So we grow our own vegetables and we will have our own eggs from naturally fed, unmedicated happy chickens in another three to four months. What's missing? Two kitchen gadgets i'm really looking forward to owning one of these days. In my ever continuing quest to make sure our diet is as natural and low sugar as possible, I've been thinking of things I can do or make to help us along. I've really wanted to try making my own yogurt. First of all, they (meaning the yogurt companies) sneak all kinds of craziness into most store bought yogurt. And besides that, there is the cringe I feel every time I throw a plastic yogurt container in the garbage. Sometimes I buy the big deal and scoop it out but the kids (well all of us actually) eat yogurt every day and it's nice when they have a healthy snack they can get by themselves.
I've been doing some research on yogurt makers and found one that I really like. Well two actually. They come with cups which you can buy extra of. Perfect single serving sizes that I can stick in the fridge and the kids can get to themselves without making a huge mess. There's the Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker at Target. And then there's the Cuisipro Donvier Electronic Yogurt Maker that I found on Amazon. The funny thing is, I went to Stitch 'n Bitch yesterday and Becca was talking about making yogurt. And then Kelly got talking about the food dehydrator again which happens to be the other kitchen gadget I want. She lucked out and got one for $5 at a yard sale. It seems like something that would be really useful, especially with the garden. What a great alternative to canning. All the peppers and tomatoes from the garden could be dehydrated and saved to use in cooking. Mmmm ... sun-dried tomatoes, banana chips ... I could go on and on dreaming of all the yummy healthy snacks I could make for the family. :) Anyone have either of these kitchen gadgets? I'd like to hear your thoughts or ideas.
Can you tell I've made good use of my time at work this afternoon? I'm not even going to get into the spinning wheel thing yet. I'm trying to put it out of my mind which has been extremely difficult since I've managed to make it by the yarn shop a few times lately. But like I said, I'm not going to get into that right now. I think I'll go play my piano for a few minutes before I have to go pick up the kiddos. :)
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I loved loved loved my dehydrator! When I used it. I'm not much into cooking at all, and that includes food prep. But when I had the gusto to slice up those apples or kiwi (Sooooo sweet and sour and good with all the juice sucked out of them!), it was pure bliss. Plus you can make homemade fruit roll ups! Who doesn't love fruit roll ups?
ReplyDeleteHi - I've made yogurt a couple of times recently with no special equipment besides a big metal-lined thermos. It turned out really yummy (second batch was even better), although a bit separated, probably because I left it in the thermos longer than recommended.
ReplyDeleteI resisted trying this for a long time, and once I did try it, couldn't believe how easy it was!!
Here's a link with the directions I followed:
http://bean-sprouts.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-make-greek-yogurt.html
I use the microwave for the first batch, and boiled the milk on the stove for the second batch.
And for trouble-shooting:
http://bean-sprouts.blogspot.com/2007/12/greek-yogurt-problems.html
Personally, I would go for the Cuisipro for two reasons: it has glass jars (the donvier ones are polycarb, probably have BPA) and it's cheaper!
ReplyDeleteI have a dehydrator but somehow my mom has custody of it right now. But it's a great way to preserve stuff.
I actually have one with six individuale cups that I have been looking to get rid of.... I don't remember the brand, but if you ae interested, I would be willing to send it on to you. I just find it a pain to make litle cups when I am so used to just making it in quart canning jars.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever made your own cheese? Tha tis pretty cool.
I've used the Alton Brown method of a heating pad inside a cooler as a yogurt incubator. It really works, too. Link hither:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/4ylnq
I've used sheep and goat milk and omitted the powdered milk. I also add one extra step, I strain the yogurt overnight to make Greek-style deliciousness.
My next experiment is to make it with unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk from the farmer's market.