This Yogurt Method is Even Simpler!

Many of you read and commented on the post I did awhile back on making yogurt in the crock pot ("Dairy/Non-Dairy"). Thanks for all the awesome feedback! Well, I recently stumbled across a method of yogurt making that involves a microwave and a cooler... and I thought it sounded like it was worth a shot. So I made it yesterday and oh, boy!

It's even simpler than the crock pot method, if you can believe it! Y'all, seriously, if you or your kids go through carton after carton of pricey store-bought yogurt, you need to take this method for a spin. Sorry, no pictures this time; this was a spur-of-the-moment creation motivated by my need to get a half-gallon of milk out of my fridge.

A note on incubation: there are several ways you can keep the inside of your cooler warm for incubation. I put about two inches of hot tap water (around 140 Fahrenheit; if yours isn't this hot, put a little boiling water in as well) in the bottom of the cooler, and filled three quart jars with hot water to set around the jar the yogurt was in. Then I covered the yogurt jar with foil and placed a big towel down over the tops of all the jars and zipped the cooler shut.

Hardware:
- large glass bowl
- small glass bowl or measuring cup
- stainless steel (or other non-reactive) spoon
- mesh strainer or cheesecloth or tea towel
- thermometer that goes up to 190 (I used my cheapo meat thermometer; you can use a candy thermometer or I'll tell you how to gauge the temperature without one)
- large glass jar or several smaller glass jars (you can use any clean, empty food jar)
- incubation jars (see note above)
- medium-sized cooler
- towel

Software:
- half-gallon of milk*
- 1 cup nonfat powdered milk
- 6-8 oz cup of plain, unflavored yogurt with active cultures
- 2 T. sugar (optional; the addition of sugar makes the end product MUCH less tangy, so if you prefer a tangier yogurt, just omit this)

1. Pour milk into glass bowl and place in the microwave. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave for another 2 minutes. If you have a thermometer, begin checking the temperature now -- you're aiming for 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit. If not, keep an eye on the milk and continue microwaving in 1-minute intervals until milk bubbles around the edges and steams vigorously. 190 is just shy of boiling. Don't let it boil.

2. Remove bowl from microwave and stir the milk gently for about a minute. Stir in the powdered milk. Allow the milk to sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, or until it is between 110 and 120 Fahrenheit. You can test the temperature against your wrist if you don't have a thermometer; it should feel quite warm but not make you say, "Ouch!"

3. Take out about a cup of the warm milk and put it in the small bowl or measuring cup. Stir in the small container of yogurt. Add this mixture back to the large bowl of milk. Add the sugar, if you're using it.

4. Strain the mixture into jar or jars. This step isn't totally necessary, but I found that it strained out the bits of powdered milk that hadn't dissolved completely. Cover jar(s) with foil.

5. Place the yogurt jar(s) into the cooler along with the jars of hot water. Cover with a towel and incubate for 8-14 hours. Overnight is perfect for this! If your kitchen runs cool or when you're making this in the winter, give it a little boost of hot water an hour or two before you're going to take it out. A longer incubation tends to make thicker yogurt, but I only did about 8.5 hours and still ended up with yogurt that's plenty thick -- thick enough to stand up on a spoon! :)

6. Remove the yogurt jar(s) from cooler and refrigerate until cold. Keeps for two weeks. To flavor, stir in jam or preserves, honey, fresh or frozen fruit, granola, or any combination of the above.

*Re: milk. I've found that full-fat milk works best for thick, creamy yogurt and that the lower-fat your milk is, the runnier the set tends to be. I also used non-homogenized milk, so I ended up with cream-top yogurt! Yum!

If you have ANY questions or if something in my instructions isn't clear, please let me know in the comments section and I'll do my best to clarify or adjust!

Really, Alton? It is NOT that hard.

So tonight's episode of "Good Eats" made me mad. God bless Alton Brown, because he is a seriously good cooking show host, and I normally love his no-nonsense style, but seriously?

The episode starts like this: after burning one roux and ruining a dozen others by various methods, Alton comes up with a brilliant idea -- let's eliminate the direct heat source altogether and instead make the roux... in the oven!

