On the tail end of a cold, I was missing cooking but wasn't up to something complicated. I modified Andrea Reusing's ginger syrup by replacing half of the ginger with sliced lemon. (The only other ingredients are sugar and water.) I then neglected to hear the one hour timer go off and by the time I checked in again, the syrup had caramelized.
Oh, the horror! Just kidding, it is delicious: spicy and sour and sweet all at the same time. Unlike the regular ginger syrup, it is almost solid out of the fridge (like caramel.) I've been disolving a tablespoon or two into hot water when I need a break from tea.
Incidentally, Andrea lived next door to my grandparents and used to make fried chicken to bring over for my grandfather (her husband is a vegetarian.) Besides being kind of a big deal, she is nice.
My dad and stepmom gave me a vanilla making kit, which turned out to be vodka + vanilla beans (which smell amazing) + cute bottle. I put the first two in the third, and let it sit for a month in my pantry, checking on it weekly. Cool beans, as a friend used to say! I'm looking forward to baking with this vanilla soon. Apparently as you use it you just keep refilling the vodka so it covers the beans. Here are the before and after photos:
