Random good stuff for the day

by Lili Mounce

Some days I notice the good stuff more than other days. Here are just some random things that put a smile on my face yesterday.

These roses -- perfectly in bloom. I cut two sprays and brought them into the kitchen where we'll all receive enjoyment just admiring their beauty.

A free short, Bold Pick of the Day and a cheese danish at Starbucks for me, a grande chocolatey chip frapp for my daughters (they asked for an extra cup and shared the one large drink). The short at Starbucks is not listed on their menu, but it's smaller (and cheaper) than the other sizes. The Bold Pick of the Day, is always excellent. Typically, I'll drink almost half of it black, then add half and half and raw sugar, to the rest, for an extra good cup of coffee.

These treats were free to us, as I used a gift card, given as a thank you gift from our church's MOPS group, for babysitting this past year.

Driving up to the house, and seeing the beautiful job that the Hubs and son did on our driveway. So nice, I ran into the house to grab the camera for a photo.

Sourdough bread -- I'm out of bread, and low on sugar this week. Sourdough and French bread only call for a couple of teaspoons of sugar. This recipe uses yeast and has a faster turn around time from start to finish than Yukon Jack-style sourdough (without commercial yeast).

The blueberries are beginning to ripen. My kids and I picked a bunch of blueberries and raspberries to have on pancakes for dinner tonight. Some nights I just want pancakes or waffles for dinner.

One of my daughters is happily sewing herself a dress. She bought all the materials for it with a check from Grandpa. And the really happy part for me -- she no longer gets frustrated with sewing, and figures a lot of things out for herself.

A smile is one of the free things in life. What good stuff have you noticed, that brought a smile to your face?

Tried and true method for cooking jelly without added pectin

by Lili Mounce

Last week, I discovered a quart of crabapple juice in the freezer. This must have been from last fall's harvest of crabapples. I typically pick the crabapples, simmer them in water to extract the juice, then freeze for making jelly later in the year, when I have canning jars available again. On Friday, I cooked this quart of juice into jelly.

Up until recently, my jelly-making was rather hit or miss. I didn't use a method consistently, and consequently sometimes my jelly turned out, and sometimes it didn't. So, determined to get this right, I read all I could on jelly-making. If you've seen my other posts on jelly-making, you'd know that I've gone about this almost scientifically. I was determined to find some sort of formula, that would give me consistently good results. And you know what? There is such a "formula". It involves choosing fruit that is high in pectin, extracting the juice from that fruit in a specific way, and cooking the jelly by both time and temperature, much like other recipes. 

Just the other day, I used this tried and true method for cooking jelly, with success. This jelly has no added pectin. Check out the photo below. See how the jelly doesn't drip, fall, or pour out of the upturned container. Of course, it helps that this is crabapple jelly, and crabapples are well-known for their high pectin content. Still, I have had failed batches of crabapple jelly in the past, due to my improper extraction of the juice followed by my haphazard cooking methods.

I know this info is out there in many places. But just wanted to reiterate the time-tested method for cooking jelly without added pectin. This method works.

To make jelly without added pectin, use fruit that already has a high pectin content.(See info for pectin content in link for extracting pectin.) Extract juice with this method. Measure juice. For every 1 cup (240 mL) of juice, use 3/4 cup (150 g) of sugar. You'll also need a candy-making thermometer.

In a stainless saucepan, bring fruit juice to a boil over HI heat, stirring to prevent scorching. Boil for 10 minutes. Stir in sugar, bring back to a boil, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, at a boil. In the last 1 or 2 minutes, begin testing using temperature as a guide to determine doneness with this table. When jelly reaches the desired temperature it should be done. Skim off foam. Fill jars and seal. Even if the jelly does not look completely set, allow it to sit on the counter for up to 2 weeks. Mine will sometimes gel right away, and sometimes after a few days.

Making jams and jelly is work with a high satisfaction rating in my book. Transforming fruit into pretty little jars with jewel-like attraction, followed with storing away for the cold months of winter, just puts a smile on my face.  I wish you much success in your own jelly-making endeavors.

And if you have a batch of jelly that just didn't jell, see the instructions here for fixing it.

Jayne's rhubarb custard pie

After mentioning in a recent post, that my family had enjoyed this pie after dinner a couple of weeks ago, I had a couple of people asking about it. So, here it is, for you to bake and enjoy with your family.

You know a recipe is good when it's title has someone's name attached to it. In our family we have a chocolate cake recipe known as Betty Jane's chocolate cake, some yeast-raised crescent rolls known as Nana's dinner rolls, and this recipe, Jayne's rhubarb custard pie.

This is a rhubarb pie that has converted a couple of rhubarb haters to "I'll eat this rhubarb pie" people. A year ago spring, I served this pie to friends who were not thrilled with rhubarb to begin with, and a few weeks later, I wound up giving them a rhubarb plant from my garden. The pie was that big of a hit in their house.

