Something sweet for Halloween. Teeny tiny sugar cookies painted in the blackest black and the orangest orange.
 |
| Black Cats |
 |
| Orange Pumpkins |
The perfect one-bite treat. Yum!
Happy Haunting!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
To Market, To Market
Saturday means market day! The market has been dwindling for the past month and today is the last "full-day" market of 2011. There will be a few "half-day" markets in November and a Christmas market in December but, after that, my groceries will be a little less local until spring.
Here are a few of the things I will miss:
 |
| Apples (oh, the apples are delicious right now!), onions, pain au chocolat from my favourite baker, grapes, carrots, fresh fig jam and lettuce. |
There are many things I love about the fall and winter, but the closure of my neighbourhood farmer's market is not one of them!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Homemade Yogurt
I made yogurt! And it was easy!
As a lactose intolerant sort of person, yogurt is one of the few dairy products I can eat without significant consequences. In fact, it seems to keep my somewhat ornery stomach in check and I try to have a serving every day or two. However, all yogurts are not created equal and the high fat, low additive yogurt that works best for me is expensive, at $6.00 a tub! In addition to high cost, many of the yogurts on the market today are hardly representative of the yogurt that has been consumed by humans for thousands of years. They are extremely low in fat, high in sugar and contain setting agents such as gelatin, pectin and agar agar in addition to a variety of other additives and preservatives. I was pretty surprised when I learned that yogurt is not a complex substance that requires a long ingredient list, but just milk and a little bacteria. Once I knew homemade yogurt was possible, I decided to ditch the additives, containers and high cost and start making my own.
My yogurt-making technique:
(1) First, I heat two litres of milk over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of 180 degrees ferinheight (a candy thermometer can be used to measure the temperature throughout the process) while stirring regularly. I use a combination of organic whole milk and cream. You can use milk of any fat content you like, but higher fat milk will result in a thicker, creamier and more traditional product.
Heating the milk is necessary in order to unfurl the proteins of the milk so that they will set smoothly, rather than in curds.
(2) Next, I take the milk off the heat and let it cool, at room temperature, down to 110 degrees while I stir it occasionally.
(3) As the milk is cooling, I pull my yogurt starter (3-4 tablespoons of yogurt, either from my last batch or from a store bought yogurt containing live active cultures) from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature. Once the milk has cooled to 110 degrees, I add half a cup of the warm milk to the starter, stir them together and pour the combined mixture back into milk. I stir it up well to evenly distribute the bacteria.
If you add the starter back into the milk at a temperature above 120 degrees, you will kill the bacteria. If the milk is below 90 degrees, the bacteria will not be activated.
(4) Once the mixture is combined, I pour it into my yogurt maker, plug it in and leave it alone. My yogurt maker keeps the yogurt at an even temperature of 110 degrees throughout the incubation period.
Now that I understand the yogurt making process, I wish that I had bought a crock pot rather than a specific tool just for yogurt. Alternatively, some people use thermoses wrapped in towels, water baths, or a pot in the oven with just the pilot light on. If you do use a crock pot, you must make sure that your "low" or "simmer" setting remains at a constant temperature, somewhere around 110 degrees. This will vary based on crock pot.
(5) Next, I wait. The incubation process can be anywhere between 4 and 12 hours, depending on the type of yogurt you would like to achieve. A shorter incubation will results in thinner, milder yogurt that tastes very much like milk. A longer incubation will result in a thicker and more tart yogurt.
During incubation, the warm and cozy bacteria are multiplying and metabolizing the lactose in the milk. This process turns lactose (milk sugar) into glucose, galactose and lactic acid. Because I am lactose intolerant, I want to get rid of as much lactose as possible and wait through a full 12 hour incubation. The longer you allow for incubation, the easier yogurt will be to digest as the bacteria has already done part of the work in breaking down both milk sugar and milk protein.
