Today’s Homemade: Yogurt

I know what you’re thinking…who the F makes homemade yogurt?  I mean, it’s weird, right?  I never thought I would go so far into this whole homemade journey that I would make my own dairy products (never mind the obvious breastfeeding jokes).

But here’s the thing.  Last summer I joined a CSA, which stands for community supported agriculture.  Basically, it means I bought a share in a local farm and got all sorts of fresh and locally made food.  The particular CSA I joined is unusual in that it is a “whole food CSA,” so one area farmer worked with other local farmers to provide her customers with everything from meat to granola to veggies, and yes, yogurt too.

Now I love yogurt, but I had always eaten flavored yogurt.  I found plain yogurt to be too tangy for my tastes and forget plain Greek yogurt, it tasted like licking sour cream off a spoon.  But then I had local, farm-fresh, plain Greek yogurt…game changer!

It was tangy, but not mouth-puckering tangy.  If I swirled just a little honey in and added granola…holy breakfast from heaven, Batman.  Add in fresh berries and I almost can’t contain myself.

So the process for making yogurt is time consuming, but super easy.  It starts with yogurt.  I know, it’s lame that you need yogurt to make yogurt, but get over it already.

So here’s what you need… ¼ cup plain whole milk yogurt (at room temperature), a quart of milk and a small slow cooker.  Preferably, you’ll use local, organic milk.  The higher the fat content in the milk, the thicker the yogurt will be.  Make sure the yogurt you use contains live, active cultures.  For the most part, plain organic yogurt will, but read the packaging just to be sure.

Local milk, organic yogurt and a small slow cooker...all you need for making your own yogurt!

 Here’s what you do: Pour a quart of milk into a slow cooker.  Turn the slow cooker on (that part’s important).  Heat the milk to 180 degrees.  If you do it on low, it could take upwards of 4 hours.  On high, it should take about 2-3 hours.  Once you’ve reached 180, turn off the slow cooker, keep the cover on, and let the temperature drop to about 120.  Once the temperature drops, mix in the room temperature yogurt, replace the cover and wrap the slow cooker in towels like a fat guy at a sauna. 

Swathed in towels.

Let it hang out on the counter like that for about 8-12 hours; the longer it ferments, the more tart it will be.  After that time frame, put it in the fridge to set.  Resist the urge to mess with it at all.  Don’t even take the cover off…just move it from the counter to the fridge and let it set for at least 4 hours. 

And then….yogurt!  I was so proud of myself the first time I made it. 

With granola and honey for a fantastic breakfast.

 A couple notes:

To make thicker, Greek-style yogurt, line a mesh sieve with cheesecloth (or paper towels), and strain the yogurt.  The liquid you strain out is called whey.  Save it and use it to cook with.  It has a tang like buttermilk, so you can use it pancakes or muffins…basically any baked good that calls for liquid; you can even add it to smoothies if you like a tangy smoothie.

The organic plain yogurt I buy at the grocery store costs about $4.  I can buy half a gallon of whole milk from a farm 10 minutes away from my house, and make the same amount of yogurt for about $1.50.  Now that’s a deal.  Then I just save a ¼ cup of my own yogurt for the next batch.

What's the Problem with Leftovers?

I hear some people say that they don’t eat leftovers, like this is a philosophical stance they’ve adopted. I don’t understand it. Now, either these people are such expert cooks that they always make exactly the right amount of food and therefore don’t have leftovers, or they just throw the leftovers out. If they have money to waste food like that, that’s their business, but I personally find it physically painful to throw away perfectly good food. In fact, in my quest to not be wasteful, I’ve probably served my family some questionable food. Throwing food away is the same as throwing money away in my book, and I just can’t take it.

That being said, there are some meals that don’t pan out the first time, and then what do you do with expensive organic chicken that came out too dry? If it wasn’t good the first time, can you possible recook it and make it better?

Why, yes, you can!

