Homemade Yogurt

I'm making my first batch of yogurt tonight! I've been wanting to try this for a while, but I thought you had to have a yogurt maker. I looked at several yogurt makers online and was unsure about which one to get. Luckily, before I ordered one, I found the directions for making yogurt in a crock pot. Since I already have a crock pot, it makes sense to try this method first.

Here's what you do (this and more info can be found here)...

Plug in your crock pot and turn it on low. Add 8 cups (1/2 gallon) of whole milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.

Unplug your crock pot. Leave the cover on and let it sit for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, scoop out 2 cups of the milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup store-bought yogurt with live cultures. (After you've made a batch, you can keep some of your homemade yogurt to start a new batch.) Dump the contents back into the crock pot; stir to combine and replace the lid. Keep it unplugged and wrap a heavy bath towel around the crock pot for insulation. Go to bed or let it sit for 8 hours.

In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened, but it's not as thick as store-bought yogurt. If you want, blend in fruit. Chill in plastic containers in the fridge. It will last 7 to 10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter for your next batch.

My yogurt is currently at the "let it sit for 3 hours" stage. At 11:30 I'll add the 1/2 cup of store-bought yogurt. In the morning I'll have homemade yogurt! I don't know about you, but I get tired of buying all those plastic yogurt containers that don't recycle (at least they don't around here). I've been using some to store things like beads, crayons, and marbles for the kids, but I've still got a huge pile in my laundry room. (I wonder if a local daycare might be able to use them for crafts?) I also like to save money when I can. Today I bought a quart of yogurt for $2.28 and a gallon of milk for $2.68. After some calculating...If I end up with 2 quarts of yogurt, I will have paid $0.67 per quart (plus $0.29 for the yogurt I used as a starter). Not bad!

What a Week!

I'm sooo tired. I've been really busy this week. Monday I took the kids to my parents' house. My sister and brother-in-law were visiting from California so we spent a couple of nights with them. My other sister and her daughter spent Monday night there, too. We were planning to go to the zoo Tuesday, but 4 out of 9 of us were sick so we just hung around the house. We got home late Wednesday night.

Thursday was full of the usual post-trip chores like unpacking and washing clothes, as well as menu planning and grocery shopping for Jesse's birthday party. I bought groceries to feed close to 20 people. My refrigerator was so full I wondered whether I'd be able to close the door. I also did some cleaning.

Friday I cooked. I made 2 batches of bread, fruit dip, veggie/cracker dip, strawberry salad, 2 cakes, and icing. I put together a fruit platter and a veggie platter. I cut and stacked the cakes to make a dump truck. Yes, a dump truck. My little birthday boy loves cars and trucks and his dump truck is his favorite. I also embroidered a dump truck on a t-shirt for him.

This morning I made another batch of bread, deviled eggs, cheesy bean dip, and ice cream. (Ok, hubby kept the ice cream maker iced and salted.) We then had a great party with wonderful family and friends. It was a nice way to end this crazy week.


I had to include a picture of the dump truck cake. I worked hard on this! I needed a little more time to make it nicer, but it's not too bad. Jesse liked it! I can't believe my baby is 2.

Am I a Sacking Snob?

This evening I ran into town for groceries at two different stores. I'm a little particular, some might say neurotic, about the way my stuff is sacked. I've had sackers put large cans of pineapple juice on top of my bananas. If I'd wanted bruised bananas, I'd have gotten the black ones to begin with. I also like to keep refrigerated items together, especially when it's 80 or 90 degrees outside. I figure the cold stuff will stay cold longer if it's all huddled together. Also, when I get home I let the toilet paper and soap loiter in the trunk until I get the milk and butter safely stowed in the fridge. It's easier to do this if it's not mingled with non-refrigerated items. I rarely have too few shopping bags (I always take reusable ones), but just in case I were to have a shortage, I place those items on the belt last that are easiest to carry without a bag, like milk or bags of potatoes.

