Fresh, Oh-So-Easy, Crock Pot Yogurt

This is one of the easiest ways you can save some serious money. If you eat yogurt, add up how many of those little 5-7oz cups you go through in 7-10 days. For the cost of some milk, yogurt, gelatin (optional), and electricity, you can make the creamiest homemade yogurt. It is so easy!


What you need:

• a crock pot, thick beach towel, small clean containers for finished yogurt, and a whisk
• 1 gal of milk (fresher is better, pasteurized is fine)
• 3 TBS powdered milk (optional- use if you want thicker finished yogurt)
• 1 small packet Knox gelatin (optional- great for thicker yogurt)
• 1/2 cup yogurt with active cultures (save some from previous batches or use store bought as a starter. Just check the label for active cultures)

Pour milk in crock pot. Mix in powdered milk if you prefer a thicker yogurt or if milk is high heat pasteurized. Turn on low. Let milk cook for 3 hours.
Unplug crock pot and let sit for 3 hours without removing lid.
Scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and whisk with active yogurt and optional gelatin.
Return milk mixture to crock pot and whisk quickly into warm milk.
Cover still unplugged crock pot. Wrap in thick beach towel to retain heat and leave sitting without disturbing for 8-10 hours (this is where I go to bed).
When the cover is lifted and you scoop your spoon through the creamy yogurt you won't believe how easy it was!
Scoop into containers and refrigerate promptly.
Top the unsweetened yogurt with fresh fruit, jam, or chocolate syrup. It's so yummy.

If you like sour cream or Greek yogurt, simply strain through cheesecloth overnight in a colander in the refrigerator. The whey that collects is wonderful for making bread, lemonade, or even acidifying the soil around plants.

Now, you do the math. You can get a gallon of yogurt for the price of milk and some extras in 16 hours.

So, let me know what you do with yours.

Whey Cool

If you are into making your own mozzarella cheese or greek style yogurt, you may already be aquainted with the delicious drink made of whey. It's a shame my family had been missing out on this so long. No, we weren't letting the protein rich liquid go to waste. I would save it for use in bread making, soak dried beans in it before cooking, or acid up the soil around acid loving plants. Even the worm farm and compost bins appreciated a drink when there was more than enough to go around.
Well, it's not likely there will be any leftovers this summer. The whey liquid can be sweetened up with agave nectar or sugar and it tastes just like lemonade! Chilled, over ice it is just devine--and so healthy.



The picture at left shows how much whey liquid is recaptured from a single gallon of milk after making American Mozzarella Cheese using rennet. Nothing wasted! If you are looking for a really easy recipe, check out the Junket website or the rennet tablet packet insert.

Hello Green Sprout

Spring has arrived in Virginia with her traditional showers and plentiful pollen. Thanks to my friend, Katie, I've become aquainted with a great website to help me choose what to plant when. http://www.sproutrobot.com/ lets users register with zip code and email address to get updates on the perfect planting time for veggies. They also have subscriptions available for seeds and instructions based on garden size. Looks like the perfect gift for a young or new gardener.

I'm hooked. Thanks, Katie!

Water, water...but not everywhere

We have been on a quest to reduce our use of water. Well, a better goal would be to reduce our WASTE of water. We have tried all sorts of things so far. We let rainfall top off the swimming pool. We collect rainwater from the roof in barrels to water the plants in the garden. Zoysia grass is in the yard--it doesn't require much water and it only needs to be cut once a month so we also save time and gas.
Tonight, while washing up some utensils, it dawned on me that it would be really easy to capture the wash water and use it to water the potted plants on the front stoop. So, that's what I did. Four gallons later (I know it doesn't seem like much) the flowers and herbs have perked up and I'm feeling just a wee bit better about our efforts. Even if I only do this once a week, we will have saved 208 gallons of water a year. Yep, it makes me feel good.

I'm waiting on the water bill. It should be here any day. We have reverted back to some age old advice to save huge amounts of water. We'll see how the numbers drop and I share our super simple trick to save even more water soon.

The Only Constant is Change

Some changes we choose. Other changes choose us. Still other changes are somewhere in between.
Things are changing again--at the speed of light. So, I'm back for a while, fumbling my way through a maze of fewer resources, more demands, and the desire to wrangle control from my stuff. It's about life. The stuff should support me, not the other way around.
In time, I'm sure I will be compelled to share the whys but for now I'll just share the journey.