Vanilla!!!!!!!!!

I rarely measure our vanilla, and I frequently add it to recipes that don't originally call for it. The thing is, vanilla extract is pretty flippin expensive, and artificial vanilla or vanillin?! is made from the bark of some tree and tastes just awful. So! I researched and researched (as I am prone to do with everything that crosses my mind) and I figured out how to make my own vanilla extract. In fact, I made a jug for our house, and about 20 small bottles for Christmas gifts. Making vanilla is less of a science thing and more of a patience thing. So here is what you do:
Buy some vanilla beans (I got mine super cheap in bulk, like 500 or 1000 beans for 20 bucks or something ridiculous) and store them in a ziplock with the air sucked out in a dark place. Also, keep an eye on these beans because they will mold and ruin 100 beans in the blink of an eye. One more thing, don't freeze the beans, it's bad stuff. So, you have vanilla beans, it's up to you what kind of bean, though I use Madagascar Bourbon beans (which have no bourbon). Mexican vanilla is great, Tahitian vanilla is okay, but it has a different taste, semi-off-putting smell, and it's contents are more volatile and likely to spoil or turn into a dissapointing situation. So, find your self a glass jug with a cap (we use a big 3 Thieves wine jug with a handle) or you can use a smaller bottle with a cork, whatever you choose, preferably glass. Now, go to the liquor store, go on, and ask them for the cheapest vodka they have. You can use other liquors like bourbon or rum, but vodka is easily overcome by the vanilla and even with the cheapest vodka you will get a quality vanilla extract with no off-putting flavor. Split several beans on one side (like in Star Wars when that Taun-Taun gets sliced open) and toss them in the jug. How many beans? Well, how patient are you? How many beans do you have? How big is your jug? I think our jug is 1 1/2 litres and we added maybe ten beans, but our smaller 1/4 liter bottles got two beans. You can add more, possibly less (but be willing to wait). Fill the bottle with vodka, cap it and give it a shake. Tomorrow, give it another shake. Keep going (you can forget a few days, it's okay). In 1-3 months you will have a useable vanilla extract, and in 6 months you will have a hearty extract. You can top the bottle off with vodka every few months, maybe add a bean every year. Extract forever! Some people replace all of the beans every two years, but I only have a 6 month old extract right now so we'll see how it goes. The thing is, you always have a bit of the original vanilla you made, like a sourdough starter, only not terrifying. Some people have 100 year old vanilla blood lines, it's pretty cool. Have fun!