You can make this as a two-crust pie, or as my family prefers, with a crumb topping. For an easy pie crust, I make a batch of this pie pastry that makes enough for 5 crusts. I pat the dough into disks, wrap and freeze until I need them. This crust can be use for sweet or savory crusts. (I made a deep dish turkey pot pie, topping with one of these crusts, when my father-in-law was visiting and it was a huge hit with him!)

If your rhubarb is still going strong, give this pie a try. If your rhubarb is fainting from the summer weather, just remember, when your rhubarb makes a comeback, the recipe will be here.

Jayne's Rhubarb Custard Pie

pastry for a double crust pie, or for a single crust plus crumb topping (recipe below)
2 eggs
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 tablespoon (15 mL) melted butter
2 tablespoons (15 g) flour
2 1/2 cups (375 g) rhubarb, chopped

Beat together the eggs, sugar, flour and butter. Stir in chopped rhubarb. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Top with upper crust *or* crumb topping

Crumb Topping

1 cup (120 g) flour
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1/3 cup (80 g) soft butter
water to moisten

Combine flour, sugar and butter. Add just enough water to moisten the crumbs. Sprinkle over pie filling.

Bake pie at 400 degrees F (205 C) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 C), and bake another 15 minutes, or until top of crust is golden, or crumb topping is light golden and has puffed up a bit.

Out, out! Be gone stain: getting berry and rhubarb stains out of fabric

by Lili Mounce

This has been sitting near the entrance to our neighborhood for 2 days now. At first there was a futon frame and this mattress. Then, today, I saw that the frame had been taken, but the mattress and this sign remained. The sign is what caught my eye. (See below)

I wanted to rush back home and get a marker, so I could add, "did you try getting the blood out with cold water, cuz hot water will set that type of stain".

Anyways, we have an entirely different type of stain happening in our home these days. Berry and rhubarb stains. Earlier this week it was rhubarb sauce on my daughter's white shirt. Later that same day, it was blueberry vinaigrette on my other daughter's placemat.

Then tonight at dinner, it was rhubarb-blackberry sauce on my husband's placemat, and on my first daughter's shirt (yes, again with the shirt, and no, the placemat and shirt stain tonight did not happen in the same accident). Clearly, we need help with our eating, or perhaps bibs for all of us!

But this brings me to -- do you know how to get berry and rhubarb stains out? My mom taught me this trick, and now I'm teaching it to my kids.

I was going to rub some berries onto my shirt, so that I could demonstrate how well this trick works. But my family, being the obliging bunch that they are, took the initiative and stained some fabric for me.

Here's how to get those berry and rhubarb stains out.

Stretch the fabric over a medium-sized bowl. Bring about a cup of water to a boil. Slowly pour the boiling water through the fabric, right onto the stain. Now, watch as that stain disappears right before your eyes.

This is the rhubarb-blackberry stain on my husband's placemat. In the center of the photo is the stained spot, about 3/4-inch in diameter.

My husband is pouring the boiling water directly onto the stain. You can see it fading as the water pours through the fabric.

Here is the placemat after the boiling water has been poured onto the stain. It always amazes me how well this works. If any stain remains at all, I'll just leave the fabric sitting in the hot water for an hour or so, then launder.

And for the guy who left his futon at the entrance to my neighborhood, try soaking the fabric in cold water, rub with a little detergent. Then dab with some hydrogen peroxide. Gets those blood stains right out.

_____________________________________________________

July's grocery money journal

July 20 -- We are way ahead of the game this month, in the grocery budget. Thanks in part to being too busy one week to shop, followed by the next week half the family sick, and me being too tired to shop. We're just eating up what we have in the pantry, fridge and freezer.

Last night, my two teen daughters did a superb job making a delicious and frugal dinner for the family. They made baked beans (from scratch, no less), cornbread, green salad from the garden with blueberry vinaigrette (using up last year's blueberry vinegar -- easy recipe, wow your guests, make it now for a great holiday gift), and topped off with Jayne's rhubarb custard pie (I'll post that recipe soon, it's a favorite around here). Sounds extravagant for a couple of teenage girls, doesn't it? All this came from the pantry, fridge/freezer and garden.

The previous night, I'd made a use-it-up casserole from all the broken pasta bits at the bottom of boxes, a little more "good" pasta, leftover barley and lentil ground-beef-substitute, cheddar cheese, chives I found in a container in the freezer, bratwurst sausage slices, also from the freezer, broccoli from the garden and seasonings. Did you know that in a pinch, you can use the inside of a cardboard food box, like a pasta box, as a make-shift cutting board? Double up the cardboard, and it should absorb the knife's impact well enough not to damage the blade (or anything else in your kitchen, such as a nice countertop).

Tonight I'll make a frittata with greens from the garden, onions, garlic, eggs and cheese, to have with a green salad (from the garden), and some rosemary focaccia bread on the side. Plus the other half of the pie my daughters made. (*note* We had a fun outing in the afternoon and didn't get back in time for me to want to do focaccia, so I made garlic buns with some leftover hot dog buns to have with our frittata, salad and pie.)

