DIY Yogurt

I grew up on home made yogurt, but (no offense, Mom) our home made yogurt was never my favorite . Since then I was relatively ambivalent towards the food in general until I discovered Greek style yogurt. The health benefits of Greek yogurt have been extolled far and wide, so I won't go into it here. Greek yogurt had me at the creamy texture and only improved when I tried honey yogurt (I eat it like ice cream). 

The high cost of Greek yogurt, plus my love of all things home made, led me to give home made yogurt a second chance. This method is a combination of several I discovered online. Do some research and figure out what works for you. And don't be intimidated, all you need is about an hour of time, 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt, and 2 quarts of milk. 

I started out with a make shift double boiler and a candy thermometer. 

You don't need anything fancy, just a thermometer that goes up to 180 degrees.   

Fill the bottom pot of the double boiler halfway with water. Put it on the stove and bring it to a boil. Since you have to boil the water anyway, you might as well sterilize your utensils. Put a 2 quart oven safe container and metal spoon directly in the water. Turn the inside pot of the double boiler upside down on top of the pot. The steam will sterilize your yogurt making gear and help ensure a creamy, tasty product by minimizing sources of contamination.

 

Once the water has boiled, remove your newly sterile equipment and turn the inside of your double boiler right side up. Pour 2 quarts of milk into your pot (I actually use powdered milk: 2 1/4 cups of powder to 2 quarts, a larger ratio for higher fat content).


Bring the milk above 180 degrees. It is not a big deal if you go above 180, but you must hit 180 to denature the milk proteins and prime them for yogurt culturing. 

Meanwhile, bring 2 tablespoons of plain non-fat yogurt to room temperature. For best results, buy a yogurt starter with active cultures and no pectin. Yogurt with pectin will result in a slightly slimy texture for your first few yogurt batches. 

When your milk reaches 180 degrees, take it off the heat and let it cool to 110 degrees. 110 is the ideal incubation temperature for yogurt bacteria, so you do not want the milk temperature to dip below 110. The rate of cooling doesn't matter, but for expediency I typically surround the pot of milk with ice packs. 

Pour the milk into your oven safe bowl, mix in your yogurt starter. I also like to add another 1/2 cup of milk powder for extra creaminess, but that is a personal preference. 

Cover the bowl with tin foil and incubate yogurt mixture at 110 degrees for 8-12 hours.  I use the pilot light in my gas oven to maintain the temperature, but according to my internet research any of the following will work:

1) A crockpot, filled with water, on low.

2) Make the yogurt in a thermos.

3) Place the bowl in your hot water heater closet.

4) Use an electric blanket

Try not to disturb the yogurt while it is incubating. After 8 hours (ish) it will have solidified. 

You could call it a day there, but I like to strain it for an hour for a more Greek style texture. 

With the exception of one mishap that resulted in ricotta cheese (hello happy accident!), I have been very pleased with the texture and taste of my yogurt making endeavors. Overall, it is very little hands on time and it is much cheaper than buying Greek yogurt. I set aside a couple of tablespoons of each batch to act as the starter for the next batch.  Or share some of your yogurt and start a trend akin to Amish friendship bread.

Good luck!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Gnocchi

The pumpkin proliferation continues around here as I am embracing an initiative I call “Minimalist March”. Essentially, I am not going to buy any groceries or craft supplies this month, but instead use up what I have lying around the house. The only exception is that I will allow myself to buy fresh produce. A girl has to eat her fruits and veggies!

In this spirit of minimalist March, I finally cut open my last pumpkin and decided to try out gnocchi-making. Here’s the recipe:

Mix:
1.5 cups of pumpkin puree (or 1 15 oz. can)
~3 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
dash of black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves

Combine all of these ingredients. Keep adding flour until the dough is no longer sticky.  Once you can easily mold the dough, divide it into six balls. 
Fill a pot half full of water and put it on to boil. Meanwhile, roll each ball into 1/2 inch snakes (for lack of a better word) and then cut the snake into 1/2 inch pieces.  You can do test pieces and estimate longer or shorter if you would like.

Once the water is boiling, throw the gnocchi pieces into the water. When they come up to float they are finished. Fish the gnocchi out.

The recipe makes about 4 servings. I froze the extra uncooked gnochii on a cutting board and stored them in container in the freezer until my next gnocchi craving.

I then sautéed the gnocchi with onions, garlic, and some arugula pesto left over from the summer. Served with homemade ricotta and jalapeno garnish, it was quite the tasty meal!

Easy Peasy Homemade Granola

Granola is one of my favorite foods to make and eat. My fondness of this breakfast item extends beyond its tastiness to the fact that it is ridiculously cheap in comparison to the store bought granola. In fact, I am willing to bet you have most, if not all, of the necessary ingredients at home right now. 



You will need:
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1/3 cup of honey or maple syrup, or a combination of the two
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
~3 cups of oats (rolled work best, but quick oats will do in a pinch)

Step 1: Preheat your even to 250 degrees and combine all of the ingredients except the oats in a bowl:



Step 2: Add oats until the oats are lightly coated with the syrup you just made.


I usually don’t even measure the oats, I just dump them in until I have the right consistency, but start at three cups.