(6) After the incubation period, you have a few choices. You can either put the yogurt directly in the fridge to set, strain the yogurt immediately or put it into the fridge to set and then strain it. I have attempted all three approaches and prefer the last. My goal is to produce Greek-style yogurt (it's not true Greek yogurt because I am not in Greece) which requires straining to reduce/remove the whey. Many people seem to confuse whey with whey protein (which is a very small component of whey), but whey is composed predominantly of carbohydrates (the broken down glucose and galactose). Removing whey leads to yogurt with a higher fat and higher protein content. Whey removal will also remove some nutrients, but everyone seems to have a different opinion on the content and importance of these nutrients. I just go with personal preference and the desire to eliminate as much lactose I as can. So, I let the yogurt set in the fridge overnight and then strain it in a muslin bag for a few hours.
(7) Once strained, I spoon the yogurt into jars for consumption. Two litres of milk will give around 5-6 cups of yogurt (and lasts me a week), but this depends on how much whey you strain out. I always set aside some starter from my current batch in a separate container and use it within 6 or 7 days.
(8) Eat! There are endless ways to use homemade yogurt. I often use yogurt in muffins in place of oil and in sandwiches in place of mayonnaise. But, my favourite way to eat yogurt is for breakfast, with a sweet topping of homemade cinnamon apple sauce, honey or homemade strawberry sauce. Yum!
As a lactose intolerant sort of person, yogurt is one of the few dairy products I can eat without significant consequences. In fact, it seems to keep my somewhat ornery stomach in check and I try to have a serving every day or two. However, all yogurts are not created equal and the high fat, low additive yogurt that works best for me is expensive, at $6.00 a tub! In addition to high cost, many of the yogurts on the market today are hardly representative of the yogurt that has been consumed by humans for thousands of years. They are extremely low in fat, high in sugar and contain setting agents such as gelatin, pectin and agar agar in addition to a variety of other additives and preservatives. I was pretty surprised when I learned that yogurt is not a complex substance that requires a long ingredient list, but just milk and a little bacteria. Once I knew homemade yogurt was possible, I decided to ditch the additives, containers and high cost and start making my own.
My yogurt-making technique:
(1) First, I heat two litres of milk over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of 180 degrees ferinheight (a candy thermometer can be used to measure the temperature throughout the process) while stirring regularly. I use a combination of organic whole milk and cream. You can use milk of any fat content you like, but higher fat milk will result in a thicker, creamier and more traditional product.
Heating the milk is necessary in order to unfurl the proteins of the milk so that they will set smoothly, rather than in curds.
(2) Next, I take the milk off the heat and let it cool, at room temperature, down to 110 degrees while I stir it occasionally.
(3) As the milk is cooling, I pull my yogurt starter (3-4 tablespoons of yogurt, either from my last batch or from a store bought yogurt containing live active cultures) from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature. Once the milk has cooled to 110 degrees, I add half a cup of the warm milk to the starter, stir them together and pour the combined mixture back into milk. I stir it up well to evenly distribute the bacteria.
If you add the starter back into the milk at a temperature above 120 degrees, you will kill the bacteria. If the milk is below 90 degrees, the bacteria will not be activated.
(4) Once the mixture is combined, I pour it into my yogurt maker, plug it in and leave it alone. My yogurt maker keeps the yogurt at an even temperature of 110 degrees throughout the incubation period.
Now that I understand the yogurt making process, I wish that I had bought a crock pot rather than a specific tool just for yogurt. Alternatively, some people use thermoses wrapped in towels, water baths, or a pot in the oven with just the pilot light on. If you do use a crock pot, you must make sure that your "low" or "simmer" setting remains at a constant temperature, somewhere around 110 degrees. This will vary based on crock pot.
(5) Next, I wait. The incubation process can be anywhere between 4 and 12 hours, depending on the type of yogurt you would like to achieve. A shorter incubation will results in thinner, milder yogurt that tastes very much like milk. A longer incubation will result in a thicker and more tart yogurt.
During incubation, the warm and cozy bacteria are multiplying and metabolizing the lactose in the milk. This process turns lactose (milk sugar) into glucose, galactose and lactic acid. Because I am lactose intolerant, I want to get rid of as much lactose as possible and wait through a full 12 hour incubation. The longer you allow for incubation, the easier yogurt will be to digest as the bacteria has already done part of the work in breaking down both milk sugar and milk protein.
