How to make yogurt UPDATED

I posted before about how to make yogurt. I have recently changed the way I do it though, so I wanted to share.

In the past I would heat the milk to 180 degrees before cooling to about 110/115 degrees, which is basically pasteurizing it. Pasteurization is a very harmful process (something I plan on sharing more in depth about at some point), and not necessary at all to make yogurt! Here are the few simple steps to make yogurt:

You'll need:

- Raw milk (Goats or cows milk would work, although I have only used cows)

- Glass quart jar (or bigger, if you have it, would work too!)

- Candy thermometer

- A pot

-2 Gallon insulated jug

- Yogurt starter or yogurt from previous batch (I have also used store bought organic plain yogurt as a starter if I ever forgot to save some from a previous batch)

-Towels

Here's how:

1. Pour your milk into whatever sized jar you are using, leaving some head space for expansion.

2. Pour milk into a pot, and on very low heat warm to about 110/115 degrees. Usually takes me about 6 min using 1 quart of milk.

3. Add your starter/yogurt (1 Tbsp yogurt or 1/8 tsp powdered yogurt starter per 1 quart of milk) and stir.

 4. Pour warmed milk into a warmed glass jar and lightly screw on the lid. (I usually just fill the jar with hot water while the milk is heating on the stove, and then empty and dry before adding the milk.)

(I don't have pictures of this last step)

5. Then wrap the jar with towels and place in the insulated jug, placing more towels on top to fill the jug.

6. Leave the jug on the counter or kitchen floor or wherever to culture for 24 hours.

That's it! You will then have super nutritious yummy yogurt. We sweeten ours with honey and add whatever toppings we'd like!

If you are having trouble here are a few tips:

If your yogurt separates into curds and whey

- To warm

-To long culturing

-To much starter

If this happenes DO NOT throw it away. It is still perfectly safe to consume. It won't have the creamy texture, but can still be used nicely to make smoothies or for baking.

If your yogurt is to thin

- To cool

- To little time culturing

- To little starter.

You can also try placing the jar in hot water for a bit at any point (after it has cultured for 24 hours and even if it has been in the fridge) to try and thicken it up. Although most homemade yogurt will tend to be a bit thinner than storebought, I have had some batches turn out super thick.

If you are a big yogurt eater I highly recommend trying to make your own. It is so much more nutritious for you without ANY additives or sugars and way cheaper. Let me know if you give it a try, and if you have any questions!

Happy first day of Fall!

Or, to be more accurate, Happy Autumnal Equinox! In celebration (or in anguish, depending on your seasonal preferences) of this day I am going to share 3 loves and dislikes about Fall. Huuur we go.

3 Things I love About Fall

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1. It would be a travesty to give the number one spot to anything other than Pumpkin. I mean, come on now. Fall and pumpkin go together like, well, like Fall and pumpkin. I don't think any two things are more perfectly matched than that. There is Pumpkin cheese cake and pumpkin corn bread. Pumpkin pie scented candles and pumpkin decorations. Sure, you technically could have pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread any day of the year. But I think deep down deep in our souls we subconsciously know that that would just be wrong. It's like having watermelon in the Winter. You just don't do it.

 Source 1 & 2

2. The clothes! Brown boots, leggings, sweaters and chunky scarves. Fall fashion is hands down my favorite.

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3. The beauty of nature in the Fall is beyond spectacular. Spring is nice and all with the new green grass and spring flowers blooming, but nothing beats the gorgeous color pallet of Fall.


3 Things I Dislike about Fall.

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1. After Fall comes Winter. I am not a fan. Cold and I do not meld well. I can have layers of socks on, but still have freezing cold feet. Ok, so I clearly have a problem. I just choose to blame Winter. It's easier.

 Source

2. Having to wear Jeans. I thoroughly dislike wearing jeans. My thighs are not in proportion to my butt. I need a bigger size to compensate for my thighs, but then that leaves me with...yep, butt gap. Which leaves me constantly pulling up my pants. Which isn't good considering I have 2 kids and spend half my day bending over picking up toys or wipe noses or sitting on the floor playing with said toys. I pray everyday (ok, not every day) that sweatpants will become social acceptable to wear at anytime in public. There are leggings, which thank goodness are back in style. But I can't just wear leggings everyday or else I will be known as the girl who wears leggings every day. And I already was that girl 15 years ago, and let me tell you I will never live that down. So, the moral of the story. If you ever see me wearing jeans you can be sure that as soon as I get home those bad boys are off and my sweatpants are on.

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3. The extra amount of self control it takes to NOT eat all the yummy pumpkin and apple desserts. No other season has quite the extent of desserts that Fall seems to bring. Glazed donuts and apple cider. Pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing. Warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream. I love it all! But, unfortunately, my body does not.

Enjoy this first day of Fall and have a wonderful weekend!

Posicles

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope you're having fun and staying cool. Today I thought I would share a couple easy "posicle" recipes that my boys have been loving lately on these hot summer days.

Popsicles are a perfect summer afternoon treat for kids, but pretty much any of the store bought kinds are full of either sugar, HFCS and other yucky unneeded ingredients that I like to keep out of our diet. I came across a simple plastic $1 popsicle mold at the store awhile back, and decided to concoct some healthy, but still tasty, popsicles for my boys (and myself!) to enjoy. Here are the two "recipes" we have tried so far!

Pina Colada Popsicles

6 oz Coconut milk

Roughly 2 cups of fresh pineapple chunks

1-3 Tbsp Honey (optional)

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract (optional, but it does give it that extra yummy flavor)

Berry Banana Blast

6 oz Coconut milk

Roughly 2 cups of strawberries, blueberries and banana

1-3 Tbsp Honey (again, totally optional)


Just blend together in the blender until smooth, pour into popsicle mold, freeze until solid and enjoy!

