homemade yogurt

a few years back i tried to make yogurt in a crockpot using some powdered yogurt starter (and milk i guess). it didn't make because the crockpot on low is still too hot and kills the bacteria that makes the yogurt. i figured i needed a yogurt maker but then an indian friend described how she makes yogurt just by, in the morning, boiling milk, cooling it, adding a little yogurt as a starter, and storing in the oven to insulate until the around dinner time. my first three attempts were utter failures and much too complicated but now the last three attempts, all simpler than i had thought was possible, all made.

ingredients:
4 c 2% milk
2 T yogurt (stoneyfield plain yogurt. i think the greek yogurt doesn't work)
1 T sugar

main accessories:
2 G cooler
2 Q cooking pot
1 Q tupperware
food thermometer
whisk

(1) prep the incubation area. fill the cooler with enough hot tap water to cover up most of the tupperware when filled with water. originally i used a thermometer to get this to 120 but now i don't measure because the tap water gets to about 110 which is fine. shut the cooler off to insulate.



(2) prep an ice bath. fill the sink with cold water and ice. the hot pot of milk will be placed in here later to rapidly cool it. the ice bath can be prepared just before it is needed.



(3) set out the yogurt in a small bowl to let get closer to room temp.



(4) on medium heat, bring the milk to 180-185. it gets frothy around there. stir occassionally, more so at the end. i keep a lid on slightly open so the thermometer can fit in. this should take about 20 minutes- don't draw this process out too long.



(5) take off heat. put pot in ice bath. stirring milk to cool, bring down to about 110.



(6) take out of ice bath. stir in sugar. stir in yogurt. whisk it in so not clumpy.



(7) pour into tupperware. close lid.



(8) put in cooler. leave for about 8 hours. it becomes more sour the longer it incubates (which is not always bad).



(9) take out of cooler. it should be thick yogurt now. stir and put in refri. (i had added 1/2 c fresh blackberries along with the sugar and yogurt before incubation).



(10) eat it after a few hours (maybe wait 8 hours or so).

chicken afritada

i'm pretty sure i've strayed a lot from the original filipino way of making this filipino dish but i'll still call it afritada. it is quite tasty.

prep vegetables:
onion: 1 diced
garlic: 1 bulb
ginger, minced
bell pepper (green or red), diced
english peas: 1c
potato: 1 russett, pealed, thinly diced

prep sauce in large bowl:
soy sauce: 2T
oyster sauce: 1/4c
tomato sauce: 8oz (can)

prep chicken:
drumsticks: 5
rinse, pat dry, black pepper

in dutch oven, heat sesame oil.
add chicken, brown all sides, use tongs, ~10 minutes total.
set chicken aside. cut off skin (i don't like the skin).

add a little more sesame oil.
sautee onion, garlic, ginger.
add back chicken.
add sauce.
simmer ~15 minutes, covered.
add potato.
simmer ~20 minutes, covered.
add bell pepper.
simmer ~10 minutes, covered.
add peas.
simmer ~10 minutes, covered.
simmering longer and slower may be good if time allows.

take off heat . serve with rice. 5 servings (duh).
total time: 2 hours (prep :40, sautee :25, simmer :55)

spaghetti squash!

today i experimented FINALLY with a spaghetti squash! put the oven on 350, cut the squash in half, put them cut side down, and then bake for 45 minutes. that's all you do! and then once they come out and cool some, you can use a fork to "scrape" out the squash strands that really do look like spaghetti.

so here's what i did with what i made:

"spaghetti" with shrimp and vegetables!

here's what i used:

- baked spaghetti squash. i think used about 2/3 of the squash i had? just eyeball whatever you would eat in pasta amount i suppose...
- roasted shrimp. 1/2 pound of shrimp, peeled, etc, and i roasted it on 400 about 5-6 minutes with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
- diced zucchini.
- chopped green onion.
- minced cilantro.
- tomatoes. i decided to use cherry tomatoes that i halved and roasted along with the shrimp.
- salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and sherry just because i like it.

saute the zucchini, onion, then add the squash, and splash the sherry, and then add the shrimp and tomatoes and cilantro. toss! serve! we garnished ours with some grated parmesan and some avocado and yum it was good! the dish was so colorful and delicious. would have been 100% complete with some crusty bread and a nice glass of wine!

will DEFINITELY be using spaghetti squash more in my cooking!

pictures to come when i upload my camera...

black beans

cooking black beans is always an experiment (especially on how to incorporate the cumin the best way so that it doesn't just float on the top of the broth) but i've more or less settled down on a way that makes pretty good beans.

black beans: 1 pound dry
water: 8 c
onions: 2, halved
garlic: 2 bulbs, pressed
bay leaves: 5
cumin: 1 t
chili powder: 1 t
black pepper
salt: 1.5 t
oregano: 2 t



- soak the beans ~8 hours. put in dutch oven with water and bring to a low simmer, covered.
- add the onion halves.
- prep your garlic, sautee in some olive oil, add to pot.
- sautee cumin, chili powder, and BP in some olive oil, take off the heat, and add some broth before adding to the pot.
- ~1 hour in, add salt and oregano.
- simmer another hour or so (the longer and lower the simmer, the better).
- take off the heat, remove and discard the onion pieces, let sit covered a while and let cool before refrigerating.

this recipe makes enough to have several meals of beans and several of bean soup.