You Made This? Yogurt

Last week, I attended a class in town put on by Lisa from the Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Community and Heidi Thompson from Painted Hill Farm. The intent of the class was to teach us "re-skills"--things that everyone used to know how to do but don't commonly do any more due to modern convenience. The skills we were to learn that night were how to make cheese, butter, and yogurt. I went with the intent of learning something interesting, taking a class with a friend, and that was it. There's no way, I thought, that I would have time to make yogurt. I figured it would be some tedious process.

I was so wrong!

Making yogurt at home couldn't be easier. It took about an hour of my time, plus 4-5 hours to allow the cultures in the yogurt to thrive, and I had yogurt! It's so much cheaper to make your own, too. My favorite brand, Stonyfield, is about $1.20 for a small container. It cost me $2.99 (or $3.99, I can't remember for sure) for the organic milk and the $1.20 for a container of yogurt to use as a starter, and after a little work, I had a half gallon of homemade yogurt.

I used whole milk, but you could also use 1 or 2 percent.

Pour the milk into a large pot. You'll want to heat it gently until it reaches 185F.

I don't normally recommend kitchen gadgets, but a kitchen thermometer is a great tool. Mr. Kim Chee bought me a digital thermometer a while back and while I don't use it all the time, it's a great thing to have on hand.

I set my burner on medium to medium-low, stuck the thermometer in, and let it do its own thing.

Heating the milk alters the proteins in the milk. It creates a finer, denser consistency.

It took about 40 minutes for the milk to reach that temp. You can see in the picture that the milk is starting to bubble a little.

Once the milk has reached 185F, it's time to cool it down. I filled my sink partway with cold water and ice cubes and stuck a bowl in to pour the milk into. I strained the milk because I didn't stir it at all while it heated and I could feel some milk bits on the bottom. You'd probably be safe skipping this step, though.

I popped my thermometer in and started gently stirring to cool the milk down. You could just put your pot or bowl in the fridge, too.

After about 20 minutes of fairly consistent stirring, the milk was down to 120F, right where I wanted it. It was time to add the yogurt starter.

I used 4 really large tablespoons of the yogurt. I used Stonyfield because it's my favorite brand, I had it on hand, and it has 6 live cultures in it. Whatever brand you like would work fine, as long as there are active live cultures there.

 I thinned the yogurt with a little of the cooled milk.

I stirred the milk and yogurt together until they were smooth. Then I poured the yogurt mixture into the milk.

I wanted a little subtle flavor so I added two tablespoons of vanilla.

I sweetened the yogurt a little with two tablespoons of honey.

I got this honey as a gift from someone on the Internet. It's definitely not local to me, but it's also definitely delicious!


Look at those great little vanilla flecks!

Now here's where I went wrong. The instructions said to pour the yogurt into a jar or an insulated container. Well, all my jars are being used. They're full of beans and pasta.

Looks like it's time for me to buy more jars.

So instead of using a jar, I poured the yogurt into a plastic Tupperware container.

Well, the idea was good, but I think the container let the heat escape and wasn't condusive to allowing the cultures to thrive. My yogurt didn't set up as much as I thought it would. I knew it would be a runner product, but it really was too thin. Next time I will buy some more Ball jars and try again.

Anyhow. Whatever container you choose to host your yogurt will need to be wrapped up to keep the heat in. Set it somewhere warm. If you have a stove with a pilot light, you can keep it in the oven with the light on. I have an electric stove, so I set my yogurt on top of the fridge.

Let the yogurt hang out somewhere warm for at least 4 hours. This will help the cultures get busy and give your yogurt its tang.




After the yogurt has set, you can put it in the fridge where it will firm up more. I was pretty excited to be able to eat my own yogurt for breakfast! Once you've seen how easy it is, I bet you'll want to try it yourself! I topped mine with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey. Mr. Kim Chee is planning to try it out with some Great Granola.I've got other plans for homemade yogurt too--what about in Lamb Curry instead of coconut milk or in Buttermilk Pancakes or Honey-Pepper Cornbread instead of buttermilk? So many possibilities!

Oh, and keep a few tablespoons of your homemade yogurt to start your next batch. You'll never have to buy expensive yogurt again!

Recipe: You Made This? Yogurt

1/2 gallon milk (I used whole but you could use 2% or 1% as well)
4 tablespoons of a "starter" yogurt (any yogurt that has active, live yogurt cultures)
2 tbsp. vanilla (optional)
2 tbsp. honey (optional)


Heat the milk to 185F. The milk will begin steaming and bubbling slightly.

Cool the milk to 120F.

Thin yogurt with some of the cooled milk; add yogurt to the cooled milk.

Pour the milk and yogurt mixture into a jar or insulated bottle. Cover and keep in a warm place until it sets (4-5 hours).

Once the yogurt sets, refrigerate it to firm up more. Eat!

If you want a thicker yogurt, strain in cheesecloth and let the excess liquid drain.

Key Lime Pie

After several people mentioning key lime pie on my Facebook page, I got the hankering for something tangy and sweet. I could have gone out and bought one, but it's so easy to make your own! With just a handful of ingredients and a very short amount of time, I had my very own key lime pie to enjoy.

The key to this recipe is using real key limes. They're pretty widely available. If you can't find real key limes, I know there are places that sell pre-bottled juice.

If it really came down to it, I suppose you could use ordinary limes. The flavor, however, will not be the same.

I split all my limes in half.

Then I gave my hands some exercise by juicing them all. By the way, you'll need about a pound of key limes. That ends up being around 12-15 key limes.

A pound of key limes will give you about 2/3 of a cup of juice, which is the perfect amount for this recipe.

Once you've got all your limes juiced, set them aside and grab a medium-sized bowl. The first ingredient you'll need is a can of sweetened condensed milk.

