Vanilla beans and lots of cilantro!

I think vanilla is the one ingredient I use a lot that really irks me to buy.... how can such a small bottle be so expensive?!  Then I came across this blog post and got really inspired to make my own!  I did a lot of research and also checked out the recipe on Allrecipes.  After looking at the price of vanilla beans at our local Co-op, I decided ordering them online would be cheaper even factoring in the cost of shipping.  Reading people's reviews, I choose Madagascar beans and purchased them through the website Beanilla.   

Don't they look so yummy?!  The actual process took only like 5 minutes!  I just sliced each vanilla bean down the center leaving the ends intact and dropped them into a vodka bottle!  Now I just have to wait 6-8 weeks... that will be the hard part!

Also Dano and I made a really delicious and super easy dinner last night that I thought I would pass along. 

We made two individual thai pizzas on large tortillas and hot and sour soup.  The original recipe for thai pizza is from Rachel Ray but we sort of make our own thing!  I started typing out each thing I change but I'll just give you a basic recipe!

pizza dough (if serving for more then 2) or large tortillas
plum sauce (in the asian section of the grocery store)
red pepper flakes
mozzarella cheese, shredded
bean sprouts
red pepper, diced
green onion, chopped
cilantro
peanuts

Just spread the plum sauce on the crust of your choice (if you are using pizza dough you might want to pre-cook it so it isn't soggy in the middle) and sprinkle with red pepper flakes (how ever much heat you can handle!).  Then top with cheese and cook in the oven until lightly browned... if you are using tortillas it definitely won't need to cook as long or as hot!  Then take it out and let it cool a couple minutes and top with all the fresh ingredients!  If you like asian food and like everything on the ingredient list--you will love this.
Next... hot and sour soup. 
For the most part I use this recipe, but always use an assortment of fresh mushrooms... dried mushrooms sound kind of gross to me.  This weekend the crimini mushrooms weren't looking too good so I just got a handful of button mushrooms and a portobello that I chopped up.  I tend to amp up the amount of garlic and ginger... and always add chili oil.  Yum, this is so good and even better the next day for lunch!
Its hard for me to relay recipes since I don't measure things out too often but I think it's the best way to cook (although I wouldn't recommend it for baking...).  Taste as you go and make corrections.  Everyone's palate is different so no recipe is perfect for everyone anyway. 
Have fun!