Because of my idiosyncrasy and my skepticism of the intelligence of some cashiers, I have a habit of placing my purchases on the conveyor belt in the order in which I want them bagged. I always leave eggs and produce for the end so they aren't crushed by heavier items, unless I anticipate a bag shortage (as mentioned previously), in which case the milk and potatoes are banished to the end of the line. I put all the refrigerated/frozen stuff together. I group things like soap, toilet paper, and tooth paste. This usually works well. The typical cashier scans the item closest to hand, bags it, then repeats. However, tonight I did not have the typical cashier. In fact, I had two atypical cashiers.

I spent some time in the parking lot of the first store rearranging my purchases because the cashier had desegregated my cold items and bath products. One bag held butter, tooth paste, and soap. Another held butter, cream, and apples. While I loaded my groceries from the second store I noticed the sacker had bagged my 3 gallons of milk (which were at the end of the line!) and put all my produce in one bag - lettuce, tomatoes, two avocadoes, bananas, two containers of strawberries, and two containers of raspberries.

Maybe next time I'll separate my purchases with bags so the cashier can fill up the first bag until she gets to the second one. Then she can fill up the second until she gets to the third, and so on. To be fair, I should mention that some sackers are excellent. If only I could tell by looking at them...

Tofu, Anyone?

Last week I was perusing the grocery store when I came across some organic tofu that was 50% off. I had never tried tofu. I didn't even know where to look for tofu until that day. Since I love a bargain and I've heard it's good for you, I decided to get some. I got home and thought "What do I do with it?"

I poked around the internet and found a few recipes that looked good. The lasagne sounded really good, but I'll have to pick up a few ingredients before I try it. I decided to try a grilled tofu sandwich and a tofu stir-fry.

For the tofu sandwich (this was NOT gluten-free), I placed two slices of bread on a cookie sheet. I spread a little mayo on each piece. I then put tomato slices on one piece and tofu slices on the other. I sprinkled a little sea salt on the tomatoes and a little garlic powder on the tofu. Under the broiler it went. It was pretty good, although I couldn't taste the tofu. Is that good or bad? The garlic and tomatoes made a nice combination. It might be good with a little Parmesan cheese.

For the stir-fry (gluten-free), I kinda cheated and used a bag of Asian-style frozen vegetables from the grocery store. I sliced the tofu into cubes. Then I heated some olive oil, sauteed the veggies, again with sea salt and garlic powder, then sauteed the tofu. It was ok, but nothing outstanding. I could taste the tofu a little more, but it's pretty bland.

Do you have some good tofu recipes you're willing to share?

Junk Food in Disguise

I like to feed my family home-cooked meals and give my kids healthy snacks. Yes, we like to have our cake (or brownies, cookies, ice cream, pie, etc.) and eat it, too, but we don't make a daily ritual of it. Since I'm home with the kids all day it's easier for me to dish up from-scratch meals than if I had a paying job, but sometimes we find ourselves having oatmeal or scrambled eggs and toast for supper.

There are times when the kids have eaten all the grapes and cottage cheese and we've had apples for 4 days straight and I'm looking around for something for them to snack on. I can always find raisins in the pantry, but most people like a little variety - my kids are no different - so I keep an eye out for non perishable snacks.

I don't think all parents buy junk food on purpose. Sure, there are parents who don't care. But some people just don't think about checking the label. I wasn't raised to read the ingredients. It's a habit I've gotten into over the years. There are times you have to give a product more than a cursory glance to know exactly what you're getting. I happen to have 2 packages of "fruit snacks" marketed for preschoolers. They were given to us and have been sitting in the pantry for a while.

A glance at the first shows "Fruit Snacks. Made with REAL FRUIT." Looks good, right? Here are the ingredients: juice from concentrates, corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, fruit puree, gelatin, citric acid, lactic acid, natural and artificial flavor, ascorbic acid, coconut oil, sodium citrate, carnauba wax, tocopherol acetate, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, vitamin A. There are 15 g of sugar in one serving. The second says "Juice treats. Naturally flavored." The first two ingredients are corn syrup and sugar and there are 17 g of sugar in one serving. Why would I give these to my children?