As a side note, this is not the same as evaporated milk. Sweetened condensed milk comes in short, squat cans that are very, very heavy. It's sweet and sticky (it's about half sugar) and very thick.

Evaporated milk comes in a taller can, and it's fairly light in comparison. A percentage of the water is evaporated from the milk. It's a shelf-stable milk and is not sweetened at all.

The two can not be used as substitutions for each other.

Now that we've got that out of the way--pour your sweetened condensed milk into the bowl.

Crack 3 eggs. Hang onto the yolks and save the whites for later.

Add the egg yolks to the sweetened condensed milk and stir together until well combined.

Zest two key limes, being careful to remove only the green part. The skin of key limes is pretty delicate, so running the zester gently over the surface of the lime is recommended, rather than scraping the lime over the zester.

The zest from two key limes should be about a teaspoon.

Pour your juice in with your sweetened condensed milk and eggs. I used a strainer to get out all the seeds--there were quite a few!

Pour your filling into a premade graham cracker crust. (Yes, I could have made my own, but it was a weeknight and I was busy!)

Pop your pie in a preheated 350F oven for 15 minutes.

After its brief bake, let the pie cool at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before popping it into the fridge.

Once your pie is completely cold (at least an hour), you can start on the topping. I know meringue is more traditional (and if you want to go this route, you've got a great use for those egg whites from the beginning of the recipe!) I didn't have much time, though, so instead topped my pie with fresh whipped cream.

I poured a half pint of heavy cream into a large mixing bowl.

Then I beat it for about a minute, just to thicken it a little.

I added the zest and juice from one key lime.

A tablespoon of sugar went in, too. You just can't see it because it sank to the bottom. But trust me, you'll know if you've forgotten it!

And just a tiny dash of vanilla. I didn't add as much as I would have if it was just a regular vanilla whipped cream, since I wanted the taste of the lime to be there. But the vanilla gave the cream a depth of flavor that I just didn't taste without it.

Then I turned the beaters back on.

I beat the cream until it was pretty stiff.

I plopped it onto my fully cooled pie.

The Kid got to lick the spatula when I was done. Lucky Kid!

I decorated the top of the pie with thin slices of key lime (I used the key limes I used for the zest in the pie filling.)













Get a taste of the tropics without leaving your home! It's not as good as a trip to Florida, but if you shut your eyes and imagine real hard, maybe you can trick yourself for at least as long as it takes to finish your slice of pie ;)

Recipe: Key Lime Pie

Pie filling:
juice from 1 lb. key limes (plus zest from 2 limes); about 2/3 c.
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
premade graham cracker pie crust

Whipped cream topping:
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
juice and zest from 1 key lime
1 tbsp. white sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla


For the pie: Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine sweetened condensed milk with egg yolks. Stir to combine. Add lime juice and zest; stir well. Pour into premade pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature for 10 minutes. Move pie to refrigerator.

For topping: Once pie has cooled completely (at least 1 hour), prepare whipped cream topping.

Beat heavy cream until slightly thickened. Add lime juice and zest, white sugar, and vanilla. Beat until heavy peaks form.

Top cooled pie with whipped cream and key lime slices. Enjoy!

Balsamic Grilled Asparagus

I feel almost guilty for posting this recipe. It's so easy! But it's so good. And I know there are people out there who are still a little afraid of asparagus. There's no need to be!

I love grilling vegetables. The preparation (and cooking skill) needed is minimal, and the end product always smells so appealing. If you're planning on introducing someone to a new vegetable, I would highly recommend grilling! And this is my favorite way to serve asparagus.

When choosing asparagus, I look for nice, tight, clean-looking tips. I also like the stalk to be fresh, green, and crisp. I prefer thinner pieces of asparagus, just because they're more tender, but the thicker stalks are really great for grilling.

Rinse the asparagus under some cold water if it looks particularly dirty--and be sure to dry it well afterward.

Next, you'll want to get rid of the "wood"-y base. It can be tough to chew. Some people lop the whole bottom off the asparagus. I like to bend the asparagus gently until it snaps.

And you'll probably also use two hands to do the snapping! It's hard to take pictures of things that require two hands!

Anyhow, after the stalk snaps you'll be left with a top and a bottom. You could save the bottom for soup or soup stock, if you wanted.

Set the asparagus in a large Ziploc bag. Now we can start on the marinade!

The marinade starts with three cloves of garlic. I love garlic. A lot. If you don't love garlic as much, you could definitely use less.

Give the garlic a rough mince. Then throw it in the bag with the asparagus.

The marinade is flavored with balsamic vinegar. It uses a quarter cup, which seems like a lot, but I like to make sure each piece of asparagus gets the chance to soak in some flavor.

Pour in some olive oil.

A little honey cuts some of the vinegar's acid-y bite. It will also help the asparagus caramelize on the grill.

Don't forget the salt and pepper!

Seal the bag and give it a few good rolls and tosses to mix everything up. Let the asparagus marinate for at least 30 minutes.

When you're ready, preheat your grill on high. Grill the asparagus for a few minutes per side, or until cooked to the done-ness you prefer (I know some people like it to retain some crunch, while others just love floppy asparagus.)





Serve with a nice piece of grilled meat or cut it up and toss with other grilled veggies and some cous cous, rice pilaf, or polenta for a healthy and delicious vegetarian dinner!

Recipe: Balsamic Grilled Asparagus

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, roughly minced
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. honey
salt and pepper, to taste

Clean asparagus and trim rough ends.

In a large Ziploc bag, combine garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, and salt and pepper. Add asparagus. Toss bag around to combine ingredients and let asparagus marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.

Grill over high heat until asparagus is cooked to your liking.