(6) After the incubation period, you have a few choices. You can either put the yogurt directly in the fridge to set, strain the yogurt immediately or put it into the fridge to set and then strain it. I have attempted all three approaches and prefer the last. My goal is to produce Greek-style yogurt (it's not true Greek yogurt because I am not in Greece) which requires straining to reduce/remove the whey. Many people seem to confuse whey with whey protein (which is a very small component of whey), but whey is composed predominantly of carbohydrates (the broken down glucose and galactose). Removing whey leads to yogurt with a higher fat and higher protein content. Whey removal will also remove some nutrients, but everyone seems to have a different opinion on the content and importance of these nutrients. I just go with personal preference and the desire to eliminate as much lactose I as can. So, I let the yogurt set in the fridge overnight and then strain it in a muslin bag for a few hours.
(7) Once strained, I spoon the yogurt into jars for consumption. Two litres of milk will give around 5-6 cups of yogurt (and lasts me a week), but this depends on how much whey you strain out. I always set aside some starter from my current batch in a separate container and use it within 6 or 7 days.
(8) Eat! There are endless ways to use homemade yogurt. I often use yogurt in muffins in place of oil and in sandwiches in place of mayonnaise. But, my favourite way to eat yogurt is for breakfast, with a sweet topping of homemade cinnamon apple sauce, honey or homemade strawberry sauce. Yum!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Block of the Month
The block of the month club I have been attending, Yours, Mine and Ours, is now finished. The August block was called Sarah's Choice. It was a simple pinwheel star and it was nice to end with something easy. Although, I will admit, it was not the true final block. The final block is from the September session and it looks more complicated. However, I've decided not to complete it. It is not a traditional block and contains, of all things, an octagon. I don't want octagons in my quilt!
My final blocks from the club:
My final blocks from the club:
 |
| My donation block |
 |
| My block |
After 9 months of the Yours, Mine and Ours club, I have 6 star blocks to use in my quilt. I am making a king size quilt and am anticipating that I will need 10 more blocks to complete it. I am not sure if all blocks will be stars, but they will all be traditional blocks made of squares and triangles. I would really like to finish the topper by Christmas, but I have another project that needs to take priority so I think that Christmas 2012 might be more realistic!
Let the block hunt begin!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Gratitude
Happy Thanksgiving!
I haven't been feeling particularly thankful lately, but I do know that, all things considered, I have a lot of blessings in my life. Today, I thought I'd document a few:
(1) A place to call my own, with all the fixings of comfort a person needs.
(2) My fuzzy friend, who is sweeter than I have ever dreamed a pet could be.
(3) Unexpected opportunities to make big changes and the knowledge that, sometimes, change can be a really good thing.
(4) The time and freedom to cook, bake, grow and create.
(5) And, last but not least, Thanksgiving leftovers!
I haven't been feeling particularly thankful lately, but I do know that, all things considered, I have a lot of blessings in my life. Today, I thought I'd document a few:
(1) A place to call my own, with all the fixings of comfort a person needs.
(2) My fuzzy friend, who is sweeter than I have ever dreamed a pet could be.
(3) Unexpected opportunities to make big changes and the knowledge that, sometimes, change can be a really good thing.
(4) The time and freedom to cook, bake, grow and create.
(5) And, last but not least, Thanksgiving leftovers!
All that we behold is full of blessings.
~ William Wordsworth
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The Weekend Homemaker
OK, so September kicked my butt in pretty much every way possible. I would say that weekends saved my sanity, but I am not so sure it was saved. Only time will tell. In any case, knowing that a little cooking is good for my soul, I went all out last weekend. I especially went all out on the protein. I needed some extra umph!
On Saturday, there were steak sandwiches with salad. Yum!
I even made enough of my favourite creamy ginger dressing (no dairy or eggs involved!) to last the week.
I also baked muffins for weekday snacks.
 |
| 10 Grain Pumpkin Muffins |
On Sunday, I made a big chicken dinner.
 |
| Veggies for roasting |
 |
| Perfect Roast Chicken |
In addition to chicken and veggies, I made baked sweet potato slices with raisins, pecans and feta.
The food was good, the week that followed was not. October WILL BE better!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)