What's cookin', good lookin'? Part II

[gracie920101]

<<<< jealous.

Canned soup. The man is not feeling well.

I found myself with a small amount of black beans left over so they are getting the same treatment as the lentils. Cooked up with a handful of freeze dried veggies and some cooked up sausage - then into the freezer for later.

Campbell's tomato soup when I'm sick but I can't stomach the stuff any other time. Comfort food, I guess.
Feel better.

 

[cfuhrer]

It's the man's birthday today.

I am slow cooking a cushion roast to shred for pulled pork sandwiches.
He's requested mac and cheese as a side.
And there might () be a pie later, too.

 

[seela]

I'm acclimatizing my palate and had bratwurst, sauerkraut, knödel and weissbier.


I'm also making garlic pickled cucumbers. It's been ages since I've made these, but they're looking and tasting good!

 

[Miles Long]

Ham, green beans, and baby red potatoes!

 

[MeekMe]

Baked flounder with a side of shiitake mixed rice. I'm planning a salad but haven't decided what dressing is like to make. I'm thinking about lingonberry vinaigrette.

 

[MeekMe]

I'm attempting French onion soup today. The onions are all melty and smell amazing.

 

[gracie920101]

I'm attempting French onion soup today. The onions are all melty and smell amazing.

My fav!!!

I tried it But I can never get the proper carmeliaztion on the onions as I had to give up all my cast iron. It's just not right without it..

 

[cfuhrer]

I had to give up all my cast iron.

How absolutely dreadful!
I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[cfuhrer]

Home made yogurt with home grown blackberries.

 

[MeekMe]

My fav!!!

I tried it But I can never get the proper carmeliaztion on the onions as I had to give up all my cast iron. It's just not right without it..

I didn't use cast iron. Cooking the onions took a very long time and they melted and browned nicely. A sprinkle of sugar can also speed up the carmelization process if needed. The soup turned out well. Very simple with butter, onions, beef broth and salt and pepper. I usually don't like it in restaurants because it tastes very bitter. This soup wasn't bitter, it was such a rich and pleasant flavor that I will gladly make this again.

 

[MeekMe]

Home made yogurt with home grown blackberries.

The berries look wonderful. Is yogurt hard to make?

 

[cfuhrer]

The berries look wonderful. Is yogurt hard to make?

Yogurt is very easy! No special equipment required and "all roads lead to Rome" in the method of making. A little trial and error but once you get the hang of it it becomes almost second nature.

I'd be happy to post my method if you'd like.

 

[MeekMe]

Yogurt is very easy! No special equipment required and "all roads lead to Rome" in the method of making. A little trial and error but once you get the hang of it it becomes almost second nature.

I'd be happy to post my method if you'd like.

That would be great. I'm curious about it. To be able to make more things at home would be awesome.

 

[seela]

That would be great. I'm curious about it. To be able to make more things at home would be awesome.

I'm not cfuhrer but I too often make my own yogurt.

You need yogurt starter, which is simply plain yogurt. I like to use Bulgarian yogurt, for some reason I get better results with it than with Turkish or Greek. I like my yogurt to be a bit firmer, less gloopy consistency, and for me using Bulgarian yogurt usually does the trick.

Boil your milk, then bring it down to bit higher than body temperature. Add yogurt and stir. Let the mixture chill lightly covered in (warm) room temperature and about 8-12 hours later you have yogurt! I often make mine in the evening so that I can have it for breakfast. The longer to let it sit, the tangier it gets, I like it pretty tangy.

I usually use 1 liter (4 cups) of milk and about three tablespoons of yogurt. For the next batch you can use your own yogurt as a starter. I like to put my yogurt in the oven with the oven light on to keep out any draft and the light warms up the oven ever so slightly. That's been a really neat trick especially for when I make yogurt in winter. But I think where you live you don't have the problem of it not being warm enough if you just leave it on a counter top.

I suggest experimenting with different milks, yogurts, temperatures and how long you let it sit in room temperature to see what gives the best results for you.

And you don't have to bring the milk to a boil, just warming it up is enough, but I find it also helps me get that desired a bit firmer consistency.

There are many ways to make yogurt and it's pretty hard to screw up, as long as all the utensils and dishes you use are clean. I'm also interested in hearing how cfuhrer makes hers.

 

[cfuhrer]

yogurt primer

I'm going to try and not cover ground Seela has already covered. But, no promises.

Yogurt is about four things: milk, culture, heat and time.

Milk: any milk will work except ultra-pasturized.

Culture: you can get powdered culture from the health food store, use plain yogurt from the grocers or use starter saved from your previous batch. If you buy yogurt to use as starter it has to be plain and it has to have "live and active" cultures. Personally, I also look for the shortest ingredient list and not reduced fat.

Heat: if you are using commercial milk from the grocers you can heat it to 110 and then add the culture. If you are using raw milk it needs to be heated to 180 and then cooled to 110 (faster is better - I do an ice bath) before adding the culture. Pull a cup of the warm milk out, add the culture, then return to the remaining milk (like proofing egg yolks in a lemon pie).

Time: after adding the culture the milk is left set until the whey separates and the yogurt forms. But the milk needs to be kept in the 110 to 115 range. I use my slow cooker. Some put it in jars wrapped in towels in a cooler. Some put it in jars in a pan of water in the oven with the light on. Consistency is key.

