I made vanilla extract for holiday gifts, using vanilla beans that I bought on Valencia Street in the Mission when I was visiting San Francisco in October. I don’t remember the name of where I bought them (it was an ice cream shop), but they have the best/cheapest vanilla beans! $20 per pound, which comes to about 300 pods. In NYC we pay $5 per pod, so this was an absolute bargain.

When you have shit load of vanilla beans, you should definitely make vanilla extract. The portion is 750 ml vodka, and 6-10 pods of vanilla. Split the vanilla, throw them in vodka, and 2 months later, you have nicely-flavored, homemade vanilla extract. The longer it sits, the deeper the flavor gets.

I also poured some plum liquor with plums in a jar to give as gifts too.

This post concludes my column for the year. By the time you read this, I will be in Melbourne, then Sydney, eating kangaroo (is it legal?). Then I’m off to Tokyo, and my hometown for the rest of the month, drinking and eating more.

Happy Holidays!