Homemade Yogurt - Take One

I've been meaning to try my hand at homemade yogurt for a while.  I'd hesitated because of the whole "incubation period" thing.  I don't have an electric hot pad or other such device, nor do I wish to shell out money for a yogurt maker.  So when I read about yogurt made in a crockpot, my interest was piqued.

I did a little research, checking out blog posts at Macheesemo, One Good Thing By Jillee and another blog that I cannot for the life of me remember or find again.  #annoyed

Anyway, the basics were all pretty much the same.  And after a little digging and discovering that the step to heat the milk to the 180 degree range can be skipped without risking death (scalding the milk first was primarily done when the milk was used in its raw state, rather than already pasteurized), I was ready to begin.  Well, after my husband came home with more milk.  *Note to self - check your inventory before jumping into a project.

I poured 2L of 1% milk into my crockpot, popped on the lid and set it on low for an hour.  Then I checked the temp every 15 minutes or so after that, until the milk reached about 110F.  I took 1/2C of plain Greek yogurt, mixed it with a little of the warm milk and stirred it all back into the pot.  Then  turned it off, covered it and wrapped the whole thing in a thick bath towel.  And there it sat for about 6 hours.  Once done, I ladled it into a cheesecloth lined strainer over a large measuring cup and left it overnight.

What did I learn?  A few things...

• Six hours isn't long enough to get a nice, tangy yogurt.  I'll go for eight the next time.
• Straining it overnight creates something more like cream cheese than Greek yogurt.
• It's all but impossible to incorporate the whey back into the yogurt once it's gotten that solid.  The texture is like slightly milky cottage cheese.  I may take my stick blender to it. 

Based on all of that, I think I'll invert my timing the next time, making the yogurt before bed and straining it for a couple of hours in the morning.  Over all making it, even with the loss of volume that comes from straining it, seems worth it.  The least expensive Greek yogurt is still about $4 for 500ml.  And if I can get the flavour and texture right, the kids will happily eat it.  The bonus is the whey, which I can use in bread dough, pizza crusts, smoothies, marinades....

Source: macheesmo.com via Mama on Pinterest

Too hot

What is the weather here today?  It's noon and it's already 31C, feels like 39C (that's 88 and 102 degrees American).  It's been this way pretty much since late last week.  And tomorrow it's supposed to be 36C before the humidex kicks in.  *insert melting emoticon here*

I gave the veggies an hour of water this morning. The raspberry canes have drooped and will need to be supported for the rest of the season, I fear.  Some may have snapped already, but I think overall most of the canes are just fine.  We've certainly gotten a lot of berries in the last week.  And this is only the first flush.  The big push comes next month when this years new canes start bearing along with the old ones.

In this heat it's too hot to even boil water. And grilling leaves the family with a meal and me seeking shelter in the nearest freezer, uninterested in eating.  So tonight I'm turning to my other favourite summer meal helper.  My crock pot.  It was a wedding gift from some thoughtful person nearly 14 years ago, and it has been well used ever since.  It, and it's smaller cousin, have been the source of stews, braises, soups, roasts, hams and even hot chocolate and lattes.  Today it is home to a couple of hot Italian sausages, some chicken drumsticks, onions, garlic, bay leaf and a bottle of beer.

I first created this meal many years ago while clearing out the fridge, and it became a favourite.  I love the sausage when it comes out and the chicken shreds into a beautiful, tasty pile.  But it's the broth that I look forward to the most.  The meat juices, aromatics and beer mingle together to create a liquid that is absolutely wonderful served with crusty bread and old cheddar.  Often I skip the meat altogether and just add a green salad or some pickles.  It's a, nourishing meal that doesn't heat the house (or the cook) and isn't salad, again.

Tomorrow we may just order in pizza, though.

A productive kitchen weekend

Over the years my husband and I somehow got into the habit of using weekends to be out and about, running around, whether we needed to get things or not.  "Feel like going to IKEA just to look around?"  "Hey, there's a sportsman's show in Toronto right now.  Let's check it out!"   "Wanna go wander a mall?"  And so forth.  When the kids came along we just took them with us.  So it continued that a good chunk of our weekends were often spent out of the house.

Lately we've tried to be more deliberate about staying home.  The kids don't like spending the day going from one place to the next, and honestly there is plenty here to keep us all occupied.  And somehow it's been truly amazing to see what we can get done around here when we're actually... well, here.

Yesterday we did minimal running around.  We bought a few groceries and blitzed a mattress outlet to get Little Miss what she needs for her "big girl bed."  Yes, she's 3 and still in a crib.  We'd intended for her to be in a bed by now,  but the one we had needed painting and sealing, and then there was February...  Ugh.  Anyway, 5 minutes may not sound like much, but this place has 2 twin size mattresses available, and one box spring.  Fine by us, they're all quality and way cheaper than other place we've dealt with.  Let's just say that we now know why to buy a mattress anywhere else.  ;-)

Anyway, that's today's project.  Stripping out her room, dismantling the crib, moving the dresser and toy bins and getting her bed set up.  I needed a simple meal that didn't require my attention, so I picked up a rump roast yesterday.  After browning the well salted meat, I made a marinade of soy, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, smoked paprika, ketchup and a barbecue spice blend that I made some time ago and like to have on hand.  I added some dried onion flakes and the contents of the deglazed pan as well.  It sat overnight and is in the crockpot now.  Man does it smell GOOD!