Sigh. Fine, look, if you want to make Cajun food but are the kind of person who burns boxed mac and cheese, by all means make your roux in the oven. But if you have even the most basic of cooking skills and a modicum of patience, you will be richly rewarded with a beautiful dark roux (and the resulting indescribably rich and complex gravies and gumbos) by implementing the fine art of stirring.

Last school year, I made a shrimp etouffee that got the stamp of approval from an honest-to-goodness Cajun, on my first try. It's seriously not hard AT ALL. There's this whole mystique around Cajun food that makes people think it would be foolish even to attempt, but y'all, it's peasant food at its finest, born from necessity and tradition. It's darn delicious and Cajun mamas can for sure make it in their sleep better than I can, but it's SIMPLE STUFF. Really.

All you have to do is put equal parts flour and oil in a pan over medium heat, and stir the dickens out of it for about 25 minutes until it's a bit darker than peanut butter. Go ahead and do all the standing yoga positions you can think of while you stir. It ain't rocket science. Then you add 2 parts minced onion and 1 part each minced celery and green bell pepper, salt and pepper that business, stir it for another, oh, five minutes or so, throw in some crushed garlic and a can or two of crushed tomatoes (dodge the spatters!), a bay leaf, and a few shakes of hot sauce, give that a stir, cook it until the veggies are soft, and toss in some raw, peeled shrimp. Switch off the heat, stir until the shrimp are just cooked, and then serve it over hot rice. Could it get easier? Maybe, but you'd have to buy your roux in a jar.

Anyway, Alton's overcomplications aside, go on ahead and make you some Cajun food this weekend, why don't you? It's goooood.

YESSS! INDIAN FOOD!!!

Ok, peeps, let me just make a confession here: I could probably eat Indian food every day, but I typically suck at making it. I can make a half-decent but totally fake-o curry. I recently mastered aloo gobi (which is stupid good on the grill) and chicken tikka masala, the most popular dish in Britain -- so popular, in fact, that despite the fact that it's completely inauthentic, it's also become wildly popular in India. But your average Indian restaurant anywhere in America could plum cook me under the table -- and that's not even factoring in the thousands of Indian Aunties who could out-cook me with their mental powers alone!

BUT! BUT! Some of those Indian Aunties have YouTube channels!

So, Navrataan Korma. For the uninitiated, "navrataan" just means "nine vegetables" and "korma" refers to a mild, creamy sauce that often contains yogurt, sometimes thickened with nuts. It's my favorite thing at my favorite Indian place, but homegirl does not have the liquid assets to be eating out all the time, mmkay? So, thanks to Aunty Manjula, and (young) Aunties Hetal and Anuja, I have learned how to MAKE this AMAZING DISH. And now you can too. Here's what you'll need.

Hardware:
a large, deep pot or skillet
a blender
a wooden spoon or similar
a knife and cutting board OR food processor OR mini-chopper

Software:
2 T oil
1 bay leaf
1 inch piece cinnamon
3 green cardamom pods
7 whole cloves
10 peppercorns
½ c. cashews or walnuts
2 medium onions finely chopped (in food processor/chopper or by hand)
½ t. turmeric powder
1 t. salt

2 T chopped garlic
2 T chopped ginger
1-2 chopped green chiles (all these can be chopped together in the food processor)
1 can crushed tomatoes

½ T. cumin powder
1 T. coriander powder
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
6-8 cups mixed veggies, any kind
1 cup water

1/2 cup golden raisins
additional nuts for garnishing

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat and saute next 9 ingredients until onions are golden brown. Add garlic, ginger, and chiles and saute until fragrant
2. Put this mixture in the blender with tomatoes and blend until very, very smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice. Do not remove the spices! The point is to grind them all up with the onions and nuts and everything to flavor the dish. Return to pan and cook over medium-high heat until you begin to see oil separating from the mixture. Add the cumin and coriander and stir briefly.
3. Add evaporated milk, vegetables (I used green beans, peas, carrots, lima beans, corn, spinach, and zucchini; you can use any combination of any veggies you like), and water. Cover and simmer until veggies are tender. Salt to taste.
4. Add more water if needed, then sprinkle raisins and nuts over the top of the dish, stir in, and serve with hot rice.

