Countertop Yogurt Winner

I confess.  I bought yet another 1/2 gallon of heavy whipping cream this week. 

It makes such amazing yogurt.  Like pudding.

Add some cocoa . . . and spoonful of raw honey.  Succulent.

Had some tonight in fact. 

If you aren’t the winner of the Countertop Yogurt Giveaway from Cultures for Health, have no fear . . . you can order your own culture and begin making this AMAZING yogurt that is effortless.

And the winner is Mariam comment #71 out of 71. 

Isn't’ that crazy?

I took a screen shot of it.  So easy to count. 

I like easy. 

Congrats,  Mariam!  Please send me an email with your snail mail address!  You have 48 hours.  The clock is ticking.

Thank you, Cultures for Health!  Such a great place for your belly to hang out. 

My next endeavor (maybe – hoping – dreaming) from the happy bacteria place . . . . making sauerkraut in a crock again.  Remember my experience?

Ugh.

Doesn’t this look cool?

Or I might find myself trying this cultured fruit leather.  Intriguing.

P.S. Did you know that you can become an affiliate for Cultures for Health?  Thought you might like to know.

Homemade Mayonnaise

What did mayonnaise used to taste like? Ever wonder if this store bought item had a holistic origin? Do you even know what Hellmann's Mayonnaise tastes like or did you grow up on Kraft Miracle Whip Salad Dressing?

I am fortunate, I guess, that I grew up on plain 'ol mayo, store bought--but probably better than Miracle Whip due to the LACK of high fructose corn syrup and sugar.

Now, my grandparents always liked Miracle Whip Salad Dressing. I hated to have sandwiches at their house because this feast consisted of Wonder White bread, pimento loaf deli meat, American cheese, and Miracle Whip.

Amazing, even then my taste buds leaned more towards something slightly more nutritious, like the lime green Marshmallow Salad Grandma had made that morning!

There is nothing better that I like--well I like a few things better; but there is nothing more satisfying--well, a few things are more satisfying; OK, it is gratifying to actually know how your food is made and where most of the products come from.

Did you know that you can actually MAKE your own mayonnaise? The interesting fact is that it probably will take you longer to go to the store and purchase the mayonnaise, than to make it at home. And you won't get to experience the pride as you serve your guests and family mayonnaise that you made that will aide in the digestion of their meal.

You see, store bought mayonnaise is pasteurized, due to the raw eggs included in the recipe. Was that a gasp I heard? (Yes, I am encouraging you to eat raw FARM FRESH eggs. It will give you a chance to visit your local farmer's market.) By using raw and fresh ingredients, and a little bit of whey (remember, it is that yellow liquid that separates and sits on the top of your yogurt) you enable lacto-fermetation that increases the shelf life of your mayonnaise and provides essential nutrients. Give it a try!

Ingredients

1 room temperature egg
1 room temperature egg yolk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbls lemon juice, fresh or bottled
1 tbls whey (either make yogurt or buy organic yogurt at the store)
3/4 - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
dab of salt

Directions

1. Separate your egg yolk. I use this handy-dandy egg separator from Pampered Chef.

2. Throw, dump or toss your room temperature whole egg, egg yolk, salt, lemon juice, mustard and whey into your food processor, Vita Mix or blender.

Please make sure to put the lid on your blender container. Eggs make good hair mousse, but I wouldn't recommend adding mustard to your hair.
3. Mix, beat, or whip ingredients until they are well blended. (Sounds rather violent, doesn't it?)

4. Add olive oil drop by drop while the blender motor is running, torturing the eggs to achieve the desired consistency you want. I don't always follow this painfully slow process, due to three children hanging on my leg. I have been known to dump most of the olive oil in at once, but it doesn't become thick as easily. Please note that homemade mayonnaise will be slightly more runny than imitation, non-nutritional mayonnaise.

Sorry. I am being harsh. And I have a confession to make--I have both store bought mayonnaise and homemade mayonnaise in my fridge!