If you like a thicker yogurt it can be strained - I have used butter muslin, several layers of cheesecloth, a coffee filter inside a strainer. A while ago I bought an actual yogurt strainer and I love it. I usually leave it strain over night, up to 24 hours.

Hang on to the whey - some people drink it, some feed it to their acid loving plants, some give it to their animals, some make cheese from it (it has to be done as soon as possible after it separates from the yogurt), I use it in my baking to replace any liquid.

so now that I'm done prattling on, an actual recipe

One half gallon milk
One half cup starter
Squeaky clean slow cooker
Thermometer
Mixing spoon
Small bowl (glass or stainless are best)

Heat milk to 180 fast - (if using pasteurized milk you can skip this step but I don't). I've taken to heating on stove top, then cooling and putting in slow cooker.
Cool milk to 110 as fast as possible (I do a cool water bath in the sink).
Remove one cup of milk and stir in starter, return to milk.
Set slow cooker to a setting that will maintain a 110-120 temp range.
Let stand until yogurt reaches desired consistency.
Strain if desired.
I put some finished yogurt into ice cube trays to use as started for future batches.
Flavor if desired.

 

[seela]

so now that I'm done prattling on, an actual recipe

One half gallon milk
One half cup starter
Squeaky clean slow cooker
Thermometer
Mixing spoon
Small bowl (glass or stainless are best)

Heat milk to 180 fast - (if using pasteurized milk you can skip this step but I don't). I've taken to heating on stove top, then cooling and putting in slow cooker.
Cool milk to 110 as fast as possible (I do a cool water bath in the sink).
Remove one cup of milk and stir in starter, return to milk.
Set slow cooker to a setting that will maintain a 110-120 temp range.
Let stand until yogurt reaches desired consistency.
Strain if desired.
I put some finished yogurt into ice cube trays to use as started for future batches.
Flavor if desired.

Wow, you use much higher temperatures than I do! How long do you usually let the yogurt stay in the cooker? I wonder if it thickens/gets yogurty quicker in higher temperatures. I really do mine on the counter top or usually in the oven with the oven light on, but the temperature still doesn't rise anywhere near 110F. I'd estimate it rises to high 80s, low 90s.

My friend's mom makes raw yogurt from unpasteurized milk, meaning the temperature never gets above 110-120F. The consistency is always gloopy, but it tastes really good.

Oh, and another trick I've heard of but not tried is that if you like thick yogurt, you can add a bit of powdered milk to it before leaving it to sit. I might have to try it. I'm too lazy and in the morning too hungry to strain the yogurt.

 

[cfuhrer]

Wow, you use much higher temperatures than I do! How long do you usually let the yogurt stay in the cooker? I wonder if it thickens/gets yogurty quicker in higher temperatures. I really do mine on the counter top or usually in the oven with the oven light on, but the temperature still doesn't rise anywhere near 110F. I'd estimate it rises to high 80s, low 90s.

My friend's mom makes raw yogurt from unpasteurized milk, meaning the temperature never gets above 110-120F. The consistency is always gloopy, but it tastes really good.

Oh, and another trick I've heard of but not tried is that if you like thick yogurt, you can add a bit of powdered milk to it before leaving it to sit. I might have to try it. I'm too lazy and in the morning too hungry to strain the yogurt.

It is high temp. In the interest of full disclosure, lately I've been going no higher than 120, then maintaining at 110. We are all still alive. I think the recipe I started using came with a yogurt maker and the company used that temp to cover their ass against foodborne illness.

My incubation times have been running six to eight hours, I had one go to almost sixteen hours once. I can't speak to the tanginess because it seems I've never had two batches turn out the same.

I've chatted with people who do the powdered milk addition but as expensive as powdered milk is in our area it's just not cost effective. I usually make a big batch over the weekend so I have the strain time built into the process.

Like you said it's really hard to mess it up (usually getting the temp too high and killing the cultures) and there are any number of ways to do it that suit all different styles of cooks.

 

[MeekMe]

Thank you both! I couldn't sleep last night so I did look into it a bit and discovered I'd really like to make ricotta with the whey. This seems like a lot of fun so I can't wait to give it a try. The info here is great, thanks so much! (#^.^#)

 

[gracie920101]

Pork loin and new potatoes in the crockpot while we paint over the shit brown wall the previous owner thought was soooo attractive.
It smells so good plus I have snap beans to steam when we're ready to eat.

 

[MeekMe]

I made balsamic cherry vinaigrette with some fresh cherries and plan to drizzle it over a mixed green salad with sautéed chicken.

 

[gracie920101]

I made balsamic cherry vinaigrette with some fresh cherries and plan to drizzle it over a mixed green salad with sautéed chicken.

Sound much better than my overcooked spaghetti squash.

Spaghetti mush.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[cfuhrer]

Rice, leftover roasted broccoli and green beans.
I have a cushion roast that we'll probably cook on the grill.

So the roast wasn't thawed.
We are punting with cold cut sandwiches.

 

[gracie920101]

One of the best things from lit ever, was meek's suggestion to sautée radishes. I love these and cannot imagine life before sautéed radish.
( radish in an almost dry pan for my lunch because cold radishes on a cold day felt too miserable, but hot with hot salad onions become a delight to pick at like tapas) .

What does one saute' radishes in? White wine, chicken broth, brown butter?
Add shallots, fresh dill, mushrooms, ginger, grape tomatoes, wilted lettuce????

Sounds quite tasty.

 

[cfuhrer]

Peach cobbler.