I did have one splurge this month. Earlier this week, I got nostalgic for circus animal cookies (the kind with pink or white frosting and multi-colored sprinkles). I had to go to the store for eggs (on sale) and iron pills for me, and for $2.50, I bought 1 bag of circus animal cookies. The sad thing about those packaged goods, is split 5 ways, there's never all that much. But they did satisfy my nostalgic yearnings.

So far, I have only spent 1/2 of July's grocery money. I needed some meat, but found some in the clearance bin at the grocery store. I bought a 4 pound beef roast on clearance and cut it up into 4 pieces for the freezer for future meals. I also found a package of 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, on clearance. I tossed that into the freezer for when I need some quick, lean meat for a main dish salad.  I also bought a very large bag of unroasted sunflower seeds for $1.49/lb, for making sunseed butter. We go through a lot of that stuff, and at $1.49/lb for the seeds, my homemade sunseed butter (recipe here) costs about $1.40/lb, once the brown sugar and oil are factored in -- all natural, and a far cry from the $2.79/lb all-natural peanut butter at Trader Joes.

I needed white flour and milk, which I picked up at the wholesaler when I was down that way. The white flour was in a 50 pound sack for $13.50 (27 cents a pound is a good price for white flour around here). The milk was a 2 gallon pack, for $4.40, or $2.20 a gallon. Not horribly high, I can find better, but I needed the milk and running around to find it cheaper would've used precious gas. That's about all I've bought since the first week of the month. We continue to eat a lot of beans and grains for our protein. And the garden always has something good and ready to harvest.

Then today, coming home from our girls adventure, we stopped in at the store to pick up some sale milk. Also found some "red band" bananas, still looking good, but labeled "baking bananas", and 1 marked down, small container of Yoplait vanilla yogurt (with live cultures). Whole milk + Yoplait yogurt = yet another attempt at homemade yogurt this weekend. Wish me luck! My previous attempts have been dismal to say the least.

Still we're sitting pretty with our grocery budget. 10 days left and we could easily go through the rest of the month without another stop at a store. We'll see!

And what will I do with the other half of the grocery money? I'll roll the surplus over into August's money. In autumn, many stores have such great deals on baking supplies, canned vegetables, and turkeys, plus the produce stand I frequent has a huge clearance on the 1st of November each year (I stock up on yams, carrots, apples, cabbage, garlic, celery and other veggies there), that I'll be glad to have that surplus then.

July 23 -- Made both dairy (see how it went) and soy milk (better than my wildest expectations!) yogurt on Saturday. Turned out great. I'll post what I did and how I got it to turn out just how I wanted later this week (making thick soy yogurt takes an extra step, but definitely doable). We had yogurt Sunday morning for breakfast, with muffins and fruit from the garden. Delish!

Saturday night we went down to the beach, got fish and chips from a take-out window, and sat on a log, with the water lapping at our feet (literally -- I had to move my cup of water, as the spray from the Puget Sound was coming too close!) Waterside dining! And no waiting for a table! To make our beach dinner even more affordable, we brought a couple of paper plates, some plastic forks, and stopped at the market and bought deli cole slaw ($1.75 total for cole slaw for the 5 of us from the market, compared to take-out cole slaw at the fish and chips place of $1.39 per person or what would've been $6.95 total for cole slaw alone!) Also, we bought 3 of the 5-piece fish and chips and divided up between 5 of us (hence the reason for bringing a few paper plates). By buying larger portions and splitting, we saved about $12 over the price of each of the 5 of us ordering 3-piece meals. Same amount of food, but saved some $$.

I thinned the beets the other day and put the thinnings into a bag in the fridge. I used them in a large pan of fried rice for dinner Sunday evening, along with some carrots and peas, and egg for protein. Salad to go with it was lettuce from the garden, with a dressing made from soy sauce, vinegar, pinch of sugar, ground ginger and oil -- easy and tasted wonderful with the Asian fry.

I baked sourdough bread bowls last night. They are bagged up (sealing them in a bag overnight helps the crust to soften a bit), and I'll use them in tonight's dinner to fill with chili.

July 26 -- Still doing great on the budget and here we are in the last days. After several months of overspending by $10 or $20, you just won't believe that we're under by a whopping $105, so far!!!
How have we done this? We've been living off what we have at home, in the pantry, the freezer, and using every last bit from the garden. I just have not made many trips to the store this month.

We've been careful not to waste a single thing. For example, we had this strange, and sickly sweet marshmallow cream/cream cheese dip bestowed upon us. It sat in the fridge for 10 days. Then we thought to turn it into frosting for a cake, adding homemade powdered sugar and cocoa powder, and my girls baked a sheet cake for it. We even used the whey from straining homemade soy yogurt as liquid for the cake.

Summer beverages can either be costly (sodas) or very frugal (iced teas/coffees, lemonade, good old water). I do a couple of things with fruit juice, some of you probably also do. I personally don't like fruit juice full-strength. I always add more water than called for, when reconstituting frozen stuff. I also add some water to bottled apple juice. It tastes better, I think. Well, we had this 96 oz. bottle of apple juice in the fridge. I poured about half of it into a freeze-able plastic pitcher, and added water to that, then popped it in the freezer. I'll be taking it with us on our little getaway later this summer. It'll be both a beverage to have there, and ice in the cooler. With the other half of this jumbo jug of apple juice, I added water to that, too. Too much sugar all at once, even if it's fruit sugar, just isn't a good idea.

Tuesday, my daughters wanted to come with me to map out a vintage/historic home tour. So before we left, we rummaged through the freezer and found a container of split pea soup (perhaps 6 months old?). We weren't even sure what it was at first. Could be pureed zucchini, pureed green tomatoes (I save some every harvest to add to chocolate cake), or (and we were crossing our fingers), could be something we could just eat right then and there. (I really need to start labeling things that go into the freezer. I always think I can remember what it was.) We also found some slightly stale crackers to go with it.

Then Wednesday, my teens took over the kitchen. I had a group of ladies I was taking on that historic home tour, so didn't have time to cook a full dinner. Daughters to the rescue! They did great! They made homemade tortillas, which they then turned into chips, also some homemade bean and vegetable soup (using veggie stock from the freezer, affectionately called Garbage Soup in our house), and dried beans from the pantry, plus garden veggies, and they picked berries from our patches, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, for a dish of fruit each.

I did another baking of sourdough bread (here's a recipe that uses both sourdough starter and yeast) yesterday and will make another batch of yogurt this morning. Just 4 days left to this month, and we still can find plenty to eat within our own stores of food. I'll need eggs and soy milk before August, but still, we're way under budget.

July 27. Blueberries are ripening, but not enough for a large batch of blueberry muffins. So I picked a stalk of rhubarb and chopped that finely to add to the berries in the muffins. We had those and yogurt this morning for breakfast.

Last night I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner. I'd been out in the garden and noticed some broccoli that needed picking. In the fridge I had some cooked rice, to which I added cheese, eggs, milk, the broccoli, some minced onion and a couple of cups of cooked noodles. It made a very good casserole. That with sourdough bread and green salad, and we had a good, filling dinner.

It keeps amazing me just how much food we still have in the house. Oh, and I found another one of those mystery containers in the freezer. We thought it might be canned tomatoes. Once it thawed, we could see that it was the rinsings from a large ketchup can. I'll have to find some way to incorporate that into dinner today or tomorrow. Note to self -- start writing on the containers what's inside!

I hope your budget is holding out for this month. Some months are tighter than others. What's been your best money saver when it comes to groceries this month?

Planning a late summer getaway

I know, you're just dying of curiosity. Just what do we do with the sacks and sacks of money that we save, by cleaning out the deodorant containers, reusing tea bags, skipping the paper towels in favor of a rag, making tea from the weeds in the yard, saving bread crumbs and onion peels in containers in the freezer, straightening out the used staples, and more? We go on vacation, of course!

We had so much going on in early summer, there was no time for a family getaway. We really didn't want a "big fat family vacation" (read expensive), but just a few days away, on a teensy-weensy budget. (Straightening staples apparently doesn't save all that much money, who'd have guessed??)

So, the vacation budget this year is small. The way we plan vacations in our house is we save first and then decide on a vacation. (I know, its quite backwards from the way a lot of people we know plan trips. They vacation first, figure out how to pay for it later.)

To make a trip fit our budget, we've done a few things.

Saving on travel
First off, no air travel. Driving only, so we want to "go away" to somewhere nearby.

Using our time to its best advantage
By keeping close to home, we'll have more time at our destination, and spend less time "bonding" in the cramped quarters of our small car. (I know my kids have grown up. No more "she's touching me" game going on in the back seat.) We chose a destination about a 1  1/2 hour drive (and one 30 minute ferry-ride) away (which I will adeptly turn into a 3 hour drive with my magnificent navigational skills). It's a town we'd always wanted to see, but never got around to. By staying this close, the first day, we can leave the house early and still get there with plenty of time to roam the town.

We've decided to just stay 2 nights away. But that means 3 days -- the arrival day, the full day in between the two nights, and the departure day. That's about all the time we need to explore this little town, and feel like we've gotten away.

And we're traveling during the week, instead of over a weekend, so we'll save time in traffic, and in ferry wait times.

Saving on accommodations
I spent several hours online looking for places to stay. In the end I found an inn, in the town near everything we want to see. To get a good price, I scoured the web for pricing, then went directly to the hotel's website to check for discounts that may apply, like AARP, and 14 Day Advance Purchase. The 14 Day Pre-pay wound up saving us the most, about $13/night less than Expedia, Travelocity, Hotel.com or any other discount travel company. Discounters typically don't have access to AARP or AAA rates.

Before booking the room, I phoned the toll-free number to the hotel to make sure we could get a rollaway bed. Then went back online to book the room and make my special requests (it was a special internet rate). The next day, I followed up my booking and special request with a phone call to the toll-free number, emphasizing our need for a rollaway. Of course, we'll have a back-up plan of 1 sleeping bag in the trunk, just in case. I will also phone the day before arrival to "reconfirm" our reservations. And at this time, I'll ask again about our special requests. They'll either work to accommodate us, or be so tired of my phoning that they'll stick us in the basement, in the janitor's closet next to the boiler room.