Step 3: Spread the oats out on a cookie sheet. The thinner the layer of oats, the faster the baking process will be.



Step 4: Bake for 45 minutes, stirring the granola every 15 minutes to keep it cooking evenly. The process is similar to roasting coffee beans--you can bake it for longer if you want a darker flavor. Beware, after 45 minutes the granola can burn easily.

Step 5: Take the granola out of the oven, but DO NOT STIR again. Let it cool and it will clump up on its own. Once the granola has cooled, add nuts, dried fruit, and coconut in whichever combination you prefer. For this batch, we added raisins and walnuts.



Consume your granola plain, with milk, or my personal favorite—granol-gurt (home made yoghurt* and granola).

This really is a simple recipe, and it is very adaptable to the availability of ingredients and personal preference. If you want your granola to be sweeter, try adding some brown sugar. If you want more clumps, add a few tablespoons of wheat flour or wheat germ (or both).

I gave jars of granola as Christmas gifts to co-workers last year, and everyone loved it.

And for those of you who find picture recipes difficult to follow, here is the whole shebang in a nutshell:

• Preheat the oven to 250.
• Combine:

1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1/3 cup of honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of  cinnamon

• Add ~3 cups of rolled oats until the oats are lightly coated with your syrup.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown, stirring at least every 15 minutes.
• Embellish to taste.
• Enjoy!

*YES! I have conquered home made Greek-style yogurt. Three batches in and it keeps getting better.

Pizza pizza pizza!

Yes, the pumpkin fest continues over here in Winnemucca. It doesn't look to be letting up anytime soon, so brace yourselves, my friends.

However, there is something beautiful and wonderfully creative in taking the same base (pumpkin) and enhancing it to make completely unique variation on favorite foods. Is that not what true art is? Also, let us embrace the wonder that is cooking with the ingredients you have at hand and fewer trips to the grocery store!

In this case, we mixed pumpkin into our pizza dough (1/2 cup, omit or reduce the water) and crafted this wonderfully delicious pizza. I have an admittedly small sample size, but it thus far bread products made with pumpkin seem to be more moist and have a more pleasant texture than  regular bread. But maybe I am biased (or desperate to use up my pumpkins). Needless to say, this pizza was delicious and fueled us for some wonderful craft projects which I will hopefully share soon.

Also, I am holding my pumpkin explosion at bay. I have made (and not blogged) curried pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin pudding. If you want the recipes, I am happy to share.

Pumpkin Dinner for One

The bounty of the pumpkins continues! Unfortunately, I end up eating many of my dinners alone. I truly enjoy cooking, I just do not find it satisfying to do so for one person. Breakfast burritos and quesadillas, although tasty,  form a larger part of my diet than they should. Enter the single serving Pyrex dish (dun, dun, DUN...or yum, yum YUM). I simply layered cooked pumpkin, black beans, salsa, and cheese in this delicious casserole for one. After cooking in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes, I let the dish cool for a few minutes before consuming it with tortilla chips. Easy and delicious.

Do you have any other pumpkin or black bean recipes? I have an excess of both and crave your suggestions.

Pumpkin Deliciousness

The pumpkin fairy visited us this year. Five times. Even though only one of these pumpkins grew on my pumpkin plant, we have embraced this bounty with open arms. One of these days I will do a how-to for scraping tasty pumpkin goods from your good friend Jack O. Lantern, but today I want to share my cinnamon swirl pumpkin bread recipe I modified from King Arthur. 

1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 1/2 cups (ish) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1) Combine the yeast in with the warm water and brown sugar. Let the mixture sit until the yeast is foamy.

2) In the meantime, mix the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, pumpkin, salt, ginger, and nutmeg. Fold in the yeast mixture. 

3) Add flour until the dough is no longer sticky and you can easily knead it.

4) Place the dough in a warm place and let it rise for an hour or until it doubles. Sarah Tip: If you don't have a warm spot to keep your dough, set your oven to 200 degrees while you mix the dough. Put the dough in an oven safe glass dish and put it in the oven. Make sure you turn the oven off while you let the dough rise. And then go watch an episode of Biggest Loser. This is essential to the flavor of this bread. And it will keep you from eating all of it once it is out of the oven.

5) After the dough has risen, give it the ole karate chop (this is my favorite part). This is where two paths diverge in a yellow, pumpkin-ey wood. You can form loaves (all told I got three loaves of bread from this batch) and rolls. Or you can make the awesomeness that is Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Separate a loaf sized piece of dough. Go dust off your rolling pin (its the Christmas season, time to give that baby a workout). Roll the dough out on a flour surface. Keep the width of the dough at the length of your loaf pan. Your dough should be roughly an inch thick. Spread a very thin layer of butter over the dough (although you could probably leave this out) and then a healthy layer of cinnamon. If you're a cinnamon fiend like I am, the more the better. Now you are ready to roll the dough up and plop her in your greased loaf pan. Let the loaves rise for 30-45 minutes.

6) Cook for about 30 minutes, or until it is golden brown. 

Slice 'er up and chow down (ok, maybe this is my favorite part). I also think this bread would be phenomenal as french toast. Try it and let me know!