Now, some of you are going to be all, "WHAT? Where am I going to get coriander powder and what the heck is green cardamom and I thought this was a frugal-type blog but ALL THIS IS GOING TO BE EXPENSIVEasdfajfkajwef."

First of all, whoa, dude. Simmer down.

Secondly, don't even worry about it. There are two ways you can get your hands on these spices for crazy cheap. The first way is to head to your friendly neighborhood Indian (or other ethnic) grocery store. If there's an Indian restaurant in your city, there will be an Indian grocery store. They have all these spices and a million more for the most insane prices -- I have NEVER spent more than $4 on a single spice and that's for a 3 or 4 ounce bag. The second way, which would be best if you live somewhat more remote than I do from such a delightful establishment, is to check out Indian food and spice purveyors online.

Thirdly, this IS frugal! I mean, dig the ingredients list. Apart from the handful of spices, we're talking totally ordinary stuff: canned tomatoes. Garlic and onions. Evaporated milk. Veggies -- heck, I even used FROZEN veggies! You could add potatoes or cauliflower, both of which are CRAZY cheap! You could use this to happy-up boring leftovers and it would be even MORE frugal! It's also NUTRITIOUS! It's packed with veggies and so flavorful that you'll never miss the meat OR the fat.

AUGH! I mean, people. Really. You HAVE to make this ASAP. It is AMAZING, and if you don't love it, you are CRAZY. CRAZY I TELL YOU!

Ummm... apparently, it's time for me to calm down as well. Just make it, ok, before I have a coronary? You'll be glad you did.

Oh Gosh. I'm the Worst.

This always happens.

Every Summer, I end up taking a looooong sabbatical from blogging, totally unintentionally. At the end of May, I really should just say, "Ok, see you guys in August!" But I never think about it until it's been two months since my last post. The lack of a schedule in Summertime makes blogging a real challenge, and because I generally have less to think about in the Summer, I have less inspiration. Seriously, though. I'm back. For real.

On the long drive home from Colorado, I listened to "The Five Aspects of Woman" -- a series of lessons by Barbara Mouser on the ways that the Scriptures describe women -- on cassette tape, if you can believe those dinosaurs still exist, and was really struck by the "Mistress of the Domain" aspect (taken from Genesis 1, if you're curious). That particular teaching encouraged me to get off my butt and start exercising dominion over my condo.

So, along those lines, here are my projects for this school year:

- improve my sewing skills and start using my sewing machine more regularly, especially to bless my friends with young kids.
- make a rag rug (I love the look of knotted shag rugs, but they seem to involve an awful lot of steps!)
- remember how to knit (knitting is awesome. It's such a portable craft!)
- make liquid soap AND bar soap
- keep up with my homemade laundry detergent, which works great!
- continue to phase out chemical body-care and cleaning products and replace them with homemade versions
- use extra money to replace nonstick and aluminum pans with safe, nonreactive cookware (partly done now since I just rescued three cast-iron skillets from my parents' garage) and plastic storage products with glass

What about you, friends? What's on your project list?

I Love Risotto AND A Good Day's Work

So. Risotto. Is there a reason you're NOT eating risotto for dinner a couple times a month? If it's because you don't know how, here: let Marcella teach you. That's really all you need. Recipes? Psshhh. Risotto is a method, homeboy. And it goes a little something like this:

Take some fat. Heat it in a pan. Add a few aromatics. Throw in some long-cooking veggies if you like. Sizzle them for a little bit. Meanwhile, boil some water or broth in another pan. Add some arborio or carnaroli rice to the pan with the fat and aromatics. Stir it around until the edges start to look translucent. Don't let it brown. Add a splash of white wine. Add the water or broth a half-cup or so at a time, stirring constantly, until each batch is absorbed. When the rice is al dente, taste, adjust seasoning, and add quick-cooking veggies and a few flavor enhancers. Butter. Cream. Cheese. The texture should be creamy and loose, but not soupy. Add an egg yolk or two off the heat if it tickles your fancy.

Does that sound easy enough? Think of the variations.

Cajun Risotto
Fat: bacon grease
Aromatics: onions, peppers (capsicums), garlic, bay leaf
Long-cooking veg: none
Liquid: water or chicken broth
Quick-cooking veg: peas
Flavor enhancers: cream, very aged gouda
Bonuses: andouille sausage, shrimp

Springtime Farmers Market Haul Risotto
Fat: olive oil
Aromatics: onions, garlic
Long-cooking veg: morels
Liquid: H20
Quick-cooking veg: shredded zucchini, spring onions
Flavor enhancers: butter, parmigiano reggiano, egg yolk

-------------------------------------


Also, a good day's work would be... the 7 half-pints and two pints of strawberry-rhubarb jam and 4 half-pints of serviceberry-raspberry jam. Have I mentioned that I love canning? Because I do. It's probably my favorite all-time kitchen activity. Narrowly above baking bread, but there just the same.

Best. Pancakes. Ever.

So I got my favorite cookbook back from some friends a while back. What's my favorite cookbook, you ask? It's called "More-With-Less" and it's a cookbook compiled from the recipe books of hundreds of Mennonite missionaries around the world. I KNOW, right? It HAS to be the best cookbook in the WORLD!

I grew up with the recipes from this book -- my mom has the first edition from 1976, and that sucker is falling apart, stained, dog-eared, and loved. It's a gold mine of that delicious German-Mennonite home cooking, AND of ethnic recipes from around the world. Kedgeree, chapatis, nasi goreng, moussaka, yakisoba, empanadas, West African peanut stew... right on down to grits casserole, fried chicken, corn fritters, ham and bean soup, shoofly pie, and coleslaw.

And it's not just a cookbook, it's a cooking-philosophy book. It was commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee "in response to world food needs." It gives super-practical advice for simplifying our diets, eating less meat, buying unprocessed foods, gardening, becoming adept at traditional cookery, serving guests without breaking the bank, and so much more.

Basically, it's an amazing resource. So when I wanted a kind of sweet breakfast, I flipped through the "Yeast and Quick Breads" section and found Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes. Here's my version:

Blend together in the blender:
1 cup milk
2 heaping tablespoons of yogurt
2 tablespoons cool butter
1 egg

Stir together:
3/4 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour (my favorite brand)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in blender. Blend just until barely mixed, then add:
1 small apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 t. apple pie spice

Pulse 2 or 3 times. Cook on a heated griddle and serve with butter and honey, syrup, or brown sugar syrup. Devour.

Simple, right? You betcha. I cannot over-emphasize what a great cookbook More-With-Less is. You can easily find them used on Amazon and other used bookstores. If you're trying to eat healthily and responsibly while saving money, it's the perfect resource.

Dairy/Non-Dairy

(Or: Adventures With Bacteria!)

Dear Friends,

You are all idiots. Or at least that's what I'm going to tell myself for the purposes of the first part of this post, because it's going to be a pictorial, step-by-step guide to making your very own homemade yogurt, and the only reason anyone would need such a guide is if he or she were an idiot, because it is JUST THAT STINKING EASY, PEOPLE. But humor me.

First. Obtain a crock pot. Place into said crock pot a half-gallon (two quarts, four pints, eight cups) of milk. Any kind you like. Go ahead.

Shout-out to my college dorm neighbor, Jenn, who got two of these as wedding presents and gave me one! Thanks, Jenn!

Turn your crock pot to low. I will demonstrate:

Yet another of my needlessly complicated culinary techniques. Tony Bourdain's got nothin' on me.

Got it? OK. Now, let the milk heat on low for three hours. Then unplug the crock pot.

Sigh... this was so hard, you guys. Maybe it's too difficult for you?

Clear enough? Great. Now, let the milk slowly cool for about three MORE hours.

Now obtain a half-cup of powdered milk. This is not strictly necessary, but it makes the yogurt thicker. And thick is good.

Shut up, I am fully aware that this is a 1/4 cup measure. My half cup was in the dishwasher. So sue me.

A teeny-tiny six-ounce cup of plain, unflavored yogurt, your favorite variety. I happen to luuurve this here Brown Cow cream top kind. It's so delicious it makes my eyes roll back in my head.

I doooooo, cherish yoooooooou...

And stir them together in a bowl with some of the milk from the crock pot, thusly:

Isn't my disgustingly stained rubber spatula... well... disgusting? I blame Indian food. Curse you, turmeric!!

Now. Here comes the tough part. Pour the yogurt mixture back into the milk, and stir it gently. Wrap your crock pot in a great big bath towel (or two, if your house gets really cold at night).

Cozy! (And boy, the edge of that counter's pretty over-exposed, isn't it? Hello, white balance!)

And walk away. That's right. Just walk away. Pretend that crock pot doesn't exist for the next twelve hours, or even the next eighteen hours. And then the next day, unwrap that lovely present, take the lid off, and squeal like a little girl, because you just made homemade yogurt. Put in mason jars or your old yogurt containers, refrigerate, and use within a week.

Ah, hippie-tacular. Homemade yogurt, represent! Woo-wooo!!

Now, for the non-dairy portion of this post. Check out THIS super-simple recipe for homemade almond milk.

"Homemade almond milk, Laura?" you might ask. "I thought almond milk was for, like, weirdo hippie vegans from 1968 who never shave their pits!"

Well, at one time, my friend, I felt the same way that you do. Also, ew.

But I couldn't have been more wrong! You know who almond milk is for? It is for ME, you guys. This stuff is crazy good heated up with a smidge of honey, poured over cereal, as ice cream... mmmmmm.... it's so rich and almondy and creamy, and honestly, how did I ever get to be twenty *mumble mumble* years old without ever tasting this stuff?? It's rockin. PLUS, the ground almonds left over from the almond-milk-making process... well, I'm dreaming of almond macaroons, or some sort of crispy tuile, or a fruit tart with an almond crust? YES!

Now, friends, go and be fruitful and multiply (good) bacteria!

Frugal Friday: Chicken Stock!!

So. Why don't you make your own stock? Unless the answer is, "Because I'm vegetarian," you seriously have no excuse not to. Or at least you won't in about five minutes, because I'm fixin' to show you how to make some bang-up stock, otherwise known as Culinary Gold, from stuff you probably would have pitched anyway!

Look, if you only ever use this for soups, it would be worth it to make. If you add sauces, gravy, and risotto to your stock-using repertoire, it's just that much more valuable in your kitchen. Plus, let's not forget the incredible nutritional value of Jewish penicillin!

OK. Let's start.

You'll need the contents of your stock bag. I completely forgot to take a picture of this, which makes me feel like a moron, because it's essential. But here's a quick summary: I have a plastic bread bag in my freezer door. Whenever I use onions, carrots, celery, garlic, or parsley, I put the peelings, ends, tops, stems, etc. -- basically the "waste" -- into the stock bag. When it gets about half full (more or less... this ain't rocket science, people!), it's ready to use.

You'll also need the carcass, skin, giblets (which are in a handy-dandy little bag), and wings of a smallish roasting chicken -- just those little guys in the grocery store. I roasted mine (which is what I usually do with whole chickens) and then picked all the meat off the bones for use in various other applications. And then...

Here's my large stock pot, with the chicken carcass, giblets and wings, plus the contents of the stock bag, covered with water:


You'll also need one bay leaf...


And some peppercorns...


Then just simmer it for a few hours or all day or overnight or whatever makes your skirt fly up. Strain out the veggies and bones. If you want a clearer stock, you can strain through a tea towel or cheese cloth, which will remove the sort of particulate matter. But be warned: this stock WILL stain whatever you strain it through! Onion skins were once used to make brown fabric dye. I'm just sayin'. Don't come crying to me if you ruin the beautifully embroidered tea towel your dear departed Aunt Momo gave you. Got it?