I also checked to see if they had a rewards program, which they did. So I signed up for that. Sometimes all you get is an extra smile at guest services, but other times you get a free room upgrade, a basket of fruit and/or snacks or points to use towards free accommodations in the future. It doesn't cost anything to sign up for a rewards program, so I figure "why not?"

Saving on food
We'll be bringing snacks with us for the car and for our stay. No stopping at fast food places or convenience stores. I've been squirreling away snack-y type things for the last few weeks. I'll pack reusable drink bottles for all of us. We can fill these with water or juice from larger containers. I'll also pack a cooler in the trunk with some juice, sunseed butter and bread.

This inn serves a complete breakfast, complimentary. We'll eat lunch by means of fruit, cheese and bread from the farmer's market, while we roam the town. And save our dining-out budget for dinners.

Saving on entertainment
Mostly we'll be exploring the town and waterfront. I've been reading up on museums and sights in the area. Every town has at least a handful of free, very interesting sights and activities. The town itself is Scandinavian in heritage. It should be interesting just looking around.

Saving on gas for the drive
There's a great mileage calculator at seattlegasprices.com. It'll tell you the mileage to/from your destination and show you where to get gas for the least amount of money. Other cities have similar trip cost calculators, just do a google search for your area.

That's about it for my trip planning. Any late-summer getaways in your plans? Are you the camping type, or the hotel type? What are some ways you save while traveling? Do you have any special tips for saving on meals out?

San Francisco sourdough with yeast

This method for making sourdough is the happy compromise for bakers who want the great sourdough flavor, but with less time invested. If you begin your dough before noon, you can be eating crusty sourdough with your dinner. No long sponge to set. The addition of yeast both speeds the process and gives a more reliable result (as you've likely discovered, sourdough can be finicky).

1 1/2 cups warm (85 degrees F) water (350 mL at 29 C)
1 package (or 1 scant Tablespoon -- 15 mL) active dry yeast
1 cup (240 mL) sourdough starter
4 cups (480 g) unsifted flour
2 teaspoons (10 mL) sugar
2 teaspoons (10 mL) salt
1/2 teaspoon baking (2.5 mL) soda
 about 2 additional cups (240 g) unsifted flour

In a large mixing bowl, pour water. Sprinkle with yeast and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir in starter.
Mix in 2 cups (240 g) of flour, 1 cup at a time. Sprinkle with sugar and salt. Mix in 2 additional cups of flour. Stir vigorously for 3 or 4 minutes. Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place (70 to 85 degrees F -- 21 to 29 C), until doubled (this will take between 1 1/2 and 2 hours).

In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of flour with baking soda. Stir this in to dough. Your dough will be stiff. Sprinkle flour over your counter and turn dough out onto flour. Begin kneading, adding additional flour, to keep dough from sticking to counter. Knead until smooth and satiny, about 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes while you butter your baking sheet.

Form into oblong or round loaves. Place on buttered baking sheet. Cover with a towel and allow to rise  till doubled, in a warm place (70 to 85 degrees F -- 21 to 29 C). This should take between 1 1/2 and 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (205 C). Brush the tops with water. With a sharp knife, slash the tops. Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Bake your bread for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden.

Interested in making your own sourdough starter? Begin here

Making soy yogurt

by Lili Mounce

Following making cow's milk yogurt (see here), I tried my hand at soy yogurt. I can't have dairy, and hate to be left out on mornings when breakfast is yogurt, fruit and granola or berries. So here goes my attempt at soy yogurt.

Soy yogurt is dreadfully expensive in the store. Over a dollar for a tiny 6 oz. container! Not wanting to risk all my stock of soy milk, I made just 1 quart of soy yogurt. I followed my instructions for dairy yogurt, with just a few modifications.

I substituted soy milk for the cow's milk, in amounts/proportions to the starter, consistent with making dairy yogurt.  (1 quart (950 mL) of soy milk to 1/4 cup (60 mL) yogurt starter). I cooked this on Medium flame until 190 degrees F (87 C). Cooled in a water bath to 120 degrees F (48 C). Whisked in yogurt starter and poured into jars.

I used the picnic cooler, filled with 120 degree F (48 C) water, for an incubator. I let it incubate for an additional hour and a half (for a total of 4 1/2 hours -- I'd like to try 6 hours next time). All that I'd read about soy yogurt indicated that a longer incubation period is helpful.

