make your own yogurt

I love yogurt all ways – made up sweet in a smoothie with fruit, savory with seeds and herbs, as a topping on meals or a spread on sandwiches, as a supplement to swig down doses of flax oil and molasses… the list goes on. It has always been an important dietary staple in our home, and the benefits of eating cultured dairy are many. My only qualm, in past years, was with the countless plastic quart containers that accumulated with our yogurt consumption.

I don’t know how it took me as long as it did to discover how easy it was to make yogurt myself. It’s really, really easy!

There are many yogurt tutorials out there, I am sure, but we all do things a little differently so I thought I would share my method. Now that I’ve developed a rhythm, I find the process to be so easy I can do it almost without thinking. While it takes many hours from start to completion, the actual time required of you to be in the kitchen is maybe 10 minutes, as most of the time is simply letting your yogurt do it’s thing.

I make one gallon of yogurt at a time, but you can make any amount that works for your household. I like to make the most of my yogurt-making sessions, and typically we (mostly I!) consume about a gallon of yogurt every 2 weeks.

Ingredients and Materials:

Milk

Plain yogurt (for your starter)

Jars or other seal-able glass storage containers

A milk thermometer

A pot or pots large enough to hold your milk

Stainless measuring spoons

Stainless or glass stirrer

A few notes: You will need as much milk as the amount of yogurt you want to produce. For example, to make a gallon of yogurt you need a gallon of milk. I use Organic Valley Whole Milk. I wouldn’t recommend using skim, but a lower fat milk should work fine. You will need about 2 Tbs of yogurt per quart of milk. I use Nancy’s organic whole milk yogurt. You will need enough storage jars to accommodate the full quantity of milk, plus a small amount of extra (equal to the quantity of yogurt starter you use).

To Make:

The short… heat milk, cool milk, mix in yogurt starter, pour into containers, incubate, refrigerate.

The long….

1. Clean all of your materials thoroughly (pots, jars, stirrers, etc). Since we are dealing with fermentation, and are attempting to cultivate healthy bacteria – not unhealthy bacteria – cleanliness is very important, and is the easiest way to insure success. You can use the sanitization method of your choice. I scrub everything thoroughly, rinse with very hot water, and then do a final rinse with purified water and drip dry (this isn’t “sanitization” per se, but it works well for me).

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2. Pour your milk into your cook pot/s and heat to 170-175 degrees, stirring occasionally. I set my stove to a medium low temperature and let it heat slowly, so that if I get distracted it’s unlikely I will burn the milk. I have accidentally allowed it to reach 190 or so without burning, due to the slowness of the temperature rise. You don’t want to burn your milk! It will taste yucky.

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3. Once your milk has reached temperature, take it off the heat, stirring for a minute or so to avoid scalding on the bottom. Now let it cool, down to about 110-115 degrees. This will take some time, so you can go on to do other things for a while. (Heating the milk is a precautionary measure, to kill any unwanted bacteria that may compete with the bacteria you are trying to grow to make your yogurt. Cooling the milk is important so you do not kill your starter).

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4. When the milk has cooled to 110-115,  pour a small amount of it into one of your jars, and mix with the appropriate amount of yogurt starter per the quantity of milk in the pot you drew from. Stir the small mixture until the yogurt is dissolved, and then pour it back into your pot of milk. Now mix it in so that it’s well dispersed throughout the pot of milk.

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5. Pour your yogurt milk into jars, lid them loosely, and now it’s time to ferment.

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For the incubation period, I set all of my jars on a heavy glass bake pan and place it in the oven.* I heat the oven to 100 degrees and then promptly turn it off.  Every few hours, I turn the oven heat back on (a minute or less, set at the lowest temperature possible) and then turn it back off. I usually leave my yogurt to ferment for 12-18 hours (this is relatively long, so you may like to experiment with different fermentation times).