I have also made smoothies using the same ingredients, just freeze the fruit first!

Can you tell my boys really like these?

Yogurt: A How To

UPDATED 10/08/12

I have a new better way of making yogurt. Go here to see it!


I have been making my own raw milk yogurt for over 2 years now. It really is quite simple once you get the hang of it. Along with having great healthy bacteria benefits and a good source of healthy fat, yogurt is just plain yummy! We use it for fruit smoothies, eat it for breakfast and it's one of the first foods I feed my babies.

Although the heating process I use to make yogurt does kill of some of the good bacteria it is still tons better than any store bought yogurt, which is just loaded with sugar. Even plain yogurt has sugar!

Side note: There is a way to make yogurt without heating the milk. Although, I have never tried it. Read here for more info.

I currently use raw cows milk, but you can definitely use store bought or goats milk as well! 

Here is a step by step on how to make yogurt!

Supplies needed:

- About 3 cups of milk
- 2 gallon insulated jug
- 1 quart glass jar
- 1/8 to 1/4 cup of plain yogurt or yogurt starter
- Medium sized pot
- Candy thermometer
- Wooden spoon (not pictured)

Measure out your milk in a 1 quart jar, stopping at least 1 1/2 inches from the top. It'll be around 3 cups.

Pour the milk into your pot, and put over low/med heat, leaning more towards low. The lower and slower you heat up the milk the less the enzymes and bacteria become damaged.

Heat the milk to 180 degrees F; just before it starts to boil. For me it takes about 10 min. But it really just depends on how low your heat is and the size of your pan. Remove from heat.

Preferably your thermometer would be attached to the side of the pan and not resting on the bottom. But if yours is broken and rests on the bottom like mine be aware that the temp will read higher then it actually is. Just make sure you lift it up a bit every so often to get the correct reading. You could just buy a new one. But that would be too easy.

Let the milk sit undisturbed until the temp lowers to 110/120 degrees F. For me it takes about 30 min. (I have had the best results letting it cool to just 120 degrees F.)

Add your plain yogurt or yogurt starter to the warm milk. No more than 1/4 cup of yogurt is necessary.

I have never used a yogurt starter. I just use store bought organic plain yogurt for my first batch.

Gently stir in the yogurt with a wooden spoon. Metal spoons have been known to kill live cultures. Although, I did use a metal spoon before I learned that, and never had an issue.

Pour the warm milk and yogurt mixture into the 1 quart glass jar. It MUST be a glass jar. Because the milk is pretty warm it would make a plastic container seep chemicals.

Put on the lid VERY tightly.

Put the jar into the center of your 2 gallon jug, and add hot water almost to the top of the jar.

I have had fine results just using my hot tap water, which gets up to 150 degrees F. If you have to, you can add a bit of boiling water to the tap water. Be cautious though. While pouring hot water on glass you must go very slowly to make sure it doesn't break!

Tighten the jugs lid, and let sit on the counter for at least 5 hours. I usually let it sit longer, sometimes over night.

After letting it sit for 5+ hours, remove the jar of yogurt and put right into the fridge to cool. I have found that it makes for a thicker yogurt if you cool it first before eating. That way the extra whey can settle on top and you can scoop it off before mixing.

It is definitely tart just plain, and will need a sweetener. We use honey or stevia.

That's it! It's one of those things that sounds to scary to even try, but it really is pretty simple. So be a little adventurous and give it a go!

Here are Sam and Will enjoying their yogurt!

Fried Zucchini Cakes.

When it comes to cooking, I am more of a "creator". Not much for following recipes. Which, I confess, has had its ups and downs. One creation that turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself, are what I call Fried Zucchini Cake. I am a big fan of Zucchini. Very tasty, versatile, and is so cheap too! All throughout the winter I have bought zucchini at the market, 3 for $1.00. Can't beat that!

I am sure something similar to these have been made before, this is just my take on it. Because I winged it when making these, I don't have the exact amounts. It's pretty fool proof though. Here it is!

Fried Zucchini Cakes
1 Zucchini, shredded
1 c grated cheese
1 egg
2 tbls milk
3/4c flour (or enough to make a pancake like batter)
Seasoning: Salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion powder
Oil

Stir all ingredients (except oil) together. Add milk/flour until consistency is right. The batter should be equal amounts batter/zucchini.
Heat up enough oil to cover the bottom of your fry pan. Drop a spoonful of batter, and flatten slightly. Fry each side until golden brown. Add more oil as you go, if needed. Best when eaten right away!

*From my experience the first batch tends to fail. I think the oil just wasn't hot enough.

If you are like me, you have a plethora of zucchini in your fridge. That is why next I will post my absolutely yummy Zucchini Bread Recipe.

Baba Ghanoush!

Monday evening I had my sister over to join me in watching the finale of our...ahem..."guilty pleasure", and the night would not have been complete without a slew of yummy food; Chili, Fried Zucchini Cakes, and for the first time I tried my hand at making Baba Ganoush! It turned out OK. I've only had it once before (store bought from Wegmans) and it didn't quite taste the same as that. Wasn't bad, just different.

I'm not really a fan of using recipes when it comes to cooking, but here is the recipe I kind of followed:

Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (I just used sesame tahini)
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used roasted garlic instead)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and let cool.
3. Remove skin from eggplant, and most of seeds.
   
4. Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, cumin and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

Next I will be posting the recipe for my Fried Zucchini Cakes!

Enjoy!