I'm going to read a lot and here's what.....

So, in the near future, I will be going on vacation with my husband. To say I am excited is an understatement. I am going to read a lot. Here's a list of the books I'm taking with me:

--A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon

I've been reading this book for several weeks. It's almost 1500 pages long, book 6 in the Outlander series. I'm hoping to finish it in route. Whenever I read one of her books, I have to read 3 or 4 other books before I start the next. I think about the characters while I'm reading the other books and wonder what they will be up to in the next one, but I can't go straight to the next one, even though I want to. It's just too much.

--Made from Scratch, Jenna Woginrich

This book is a memoir about the author's attempt to make a sort of homestead in the city while keeping her corporate job. She wanted to become more self-sufficient with food, clothing, and life in general. She caught the bug to do this based on an urge to figure out exactly where her supermarket food came from. I think it might be a bit fluffy when compared with Omnivore's Dilemma, but a good vacay read for some initial insight.

--Farm City, Novella Carpenter

My mom saw this book at B&N yesterday and called me to say it was "right up my alley". I think she perused the first chapters, which I just did on google reader and I think she might be right. It's about a couple who sought self-sufficiency in Oakland, CA on an abandoned lot. They grew their own food, kept chickens, and other animals all while the sounds of the freeway were nearby. She adds in tales of car alarms and homeless men living in cars to go with, so I cannot wait to get my hands on this one.

I'm still undecided about my additional fiction book. I think I'll finish my 1500 pager soon, so I'll have to go through the stack beside my bed to see who's worthy. My husband asked me yesterday how many books I was taking, so I said, "How many books are YOU taking?" Maybe 5......

Stay tuned for more about why I choose the foods I do, where I buy them, and why I cheat (sometimes!).

Weird thingy in the middle

Sorry for the little photobucket "this picture has been removed" annoying thing on the screen. I'll get rid of it later. I'm going for a run and I'm out of time.....

Gasp!.....oh well....on to the homemade yogurt.

So my gasp is due to what I saw when I logged into blogger. It has been an entire year since I blogged. And I really have a lot to say. I am sorta speechless about that, though. I'm not going to tell you why I haven't blogged because I really don't know. I'm not going to make promises that I'm going to blog more often because it seems that I'm not very good at making promises where my blog is concerned.

But, I do have some really cool things going on right now and it would be nice to tell others about them, so maybe.......

It amazes me sometimes (when I really think about it) at how much I am off the beaten path. I homeschool, I cook from scratch, I purchase local meats and produce. Shoot--right now I have about 1/4 of a butchered cow from Alabama in my freezer outside. We eat real food--no preservatives, dyes, etc. If I had a baby, I would use cloth diapers. In a few weeks, I think I'm going to venture into "grind your own flour" land......

so, it makes perfect sense to me that I would get excited over something like making my own yogurt. I have a friend that does it and she shared her technique with me. I tried it and it worked and I have some extremely good yogurt in my fridge now. My husband is repulsed by it. I could hardly get him to smell it and I know he won't try it. He's a good sport to put up with all my other things, so I'll let it slide.

I'll tell you how to do it. Oh, and sorry I don't have any pics like Pioneer Woman. I wasn't planning on blogging this until I got a gentle suggestion to blog it, so I am unprepared. Maybe I'll update this the next time I make a batch and add some pics. It's so easy that pics really aren't necessary anyway.

Here's what you need:

big pot
couple of quart mason jars and lids
whisk
candy thermometer
plain yogurt
1/2 gallon milk
small cooler
kitchen towels

So, boil some water in your big pot and sterilize your jars and lids for about 10 minutes. Remove them from the water on a clean towel. Pour your leftover hot water into your empty cooler and close it.

Pour your 1/2 gallon of milk into your big pot and heat over medium heat until the temp reaches 185 degrees. Remove from heat and place in a cold water bath in the sink until the temp lowers to 120 degrees. While you are waiting, put about 2 tablespoons of plain Dannon yogurt in each jar (you'll need 2 quart jars). Once your milk is 120 degrees, pour it into the jars, put the lids on and shake them up. I vent the lids at this point, just to get the air out.

Now, empty that hot water out of your cooler and put a few kitchen towels in the bottom. Put your jars down in there, but don't let them touch each other or the sides. Wrap them up with more towels around the sides and tops and close the cooler. Do this quickly so your cooler won't cool off.

Leave the cooler alone for 10 hours. Don't pick it up, move it, or open it. You will be VERY tempted to open it up because you will want to see how your yogurt is doing, but don't do it!

You can leave the yogurt in the cooler this way for 8-16 hours, but my friend suggested 10 so I listened to her. It was the perfect amount of sour taste for me too. After your time is up, put your jars in the fridge. Once it's cold, it's ready to eat. I do open my jars before I put them in the fridge--I just wanted to see what it looked and smelled like.

That's it--seriously. And, it's so much tastier and certainly cheaper than buying yogurt in the store. You will be amazed when you've done it and you might feel like more of a woman.....like that you might could survive if you suddenly were dropped into the late 1700s....but maybe that's a bit much. Just sayin.