Last week, I made a recipe that I’ve made often before, but for some reason, it just didn’t come out. The chicken was dry, the flavors were off; we barely ate it when it was fresh, so how could I possibly adapt it? I couldn’t take the thought of simply throwing it away, so I shredded it and popped it in the fridge. A couple days later, it occurred to me…chicken pot pie! I strained the liquid from the chicken, made a roux, a crust, added some veggies, popped it in the oven and voila! Leftovers transformed!

Now I say that like it was super easy…it was not. Each component was easy enough to make, but making a pie crust and rolling it out with a crabby 3-year-old and baby in tow is not without its drawbacks. For that reason, the next time I make pie crust, I’m going to double it and store the extra in the freezer to put myself ahead of the game.

Anyway, I felt good that I managed to salvage an otherwise unpalatable meal, and do so using completely homemade ingredients.

A couple notes:

If you don’t know, a roux is a gravy base make of equal parts butter (or other fat) and flour. Melt the butter, add the flour, stir until well-combined, add liquid, bring to a gentle boil and you’ve got gravy. I used the liquid I strained from my chicken plus a splash of milk to loosen it.

Also, homemade pie crust is easy but time consuming to roll out…I use my KitchenAid mixer (the thing is a godsend). Mix ½ cup butter (or vegetable shortening), 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ tsp. salt and ½ cup cold water. First mix the flour and salt, then add the butter, let it mix until it’s the constituency of cornmeal. Then add the water until it sticks together. Divide in half, and roll out each half into something that resembles a circle. You may need more flour when rolling it out. It’s an art, not a science, despite what Martha Stewart will tell you.

Mostly: Part 1

When I first started this blog, I wanted to give it the title "My Homemade Life," but that title was taken. So I settled on My (Mostly) Homemade Life. After thinking it through, I decided that the second choice title was actually the better one. Why? Because I just can't do it all. Nor do I want to do it all. At different times, I have made different attempts at making things homemade. Some I've decided I like and will continue with, some are just too much work for too little reward. So here is part one of my list of what I make homemade and why it works for me, and what I don't make homemade and why not.

Bread: I like to make my own bread. Why? Well, first of all, my husband bought me a breadmaker for Christmas and that makes it much, much easier. Second, homemade bread feels so wholesome. And third, with all the talk about chemicals found in rubber being used in common bread products, I feel good about knowing all the ingredients in our bread.

Shredded Cheese: No! So here's the thing with storebought shredded cheese. It contains cellulose, a product derived from wood and found in paper. It's used as an anti-caking and anti-mold agent. I don't particularly like the thought of eating paper (my baby, on the other hand, loves it), but I've been shredding my own cheese for the past few weeks, and I hate it. I wish I didn't hate it, but I just do. It's tedious, lame, and it makes my hand cramp up. So storebought shredded cheese, here I come.

Yogurt: Yes! Homemade yogurt tastes better than storebought and it's super easy. It's my favorite kind of homemade: Set it and forget it! Or be like me and hover over the slow cooker constantly taking the milk's tempature like it's a sick kid or something. But here's the thing...I never liked plain yogurt, until I tried fresh plain yogurt. When plain yogurt is fresh, it's rich and creamy with just a hint of tang, not like the sour stuff you buy at the grocery store. And of course, by consuming plain yogurt, you avoid all the extra sugar (or at least I would if I didn't add honey to mine).

Chicken Nuggets: No, but I don't feel good about it being a no. I've only made them once; they weren't hard to do, but I think if I could streamline the process it would help tremendously. The flavor wasn't quite like the frozen, storebought nuggets, though. They tasted more like chunks of chicken parm, and I felt like I should serve them with marinara sauce rather than ketchup. So for now, they go on the "buy in bulk at BJs" list, but I will try them again when I have more time and patience.

There is of course more that I make homemade (stock, granola, ect) and more that I buy storebought (any condiment) and various reasons for each. For example, once I made pasta by hand...my arms ached the next day. Now I know why Italian mothers are to be feared...they must have biceps like Rocky.