Yes, I did Melly - half light brown sugar added to the peaches, the other half of the sugar is cane sugar added to the pan. Used the last of the bottle of Frangelico, just barely 6 oz, in place of the rum. Like you said about the peaches, the nectarines were sorry but the jam is fantastic. I figured the Frangelico being hazelnut would do the same thing for nectarines that almond does for peaches. I made your Peach Vanilla Almond (no beans) Jam today, with clear vanilla extract (1 tsp) and almond extract (1/2 tsp) added at the end. I got 6 8-oz jars, plus a half dozen chunks and some syrup left in the pan. I had boiled the pits (some not quite ripe so chunks left on the pits) and peels, planning to make the Peach Honey or syrup, but had 4C of juice so decided to put that in the pan with a small slice of ginger and a quart of frozen (thawed) blackberries from last year, pulled some berries out after heating to dissolve the sugar, used the same "French plunge" method adding the reserved berries after the syrup was almost gelled. I'm not sure I have a good set, and most of the fruit ended up in the first 4 jars (I got 5), and it's floating, but I'm calling it "Preserves" if it doesn't set hard. I got another 2 jars of "jelly" (or syrup?) I processed and then another almost 12 oz (10 oz?) I put in the fridge and boy it tastes yummy. Not bad for 4 lbs of peaches and a quart of berries (and 10C of sugar, and all day)! The jelly is such a beautiful color (except for a stray seed here and there) that I think next time I'm just going to add blackberry juice instead of whole berries and see whether that has enough pectin to make the peach juice set. I really prefer the taste of no-pectin preserves. Next time I have peaches, I'm thinking of trying the Helen Witty Peach-Rum Jam. Just had to have something the kids could eat this time since DD was the one who insisted I buy 6 lbs of peaches at the orchard this week ;-) Thanks for the recipe!

Hello Everyone! For those of you who don't know me yet, my name is Bump. Dan's a bit busy today, so I thought I would take some time out from my busy napping schedule and tell you what Dan received from Wendy. It was a really cool box, and I thoroughly enjoyed helping him investigate it! So, here's what we received from Wendy... There was some black chocolate tea, but it's gone now. Dan drank it all last night. There was a miniature hanging basket in which Dan planted the included petunia seeds. I tried to help him plant the seeds, but Dan said to wait and help him hang it up outside. Oh, also there were some plastic plant markers and a big flower pouch. I think Dan is putting in an aerial garden this year, so those will help a lot. Then there were these two funny little men in the box. One of them is sitting on the desktop with his arms open wide (personally, I think he may have had a bit too much catnip) and Dan says he'll hang on the outside of a flower pot. I can't wait to see this happen! The other little man is outside now, talking to one of his friends beneath a mushroom that also came in the box. I think there's a picture of them somewhere here, let me see if I can find it. (This would be so much easier if I had opposable thumbs!) Oh, okay, I found it! George, the new guy, is the one on the right... Then there was this frog-on-a-stick thing. I was glad to see this guy go outdoors, he moved around too much and kept teasing Stella... Then there was a baggie full of seeds. Just what I needed! Here I am, working with Dan on his addiction, actually making a little progress, and Wendy sends him more seeds. Frankly, I think I'm going to have to speak to all of your owners (even the dogs, who slobber way too much!) about getting you people into some sort of rehab program! Honestly! I guess you want to know what kinds of seeds Dan received from Wendy, so let me see if I can read her writing on all of these. Some of you need to work on your penmanship... Let's see, there are gypsophila, money plant, pink pampas grass (you're sending him grass??? is that legal??), vitex agnes castus, birdhouse gourds, little bluestem grass, black dragon coleus, bright lights cosmos, heirloom tomato paste mix, black moudry grass (more???), butterfly orchid flower, popcorn cassia, amaranthus, giant reed grass, more birdhouse gourds, ornamental grass, orange cosmos, double click cosmos, ladybird lemon cosmos, vanilla grass, balsam, crocosmia "lucifer", cosmos - dazzler rosy red, summer dream cosmos, seashell cosmos, bottle gentian, more ornamental grass, globe gilia, and brizamedia grass. You all must think he plans on smoking a lot of grass this year! Then, there were these really funny looking birds at the bottom of the box. Dan put them outside, and they look strange, sort of like they're dead actually. Dan wouldn't let me or Stella taste them before he put them outside, which we didn't like. They're birds, we're cats, so that makes them dinner! Want to see what they look like? Okay, but make sure the young humans aren't in the room, these things look kind of freaky... See what I mean? Dan's making a halloween-themed section in the garden, and I think he should put those two flamingo skeletons in it. Don't you? Anyway, Wendy, Dan, Stella, and I really appreciate this box, and everything in it! Oops! I almost forgot something! There was also a brass sparkly thing in the box, which is now hanging on the front of the house. Between all the grass, brass, and catnip, I think we're going to have an interesting summer hereabouts! Yep! Might even get to meet some of those silly police dogs! That's okay though, I've got claws and Stella, so we'll be just fine! Take care everyone, and I'll talk to you all again when I host the May Swap! Should be fun!!! -Bump

If you buy Mexican vanilla imported into the U.S. it will be more expensive, but you can trust what the label says. It still is really difficult to find pure Mexican vanilla. Most of what's imported is also synthetic or a synthetic blend. It is worth it to find the real thing. The flavor is wonderful. My personal favorite for vanilla is Arizona Vanilla Company They also sell on ebay. I found them the best combination of price and quality. If you get on their email list, they're running a 15%-off special until March 1. The company below has excellent vanilla, but it's more expensive. However, it's worth wandering around the site, especially the recipe archive. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: The Vanilla Company

I'm thinking that perhaps the concentrations of the vanilla extract and vanillan were different. Chemically, they're supposed to be the same. Ever since I learned that, I've been figuring that the taste of "white" (I don't call them "vanilla") baked goods and ice cream was from the skimping elsewhere. Maybe it really is the vanillan. Speaking of man made flavors, what I don't understand though, is why people like truffle oil. As far as I know, nobody's claiming that that's chemically identical to real truffle!