Riot and Frolic

Contrary to last week's post, where I complained about homemade versus hand made food and how NOBODY CARES, there are certain food things I am too lazy, cheap, or food-obsessed to buy in the store.

1. Vanilla extract – If only for a reason to buy cheap vodka (it looks so lonely sitting on the bottom shelf) or vanilla beans in bulk (a realtor's dream, my house smells like I'm baking cookies all the time), yet also because it's two ingredients and awesome *.  Click here for the "recipe" and a vanilla bean buying source: vanilla!
2. Spice mixes – From cancer-curing Lawry's Salt to bacon rub, if it's essentially two or more herbs and spices mixed together, I'm going to look up the recipe and make it instead of running to the store and spending $1 more per jar on it… Even if it means asking around on Facebook for exotic spices and having lovely people hand-deliver them to me.  (Thanks, Pouran!)
3. Brownie mix – All right, all right, sometimes I want a chewy, preservative-laden brownie that I have to mix 2 less ingredients together to achieve.  But generally, I use my mom's recipe (which I haven't asked for permission to print, so I'll send you to the Star Tribune's recent brownie recipe which is supposed to be LEGENDARY).
4. Simple syrup – Ah hell, any syrup: chocolate syrup (yeah, like Hershey's), vanilla syrup (for coffee, duh!), even caramel sauce… Why pay 3 or 4 bucks for a bottle of something you can make for free?  And is fun to make!  And takes around 1 minute to make?  (Caramel sauce takes a little longer, but it's as awesome as making marshmallows [food science!], so totally worth it.) Plus, you can buy fancy bottles to put your goods in AND/OR give them as Christmas gifts and people think you did something Fantastic.

 What do you love making in your kitchen?  

*Although I hear imitation vanilla is the secret to nostalgic cupcakes.