Check out the cool view from the top of my Vita Mix. This is exciting kitchen action. Who needs a TV?

As you mix the oil in, the mayonnaise slowly changes color and gets thicker. The egg acts as an emulsifier, thus allowing the olive oil to blend in and all the ingredients to form one continuous substance. For this reason, you must thoroughly blend the ingredients in this recipe to achieve the desired result.

Once thickness is achieved, you may add more lemon or salt, depending on how you like your mayonnaise to taste. Allow the mayonnaise to sit at room temperature, covered, for about 7 hours before you place it in its cold new home. Your mayonnaise will keep for several months, thanks to the lacto-fermentation provided by the whey.

Here is a sandwich that I made for my mom . . .

And she even lived after eating it!

Homemade Yogurt

I love yogurt with fruit on the bottom. I love whipped yogurt. I love Stoneyfield yogurt with the cream on the top. Smoothies are great and need yogurt. Yum yum yum. But store bought yogurt is expensive and my goal is to help both you and me go organic cheaply.

I began making yogurt when Mr. Smackdown was 9 months old. I was already making my own babyfood and knew there must be a way to encourage happy bacteria to grow in my kitchen. Afterall, when we lived in India, our stomaches would beg for the clay pots of yogurt sitting on countertops near our favorite place to get sick, I mean, eat. If yogurt can be made beside a road in India, it can be made in my home.

Grab a stool and bucket and go milk your cow! Or use some milk that is in your refridgerator. There are two ways to make yogurt. You can use a powder or purchase some plain whole milk yogurt at the grocery store. I go the easy route, and typically use Stoneyfield yogurt. Technically, you never have to buy yogurt again! However, that is as long as you save approximately 2 tablespoons from previous batch of yogurt.

Let's get started. I fill a quart mason jar until it is about one inch below the top. You can leave the milk in the jar and place it in a pot filled with water, in a warm oven for anywhere from 30-40 minutes depending on the temperature setting, or dump the milk into a stainless steal pot. However you choose to warm the milk, heat it to a temperature of 180 degrees. Now, if you do not have a kitchen thermometer, you can guestimate that the milk is 180 when it starts to have little foamy bubbles at the edges of the pan.

Meanwhile, fill a custard cup with plain yogurt. (I think that whole milk and whole milk yogurt work the best for homemade yogurt.)This equates to 2-4 tablespoons. It really does not have

to be an exact science, as I have discovered over the past four years.

Once my milk has reached 180 degrees, I pour it back into the quart mason jar and let the milk cool until it is between 112-120 degrees. At the same time, I allow the yogurt to warm to room temperature, and no the lack of refridergeration won't kill you.

Since my dog destroyed the thermometer shown in the pictures in an attempt to eat the yogurt starter, I wait about an hour or so and see if I can easily wrap my hands around the jar and keep them on the jar for a few seconds. You can speed the cooling process up by sticking your jar in the fridge, but I often forget about it when i do that and my yogurt takes longer to make.

Once the milk is ready, I carefully pour a littlebit of milk into my yogurt starter to blend the yogurt into the liquid milk. Stir it up and add the starter and milk to the mason jar.

Once again, you have a few options as to the location of your fermentation. I used to warm my oven, shut it off and stick the soupy milk into the oven for about 4 hours. However, I would often preheat the oven for dinner and completely destroy the batch of yogurt. After this happening one too many times, I typically wrap up my mason jar and stick her in the microwave with a towel around the far and the lid loosely on. I have found that the milk stayes warm enough to quicly ferment and give us great tasting yogurt.

In approximately 4 hours of sitting, while you are busy accomplishing grand things either in our home or in the loser curiser (a.k.a. minivan), you are conveintly growing good bacteria to aid in digestion, help boost your immune system, and saving money!

Now, don't stress out if you see a yellow liquid form at the top of your yogurt. This is called whey. You can mix the whey back into the yogurt when you dish some out for yourself, or use it to make saurkraut, soak your oats, or other healthy stuff. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!

The finished product: