Homemade Yogurt and Buttermilk

Like so many things. It's just better homemade. 

The savings of course depends on whether or not you buy your milk. But regardless there is still the control over the quality. 

Buttermilk

My favorite for soaking chicken to fry, of course in biscuits and anything chocolate that calls for milk. Besides just drinking it! 

Buttermilk can be re-cultured from the first starter batch and continuously after that. We purchased our starter enzymes from Cultures for Health. Their site is easy to follow and full of tips and recipes. The starter batch is simple. (screen shot from their page)

After the starter batch add 1/4 cup of your reserve to 1 Quart milk and let sit in a warm spot 70-77* for 24-48 hours. (Full explanation is linked under re-culture, above) 

Yogurt 

(You will need a thermometer and a crock pot)

I use a lot of yogurt. I started out replacing a little at a time of mayo or sour cream in recipes like pasta salad and topping for Mexican foods. Yogurt can also replace oil in a lot of baking items. A splash of olive oil will give it that oily texture that is sometimes needed.

Like buttermilk, yogurt can be simply re-made from your starter batch. 1 Quart of milk heated to 160* and cooled to 110*. Then add 2-3 T of starter yogurt and allowed to incubate for 5-8 hours. You can buy the yogurt makers that are set to the right temp etc. I was given one and am trying it next time.We have been using a crock pot and have had very good luck with. Heat the crock pot with water in it until you are ready to let the yogurt set. Dump the water, add the yogurt milk mixture, be sure to shut it off and unplug. Wrap the whole thing with a heavy towel to hold in the heat.

Both can also be started from store bought. Make sure to get plain yogurt with live cultures. The drawback to this is that the store cultures are not as "alive" and after a batch or two they don't really work anymore. 

When making your own you will see that the textures are slightly different from store bought. The buttermilk is a little thicker but the flavor is amazing. A good stir with a spoon or whisk will loosen it up. The yogurt is slightly more watery but again a stir will bring it together. Also letting drain though a strainer or hanging from a cheese cloth will tighten it up to whatever texture you like. 

At our local store a 32 oz (4 cups) container of yogurt is about $4. A gallon of milk is also about $4. I can make 4x as much yogurt for the same price.

When life gives you lemons, share!

I was lucky enough to have a friend send me some lemons. There's so many things I want to do with them but decided to start with making Lemon Pepper. This is one of my favorite seasoning in the summer. On veggies, chicken, fish...even just sprinkled  over salad.

                                             

I sliced six of my precious lemons into fairly thin slices, picked most of the seeds out to set aside for trying to plant, and put them in the dehydrator. This can also be done in the oven. Set the oven to it's lowest setting and in both cases dry until crisp rotating occasionally to get even dryness. The amount of time this takes will depend on your method and settings, and on how thinly you slice them. Just keep an eye on 'em.

 (I've never bothered trying to plant the seeds before because all I can get around here are the ones from the stores. Hope to be able to show my great success with those later.) 

As your lemons dry take them out and let them cool. These can be stored in any covered contained until your ready to grind them or put directly into a food processor or grinder. I pulse them for 30-40 seconds and then sift them through a wide mesh strainer.

                                               

                                                        

Repeat this a time or two pulsing only the larger bits. When you get down to the bits that won't break down anymore, mix your lemon flakes with course ground black pepper. We really like the taste of 3/4 lemon and 1/4 pepper. You can add salt now if you like. I don't. I add the salt directly to whatever I'm cooking.

The extra hard bits can be saved separately and used in hot tea or marinades. Since it has the pith it can have bit of a bitter taste.

Store your lemon pepper in a sealed container. I refill a shaker that I reused from the store and put any extra in glass jar. 

Just #Quilt It!

I made my first quilt about 8 years ago. I was working in a great little local store that sold clothes and boots and had the largest selection of fabric that I had ever seen. Every day that I went in and the beautiful colors and designs would call to me. I wanted to make something, I wanted to make a quilt. But the word quilt was intimidating. That's for people with skill. Replacing a button or sewing on the occasional arm or leg of a teddy bear didn't say "skill" to me. I had done a little cross stitch, but only from the kits. So, I tried to ignore it. I almost gave in once, but standing in the sewing section at Walmart and looking at all the tools you needed, I walked out with a couple bottles of paint instead. I had a yard gnome that could use some touching up. I finally couldn't take it anymore when some fabric I had been looking at went on sale. I bought a couple yards. 2 print and 2 solid. When I got home I laid the blanket off the bed on the floor and measured it (with the Big Guys' tape measure). I got out my sewing kit which included a couple needles, scissors and a spool of white thread. Squares seemed like a sensible starter pattern. I worked on it every day. I cut the fabric into strips and then into squares. Thought I had planned a pattern out on paper, but as you can see it got a little hap hazard. I sewed the squares together and then strips of squares to the next strip.. Didn't take long til I added a thimble to my kit! When I got the top to the point that I was satisfied I bought the pre-rolled batting and a piece of material for the backing.

I used my largest cross-stitch hoop and stitched around all the shapes and flowers on the white squares. For the binding I studied on an old quilt that I had of my great-grandmothers. Cut a 3 inch strip. Fold in half, fold halves in half, sew around the outer edge of quilt then attach fold this over and sew as the 'finished edge'. 

I sold this first quilt to an Americans Veteran Organization for a raffle. Although sometimes I wish I had it back, I know that it raised money for a good cause and whoever has it has something with soul in every stitch.

From there began my obsession and since then I have made several more.

My daughter at Heritage Days.

I haven't yet gotten the patience to get into the amazing patterns that there are, I just work with squares, triangle and rectangles. And Yes, that is a chick in the lower left of the pic. lol

The moral of the story is that it can turn into something amazing if you find an idea and run with it.

Mixes you should make yourself.

For most of my recipes I couldn't tell you exactly what was in it if I wanted to. I'm more of a what's in the pantry, pinch of this, palmful of that, kinda cook. For these mixes though you really need a standard to start from so I am passing on the ones that I use from Amy Dacyczyns' book "The Tightwad Gazette". Having these mixes on hand are essential to the way I cook because I don't pick a meal and grocery shop for it, I go through my groceries and pick a meal. For these mixes I save up the seasoning shakers from the store or seal them in mason jars. This is a great way to use the older ones that you might be unsure of canning with due to age!

Seasoned Salt
8T salt, 3T pepper, 2T paprika, 1/2T onion powder and 1/2T garlic powder.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and store in an airtight container.

Taco-Seasoning Mix
6t chili powder, 4 1/2t cumin, 5t paprika,3t onion powder,2 1/2t garlic powder and 1/4t cayenne pepper. We use a lot of this so I usually triple the recipe. You can adjust the heat to whatever you prefer. This mix is actually twice as strong as the store bought kind, so I use about a tablespoon /lb. Adding 2T of Masa to this mix makes it richer and tastes even more like the store kind.

Cream Soup Mix
2c dry milk, 11/4c cornstarch (or 2 1/2c flour), 1/4c chicken bullion powder, 2T dried onion flakes, 1/2t pepper, (1t thyme and 1t basil, optional). Mix all ingredients. If the mix is made with cornstarch, add 1/3c mix to 1 1/4c water; if the mix is made with flour, add 1/2c mix to 1 1/4c water. This makes a concentrated consistency. For soup consistency double the water. Simmer until thick. Add mushroom=cream of mushroom, diced celery=cream of celery... I use this to thicken stews, add alittle to give broth a richness and if I make gravy too thin. Always mix into cool liquid first or cornstarch will clump.

Seasoned-Rice Mix (like rice a roni)
3c uncooked rice, 1/4c dried parsley, 6T chicken or beef bullion powder, 2t onion powder, 1/2t garlic powder, 1/4t dried thyme. Mix all ingredients. Cook just like rice: 1c rice, 2c water and 2T butter. Bring to boil, cover, reduce to simmer for 20 min.

These are from other recipe books.

Salt Free Herb Blend
(this great if your trying to reduce your salt use)
5t onion powder, 2 1/2t garlic powder, 2 1/2t paprika, 1 1/4t thyme, 1/2t pepper, 2 1/2t dry mustard.

BBQ Spice Rub
1c brown sugar, 1/4c paprika, 1T pepper, 1T salt, 1T chili powder, 1T onion powder,1t cayenne. This is a great rub for ribs, chops, chicken, etc. Liberally rub meat and place in fridge for an hour to overnight.

Lemon Pepper
Slice lemons as thin as possible. Dry either in a 200' oven until crisp or in a dehydrator. Pulverize in a food processor. Run through a sieve or strainer to get out any large chunks of rind that didn't break up. Add pepper. I do this because I don't like the amount of salt that is in the store brands.

These are all herbs and spices that I keep in my pantry all the time. Buying in bulk reduces the cost of these mixes even more. The best part is that you have control over the amount of salt, heat, and can adjust any part of it that you want. If it's something that you use a lot of, you also get the benefit of saving money and if you have the ingredients anyway, you can never look in the cabinet and be frustrated because your out of it. The ones that I use a lot of I double or triple the recipe.

Fire starters and #campstove with #buddyburner

We love to camp, build a fire on a cold night AND drink wine. This pin fit in perfectly. A mason jar filled with corks covered with kerosene. I let the corks soak for 3 days. 





These worked really well for the fireplace and I look forward to having them in our camping gear.

This idea about the crayons caught my attention because I sometimes run low on candles. You have to light it at the paper level.  The paper acts as a wick and it does give off enough light to work with. I only got about 20 min out of this crayon.

This is a Great project for camping, being prepared or just for fun with kids. In the end you have a little camp stove.

Materials

#10 can (empty)

tuna can...

cardboard

tin snips

can hole punch

candle wax or paraphine (about 4 oz)

Cut the cardboard into strips that will fit into the tuna can. Enough to wind up and create your wick.

Melt your wax, either in a double boiler or in a microwave safe glass dish. Keep an eye on it when it starts to go it goes quickly. Carefully pour the wax over the cardboard until the can is rim full. The can will get very hot so be careful of where you have it setting and how you handle it. Let cool completely.

Cut an opening in the # 10 can large enough for the tuna can to slide in

and place the bottom cut end inside.

Push it flat against the closed end. With the can punch poke 4 holes around the top. These are smoke vents and will hold the cut end in place creating  a 2 ply surface to cook on. It will hold and distribute heat better. Light the cardboard of the burner and slide into the stove.

Only use these outside. They do smoke.

I save up tuna cans, and all the ends of candles I put in a butter bowl. When I have enough to make a couple burners I melt it all at once. You can cook directly on top of the "stove" or use a small pan. To control the heat use a piece of aluminum foil over the burner. To put out the burner, carefully seal the foil around the burner.

I remember as a kid when my mother made one of these for my brother and I. The cans do get very hot but are manageable with even small kids. The benefit is being outside. Brown a burger, use a small pan and make an omelet. Put alittle cake batter in a tuna type can and place another large can overtop and it can cook like a 'homesteader' easy bake oven. Playing with this with your kids is a great way to teach them to cook outside the box. With such small portions trial and error can be fun.

Into a tune type can melt

 1t butter

1t brown sugar

on top place

1 pineapple round

1 cherry

pour over top

couple T yellow cake mix... 

place another large can over top, check often.