon Budino is the perfect dessert to make ahead of time for summer parties or to enjoy with a glass of white wine on the patio.

No dessert would be complete without the addition of Beanilla vanilla beans. I chose to incorporate Indian vanilla beans into my Lemon Budino. Indian vanilla beans are very similar to Madagascar vanilla. These gourmet grade vanilla beans are huge and contain a very large abundance of seeds. Many will contest that the sweet woodsy flavor profile of these beans are superior to that of the Bourbon-Madagascar variety. India is fast emerging as a major vanilla producer, and vanilla beans cultivated in some parts of India are of the world's best! You will not find such high quality vanilla from India anywhere else. We take great pride in being able to offer such wonderful beans. Our current lot of Indian vanilla beans are organically grown too!

Being a mother is the most challenging, exhausting, amazing experience. Now that my children are more than 3/4 of the way to adulthood, I realize I could of never made it through the stages of their lives without the mother's in my life. These women are not limited to my biological mother, they are women who I cherish for many reasons. These amazing women will always hold a special place in my heart and each and every Mother's Day I celebrate their presence in my life.

Celebrate the special mother's in your life with a handmade gift, a thoughtful card or even a scrumptious brunch. Eggs Benedict with creamy hollandaise, a homemade blueberry muffin and let's not forget the peach Bellini. A peach Bellini is a signature brunch cocktail worthy of a special occasion. I could just stick to the classic mixture of champagne and peach puree but that would be boring. I created a hybrid of the Bellini, the Ginger Peach Champagne Cocktail. A special concoction of pureed peaches, ginger extract, vanilla bean simple syrup and of course really good champagne.

Natural Ginger flavor from Beanilla is slightly sweet yet pungent, spicy with lemon undertones. Our Natural Ginger Flavor will add some zing to your cooking! This versatile flavor is sure to be a perfect go-to all year round addition in sweet and savory dishes alike. Ginger pairs well with apples, bananas, beef, chicken, seafood, as well as many marinades and sauces. Natural Ginger Flavor is easy to use; no shredding or chopping necessary. Smooth, fresh ginger flavor in one easy pour.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in your life and mine!

The new Grand Rapids Farmers market officially opened here in Michigan this past weekend! I love the farmers market; the sights, the smells and the people that gather to purchase fresh picked fruits and vegetables and baked goods. I love that small business owners, local farmers and the occasional home cook are given the opportunity to support themselves and grow their businesses. I even love the crowds....  But what I love most of all is the inspiration I gather from wandering the different vendors. It's magical.

As I perused the different vendors, I was hoping to find some fresh berries to take home with me to create a simple galette. Unfortunately, I think I have another month or so to wait until they start to appear. For now, I will rely on the next best thing -- frozen. While fresh berries are always the preferred route for any pie, frozen berries are the next best thing.  You may be wondering what a galette is... It is a rustic tart with a berry or fruit center. No tart pans or pie plates required -- simply dough, two hands and some berries infused with almond extract.

Almond has the unique ability to bring flavors together. Almond scones, frosting and cakes are now within reach with this premium almond extract. We are very proud of the depth of flavor provided by this incredible extract. Our almond extract enhances the flavor of the berries, and brings a wonderful sweet and nutty flavor to the whole dessert.

Did you know that chocolate meringues are low in fat? They also can be easily converted into a sugar-free treat perfect for those on a low sugar lifestyle or concerned about refined sugars. They are also an exceptional gluten-free treat (even with the Nutella)!

Chocolate Nutella meringues are the perfect combination of sweet and crunchy, with a touch of creamy hazelnut deliciousness! What really sets these meringues apart from the store bought version is the addition of Bourbon Vanilla beans from Beanilla. Bourbon vanilla has a traditional flavor, and is the most popular type of vanilla. Bourbon vanilla from Papua New Guinea (PNG) comes from the fruit of an orchid variety called Vanilla Planifolia, and is rich in the natural organic compound called vanillin. Bourbon beans have a creamy, sweet, smooth and mellow flavor that enhances this recipe perfectly. This light and nutty treat is a wonderful addition to lunchboxes or as a quick pick-me-up during the day.

Enjoy!

