Smatterings

  • Office work


    After a couple weeks of work onsite and in the studo, there’s tons to do in the office. I figure a day or two should do it. I’ve got help.

    6 responses to “Office work”

    1. Manise

      Glad to see you’re surviving the reno and Christmas rush. How are your poor hands after all those bows?
      When are you going to debut your silk/sea silk blend?

    2. DH’s cat Casper is convinced it is his bounden duty to sit on all paperwork. I see your cat has taken up the challenge, too. Good luck getting it away from him!

    3. Oh, he’s so regal! What a wonderful office companion 🙂

    4. Cats make the best supervisors. They are the boss afterall, right?

    5. Cats are ever-so-good at keeping the paperwork nailed down. Wouldn’t want it to start falling off the desk, after all.

    6. Hello, I’ve have been occasionally reading your blog and this entry really interested me. Regarding your yogurt, is it easy to simply add vanilla flavoring or would that adversley affect the yogurt. I’ve never made it, but I eat primarily eat Organic vanilla yogurt and would like to give that a try using your recipe. Thank you any input that you are willing to give.

  • on making yogurt, still and again

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    There has been a resurgence in yogurt making.  I hear people talking about it and read posts on it more and more frequently.  It is a staple in my diet.  I've made it more or less twice weekly for most of my life.  If you like yogurt and use it often, it pays to make it yourself.  The cost is that of the amount of milk you use and if you make it the way I do, of some additional powdered milk.  That's it. Norma has the costs figured out in her recent post

    A while back, in 2008, I posted my method for making yogurt.  More recently, I've been reading posts talking about the crock pot method.  I toyed with the idea of using a crock pot several years ago but found that mine stayed too hot for the cultures that I use.  Each yogurt bacteria has, I have been lead to understand, a temperature at which it works best.  Too hot and the culture dies, too cold and it slows down or doesn't work at all.  Also, I like to get it made in a much shorter time frame than the crock pot method uses.  I figure, that if it takes me more than 3-4 hours, something has gone wrong.  Usually, my yogurt works in under three.  My active time in the making depends on how fast I can heat up the milk to scalding.  Not long at all.  The cool down goes on while I do other things, or for about 5 minutes in a sink water bath.  If I have more than 15 minutes invested in the process, I'm lollygagging. The batch I did yesterday went into the frig after about 2 1/2 hours.  

    See the way it stays together and yet separates from the side of the pot?  That shows that it has plenty of body.  The texture that you see on the top is from the froth on the milk.  Inside, it is very creamy.  VERY!

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    It isn't as thick as sour cream, but it could be if you choose to add more powdered milk and let it work a bit longer.  

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    That's my breakfast.  Fruit, yogurt and a about 1/4 cup of granola.  yummmmmm!

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    I eat it every morning.  It doesn't get boring.  I look forward to it.  No sugar, no syrup nor honey for me.  Chris, on the other hand, loves his with maple syrup. 

    One more thing..

    For those of you that prefer using a thermometer, the temp is best between 110 – 120F for most cultures.  If you find you aren't having success, check your temps first.

    12 responses to “on making yogurt, still and again”

    1. And is it truth or myth that the cultures die off after a while? That seems counterintuitive to me — I liken it to sourdough — that you are making more cultures when you are making more yogurt — they grow and multiply. Am I wrong about that? (And what culture do you use?)

    2. The culture I used for years, was brought over from Bulgaria by a friends mother over 70 years ago. When the same friend went to visit 5 years ago, he brought some yogurt back that we then mixed in with the old. So, I would say no, it doesnt get weaker. I imagine that it changes, as most living things do. If you kill off some of the less heat tolerant strains, then next time, unless you rotate your starter, you will have a new yogurt with those traits.
      I suggest Stoneyfield as a starter.

    3. Kathleen

      Your yogurt looks so creamy and delicious. I have never tried adding the powdered milk. Next time I will. I wrap our yogurt in a towel and put it in a cooler for about 6 hours. Once I left it overnight and it was pretty tangy. After reading your post, I am going to check it sooner. I read on Cheesemaking.com that after about 8-10 times of reusing the culture, the yogurt will get more acidic? I usually use a scoop of Stonyfield as my culture. I don’t make it every week so I have only reused my own culture a few times.

    4. Your yogurt looks perfect!

    5. Thanks Judy. I was inspired to try yogurt making when we talked about it this summer, but now I am definitely going to try it. I really appreciate your directions. 🙂

    6. All this yogurt making has me motivated to make my own. I eat a ton of it and you guys make sense! Thanks for the lesson, this post is bookmarked.

    7. Lovely photo up top, as pure and white as new snow. As soon as the Christmas baking is done, I’m trying it.

    8. I wish I liked yogurt… Making it looks like fun.

    9. ok, first, I clicked on to post a comment: we eat the same breakfast! but I don’t make my yogurt (piker).
      Then…..I saw all those spindles in your banner (I usually read from bloglines…).
      Jell-us. Off to google spindles again. I can tell there are buttons involved in some of those, sigh.
      Addiction. I haz it.

    10. That looks really good and now I am going to have to try this. What kind of granola are you using. Is is free of sugar as well?

    11. The breakfast looks so yummy. I’ll have to look into this. I would love having this for breakfast, looks hearty and healthy.

    12. Ok..I think I have to give yogurt making a try. I made cheese once, so I should be able to do it! Your pictures are beautiful.

  • how we see it

    I saw this and asked myself.. why shouldn't everyday be fun? 

    4 responses to “how we see it”

    1. That was a great video, I enjoyed it so much. Every day is fun, now to make every moment a joy (that is my goal). Life is wonderful when we are aware of the moment we are in.

    2. What a great idea. Simple thought, amazing response. Wonder if it would work in the USA?

    3. Now THAT is an interesting interlude!
      Given the choice, I’d take the stairs 😉

    4. Wow! That is a great idea! I take the stairs most times anyway, but that would be fun. Why is it the US doesn’t do things like that?

Our lives are dyed the colors of our imagination.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

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