So in addition to raisins, I've been trying to keep other dried fruits on hand: things like dates, papayas, apricots, and pineapple. I've also found fruit leathers. I like these kinds of snacks because you can store them for an extended amount of time in the pantry (stock up when they're on sale) and they're easy to throw in a bag before you head out the door.

Once a Month Cooking

(aka Freezer Cooking)

I just read about this and I love the idea. Basically you cook a bunch of food in one day, freeze it, then eat it throughout the month. This should save you time and money.

Save time: Instead of spending an hour or two every evening preparing supper, you set aside a day (or two) to do LOTS of cooking, assembling, and freezing. (It's just as easy to cook two chickens as it is to cook one. The same principle applies to hamburger meat, pork chops, and many other things.) Then you can just grab a meal from your freezer, thaw it, and pop it in the oven. This should free up some time each evening for you to play with your kids, talk with your husband, or read a book.

Save money: Almost always the unit price is cheaper when you buy in bulk. But if you throw half of the food out because it went bad before you could eat it all, you haven't saved any money by buying the economy-size package. With OAMC (once a month cooking), you can buy that 10-lb package of hamburger meat, knowing it'll be used to make meatballs, meatloaf, and spaghetti. You also won't have to order pizza or swing by the drive-thru for supper when you know you've got supper thawing in the fridge.

Even if I never get to the point where I have 30 meals in my freezer, I can use these ideas on a small scale to make my life a little easier. I can make a double batch of lasagne (or soup or chicken casserole, etc.) and freeze half of it. I think I'll try cooking and freezing a week's worth of meals and work my way up to a month. I'll have to see how many freezer-friendly recipes I have. I'm sure I'll have to add some new ones to my collection. I'll share them with you if I find some good ones.

In the meantime, here are a few websites to help you get started.
Once a Month Cooking World
Freezer Cooking
Momsbudget.com

Happy New Year!

2010 is just around the corner. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but I thought I'd try it this year.

1. Lose 20 pounds. Well, at least 15. Okay, I'll be happy with 10. Why did I look better 6 months post-partum than 19 months?

2. Get ready for my spring garden. I was a slacker last year. I want to start my seeds on time, prepare my soil, and keep weeds at bay. I like being able to walk outside and gather a salad. I don't like paying for organic veggies at the store.

3. Prepare for 1st grade. No, I'm not going back to school, but Olivia will be starting 1st grade. I'd like to get a schedule worked out and a general idea of what we'll study. I won't make detailed lesson plans for every day, but I think we both need a little structure.

4. Build a house. We've been planning to build a house for almost 7 years. I've got my fingers crossed that THIS will be the year.

5. Finish my house plans. See #4.

6. That's enough. If I can do #1-5, I'll be happy.

What's on your list?

Gobble, Gobble!

It's almost Turkey Day. I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes with you that would be great on your Thanksgiving menu.


Cranberry Relish
(Traditional cranberry sauce is too tart for me to eat more than about a spoonful. This relish is neither too tart nor too sweet. It's good warm or cold. It's also great on toast.)
4 cups fresh cranberries, cleaned
2 cups chopped dried apricots
1 cup chopped seedless golden raisins
1 tablespoon orange rind
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup brown sugar

Combine all ingredients except sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes until cranberries have popped and are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar. Cool. Store covered.


Pumpkin Cake Roll
(An alternative to pumpkin pie, this is delicious.)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
1 teaspooon lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
confectioners' sugar

Filling:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Line a greased jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs for 3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar; beat for 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and lemon-colored. Stir in the pumpkin and lemon juice. Combine the dry ingredients; fold into the pumpkin mixture. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off parchment paper. Roll up the cake in a towel jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cool completely on a wire rack. In a mixing bowl, combine the filling ingredients; beat until smooth. Unroll cake; spread evenly with filling to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up again. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting. Refrigerate leftovers.


