This week, I'm feeling quite ambitious so we are "making it ourselves" on a lot of things we usually buy. It had been a while since we made yogurt, and I think that might be what started the whole "make it myself" week idea. Homemade yogurt has a taste that is far superior to store-bought and you can flavor it any way your family likes. Our current yogurt flavor obsession is Maple Syrup.
Here is our soon to be yogurt, warming up on the stove. I put the container it will "reside in" into a pot of water which helps to heat the milk quickly without scorching.Since the last time I posted about making yogurt, I've changed a few things about the way I make it. I used to use organic whole milk, but I don't any more. We still use whole milk because whole milk is less likely to contain oxidized cholesterol, (read "Real Food" by Nina Planck) but now we use a brand of milk that, while not organic, does indicate on the label that they use farmers who do not use rBGH in their cows. The reason we switched from organic to non-organic is because the organic milk is Ultra-pasteurized which denatures the proteins to an extent that it is harder to get the milk to curdle properly. I am comfortable with the milk we are currently using and have been pleased with the results. I am hoping that we can find a local source of fresh milk. I'd love to experiment with fresh milk yogurt and maybe even some easy cheeses.
This is the finished yogurt straining in a tea towel placed in a strainer over a bowl to catch the whey as it drains. We like really thick, Greek style yogurt.
This is the finished yogurt straining in a tea towel placed in a strainer over a bowl to catch the whey as it drains. We like really thick, Greek style yogurt.This week's menu:
Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs
French Toast
Banana Nut Bread
Yogurt
Smoothies
Lunch:
PB & honey
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Leftovers from dinner
Snack:
Hummus and pita or cut up veggies
Banana Nut Bread
Cherries
Strawberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Cheese cubes (yummy fontina cheese - my current cheese obsession)
Popsicles (aka - frozen smoothies)
Dinner: (I will post pics of these "homemade" experiments as they happen, so check back)
Monday - Beef or Cheese enchiladas made with homemade tortillas, side salad
Tuesday - Shrimp and Corn Chowder, tomato and cucumber salad
Wednesday - Calzones (shrimp and artichoke for Mom & Dad; sausage and olive for the boys) made with homemade dough, and a side salad
Thursday - Italian Meatball Subs with homemade bread and steamed broccoli
Friday - Sushi (we have never made this before, though we love sushi). I will put out lots of ingredients like avacado, thinly sliced cucumber, grated carrot, sprouts (hoping to sprout them ourselves), cooked shrimp, and anything else that sounds good. This will give everyone a chance to choose a few ingredients and make their own. We have one family member who will not touch anything sushi, so he will be able to make his own "sushi" with a tortilla and the fillings of his choice. We will have this with edemame, which we all love.
Saturday - Either Veggie Burgers or Tuna Burgers. Haven't decided yet, but either way, we will make them ourselves along with the whole wheat buns to go with them.
Sunday - leftovers
Is there anything you make that most people purchase? I'd love to read about it. Leave a comment with a link to your blog post.
Check out lots of menus at I'm An Organizing Junkie and Menu Plan Monday.
3 comments:
I have an easiyo yoghurt maker, you use a powder that they sell, but I've wondered if I could adapt it to making yoghurt properly. Hmmmmm
Your week sounds like a lot of fun. I love to make things homemade. I found a site that has great sushi recipes: http://favfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/
I have yet to undertake it myself, as fresh fish is hard to come by where I live. Good luck!
I always wondered why the organic milk has such a long shelf life and why my yogurt was not setting properly.
Post a Comment