advertisement

Elizabeth Woodworth: Who knew you could do so much with vanilla beans?

Black walnut hulls, shredded by squirrels, stain porches and driveways. Early winter, the first period of consistently cold temperatures before the solstice often begins about this time. As the Moon waxes throughout December, it pulls spring from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing jasmine into flower throughout the South. (Countryside)

Dec. 1: Final trip of the Interurban Electric Railroad from Eldorado to Harrisburg to Carrier Mills, 1932. Dec. 4: A company of Illinois Reserve Militia was organized, 1940. Dec. 7: Pearl Harbor Day, 1941. The County Commissioner's Court established precincts and appointed voting places and election judges for Saline County, 1847. Dec. 8: St. Mary's Church established, 1907. Dec. 10: Voting and final organization of Saline County, 1847.

The lost sock appeared in the sleeve of a sweatshirt. All even.

I spent one day getting packages ready to mail. Did not go well this year. I bought the girls Lava Lamps, thinking they would like something retro. I didn't consider that they would need a big box. Finally found one that would let it go in crosswise, but with no wrapping paper. So it is in the box in Bubble Wrap, with other gifts stuck in around. The other one is still in the bag, boxes were either too small, or so large that there would have been a couple of pounds of stuffing. And I didn't think I could get the box into the post office.

So it is left until birthday, will have to be on the lookout for the right size box. I also didn't put part of The Boy's presents into the box, didn't realize that until it was addressed and taped. Another birthday present. I usually am better organized that this. Oh well, they will have presents and that is the object of this exercise. The worry is no longer mine. The boxes are on their way, three things I can cross off on the before Christmas to-do list.

"Bean counter: Vanilla has long been America's best-selling ice cream flavor, and we might have to start paying more for it. Because of the volatile weather in Madagascar, which produced roughly 80 percent of the world's natural vanilla, the price of the bean has skyrocketed, affecting ice cream parlors, bakeries and grocery stores. Vanilla now costs $600 per kilogram, about 10 times more than it did just a few years ago, and even more than the same amount of precious silver." (Food Network Mag.)

Wonder if the Hunt Brothers will try to corner the market? I used to make vanilla extract, soaked vanilla beans in Everclear. Looked it up in the King Arthur Flour catalog, $24.95 for two Madagascar beans. May be why I started buying it at the grocery. King Arthur sells the extracts, Madagascar Bourbon, Organic Madagascar Bourbon, Tahitian - first I knew that vanilla came from there - and Mexican, that's what I buy most of the time.

They also have vanilla bean paste and vanilla powder. Paste is vanilla-flecked with vanilla bean seeds, use as you would extract. Ideal for homemade ice cream. Powder, extra-strong, sift lightly - at $29.95 for 2.5 oz., very lightly - onto cookies or cakes. Also use in melted chocolate to prevent seizing.

A missing sock is not a disaster, just an annoyance. It either shows up or is gone for ever. When you buy them 4 or 5 pairs to the package, you have extras. Lose one, the dog chews a hole in one, you still have a matching pair. A glove is a different matter. They come in single pairs, have never bought or been given two matching pairs. Gloves make me feel like a 5-year-old. One glove, where is the other? In a lost and found box, in a slushy puddle in front of the post office, under a counter where it fell when I was desperately searching pockets for tissue? Who knows? If you find my lost glove (though there is no proving it is mine) take it home, wash it, wear it when you lose one of your own. Teens wear unmatched socks that are bought that way. So you will be fashion forward, and your hands will be warm. Can you still buy mitten clips like our moms used when we were little. If I can't keep up with a glove, just might crochet a cord, run it thought my coat sleeves, clip my gloves to it. At least I will know where they are. And I will be the envy of those who have to keep one hand in a pocket.

In the season when we often speak of "peace on earth, good will toward men" it behooves us to live by these rules all year. Share, play fair, clean up after yourself, and avoid taking things that aren't yours. The basic tenets of "All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulghum, will never steer us wrong in dealing with others.