Herbed Cheese Ring
(If you're bored with plain ol' rolls, try this. It looks more complicated than it is.)
1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil, and rosemary, crushed

Filling:
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Topping:
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, oil, honey, egg, salt, whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, and herbs; beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Punch dough down and turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Roll one portion into a 15”x10” rectangle. Combine filling ingredients; sprinkle half over dough. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. With a sharp knife, cut 1/2” slashes at 2” intervals. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush each ring with egg; sprinkle with sesame seeds and Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

I Love My Crock-Pot

We celebrated my father-in-law's birthday the other day. As it is also his and my mother-in-law's anniversary, I thought it would be nice to give her a day off so I volunteered to cook dinner. I decided to cook a roast in the crock-pot (orange-glazed carrots, strawberry salad, and rolls for sides). Saturday night I put the roast in the crock-pot with a cup or two of water, a generous sprinkling of seasoning salt, and three sprigs of fresh rosemary. I turned it on low and left it until the next morning. Meanwhile I made rolls and embroidered a shirt.

One thing I love about my crock-pot is that I can let it work while I'm busy with other things. While the main dish is cooking I can prepare the side dishes, clean the house, do the laundry, or go to bed. The next morning I'm ready to pack hubby's lunch. Or I can get things going in the morning and have hot supper on the table that night.

I like that it frees up my oven for other things. I have one oven and there's not enough room for a huge pan of roast and rolls or veggies, too. It's also more energy-efficient to leave the crock-pot on for 10 hours than to leave the oven on for 4. And it doesn't heat the house up as much as the oven.

The other thing I love about it is that it tenderizes the toughest piece of meat. I used a spoon to cut the roast I cooked the other day. We eat a lot of venison and wild pork - both have a tendency to be tough - but they both end up melt-in-your-mouth tender in the crock-pot. In addition to roasts, I like to cook stews in my crock-pot. I can fit a whole chicken in it. I love that machine.

I was blindsided by High Frutrose Corn Syrup

Earlier this year I read a number of articles about the danger of High Frutrose Corn Syrup(HFCS). Obesity aside the nonprofit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) tested products containing HFCS and discovered that 17 out of 55 had measurable amounts of mercury in them. Dr Lars Friberg, Former Chief Adviser to the World Health Organization said " there is no safe level of mercury, and no one has actually shown that there is a safe level. I would say mercury is a very toxic substance." The speculation is that since mercury is used in the production of caustic soda an ingredient used to make HFCS leaving mercury in the HFCS. The Corn Refiners Association claims that this is an out dated way to make HFCS, but there is no regulation on where the HFCS comes from. So where as that might be an outdated method of HFCS production here in the US, if the HFCS is purchased from abroad who is to say what method they are using to manufacture the HFCS.
SO even though I was scared to death of the HFCS, I figured I make most of my own items and my kids do not eat a lot of candies and we only drink all natural juice so I thought we were safe. Boy was I wrong. I was making one of my kids favorite meals, honey mustard chicken. When something caught my eye on the mustard bottle: High Frutrose Corn Syrup. In Mustard!!!! So I went through my refrigerator and pantry. I was shocked some of the items I found HFCS in were:
Salad Dressing
marinades
YOGURT ( this was the most shocking to me)
oatmeal bars
cereal bars

There were many flaws in the tests, they only did one test of each product , they can not determine 100% that the mercury levels came from HFCS ( yet it is the only ingredient all of the products had in common), and they did not differentiate what type of mercury was present. I know so many people that have chosen to avoid vaccinating their children because of the trace amounts of mercury in the vaccines, yet there is measurable amounts of mercury in the food we are feeding our kids, foods geared towards kids. I am hearing so much about BPA why am I not hearing about this from the FDA or EPA? I am not telling you to avoid these products I am however telling you to look at your food labels. I was shocked and had no idea I had been feeding this to my children. If you would like to see the list of the 17 products that contained mercury you can do so here: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20090127/mercury-in-high-fructose-corn-syrup are any of these products in your pantry?

Bread Making

Last week March wrote about the sad state of cooking in America. After a comment I made about her post, she asked for tips on making bread. I thought there may be some others who could use a good recipe and instructions. Many people are terrified of making yeast bread. Don't let it scare you. Homemade bread is sooo good. Like anything you make yourself, you control exactly what goes into your bread. I have several recipes I love. I chose this one because it was sitting on my counter from the last batch I made. You'll find the basic directions, then some notes/tips.

