Celebration

I don’t think there are many of you out there who actually read this blog, so maybe it’s silly to apologize for such a long silence.  I’ve been a little busy with work and Thanksgiving, and I’ve been feeling pretty blah about things as I’ve continued to live with a pain problem that seems to have no real solution. 

But in the interest of attempting to be positive in these shortening days, with the approach of winter and the continuation of chronic pain issues, let me just fill you in on some of the big accomplishments of the last few weeks that are worthy of celebration.

I changed my timing belt.

That’s right.  On my car.  A friend from work helped me do it.  It took us 8 ½ hours, and then another hour or so the next day to fix a slight oil leak resulting from mis-aligning a gasket on the valve cover. 

I was in a ton of pain through the whole process, but I learned a lot and managed to save a few hundred dollars by doing the labor myself.   This was a big confidence builder.

I’m perfecting a bread baking routine.

My sister gave me a really simple, no-knead bread recipe.  It’s so easy that I’ve baked a loaf of bread every few days since I got over the initial inertia.  And the bread tastes great, toasts well, and keeps long enough that even as a single lady I can eat it all before it gets moldy.   It’s also simple and easy enough that I don’t mind sharing it!  I’ll share the recipe here eventually. 

Baking your own bread is another one of those things in life that builds confidence and makes you feel connected to reality in some way.  People have been baking bread in their homes for thousands of years, and it feels good to join the ranks.  It feels even better for it to be a simple, relatively painless process for someone like me who struggles with low-energy and high-pain. 

I bought a really nice food processor.

That’s right.  I splurged.  The old food processor that my sister gave me just wasn’t cutting it.  It couldn’t handle certain heavy jobs like pureeing dates.  If I’m to continue to avoid refined sugar, dates are going to be a big part of my dessert life.  So I bought a beast of a machine – from the Cuisinart Elite collection.  This thing can do anything. 

I contributed to Thanksgiving dessert over-indulgence.

Using my new food processor, I added to the glut of pies and desserts at Thanksgiving this year.  I made a Vegan and Refined-Sugar-Free Chocolate Cream Pie, some No-Bake PumpkinCookie Balls (with butternut puree instead of pumpkin), and some Almond-DateTruffles.  All turned out even more delicious than I’d originally fantasized. 

It’s a big deal for me to contribute to Thanksgiving feasts.  I normally leave all the work up to my much more capable brother and mother.  This year I knew I’d need to bring my own sugar free desserts if I was going to get anything sweet.  And it turned out to be another little victory in my battle against pain and lethargy.  Yeah, it hurt to do all the work, but some things are worthwhile.

I’m getting kefir grains!!!

I’m so excited about this.  I caught my new chiropractor (more on him later, maybe) showing off some kefir grains to the receptionist, and he ended up offering to give me some of the grains when I go to see him next.  I’m so excited to try to make my own kefir.  Once I figure it out, I’ll fill you in on how it goes. 

Squash Puree

This is a laborious process, but I think it’s worthwhile, since it’s a great thing to do if you have any plans to do any baking that requires pumpkin or squash puree.  Rather than buy the canned stuff (which I admit requires far fewer steps), you can get yourself a few butternut squashes.

Cut the squashes (any winter squash, really) in half, take out the seeds, and bake – open side down – in the oven or microwave until tender.  Then scoop out the flesh.  After it cools a little, use the food processor to puree it until smooth. 

Freeze in small containers for later use.

Ok, you’re right, it’s a lot of work.  I’ll admit that doing this little project hurt my back a lot, and was probably not worth it.  But the squash was free, and I have a lot of plans to make pumpkinny recipes this winter.  

This Means War

Up till today, the only evidence I saw was poop.  Little poops on top of the stove, or around a banana.  I put out traps.  So far, 12 confirmed kills.  

Yes, I'm keeping track.

What irks me is when the bait is gone from the trap, and there are little poops around the trigger, but no carcass.

The other night, I cleaned up the kitchen really well, wiped down the counters with bleach, and put all food items in the fridge or in sealed containers.  Today I baked a cake, and when I reached for my rubber spatula, I noticed strange contours that didn’t used to be there.  I was puzzled for a while.  Then I figured it out.