*Note about using an oven: My oven doesn’t maintain a  temperature lower than 170 degrees. It has a digital readout though, that tells me what temperature it is inside so I can monitor the rise and turn it off at the appropriate time. I have a rule for myself that I CAN NOT multi task while waiting for it to heat.  It is too easy to get distracted. I have nearly cooked/killed my yogurt before. Take care not overheat and kill your yogurt. If your oven can maintain a heat of 100 degrees on it’s own, you have the perfect yogurt maker!! If you do not have a digital readout, a minute or less of heat is plenty. You are simply providing assistance in the fermentation process by creating a warm environment. I aim for around 100 degrees for yogurt fermentation, though lower temperatures will work as well. It will just take a little longer.

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When your yogurt is finished, seal your containers snugly and store them in the fridge.

I find it really satisfying to put away a gallon of fresh yogurt! Your yogurt will have firmed up quite a lot – something like creamy pudding – and will firm up a little more once it refrigerates. It should have that pleasant, slightly sour/sweet smell. Home made yogurt is not as thick as store bought (in my experience), but the thickness will depend quite a bit on how long you ferment for – firming up more (as well as becoming more tart), with longer fermentation time.

Now that you have your own yogurt made, you can use it as your starter for the next batch. I have read that if you are using your own starter, it should be no more than 2 weeks old, and if it is older than that to start with a new starter again, though I haven’t verified how important this actually is. I usually use my own starter 2 or 3 times, and then start with a new one again.

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If you have never made yogurt before, I hope you try it! Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

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a simple meal

I wanted to share a simple meal we had this week. Though this general type of meal is pretty typical for us, I particularly enjoyed this one. We prepared extra of everything, which means dinner is ready to heat for another night this week.

Black eyed peas cook relatively quickly (about 1 hour or less) and don’t need to be soaked ahead of time. I think they would make a great burrito filling substitute, for the usual pintos or black beans.

We recently discovered that baking yams with the lid ON the bake dish results in a perfectly moist, amazingly soft yam every time. It also makes cleanup super easy, as the sugars remain liquid and don’t cook to the pan.

This time of year (every time of year?) I can’t seem to get enough kale. I prefer to eat kale raw and usually massage it in olive oil (wash and chop your kale, drizzle with oil and then (with very clean hands) “massage”  (squeeze) the greens). The color will deepen quite a bit, and it’s a great way to soften tougher greens and infuse them with quality raw oils. I then added a full bunch of cilantro, and drizzled homemade vinaigrette on mine as well (chopped garlic, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and tamari).

We covered a couple sprouted corn tortillas with some beans and yam, and topped them with avocado and a generous sprinkling of dulse. I felt like the combination of foods, flavors, textures and colors created the perfect balance. My body felt so content and nourished by this meal.

I’m curious, what are some of your favorite meals to cook at home? Anything stand out lately?

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a day in the garden

Today I found myself in and out of the garden all day. There is so much to be picked and enjoyed this time of year. I thought I’d share some of the gifts of the day.

 

This morning, after making coffee, I went down to the blueberry bushes and picked a bowl full for us (we ate them too fast to even think about a photo). On the way back, I stopped at the hoop house and picked a little pile of tomatoes. It’s been really nice to have a few varieties this year.

 

Then I headed back up to sit and finish my coffee. I was a little grumpy this morning. Picking tomatoes helped some.

 

After I drank my coffee, I snipped some green and purple basil, oregano and thyme.

 

Later in the afternoon I did some planting, and transplanted some of the things we started a while back in the hoop house. I feel more organized than ever with the fall garden this year. Fingers crossed it comes together well.

 

Does that big orange winter squash make you think of autumn? It does me. This is the first of the golden delicious and it’s a big one! They are usually kind of petite.

 

The lettuce is starting to bolt, one by one, so I pulled a few full heads today to start making way for new lettuce plantings. We have been eating big salads daily. Need to eat bigger ones!

 

While cleaning up the lettuce bed, I was shocked to discover how big the turnips are getting. I had no expectations for these, and planted them as an afterthought, so it feels like a little gold mine in there.

