Vanilla, mmmmm!

Quite some time ago, in fact when Chicky was a very tiny tot Pam @ Grow Bake Run was telling me about how she had made her own vanilla essence.  She'd taken the initiative after reading all about it from Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.  Ever since our discussion (about 3 years) i've been meaning to give it a go!  Today i finally did, but i will have to wait until Christmas to see if it's any good.

To make your own vanilla essence you will need ~

a 700ml bottle of Vodka, it must be 40% alcohol or more, i chose Absolut Vodka
8 vanilla beans

Take a sharp knife and slice through the vanilla beans leaving about 2cm joined at the end.

Decant 2-3 tablespoons of Vodka from the bottle.
Add the vanilla beans to the bottle.
Add back as much of the Vodka you decanted as you can, i was left with about 1 tablespoon over (do what you like with that)

Put the lid back on and put it in a cool dark place for the next 6-9 months.
Every month or so give the bottle a shake.

Can not wait to see how it turns out!