Cleavers Tincture and Vanilla Extract

My garden and garden plot are slowly coming along and pretty soon I'll be able to plant my tomato and pepper plants I've been lovingly tending since the end of March. 
I spent the day running errands and getting a lot of things done around the house that I've been putting off.  I also had some time to play with my new camera.  No more fuzzy, low light photos!  Mr. X gave me my birthday present early :) 
I spent a lot of time outside today and in the kitchen.  I was able to pick about a 1/4 cup of violet blossoms, so I'm soaking that in some water over night.  I was hoping to get enough to make some jelly, but I'm thinking it'll just be a syrup instead.  Then I can add it to seltzer water and make a violet soda.  I also headed out to the garden plot and loaded up on Cleavers to make a tincture.  A tincture is a type of medicine made by infusing alcohol (typically vodka) with a fresh herb; in this case Cleavers.  It traditionally sits for at least 6 weeks before use and then is good indefinitely because the plant material is preserved in the alcohol. 
Cleavers are a fascinating plant that get their name because they "cleave" or stick to passing animals and humans.  A large clump of them make a great sieve.  They are also known as "bedstraw" and were typically used by midwives who prepared a bed of the plant for childbirth.  This practice was learned from watching deer, who also give birth and bed down in bed straw; hence, Cleavers are considered deer medicine in Native American culture. 
Cleavers are great for all kinds of things including calming of the nerves and filtering out toxins (and helping those organs whom perform this function).  According to Matthew Wood in The Book of Herbal Wisdom, "In short, we may say that Cleavers cools, moistens, filters, detoxifies and promotes transportation within the hidden waterways of the body."   Cleavers has also been used to cure cancer, traditionally of the tongue and thyroid.  Needless to say, Cleavers has a lot of uses and this is just the tip of the iceberg!
To make the tincture, I collected the Cleavers, cleaned them ( I didn't rinse them, I just checked for dead or brown plant matter, non-Cleavers plant material and insects and spiders), I crammed as much as I could fit into a jar, filled it up with vodka and screwed a lid on.  Then I labeled and dated it.  Tada!  In 6 weeks I'll have Cleavers tincture!

I also made up another batch of homemade vanilla extract!  All you need is a few vanilla beans, a nice bottle or jar and some vodka or rum!  I sliced my vanilla beans down the middle, but DO NOT scrape!  I placed them in the jar, warmed some vodka, then poured it over the beans and voila!  It'll be ready in about 6 weeks as well and the longer it sits, the stronger it gets.  I also do this with almonds and fresh mint!  It's WAY cheaper than store bought and now that you have a large bottle, you can add as much as you want to whatever you want!  Sadly, I didn't get a picture.

Tomorrow will be homemade mustard, violet syrup and banana bread!