Homemade Bread
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tablespoon warm milk (110-115 degrees)
2 tablespoons oil (olive oil or coconut oil work great)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Combine the yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Add the warm water and milk; let the yeast and sugar dissolve and foam. Stir in the oil and salt. Stir in enough flour so the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Deflate dough and knead for a few minutes until smooth, then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Store in airtight container after it has cooled. This recipe can easily be doubled to make 2 loaves.

General Info
Bread is primarily made of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and liquid. The yeast digests the sugar, producing carbon dioxide that makes the bread rise. Salt helps control this rate of rise. Honey may be used instead of sugar (or a combination of the two). Milk and/or water are the most common liquids included. Bread made with milk has more food value and a more velvety grain. Bread made with water only has a wheaty flavor and crispy crust. Some type of fat or oil is usually included; it helps the dough stretch and improves the flavor. Eggs are sometimes included; they add flavor, richness, and food value. You can add nuts, seeds, fruits, spices, and other ingredients after you're comfortable with a basic recipe.

Notes/Tips
* You don't need a thermometer for warming the liquids. Remember your body temperature is 98.6 degrees. As you're warming the liquid, drop a little on your wrist. If it's neither cold nor hot - you can't even feel it on your wrist - it's about 99 degrees. Let it heat a little longer until it feels warm, but doesn't feel VERY hot, and it's probably around 110-115 degrees. If you think you got it too hot, let it cool a little. Err on the side of not quite warm enough. Your dough will take longer to rise, but you don't want to kill the yeast with liquid that's too hot.
* When covering the dough to rise, a damp towel keeps the dough moist. You can use a dry towel, but the exposed surface will be a little dry.
*80-85 degrees is the ideal temperature range for rising. Dough will rise at a lower temperature but will take longer. At higher temperatures you risk killing the yeast.
* I like to use white whole wheat flour (sometimes called pastry whole wheat). It's made from hard white wheat instead of hard red wheat. You get the same goodness but it's a little milder in taste and texture. You can use any combination of flour you want - 100% whole wheat, half whole wheat and half all-purpose, etc. Just be aware that the taste and texture will be different.
* The amount of flour you add will vary (on a humid day you'll need a little more) so recipes give a range of flour (like 2 1/2 to 3 cups). Stir in enough that the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl - just enough to make it kneadable. Too much flour will make your bread stiff.
* To knead dough, turn it onto a floured surface. Fold the far side up over the close side and press down with the heels of your hands. Repeat this, turning the dough clockwise (or counterclockwise) as you go. You'll develop a rhythm after some practice.
* You can mix in fresh or dried herbs when you stir in the flour.
* Before baking, after the second rise, you can brush milk, melted butter, or beaten egg white on the bread and sprinkle with seeds or Parmesan cheese.
* When you remove the bread from the pan, you can rub butter on the crust and it will stay soft. This makes it easier to cut.
* Use a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to cut bread. An electric knife works great. Just turn it on and move it straight down.

A fun ice cream recipe that gets the whole family involved

The weather report said it was 104 yesterday and the grim report says tomorrow is going to be 108. So I wanted to come up with some fun cool activities that I could do with the kids. I love to make ice cream. I even won the ice cream crank off 4 years ago wearing my middle son at the time. SO I have altered a fun ice cream recipe for those of you who do not do diary. This is a fun way to get everyone involved and burn off a few calories in the process:

Vanilla
2 c. soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk)
2 c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
3/4 c. sugar (or Splenda/other sugar substitute)
2 T. arrowroot
2 t. vanilla extract (choose a high-quality brand; none of that imitation stuff either!)

Mix 1/4 cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.Mix the soy creamer, soy milk, and sugar together in a saucepan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).Stir in vanilla extract.Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool.

ICE CREAM IN A BAGGIE:Once cooled put in ll ingredients in a zip-loc baggie Put in a gallon-size Zip-Loc bag and zip closed: 2 T. rock salt (baking aisle in grocery) the filled and zipped sandwich bag from above ice cubes to fill bag about 3/4 full Shake and roll filled bag over and over until frozen (about 30 min.) As the ice melts it does leak a little so do outside