Backing up to last night, I spent the evening making baked wontons.  And learning that I suck at not overfilling them.  LOL  I made two fillings.  One was inspired by these Buffalo Chicken Rolls at Can You Stay for Dinner.  I don't like blue cheese though, so I created a mixture of cream cheese (half a block), shredded cheddar, cooked chicken and hot sauce (Frank's and Sriracha).  For the other I blended shredded mozzarella, the other half block of cream cheese, two diced jalapenos and about a quarter of a jar of pickled ones.  Stuffed, rolled, brushed with oil and into the oven they went.  I increased the heat to 450F and turned them part way through cooking.  All of the cream cheese ones burst on me, as did a few chicken ones.  But they were all tasty and I have a bag of them in the fridge for lunches this week for hubby and I.  And maybe Little Miss, who snagged two small pieces of jalapeno yesterday just to taste them.

As I was talking to the kids this morning about supper, we all decided that dessert was in order.   They usually have fruit for dessert, but since we're home I figured I should make something.  And that something was a unanimous vote for brownies!  Borrowing from this recipe, I added a square of unsweetened chocolate to the butter as it melted.  The pan is now cooling on the counter.

And now I'm going to start on some coleslaw.  I'll salt the veggies first (yes, it's a bag of slaw... I needed it for the Buffalo chicken rolls and didn't want to buy an entire head of cabbage), and let them drain before I dress them with a vinegar based dressing.  We're not really big on creamy coleslaw here.  I'm also thinking of making some cornbread.  We'll see.  The crib is being dismantled right now...  It's nice to stay home.

Plum butter

Okay, so like I was saying yesterday, I found myself so inspired by the lovely cool weather we're having that I found myself in the kitchen wanting to find a use for the local plums I'd impulsively bought on the weekend (there's a theme here, I'm sensing). I decided I wanted to try my hand at a fruit butter. Just to recap...

I peeled and chopped a couple of the apples, pitted and chopped about a dozen plums and stemmed a handful of the grapes. I popped them all into my small crock pot and added a little leftover hard cider and some local dark maple syrup. I left the lid ajar and turned the crock on high.

The plan was once it was bubbling I'd turn it down to low and let it go all day. At some point I'd adjust the sweetness and decide if I wanted to add spices or if I wanted a more pure fruit butter. Then I figured I'd strain out the skins later.

Instead I used my stick blender to puree the fruits once they were soft. Then I forgot to plug the crock pot back in (had to unplug it to plug in the blender). So the mixture sat for a few hours around suppertime, just hanging out. I noticed my oversight and turned the crock on low and put the lid on overnight. This morning I once more slipped it off to the side. Then I tasted it, adjusted the sweetness with some brown sugar and added about a teaspoon or so of cinnamon. Enough to warm it, but not enough to flavour it outright.

This afternoon it was ready. Thick, brown, tangy and still tasting of plums. I ladled it into two small canning jars and processed them for 10 minutes in boiling water. Both lids popped. Always a good sign.

So now I have a lovely (predominantly) plum butter ready for use on toast or mixed with a little icing sugar to spread between spice cookies. Mmmmmm.....

Inspiring weather

Have I mentioned that it's been hot this summer? And humid? Hmmmmm, maybe. ;-) But lately we've had a few days where the A/C hasn't run, where the air wasn't thick and where the window is open at night. And today... ah today. It's all of 17 degrees out and it may not get any hotter. Hooray! It's practically chilly in the bedroom. LOL

So what am I doing to celebrate? Well yesterday I bought some local yellow plums (wow are they big), local early apples and local tiny purple grapes (they may be Coronation grapes, but they weren't labeled with a name). Just now I peeled and chopped a couple of the apples, pitted and chopped about a dozen plums and stemmed a handful of the grapes. I popped them all into my small crock pot and added a little leftover hard cider and some local dark maple syrup. I left the lid ajar and turned the crock on high. Once it's bubbling I'll turn it down to low and let it go all day. At some point I'll adjust the sweetness and decide if I want to add spices or if I want a more pure fruit butter.

Later today I'm going to bake. Probably cookies. Probably with chocolate. Maybe a spin off of the Mocha-scotch Truffle Cookies I blogged about earlier this summer. And I popped a pork tenderloin into a simple marinade of Dijon, and more of that cider and maple syrup. I'll glaze it with more of the same towards the end of cooking.

It's amazing how something as simple as some cool weather can revitalize me. As I've mentioned, I'm not a summer person. I love the bounty, but it only makes the heat and humidity marginally bearable. Autumn is when I feel like I come alive. And days like this, which are a sneak peek of the season to come, inspire me to make the most of them.