To prolong the warm environment in the picnic cooler, after 3 hours I scooped out some of the water with a saucepan, heated it on the stove for a bit then added this heated water back into the cooler. This gave me another hour of warmth for my make-shift incubator. At the end of about 4 hours 30 minutes, I took the yogurt out and put into the fridge. 

soy yogurt is thinner than dairy yogurt, but still very good,
here it is, next day, just before being strained

Soy yogurt is thinner than dairy yogurt. The simplest remedy, I found for that, was to strain the yogurt the next day, through a coffee filter set in a strainer, over a bowl. After 1 hour, about 1/4 of the yogurt had strained out as whey. After 2 hours, about 1/2 of the yogurt had strained out as whey. This gave me a very creamy, very thick soy yogurt that I found very satisfactory. If I'd wanted soy yogurt cheese, I could've left this to strain in the fridge for 24 hours or so. 

soy yogurt after straining for 2 hours

With the whey that is strained off, you can add as liquid in baking. My daughters were baking a cake that same day, and used the whey in place of part of the milk called for in the recipe. The whey can be refrigerated to use in 2-3 days for baking/pancakes. Or, you can freeze it for baking another week. Some people like to add it to their smoothies.

You should be aware that soy milk is darker than cow's milk, and so soy yogurt will turn out darker in color than regular yogurt. This is just an FYI, you haven't done anything wrong if yours isn't as white and creamy as dairy yogurt. From what I've read Soy Dreams brand soy milk will have a "whiter" result.

not quite as white as dairy yogurt, but I don't mind that at all

Use a soy milk beverage that is high in fat, protein and has some sugar added. This is no time to use a bargain soy milk or a fat-free soy milk. Compare nutrition facts on the labels to find the highest fat and protein content soy. You will have a thicker product and the bacteria will have the food they need to do their work. My soy yogurt was sweeter than the dairy stuff I made earlier in the day, due to the added sugar in the soy milk. But I was totally okay with this. It made a pleasant tasting yogurt, without being too sweet, that required no additional sweetening.  I used Trader Joe's Soymilk Extra for this batch.   

I used dairy yogurt as starter. I know my own body and I can handle a small amount of dairy. Though it is an option to use a commercial soy yogurt (with the right live active cultures), for a totally vegan/non-dairy yogurt. I also read up on a method of culturing soy without a yogurt starter at all. Evidently chili peppers have the right bacteria on the stem for culturing soy.

I must admit, the soy yogurt is delicious. I've about eaten all that I made (1 quart), just a couple of days ago.

My foray into making yogurt

(Read the updates at the bottom of this post. There are several years of updates discussing how I've improved on my original method, as well as demonstrate that starter can be frozen and successfully used in subsequent batches years' apart.)

Back in the 90s there was a method of making yogurt that was popular, using a thermos for the incubation period. I gave it a try, and was very unsatisfied with the runny, stringy results. So I abandoned the idea of making my own yogurt. Then recently, I read of others using crockpots and picnic coolers for incubators, with great success. Well, this really played into my recent grocery budget probs --  not big problems, just that I was going over budget by $10-20 per month. Part of that extra spending had been store-bought yogurt (on sale, but still, it was causing me to spend a bit more than I wanted on groceries each month).

So, the stars all fell into alignment (meaning whole milk was on sale, the very same day I found a container of Yoplait vanilla yogurt on markdown, just a day after reading up on yogurt making).  I read several recipes and procedures (I study up on things that I'm about to attempt), and decided that the picnic cooler method would suit my equipment well (especially since my slow cooker runs very hot). Stock pot -- check, candy thermometer -- check, picnic cooler -- check. That was about it for special equipment.

After giving our cooler a thorough cleaning in the bath tub (followed by one of my daughters having to give the bath tub a thorough cleaning), I got out my huge stainless stock pot. It didn't have to be huge, but this stock pot had all the features I was looking for: completely smooth bottom interior, thick base, and non-reactive stainless.

The Method

1. Sterilize jars
2. Pour whole milk (not low-fat or skim, and definitely not ultra-pasteurized) into stock pot and bring to 180-190 degrees F over MED heat -- stir regularly. Alternatively, you can heat the milk slowly, over MED-LO, stirring as needed, for about 1 hour, then increase heat, and stir frequently, until 180-190 degrees F.
3. When milk reaches 180-190 degrees, remove from heat  and place in a sink of cold water, to cool milk to 115 degrees F. (I've also been satisfied to just leave the pot of milk on a cold burner for 30 minutes, or so, to cool to 115 degrees F.)
4. When milk cools to 115 degrees F, whisk in yogurt. Use 6 ounces (180 mL) of plain or vanilla yogurt (see below for brands that work well) for 1 gallon (3.8 L) of milk, or 4 ounces (120 mL) yogurt for half-gallon (1.9 L). Some folks put the starter and some of the heated milk in their blender, or use a stick blender, to thoroughly incorporate the starter into the milk.
5. Pour the milk/yogurt mixture through a strainer into a large pitcher (this removes milky film from finished product)
6. Fill and cap jars. Lacking caps, I also just use a square of plastic wrap, secured with a rubber band for a cap on each jar.
7. Pour 115 degree water into picnic cooler about 3 inches deep. (I pour my sterilizing water, plus any cold water needed to get the 115 degree F temp). The correct temperature is important!
8. Place jars in this 115 degree F water in cooler.
9. Close cooler and wait 3 to 4 hours (I don't worry too much about the timing, 3 hours works, but so does 4, and I've even left it in for 5 and it was still mild). I, now, prefer to leave my yogurt for 7-14 hours. It becomes thicker and has a more tangy flavor, as well as has a reduced lactose content.
10. Remove jars from cooler and refrigerate for about 6-8 hours. Yogurt firms up during this time.