Molasses ginger cookies have always been one of my favorite cookies. I love the crispy edges, soft center and intense flavor. The rich intense flavor of molasses is the perfect complement to ground ginger and our natural ginger flavor. You can find molasses cookies in abundance during the holiday season. It seems as though everyone has their own version for this spicy and flavorful cookie. They tend to disappear, much like the elusive Peep or chocolate covered cherry, until the same time next year. Why not make them all year round? One type of this cookie I have consumed over the years is the classic boxed ginger cookie, hard and, well... hard!  These are useful for making crusts on cheesecakes and that’s about it. The second type I have had is the cake cookie...puffy and light, but yet not quite there in the texture category for me. I prefer my molasses ginger cookies to be crunchy on the edges, but soft and chewy in the center. The addition of coarse sugar adds that crunch and texture every cookie needs!  If you’re like me, this is the perfect cookie recipe for you!

The natural Ginger flavoring I used in the molasses ginger cookie is slightly sweet, yet pungent and spicy with lemon undertones. It will add some zing to your cookies! This versatile flavor is sure to be a perfect go-to natural flavoring all year round addition in both your sweet (molasses ginger cookies) and savory creations. Ginger pairs well with apples, bananas, beef, chicken, seafood, as well as many marinades and sauces. Natural Ginger Flavor is easy to use; no shredding or chopping necessary. Smooth, fresh and spicy ginger flavor in one easy pour.

Bread pudding and soufflés are two of the pastries that I have never made...can you believe that?! To be completely honest, I hadn’t even tried either one until a recent trip to New Orleans. I have a difficult time ordering desserts such as bread pudding when I am dining out because; a) I bake for a living, and b) If I am going to order dessert, it has to be unique and absolutely decadent. I have never really thought of bread soaked in a custard as either decadent or unique. Boy was I wrong! The bread pudding I had was creamy, sweet and absolutely decadent. I knew I had to put that on my checklist of desserts to recreate when I got back home. The recipe I chose is an adaptation of the recipe that is used at Bon Ton in New Orleans. I substituted the whiskey sauce for a creamy and delicious vanilla crème anglaise and omitted the raisins (I just don’t like raisins in pastries!). I also added chopped white chocolate (I like Callebaut chocolate), and I have to admit that it was absolutely divine!

Bread pudding is composed of very few ingredients, so the ingredients going in to the dessert must be high quality and utterly delicious. The Mexican vanilla beans we carry are a perfect choice for this dessert! Our Mexican vanilla beans have a very smooth, creamy flavor with a hint of spice, which is a great compliment to the allspice and cinnamon in this recipe. They are very delightful and commonly used for making extract and vanilla-based desserts such as vanilla ice cream and crème anglaise. The beans are cured using traditional sun-wilting and oven-wilting procedures uncommon to many other bean varieties. Mexican vanilla beans are remarkable in flavor and are very popular for baking and creating homemade vanilla extract.

Many people have special recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. They are coveted for their sentimental value, ties to family tradition and heritage. I have been blessed to have a few of these, in addition to family keepsakes from my husband’s side of the family.

My husband’s mother has made pecan pie for special occasions for as long as he can remember. When he was grown and out on his own he asked for the recipe to carry on a family tradition…. The conversation went something like this…. "Mom, can I have the Herman recipe for pecan pie?" Her response… "Go get a pen and paper, and I will read it to you. Are you ready? Go to the store, pick up the Karo syrup and turn it around. The recipe is on the back!" I have never laughed so hard! Over the years I have come to realize why she used that recipe. It works! Actually, it works really well! I continue to use a variation of the recipe to this day, for both pies and bars.

To enhance the gooey texture and creamy flavor of the pecan bar, I choose our Organic single fold vanilla extract. Our Organic Vanilla Extract is made from a blend of select Bourbon vanillas used to create an equal balance of flavor and aroma. Premium pure vanilla extract is a complex flavor, comprised of approximately 300 individual flavor components all working together to create the rich flavor. Bold cherry-chocolate flavor characterize the proprietary blend Planifolia beans we used to create this extract. The end result is unique and balanced vanilla extract unmatched in our industry, making it our most versatile extract for any application.

Lemons are such a versatile fruit! They can easily transition between savory and sweet applications, are perfect for a classic roasted lemon chicken or a sweet lemon pound cake. Our lemon glazed pound cake incorporates both fresh lemon juice and our delicious lemon extract.

Our natural lemon extract is made by carefully extracting flavor from perfectly ripe lemons. The aroma is full and complex. The flavor is bold and pure, never sour or metallic tasting.  Good lemon extract, such as ours, is made using the oils from lemon rind, not the juice, providing a much more concentrated and intense lemon flavor without adding a sour or acidic flavor to your favorite desserts.

Lemon glazed pound cake is a staple at our house and has made many appearances at family get togethers, holiday celebrations and Sunday dinners. I recently made it for a Michigan tailgate party and it disappeared within minutes. I will warn you in advance that it is that good!