 

This crazy beast of a tomato is one I picked last week. Today it reached prime ripeness (and tonight we ate most of it!). Here’s a photo taken when it was picked, which gives some reference of size.

 

All that picking got me thinking about what to make for dinner. A summer veggie torte seemed like the natural choice (what would have been your natural choice?).

 

I layered sliced potatoes, turnips, turnip greens, summer squash, mushrooms, fresh herbs, red onion, cheese and tomato. All but the onion and mushrooms were grown here at home, which felt super satisfying.

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[footnote] So it would seem as though this blog is turning into a gardening blog… Don’t worry, I’ll be around with other things to share about soon enough. For the moment, the garden feels so central to the season, I just want to soak it up.

I’d love to hear what’s happening in your garden, or what you’re cooking with the fresh foods of the season. And if you haven’t tried a torte yet, I recommend it! So easy and versatile, and crazy delicious.

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simple hummus, 2 ways

I wanted to share a couple simple recipes we have been enjoying on a regular basis here. We are often wishing we had more easy snack food on hand during our busy days, and hummus has helped fill some gaps. Hummus is a flavorful, creamy, protein rich dip or spread. And it’s so versatile. After trying a couple recipes, I found what works just right for our tastes.

One batch starts with 3 cups of cooked garbanzo beans. I like to make at least a double batch, sometimes triple, and freeze the excess for later.

Step one is to prepare your beans:

Soak about 1.5 cups dry beans (which will double in size) for a single batch, or 3 cups for a double batch. Let them soak overnight. Longer is fine too, just make sure to rinse them periodically after any soak times longer than 6-8 hours or so. If you soak and rinse them long enough, they will sprout, which makes them even more digestible.

When you are done soaking, rinse your beans well, cover with fresh water, and cook until very soft. Let them cool, and strain off excess liquid.

Simple Hummus

In a food processor add:

3 Cups of cooked beans

The juice and pulp of 2 medium lemons

4 big glugs of olive oil (about 4-5 tablespoons)

2 Tbs sesame tahini

1 small clove of garlic, chopped

Sea salt to taste

Pinch of cayenne optional

Blend well, until creamy and smooth. I like to blend between the addition of each ingredient to incorporate as I go. Give it a taste… you might want to add more garlic, or a bit more salt, or lemon. The flavors will intensify though, as it the hummus sets in the fridge.

Version 2: Lemon Rosemary Dip

In the food processor add:

3 Cups cooked garbanzo beans

Juice and pulp of 2 medium lemons

4 Tbs olive oil

A couple sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped

Sea salt to taste

Blend well, until creamy and smooth. The rosemary will infuse throughout the dip as it sets, so the flavors will intensify with time.

I store about half of each recipe in the fridge, and the other half in the freezer. Hummus freezes well, but will spoil if left in the fridge for too long, so this is a nice way to cut down on the frequency of preparation. Use your spreads to dip veggies or tortilla chips, roll into a corn tortilla with melted cheese, spread onto toasted bread, spoon onto pasta, enjoy!

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kitchen rhythm

There’s a rhythm in the kitchen which, when I notice, just makes me smile. I feel a quiet satisfaction for how much we do to care for ourselves and feed ourselves in ways that are whole and nourishing. This morning allowed for some time in the kitchen, and now a few of our staples are refilled for a while, once again…

yogurt

hummus

bread

always dishes

[and a pretty smoothie to start the day...]

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favorite

A favorite simple meal these days. I joke that I could eat it for every meal, but it’s really not a joke! Garden kale (red russian and lacinato) chopped and massaged in olive oil, then tossed with chopped garden arugula, home made garbanzo beans and a simple dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, tamari and minced garlic. With the addition of avocado, and alongside home baked bread and brie, I can’t think of a better dinner lately. Any simple, fresh foods you are especially enjoying these days?