This is how my first attempt went:

I set my canning jars to sterilize (2 one-quart jars (almost 1 liter each), as I was only going to make a half gallon, just in case it flopped).

I poured 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) of whole milk (needs to be whole milk, not low-fat or skim) into the stock pot, and began heating over Medium flame (my stove top is gas). It took close to 30 minutes for the milk to come to 190 degrees F (87 C). I stirred it regularly with my special milk-stirring utensil (see photo). **tip here**  This is something my mother-in-law taught me -- when cooking something with a lot of milk (like pudding), use a flat-edged metal spatula for stirring. With it's flat edge, you can continually scrape up the bottom of the pan, before any milk can scorch or stick. It's a dandy little trick. Try it with pudding sometime, and tell me what you think.

my handy stirring tool for pudding and yogurt

While the milk was heating, I had quite a bit of time, so I made a batch of banana muffins simultaneously.  It worked out well, timing wise. I frequently do a batch of muffins while I've got something else happening in the kitchen. It's a great way to get a double-play out of my time.  I also cleaned out my wonderfully large farmhouse sink, readying it for plopping the hot milk-filled pot into a cool water bath.

Once the milk hit the magic number of 190 degrees F, I whisked the pot over to the sink, and began the cool down process. It took me by surprise how quickly it cooled. Thirty minutes to heat up, but only 5 or so to cool down to the required 115 degrees F (48 C). In fact, it cooled so quickly, I actually had to move the stock pot back to the stove to get it up to 115 F.

Once at 115 F, I quickly stirred in (with a whisk) the Yoplait yogurt (1/2 cup (120 mL), as I was only making 2 quarts of yogurt). I poured it through a strainer to remove filmy stuff, and then filled my sterile canning jars with this milky concoction.

The pot of water that I sterilized the jars in, was still quite hot. I poured it and some cold water into the cooler, until I had just the right mix of hot and cold to reach 115 degrees F, for the incubation. I set my jars into the warm water, and added just a bit more water, until the water level was about up to the shoulders of the jars. (I wanted to peek inside the cooler many times, but didn't want to risk a thing on this new attempt at making yogurt!)

After 3 hours in the cooler, I moved the yogurt to the fridge. I was curious just how warm the little make-shift incubator remained. So, I took the temp of the water and found it about 105-110 F (40-43 C), after the 3 hours!

immediately after 3 hours of incubation

the next morning, after overnight in the fridge

As I'm interested in chain yogurt-making (using starter from one batch to begin the another), I did a little research on what it takes to keep the bacteria strains alive and healthy.

Which strains of bacteria to look for on ingredients label
There are many strains of bacteria used in yogurt-making. Some (referred to as "direct set"), will only fully set one batch of yogurt. (Inexpensive, store-brand yogurts are often made with direct set cultures.) Lactobacillus acidophilus, while a beneficial bacteria, is a direct set variety and will die out in the process of chain-yogurting.

If you're interested in chain yogurt making, then you'll want a "reusable culture". On the ingredients label you will want to see Lactobacillus bulgaricus and/or Streptococcus thermophilus. These two bacterial cultures are commonly found in Dannon, Stonyfield and Nancy's brand plain yogurt. These bacteria will live on and on through the generations of your yogurt making. (see here for more info on cultures)

The blog "The Frugal Girl" recommends both Yoplait and Dannon. There are other very good yogurts with the right bacterial strains, as well, but may or may not be labeled with their particular bacterial strains. Stonyfield comes up repeatedly in discussions on good yogurts to use as starters for chain-yogurting.

Here, in the US, all products that are sold as "yogurt" must contain cultures that include both L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus. However, the amounts of these bacteria can vary from product to product.

Yoplait does not disclose the strains used on their label. But given the good performance when used as starters, they must have enough of the two strains. I used Yoplait simply because it was on sale. If I begin with a new culture, I may try Dannon or Stonyfield, as their brands come up time and again in discussions on making yogurt at home.

How often to make new yogurt if chain-yogurting

If using your own yogurt as your starter, do so every 5 days, for best activity in the bacteria. The longer your yogurt sits refrigerated, the less likely you'll have a good set. 

Freezing yogurt for use as starter in future batches

If your yogurt consumption is not up to those levels, or, you will be out of town on vacation and unable to make a batch "on schedule", or, if you prefer to make a larger batches, and thus make yogurt less often, try freezing some of your homemade yogurt the day after you make it. Freeze in quantities that you will need for starter for future batches. For instance, I think I will prefer to make 1/2 gallon at a time, so I will be freezing 1/2 cup starter in each container. To use, thaw overnight in the fridge, or on the counter for a couple of hours, while heating the milk. Do not heat to thaw your starter! Do not microwave your starter to thaw!

