It’s so nice to give homemade gifts! This year I decided to make homemade vanilla extract to give to my friends and family.  It’s easy!  Here’s the recipe… Recipe for Homemade Vanilla Ingredients: 2 to 2 1/2 Vanilla Beans (I used organic vanilla beans) 1/2 cup Vodka (or Brandy) 1. Slice the vanilla bean pods down the side leaving about...

Emanuela wrote to me from Italy about how they eat chestnuts there in the fall.  She’s a teacher and they cook them at the school.  Here’s what she wrote: Hi Lisa, We eat chestnuts in November for autumn.  Grandfathers and their friends come to cook the chestnuts. (1st they need to have an x cut into...

One of the Moms in my daughter’s class made this hand out of ice to put in the Halloween punch.  It’s simple! All you do is put water in a clean disposable glove and seal it with a rubber band.  Then let it freeze.  When it’s done you can put it in water to make it...

Yuta, Yoji and Miki made this awesome “sushi” for a school birthday party. It’s made out of homemade rice crispy treats, gummy fish and fruit roll-ups. How cute and cool! The one question everyone’s asking is: How did they get the rice crispy treats to be soooo pure white? Any ideas? ...

Here’s a simple recipe to make your Halloween so much more ghoulish… Get a heart mold (or a mold for some other body part). Mix up some black cherry jello according to the directions on the box. You’ll have to judge how much jello you’ll need depending upon the mold you find. Put...