Making Yogurt

I'm just crazy for yogurt. Crazy! Paul doesn't even understand. And really, I'm a yogurt snob. I don't mind shelling out the extra bucks for the thick delicious organic greek yogurt quart because I love it so much. I see it as a healthy treat – win win. But still, I love a good deal as much as the next girl and so there is much appeal to making my own. Mom's been making her own yogurt ever since we got her a maker for Christmas. And it's good! Thick and tart but perfect with a little honey swirled in. We even used it in place of mayo in our potato salad on Mother's Day. So yummy!

I was hooked. I had to get my hands on a yogurt maker! So when I found a gift card almost forgotten from Christmas, I knew what I would use it for. I placed my order for the maker, ordered some Bulgarian Yogurt Starter with a free coupon I had, and waited patiently by the door for my goodies to arrive.

Last Monday when we got home from our trip, I started my first batch. I read all the directions 100 times, watched the instructional video on the website and cleaned all the parts meticulously. And it failed. After 10 hours (it should really just take 7-9 but I was trying to not give up hope!) I still had jars full of runny milk. I went to bed one sad puppy.

Tuesday I decided to try again. And guess what! It also failed. Bummer. I believe that my starter cultures were spoiled in their transit to Arizona. I think they can be pretty fragile.

So Tuesday overnight I decided to try again. My sweet husband encouraged me to give it another go! Although I was starting to feel defeated! The maker came with it's own starter so I decided to try it out. And low and behold, I woke up on Wednesday morning to a batch of delicious homemade yogurt! I can't wait to use this in my cooking to replace sour cream, cream, mayo, I think even cooking oil sometimes?! I don't know, more research to do :) And it'll be so yummy with honey, granola, preserves, cinnamon, chocolate chips...the possibilities are endless!

How to Make Yogurt at Home

Milk (I used organic whole milk)
Starter (this can either be a packet, or a serving of plain yogurt from a previous batch)

Bring the milk to a boil on the stove (180 degrees) and hold for 1-2 minutes.
Remove it from the heat and let it cool to lukewarm (110 degrees).
Transfer the warm milk to a non-metal pitcher and stir in the starter until it is dissolved.
Pour mixture into a glass container (in my case, 7 small glass jars) and keep at 110 degrees for 7-10 hours.
When it's set, it will form a soft mass that almost sticks to the edges and maybe has a thin layer of liquid on top.
Let the jars cool, and then store in the fridge for 6 hours to stop the culturing process.

To make the next batch, use 1 jar of yogurt for 7 jars of milk.
 
Yogurt doesn't have to be made in a yogurt maker if you can maintain the temperature another way. I've read many instances of people making it in their crock pot. This kind of scared me though because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to control the temperature well enough and would spoiling the yogurt. The maker gives me peace of mind that it will hold that important 110 degrees.

Let Them Eat Eggs

Our friends from our community group raise chickens for eggs! Imagine my delight when I opened the door for them last night and there Tia stood with TWO cartons full of beautiful eggs!! From her own backyard. What a dream! I never thought I'd be so excited to see eggs. But just look at that beautiful rounded firm yoke. Now that's an egg.

I love how they're all different sizes and color variations. They just seems so real. I know it sounds funny, but getting these eggs is an answer to prayer. I feel so blessed that God hears me and actually cares about something so small as the eggs we eat.

The thing is, Mom always bought cage-free eggs as a habit, so to me it was the norm. But when Paul and I got married, he was not on board. In fact he thought it was a big scam. I have read some articles that there may not be as much of a difference between caged and marketed "cage-free" and so I could understand his skepticism. But I was still convinced that we should do something to seek out healthier eggs, and this sometimes caused conflict between us. Honestly, it had been an issue we discussed just the day before. But we are learning and growing so much lately and I know God's been working in both of our hearts as we desire a marriage that honors one another and Him. Crazy the lessons you can learn when you argue about eggs. Kind of reminds me of the banana fight.

Anyways, needless to say we are thrilled with our egg source and our generous friends. It's funny when I stop and think about eggs being important to me. But they are! I feel so grown up!

Coming soon in our house: cookies! scrambled eggs! fried rice! banana bread! and whatever other scrumptious egg recipes I can find! yay!

Soaking Brown Rice

This week I decided to try the practice of soaking. Soaking grains is such a simple (and inexpensive!) way to get even more nutritional benefits out of our food. I'm excited that this is an easy practice I can incorporate into my meal prep and that it's not something that will affect our budget at all. And I'm sure that will make Paul glad too ;)

Ok so why soak? Soaking grains is an ancient tradition and I've read that we only recently stopped soaking as a culture. Apparently we forgot how important it is! I'm going to have to ask Oma if she ever soaked or maybe her mother?! After some research, I thought this excerpt from Nourishing Traditions was helpful to understand the reasoning of why we should soak our whole grains:

Phosphorus in the bran of whole grains is tied up in a substance called phytic acid. Phytic acid combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in the intestinal tract, blocking their absorption. Whole grains also contain enzyme inhibitors that can interfere with digestion. Traditional societies usually soak or ferment their grains before eating them, processes that neutralize phytates and enzyme inhibitors and in effect, predigest grains so that all their nutrients are more available. Sprouting, overnight soaking, and old-fashioned sour leavening can accomplish this important predigestive process in our own kitchens. Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon, Pg 25

Awesome! But now, how to soak? I adapted this simple recipe, also from Nourishing Traditions, for our cooking needs. It's really so easy peasy and as long as I plan ahead my meals, I think I could do this regularly.

The water needs to be warm, but not hot. Body temperature is appropriate. I used filtered water and warmed it in the teapot on the stove while getting my other ingredients ready.

I chose to use Apple Cider Vinegar for my acidic component. This helps to neutralize anti-nutrients. Other options are lemon juice, whey, kefir and yogurt. I'll have to try those one day! But vinegar is what I had easy to grab on hand. Because Paul hates the taste of vinegar, I did a really good rinsing of the rice after the soaking and before cooking. There shouldn't be too much of a leftover taste regardless, but I did this just in case.

Rice is known to be heavily sprayed with pesticides, so I have chosen to purchase organic rice. It's not that much more expensive, and I am going to look into purchasing it in bulk for a better deal. Of course I am using brown rice, because white rice really has little to no nutritional value.

Grabbed my favorite spoon and I'm ready to get started! I soaked my rice just under 24 hours. I've read a few different suggestions for time, but 24 is the easiest for me anyways since I have time to prep in the evenings.

Once I was ready to start dinner, all I had to do was drain and rinse my rice, and then prepare it as normal (for me that's on the stove, bring to a boil, then simmer about 40 minutes with the lid on). Can I also say how awesome it tastes to cook the rice in chicken broth instead of plain water?! Mmmm! We enjoyed our rice with stir fry chicken and peppers. It was delicious and nutritious!

*An important part is to save the liquid that the rice was soaking in. I put mine in a jar and am storing it in the refrigerator. I'll use this liquid next week to soak my rice in again. Each time you recycle it, it's supposed to get yummier and yummier!