Oh, also, I was going to show you a picture of the finished stock in the pot, but it basically looked like the beginning of an episode of Bones -- bits of skeleton floating in brown water, i.e., not appetizing. So I spared you. See? I'm not completely merciless.

Refrigerate for a few hours or all day or overnight or whatever cranks your gears. When the stock is chilled, it'll have a thin layer of solidified fat on top. Skim the fat off and pitch it. Or try this instead.

NOW! This is important, Stock Virgins: your stock will probably be gelatinous! Not only is this OK, it's fantastic! Have you ever watched Ina Garten? She's all homemade stock, all the time, and all of her stock is a sort of liquidy-jello texture. What it means is that you've successfully cooked the collagen out of the bones and skin of the chicken, giving your stock amazing nutritional value and lending amazing, unctuous texture to whatever you put it in.

Once you've skimmed the fat off, put your stock into containers...


And stash it in your freezer. As you can see, I use incredibly fancy and expensive storage containers. And boy, this is a whole new level of blog transparency, isn't it? I'm showing y'all pictures of the inside of my freezer. Geez.


You can also freeze your stock in ice cube trays, pop the cubes out and store them in a gallon zipper bag. Standard ice cube size is 2 ounces, so this works well if you make a lot of recipes that call for a half cup (2 cubes) or a cup (4 cubes) of stock. I could not possibly tell you how long these CAN last in the freezer, because they only last two or three weeks, tops, in mine.

Now, go forth and make stock! You can thank me later.

Links!

OK, so I thought I'd put together a links post of my favorite food- and frugality-related blogs for your reference. Umm... great intro, right? Shuddup. Let's just get to it, ok?

FOOD/COOKING:

Last Night's Dinner -- Jenn's beautiful and inspirational dinners, with an occasional post by her cocktail-loving hubby. This blog has really pushed me to seek out good local produce and meats, and to cook with what I have. Not to mention pushing me to put poached eggs on top of EVERYTHING. Poached eggs on toast? Yawn... so pedestrian. Why not... Poached eggs on risotto! Poached eggs on greens! Poached eggs on salad! Poached eggs on beans! Poached eggs on... poached eggs! YES!
CookEatFRET -- Claudia is just a ridiculously great cook and a foodie and a gorgeous dame to boot. She lives in Nashville, and proves that you don't have to live in Manhattan to eat incredibly well. Her recipes are delectable!
101Cookbooks -- Heidi's vegetarian food. More great photos, plus really creative and interesting meatless recipes, which is ideal for those of us trying to shave a few dollars off our grocery bills, eat healthier, and use less of our shared resources.
Smitten Kitchen -- Probably the best food blog on the 'net. What else is there to say?
The Chowhound boards -- An encyclopedic resource, kids. You name it, they've got the answer. I've found answers to some seriously obscure questions... not to mention the general foodie cameraderie. Fun and informative.
The Pioneer Woman -- rated one of Time Magazine's 25 best blogs. Home cooking, stunning photographs, plus some of the funniest writing known to man, put together by a beautiful home-schoolin', church-goin', horse-ridin' rancher's wife.


FRUGALITY and OTHER INSPIRATIONS:

Hillbilly Housewife -- Great, great, great, for folks who are struggling with a recent job loss or otherwise straitened circumstances. She has an emergency weekly menu that'll feed 2 adults and 3 or 4 kids for just $40. It's also a really good place to start if you're new to this whole "frugal living" thing.
Ship Full O'Pirates -- Why did I not know about this fabulous blog until a few weeks ago? One of my main frugality principles is "Question Everything" -- in other words, don't let ANY purchase go by without scrutiny. And this gal has got it together. She's making, not just food from scratch, not just bread, not just cleaning products, but her own laundry detergent, shampoo, and deodorant! Talk about inspirational!
Little House in the Suburbs -- Hello, Gorgeous. Where have you been all my life? This is like the uber-frugality, natural-living, greenie-leaning, DIY NIRVANA, y'all. GO THERE RIGHT NOW. GO! SERIOUSLY, GO!

That's all I got right now.

Coming soon:
Stock!
Frugal recipes
Eating veggie to save big bucks
...and much more!