Such a shame ...

The half-teaspoon measuring spoon had been gnawed useless, too.

Let the games begin, my little friends!

Peanut Butter Treats (bwa ha ha!)

 

Homemade Yogurt!

As I mentioned in my Granola post, I had a lot of stomach trouble when I lived in China, and yogurt and granola did a lot to help.  Over there, the yogurt I bought was very simple, plain, and not as falsely creamy as what you buy here in the States.  I found it really hard to adjust to eating American store bought yogurt when I got home.  In fact, I never did get used to it again, because I started making my own.

The extensive pile of ingredients; complicated, I know...

Look at the ingredients list on most of the yogurts you can buy at a supermarket, and compare it with my ingredients list below.  It’s kind of astounding how many additives a lot of store-bought yogurts contain.  You don’t need to eat all that.  True, homemade yogurt has a different flavor and texture, but you’ll find that you’ll grow to prefer it to all those sugars and thickeners and artificial flavors.  If you need to sweeten it, add honey and fruit or something.  Or, do like I do and eat it with granola, which goes perfectly with it.

My double boiler

Homemade Yogurt

This is a very simple process, don't be intimidated!

First think ahead about these things:

I find a double boiler system is the best way to avoid scalding the milk as I heat it.  I just use a large pot of water and put my 3 qt saucepan in it.  (A saucepan with a spout would be ideal, minimizing the amount of milk you lose when pouring it into the jars.  It took me a long time to finally cough up the money to buy a good spouted pan, but it's going to change my life, I can tell.)

It’s very tricky to do this without a thermometer; I recommend buying a meat thermometer so you can accurately measure the temperature of the milk as you heat and cool it.

You are going to need to keep the yogurt warm for several hours.  It needs to be kept at 90° to 100° for 4 to 8 hours.  Sometimes a low setting on the oven works – I have an oven thermometer and have marked my oven’s temperature dial at approximately 100°.  I have also used my microwave as a steam cabinet, placing the jars of yogurt in there with a couple of cups of boiling water.  With this method, you’ll have to reheat the water every 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature. (Unplug the microwave to avoid accidentally nuking the cultures!)  I generally do the microwave "steam cabinet method" in the summer, and use the oven in the winter.  I’ve also dreamed up a scheme to use a styrofoam box and a medical heating pad, but I haven’t gotten around to that yet.  And, I believe there are machines sold for this purpose, but I feel it’s more fun to be inventive!

Inside the microwave become "steam cabinet"

You’ll need some kind of heat resistant container with a good lid to make the yogurt in.  I find glass jars are perfect.  I use old pasta sauce and pickle jars, maybe about quart size.

Ingredients:

Milk *

             Yogurt containing live cultures **

            For the milk:  Choose your volume ~ what you use is approximately what you get.  I generally make a gallon at a time; it keeps well and usually lasts me 2 or 3 weeks.

For the yogurt:  A few tablespoons of plain yogurt** per large jar

Jars are ready for the warm milk

  *  I find whole milk works best and produces the thickest, creamiest result

**  I have found that Dannon’s Plain Yogurt works best.  With each subsequent batch of yogurt, I just use a few tablespoons from the previous batch.  The yogurt cultures need to be live to work.

Method:

In saucepan / double boiler, slowly bring milk to 180°.  (You'll have to stir frequently / constantly as you approach 180°.  I generally start paying close attention around 130°.)

Remove from heat and let cool to around 110°.  (I find this takes way too long if I just leave it on the counter, so I dump out the hot water from the bottom pot, refill it with cold water, and cool the pot of milk down.  It takes a couple of times, but it cuts out like 20 minutes of waiting.)

Pour into jars and add a couple of tablespoons of starter yogurt per jar, stir and seal.

Place in “incubation.”  Keep at 100° for 4 to 8 hours.  The longer it stays at 100°, the thicker and tangier it will be.  I once left mine for 12 hours by accident, and it was glorious!

My favorite breakfast!

I happen to think this yogurt is marvelous.  It’s also simple and healthy.  Pair it with the granola, use it in smoothies, or eat it by itself or with fruit.  It’ll change your life.