Rising food prices are a big issue for Prime Minister Sanae ahead of a national election on Feb. 8 that will make or break her government. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/06/economy/food-cost-rise-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #consumptiontax #food #2026lowerhouseelection #japaneseeconomy #inflation #economicindicators #sanaetakaichi

Rising food prices are a big issue for Prime Minister Sanae ahead of a national election on Feb. 8 that will make or break her government. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/06/economy/food-cost-rise-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #consumptiontax #food #2026lowerhouseelection #japaneseeconomy #inflation #economicindicators #sanaetakaichi

Wealthier households in the United States are benefiting from rising asset values, but median- and lower-income families increasingly struggle as a “K-shaped economy” takes hold, analysts warn. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/06/economy/us-households-living-costs-struggle/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #us #donaldtrump #food #inflation

Wealthier households in the United States are benefiting from rising asset values, but median- and lower-income families increasingly struggle as a “K-shaped economy” takes hold, analysts warn. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/06/economy/us-households-living-costs-struggle/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #us #donaldtrump #food #inflation

A friend introduced me to this delicacy: Oreo Thins stuffed with goat cheese.

#food

Baked apples have been a favorite winter treat, and they make for great oatmeal at breakfast. I pick up a bag of imperfect, mixed-variety apples at the supermarket, peel and chop, add lemon juice, cinnamon, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt, then into a baking dish, topped with dried cranberries, and baked for 45 minutes or so. Easy, inexpensive, and yummy! 🍏🍎😋

#food #cooking

After patting the vanilla pods dry, I wrapped them in towels and packed them in an insulated cooler bag with a hot water bottle, wrapped in more towel.

This is the beginning of the "sweating" stage that lasts 10-14 days. The will spend evenings wrapped up with a hot water bottle in an insulated cooler bag, and they will spend daytime drying in the sun.

See process description here: https://www.kingson-foodtech.com/en/a4-11232-16797/The-Journey-of-Vanilla-Beans-Vanilla-Bean-Processing.html
And here: https://www.vanillapura.com/blogs/vanilla-extract-making-101/how-to-cure-vanilla-beans-at-home-a-step-by-step-guide

Pic 1: I wrapped the pods in their little towels, then packed them in an insulated cooler bag that was lined with a big folded towel.
Pic 2: I put a hot water bottle on top, wrapped it all up in the big towel, and zipped up the cooler bag.

They will stay like this till tomorrow (I'll keep an eye on the water bottle and refill with hot water as necessary), then will set to sun dry during the daytime tomorrow.

3/

#vanilla #orchids #plants #food #hawaii

It's vanilla bean harvest day! After growing vanilla vines in various places for various years and finally getting some flowers in a place I could reach (as opposed to high up in a tree), then hand-pollinating them with the right technique, then waiting for the pods to reach full size over a couple months, then letting the pods ripen on the vine for 9 months, they're finally ready to harvest!

I'll be using this thread to track the rest of the process.

So, how did I know when to harvest? According to this blog post: https://vanillery.com/ripe-green-vanilla-pods/ they are ready to harvest when the bottoms are yellow and just starting to crack. I've included pics below showing my pods this morning when I decided to harvest.

Pic 1: yellow on the bottom
Pic 2: yellow on bottom and just starting to split
Pic 3: further splitting, with seeds visible inside. I smelled this one at the place where it was opening, and it smelled fantastic - like vanilla.

Next steps described in next posts...

1/

#vanilla #orchids #plants #hawaii #food

Baked apples have been a favorite winter treat, and they make for great oatmeal at breakfast. I pick up a bag of imperfect, mixed-variety apples at the supermarket, peel and chop, add lemon juice, cinnamon, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt, then into a baking dish, topped with dried cranberries, and baked for 45 minutes or so. Easy, inexpensive, and yummy! 🍏🍎😋

#food #cooking

I freed the sugar!

After several applications of heat, it became this almost clay-like consistency, allowing me to cut it apart and crumble it out in bits.

Now the question is, what to do with it? Ideally I'd want to use it somehow, but I'm at a bit of a loss 1) how to get it into useable form, and 2) how to keep it from clumping all over again.

I'm open to ideas and suggestions.

Also a bit surprised there's so *much* of it. I really made too much.

#food

After patting the vanilla pods dry, I wrapped them in towels and packed them in an insulated cooler bag with a hot water bottle, wrapped in more towel.

This is the beginning of the "sweating" stage that lasts 10-14 days. The will spend evenings wrapped up with a hot water bottle in an insulated cooler bag, and they will spend daytime drying in the sun.

See process description here: https://www.kingson-foodtech.com/en/a4-11232-16797/The-Journey-of-Vanilla-Beans-Vanilla-Bean-Processing.html
And here: https://www.vanillapura.com/blogs/vanilla-extract-making-101/how-to-cure-vanilla-beans-at-home-a-step-by-step-guide

Pic 1: I wrapped the pods in their little towels, then packed them in an insulated cooler bag that was lined with a big folded towel.
Pic 2: I put a hot water bottle on top, wrapped it all up in the big towel, and zipped up the cooler bag.

They will stay like this till tomorrow (I'll keep an eye on the water bottle and refill with hot water as necessary), then will set to sun dry during the daytime tomorrow.

3/

#vanilla #orchids #plants #food #hawaii

The first step in vanilla pod processing is to "kill" the bean via boiling or freezing.

I don't have a freezer, so I decided to submerge in boiled water for 3-5 mins.

Instructions here: https://www.vanillapura.com/blogs/vanilla-extract-making-101/how-to-cure-vanilla-beans-at-home-a-step-by-step-guide
And here: https://www.kingson-foodtech.com/en/a4-11232-16797/The-Journey-of-Vanilla-Beans-Vanilla-Bean-Processing.html

Pic 1: beans in boiled water (not on the flame - just in water that I boiled).
Pic 2: after boiling, I laid them out and dried them with a towel.

2/

#vanilla #plants #food #hawaii #orchids