Greek Style Yogurt

So this is the sound of silence, huh? I so apologize for being so long without posting anything. Thanks to Rachel for not making January a totally quiet month! The good news is that I have been cooking and taking pictures all along. I just have not been able to get posts written and put up. Anyway, let's get this ball rolling again.

Looks like an egg, doesn't it?

If you’ve lived in a developing country for any length of time, you may have at least once considered how people make yogurt. I’m a weirdo so I’ve researched and dabbled in yogurt making with varying degrees of success for years. Sometimes it’s easier to settle for just okay yogurt rather than doing it yourself. Recently, my body has been in a rebellion against sugar and sweets so I have been on a quest to find a yogurt that is somewhere between the super sweet local yogurt and its super sour watery counterpart. Over the years, I’ve also tried a number of different incubation methods, but think I finally found one that is pretty brilliant—the hot case for tortillas and roti! Easy yogurt that only takes about 10 minutes of hands on time and won’t give you diabetes or a sour puss face. Make this about midday or in the morning so you can pop it in the fridge before bed to have it cold for breakfast. Just pick up a little cup of sweetened or unsweetened yogurt from your local dairy to get you started.
 

Greek Style Yogurt
1 liter milk

1 heaping Tablespoon yogurt

2 heaping Tablespoons powdered milk

Heat milk to a boil. Switch the heat to low and let it boil for about 5 minutes. This ensures the milk reaches at least 200F so the proteins in the milk begin to denature. You don’t want to drink milk that has been pasteurized like that, but it is perfect for yogurt. Allow the milk to cool, stirring to avoid hot spots, until you can stick your pinky in and still feel it warm, but not too hot. Try to keep it in for about 10 seconds without it burning you, and that is the right temp. So technical! Place the scoop of yogurt and powdered milk into the hot case. Pour in the warm milk and stir to dissolve the milk powder. Cover the mixture and place in a warm area where it will not get jostled. I then put a hot water bottle on top of the hot case. Give the yogurt a taste test around the 4-6 hour mark, looking for coagulation and how tart you like it. 

Yogurt Making Tips: An oven or microwave is a good spot to park your yogurt during incubation because they are less drafty than the counter. Less time incubating equals sweeter yogurt, but you need enough time for it to solidify. This time of year it takes about 6 hours to reach the flavor I like. Drain the yogurt for several hours over cheesecloth or a towel in the fridge to enjoy a nice thick yogurt. Use a whisk to whip the yogurt to a smooth consistency, and dump off any whey that comes to the top. Flavor your yogurt with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup and some fruit.

Shepherd's Pie

I was supposed to post this when Lizzy was away on a trip, but I am quite late in finishing it up!  Anyway, I was just thinking about it tonight at the end of a cold and gray day because shepherd's pie is a total cold-weather comfort food and pretty easy to make.  It's also another one that is so flexible to sub some different veggies or use different kinds of meat.  Also, if I have it that someone has sent us, I really like to use brown gravy mix for the meat mixture, but I tried to actually write down my recipe this winter without using that, as it isn't available here where we live.

Shepherd's Pie

1 kg potatoes

50 g butter

So, here's the thing.  Basically, you just want some mashed potatoes for the top. Different kinds of potatoes are available here different times of the year, and certain kinds feel like they need more liquid or something.  But, basically, peel and cut about 1 kg of potatoes and boil them in some salted water until tender.  After draining them (but while they are still hot), I added some butter and a pinch of salt.  Sometimes I also add a bit of milk, and as you mash them, you can add more milk to get the consistency you want.  Set the mashed potatoes aside to put on top of the casserole.

5-6 small carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

500 g ground meat

3 T flour

1 c broth

1/2 t thyme

1 T ketchup

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 c shredded cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to around 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees F).

Cook the carrots until crisp tender.  I often steam them or even boil them for just a couple minutes.  It doesn't take long, as they will continue to cook in the casserole, so you want them still fairly crisp, but I have found that if you don't cook them a bit before, they stay a little too crunchy.  If you wanted to skip this step, though, you could probably chop them up in quite small pieces and just add them in without cooking first, and I think they would be fine.

In a bit of cooking oil (depending on how lean your meat is), brown the ground meat with the onions and garlic.  Once the meat is browned, add the flour.  Mix it in completely and cook it for 1 extra minute.  Then add the broth, thyme, ketchup, salt and pepper and the carrots.  Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat and cook for another minute or two until it starts to thicken.  Then, pour this mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish.

Top the meat mixture with the mashed potatoes and spread them evenly over the top. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top. Place the assembled casserole into the oven, and bake it until it is hot and the meat mixture is bubbly, which takes around 30 minutes.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Everyone recovering from all the crazy amounts of food you ate over the past month? I have actually had to cut out sugar temporarily due to daily headaches--so sad!! In an effort to get back to some more sensible eating and beat the cold air that has taken over our house, I made this Moroccan Chickpea Stew. Over the past year I have played with this recipe a bit, trying out different variations, but this one by Dave Lieberman seems to have the best flavor as far as the spice combination. The cinnamon and cumin give it a warming feel for winter. If you have trouble digesting beans, refer to my post on sprouting a few days prior to cooking your beans or use that digestive trouble as a way to keep warm. Hah!

Moroccan Chickpea Stew
2-3 Tbs oil (olive oil is preferred)
2 medium onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch red chili powder, more if like
1 teaspoon paprika
1 400g can tomatoes (or blanched and peeled tomatoes)
3 cups cooked chickpeas
4 cups water
2 vegetable broth cubes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch sugar, if tomatoes are tart
Handful roughly chopped greens

Heat oil over medium low heat. Add onions and cook until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute. Stir spices into the pot and cook until fragrant. As you add the tomatoes, crush them. Add the water, vegetable cubes, a few pinches of salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 30 minutes. Add the greens, bring back up to a boil, and allow them to wilt on low for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and serve with crusty bread.

If you want the soup to be more creamy, mash up some of the chickpeas in the pot before serving. This soup is totally flexible as far as how thick or thin you like it. At more or less broth to your liking. Pair it with the upcoming Pomegranate Herb Salad for an exciting Middle Eastern side.

Buckeyes

I grew up in the South and had never heard of buckeyes until I began celebrating holidays in Ohio. I was so confused by this strange dessert and wondered why anyone would want to eat a dessert made to resemble the eye of a deer. My southern ignorance brought forth some blushing when I eventually found out a buckeye was a nut, not a buck's eye. Where I come from, we just dip the whole ball of peanut butter in chocolate so there is no peanut butter visible, and we call them peanut butter balls. Regardless of how you decide to dip these, they taste delicious!

Buckeyes made by my awesome husband

Buckeyes or Peanut Butter Balls
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup or 192g butter, softened
500g powdered sugar (icing sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate for melting

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until uniformly combined. If the mixture feels too sticky, you can add a little more icing sugar to make it easier to roll. Roll into 1 inch balls and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Melt chocolate and using a toothpick, dip balls in chocolate and allow to set. Keep cool so buckeyes don't stick together. Makes just over 3 dozen buckeyes.

Note: I have not been successful in melting local chocolate chips. The large baking chocolate bars by Selbourne tend to work better. If your chocolate is not quite as thin as you'd like, add a teaspoon of oil or shortening. Avoid adding butter if possible as the little bit of water in butter might cause the chocolate to seize.

Slice and Bake Cookies

Years ago, I stumbled upon this recipe in a list collected by a group of women I had met. It has been my "go to" sugar cookie recipe since then. What inspired me to try these the first time was a little note with the recipe explaining that it came from a woman who always kept these in her freezer so that she could make a few fresh out of the oven cookies if a guest stopped by. She must have been an amazing hostess! You could roll and decorate these, but if you're looking for something super simple, these are great to just slice off and bake.

Slice and Bake Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. This works best with your hands so you can really work it into a uniform dough. Once you have a dough that is not crumbly, slowly roll the dough to form a log shape and place in plastic wrap. I find it easier to get a rough roll first and then smooth it once it's wrapped in plastic. Place the roll in the freezer overnight if you plan on slicing them or in the fridge if you want to roll them out the next day.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Slice cookies with a sharp knife into 1/4 to 1/2 inch rounds. Sprinkle with chunky sugar or other decorations if desired and bake for 8-10 minutes. If you slice thicker, you'll get a more chewy soft sugar cookie, and if you slice thinner, you'll get a more crisp "biscuit" type cookie. You can also opt to roll them out and use cookie cutters, but let the dough rest about 15 minutes after removing from the fridge first.

Dirty Rice

Sounds delicious, right? In the Southern U.S., in the state of Louisiana, there is a creole style of food know as Cajun food that blends flavors from different cultures. While this recipe may not be 100% out-of-the-bayou authentic, it's a tasty take on the original dirty rice that would have been made with livers. For this recipe, you can use just about any kind of smokey sausage, but recently we have really enjoyed the kielbasa made by a Polish couple living in our city. On our long family camping trip, the days we ate this were morale boosting days. If you're looking for a little change in your week, give this one a try. It's a great one pot meal for a week night.

Had to capture the pot quick before the food disappeared!

Dirty Rice
1 1/2 cups rice
3 cups water
1 1/2 chicken broth cubes
1 package sausage or 1 long link, sliced into rounds
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/4 cups chopped celery (less if stalks are thin)
2 green peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme (2 teaspoons fresh)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Chili powder, to taste

Fry sausage in a pan over medium heat without oil until the sausage begins to brown. Remove the sausage and set aside. If there is not a lot of fat in the bottom of the pan, add about a teaspoon of oil and fry the onions, celery, and peppers until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir until it is nicely coated with the oil and vegetables. This helps keep the grains separated after cooking. Pour in the water and drop in the broth cubes. Bring to a boil, stirring to make sure the cube is dissolved. Reduce the heat to low then add the salt, chili powder, thyme, and sausage. Cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed (10-15 minutes). Turn off the heat and leave covered about 10 minutes prior to serving. Top with sour cream if desired.

Eggnog

Eggnog is one of my husband's favorite Christmas drinks. I can remember seeing him drink it straight from the carton in front of the fridge on many an occasion when we lived in the U.S. With Christmas approaching, I was excited to hear last week of a local dairy making eggnog for Christmas, only to find out Friday that I had likely missed the last chance to order. After some research, I realized making my own pasteurized eggnog was not as hard as I'd imagined. Now you can try it, too! It also doubles as a delicious coffee creamer. Freeze the egg whites in ice cube trays for the next time you need just whites.

Eggnog
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar plus 1 Tablespoon
2 cups milk (pasteurized and cooled)
1 small box (or 1 cup) fresh cream (heavy cream)
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a saucepan off the heat, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until the yolks turn a lighter yellow color. Into the mixture, add 1 cup of cold milk and the nutmeg. Over low heat, begin heating the mixture without boiling it until the temperature throughout is 160F/71C. Keep at this temperature for about 30 seconds. This is the temperature just before small bubbles would begin to form. Switch off the heat and chill immediately over an ice bath or in the freezer. Once cooled, use a whisk to stir in the remaining 1 cup of milk and the box of cream until smooth. Keep in the fridge once the eggnog is finished and enjoy!

Note: Some recipes call for the addition of whipped egg whites to the final mixture, but since I can't guarantee the safety of raw eggs here, I would not advise it. Also, if you'd like a thinner eggnog, heat the cream with the milk and the mixture will not thicken as much.