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live food

The idea was to soak these sunflower seeds overnight, to make some seed cheese for the following night’s meal, but our dinner plan changed and I didn’t use them right away. I kept them rinsed and drained, figuring I would get to it soon. A couple days went by and I realized we had ourselves some live food to enjoy instead. Just the “mistake” I needed to get us back into sprouting again. Fresh sprouts make a tasty, crisp and super nutritious addition to salads, sandwiches, tacos, and are even a great snack all on their own.

To sprout seeds in jars, it helps immensely to have a sprouting jar lid to enable easy draining of the water. There are lots of places to find these, including many local natural foods stores. Here is one I found up with a super brief online search.

Easy sprouting instructions: In this case I used 1 generous cup of sunflower seeds, which is probably the most you will want to soak in a jar of this size at one time. Cover your seeds with cold drinking water and soak them overnight, or about 10 – 12 hours. Drain the soak water. Fill the jar again and swirl it around to rinse, then drain – repeat this once or twice. Drain off much water as you can (you don’t want standing water or things can get funky in there).

Once drained, I like to set my jar upside down in a bowl, leaned against the side, so the seeds can continue to drain any excess water. If you tip the sprouts away from the lid before setting the jar down in the bowl, this will also allow some air flow throughout the jar.

Rinse and drain your seeds a few times daily and you should have sprouts in about 3 days or so (this time can vary depending on what you are sprouting, and the temperature of your home).  Once your seeds are sprouted to the point of your liking (I could have gone longer here and let them green up), give them a thorough final rinse, thoroughly drain them, and store in a clean, covered container in the fridge. Then add them to anything and everything!

Other possible things to sprout with this method include almonds, cashews, quinoa, mung beans, adzuki beans, lentils, and the list goes on. Each has it’s own unique flavor and texture and it’s really fun to experiment.

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the torte

That torte I mentioned yesterday… it was delicious. And the best part is, there are leftovers. I was first introduced to the idea of a torte last summer, by Erin of bluebirdbaby (and yes, that is an infusion rucksack shown there!). A torte is super easy to make, and the possible variations of what to include are limitless. Mine are never traditional, if there is such a thing, but it is hard to go wrong with layers of roasted vegetables, herbs and cheese. This one included potatoes, carrots, beets, mushrooms, kale, arugula, red onion and cheese, with thyme and dill.

Do you have a favorite recipe that uses lots of kale? We have a lot of kale and sometimes I get stuck on how to creatively use it.

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some of the last

The garden is winding down from all it’s summer glory, and seems to be happily settling into it’s fall state. I think our greatest success this year was tomatoes, which is quite exciting, since we weren’t even sure if we could grow them well here at all. There are still tomatoes on the vine, and quite a lot of them inside waiting for processing. I didn’t do any sauce making or canning though, and the reason is, I discovered slow roasting. OH my.

Many of you are pretty savvy in the kitchen, but in case you haven’t discovered slow roasted tomatoes yet, it is so simple, and takes any savory meal to the next level. I have made sure we have a glass container full of them, in the fridge at all times, for the last month or so.

Slice your tomatoes in half if they are smallish (or leave them whole if they are really small cherry tomatoes), or cut them into sections if they are large. Brush every side with olive oil and lay them out on a bake pan. Each tomato should touch the surface of the pan. Sprinkle them lightly with sea salt and then put them in the oven at 200 degrees, for anywhere from 4-12 hours, depending on the size and juiciness of your tomatoes, and the way that you prefer them. With tomato sections the size you see here, roasting on glass, I tend to leave them on for about 12 hours. I think that with a metal pan your bake time might decrease. I hope you try it. Enjoy!

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drying herbs

 

 

It’s so rewarding to have enough herbs to harvest, eat, cook, dry, and use whenever we need or want them. And I know that I am not the only one drying herbs this time of year. There is so much abundance of food right now. It’s exciting and it is really testing my proficiency of eating, steeping, drinking and making! I love this time of year so much.

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