Woohoo! We got to go milk my friend's goats on Thursday night. Everybody took turns, and Nyah was the goat-milking rock star. She picked it up quicker than anybody and did a lot of the milking. So it was fitting that she help turn some of that milk into homemade yogurt on Friday.
3 TB plain yogurt from the grocery store
1 quart of goat milk
1 cup of canned milk, because I thought it might help while we're getting used the the flavor, but the yogurt was so mild I don't really think we need it
Other equipment needed: an instant read thermometer and a good dehydrator. I divided the milk between 3 clean pint jars.
Start the dehydrator warming up by setting it to 110 degrees or so. Warm the milks to 110 degrees, 115 tops. Put 1 TB of yogurt in each jar. Pour the warmed milk into the jars, dividing it evenly. Stir it to get the yogurt start evenly through the warm milk. Loosely put on the lids.
Put the jars in the dehydrator. Turn it up to 115 degrees. Check in three or four hours, but in my experience it takes longer than that to thicken up. (Bear in mind, it won't get as thick as commercial yogurts without adding milk powder or gelatin to thicken it up.) I left my first batch in the dehydrator for about 6 1/2 hours, and the second for closer to 7 1/2.
Our favorite uses for the yogurt have been in homemade frozen yogurt and yogurt whole grain waffles. (Now those are some light and crispy waffles. Recipe forthcoming.) I also like the yogurt with a drizzle of honey and some pecans or fruit.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Olive Pasta
This is an absolute favorite at my house. If all you eat is spaghetti when your family has pasta, it's time to branch out and try something new!! If you need a gluten free pasta, we've had good results with Tinkyada rice pasta. Since I'm not getting paid to advertise, I can tell you with good conscience that it is cheaper to buy on Amazon by the case.
1 box penne or rigatoni
A total of 12 oz chopped olives:
1 can black olives, drained and chopped
Green olives, rinsed and chopped (and de-pimiento-ed) to make up the balance
2 oz bottle of capers, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, halved
3 (14 oz) cans of whole tomatoes - drain one, partially drain the second, keep all the juice from the third. Run a knife through the toms in the can just to chunk'em up a bit.
1 TB oregano
a sprinkle (or more) of red pepper
olive oil
In a pasta pot, start heating the water for your pasta. In a wide, tall-sided skillet heat olive oil (a couple of passes around the pan, maybe 6 TB?), garlic and red pepper over medium-low for 4-5 minutes. You want the garlic to give off its flavor but you don't want it to burn. Smash the garlic with the bottom of a wooden spoon and remove. Have a lid handy and put in the rinsed capers and then quickly cover the pan - it will spit a lot when you put the capers in the hot oil. After a minute or two, add the tomatoes and smash any big pieces with your spoon. Stir and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the olives and oregano. Let the sauce simmer on low while you cook your pasta. We like it with lots of Romano cheese. If you are used to drowning your pasta in sauce, be warned: this is salty, and you don't want more sauce than pasta. Go easy, you can add more if you need it. ;)
1 box penne or rigatoni
A total of 12 oz chopped olives:
1 can black olives, drained and chopped
Green olives, rinsed and chopped (and de-pimiento-ed) to make up the balance
2 oz bottle of capers, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, halved
3 (14 oz) cans of whole tomatoes - drain one, partially drain the second, keep all the juice from the third. Run a knife through the toms in the can just to chunk'em up a bit.
1 TB oregano
a sprinkle (or more) of red pepper
olive oil
In a pasta pot, start heating the water for your pasta. In a wide, tall-sided skillet heat olive oil (a couple of passes around the pan, maybe 6 TB?), garlic and red pepper over medium-low for 4-5 minutes. You want the garlic to give off its flavor but you don't want it to burn. Smash the garlic with the bottom of a wooden spoon and remove. Have a lid handy and put in the rinsed capers and then quickly cover the pan - it will spit a lot when you put the capers in the hot oil. After a minute or two, add the tomatoes and smash any big pieces with your spoon. Stir and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the olives and oregano. Let the sauce simmer on low while you cook your pasta. We like it with lots of Romano cheese. If you are used to drowning your pasta in sauce, be warned: this is salty, and you don't want more sauce than pasta. Go easy, you can add more if you need it. ;)
Buckwheat Gluten Free Pancakes
These pancakes are very tasty, and if you have a wheat grinder of your own the flours are so inexpensive to grind yourself. If you need the flours to be strictly gluten free, use a grinder that has not ground gluten grains. I usually double the recipe.
1 TB melted butter
1 TB coconut oil (or skip the butter and use 2 TB c. oil)
1/2 to 1 TB honey
1 egg
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup corn flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 TB arrowroot powder
Melt the butter, oil and honey together. I use an oven safe dish in the toaster oven, but you could just as easily warm them in a pan on the stove. Let cool.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients and the egg. Add about 1/4 cup water, and start whisking together. Keep adding water until the batter is the right consistency, depending on whether you like your pancakes thin or poofy.
1 TB melted butter
1 TB coconut oil (or skip the butter and use 2 TB c. oil)
1/2 to 1 TB honey
1 egg
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup corn flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 TB arrowroot powder
Melt the butter, oil and honey together. I use an oven safe dish in the toaster oven, but you could just as easily warm them in a pan on the stove. Let cool.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients and the egg. Add about 1/4 cup water, and start whisking together. Keep adding water until the batter is the right consistency, depending on whether you like your pancakes thin or poofy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)