Making Greek-style yogurt
Technically speaking, "real" Greek yogurt is yogurt made with a specific bacterial strain. But you probably don't care if the bacterial strain is authentic or not, you just want the rich and creamy mouth-feel of Greek yogurt. Good news, it's extremely easy to do yourself.

This is actually soy yogurt, but you get the idea

Simply put a mesh strainer over a bowl. Line the strainer with cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Pour your yogurt in the cloth or filter. Refrigerate the whole thing, and in an hour or two (test it from time to time and strain until it's the consistency you're looking for), you will have rich, creamy, thick yogurt. The whey that strains off can be used in baking/pancake making. If you want yogurt cheese, continue to strain it overnight. In about 24 hours you should have something resembling cream cheese.

I made my homemade soy yogurt into something close to Greek style. It was very rich, very creamy and very decadent. If you are a Greek-yogurt enthusiast, you should give this a try. Greek yogurt sells for about $1 a small container here. Homemade yogurt, strained to Greek-style consistency cost us about 24 cents for a 6 oz. serving. Cost for the soy alternative was roughly double, both the store bought ones and the homemade varieties.

Following my success with dairy yogurt, I tried my hand at soy yogurt. Success! See here for more.

(info on bacterial cultures from http://www.culturesforhealth.com/choosing-a-yogurt-starter-culture)

Update -- June 18. 2013

So, I've been successfully making yogurt for almost a year now (on average twice per month).  And in that time, I have never had a failed batch. I continue to use a descendant of my originally-purchased Yoplait yogurt from last July (2012). In this whole last year, I haven't  needed to purchase any new yogurt to make my own at home.

This is how I chain-yogurt:

Every 4-6 batches of yogurt, I save some 2-day old yogurt and freeze. On day 2, after making yogurt, I scoop out 6 ounces of yogurt into freezer containers, then pop into the freezer until I make yogurt again. On yogurt-making day, I thaw 1 container of yogurt on the countertop, while the milk heats. Once thawed, it looks runny. Don't worry, this will still set yogurt. I just whisk it into the heated, then cooled milk and we're good to go.

Making my yogurt thick the lazy way:

Many folks add powdered milk to yogurt, or strain next-day yogurt to get a thick product. My method takes time, but little effort. I simply heat the milk slowly, over Med-Low, instead of trying to speed things along on Med. Like I said, this does take extra time, sometimes 2 hours, instead of 30 minutes. But this extra heating time allows for more evaporation, and a naturally thicker product. My family really likes the thick yogurt.

Making yogurt for about 50 cents per quart:

I make yogurt only when I find a deal on whole milk. When I do find this great deal (usually milk for $2/gallon or even less), I buy as many gallons as I can, and freeze most of it to make yogurt later on. Frozen milk, thawed in the fridge for a day or two, works great in yogurt. Freezing doesn't seem to harm the milk for yogurt-making.

My ratio of yogurt starter to whole milk:

I use 6 ounces of yogurt starter for every 1 gallon of milk. If I'm doing a half gallon of milk, I go ahead and add the entire contents of a 4-ounce container of starter.

What I do with the strained-off filmy stuff, before pouring yogurt into jars:

I refrigerate this until I'm ready to make a batch of muffins or pancakes for the family. I put the milk film through the food processor or blender along with other liquids, to use in pancake or muffin batter. No waste!

What about heating the milk in the microwave?

I have tried to heat the milk in the microwave, for speed. While this is a faster heating method, there seems to be little evaporation, and the yogurt tends to be thinner than we like.

So, those are my updates for now. Anything else, and I'll add it here.

more updates -- May 2014

I accidentally left the yogurt to incubate over night a while back. I think it sat in the cooler for about 13 hours. Ooops! But guess what? It turned out great. It was thicker and more tangy than 3-hour yogurt. But it was still safe and good for eating.
So I looked into leaving yogurt for more hours to incubate. And it turns out that the longer you allow it to incubate, the more of the lactose gets eaten up by the bacteria. A "win" for those of us who are lactose-intolerant. For now, I'm allowing the yogurt to do its thing for about 7 hours, and I really like how thick it becomes and the tangy taste.

So, for creamy, mild yogurt, allow it to incubate 3 to 4 hours. For thicker, more tangy yogurt, allow the yogurt to culture for 7 hours.

And I'm still using descendants from the very first purchase of Yoplait for a starter, by freezing small amounts for future batches. Not bad! Almost 2 years from 1 purchase of starter!

update -- May 2015

I am STILL using a frozen descendent of yogurt starter from my very first batch. And I've discovered that I prefer yogurt that has sat in the cooler overnight, about 10-14 hours.

What's the key to my success thus far?

I think it's always heating/cooling/incubating my milk/yogurt at the correct temperature, and always sterilizing my jars before filling.

I always make 1 gallon of whole milk into yogurt at a time, now, and always use 6 oz of starter yogurt.

And I always use starter yogurt that was frozen on Day 2. I never use 4, 5 or 6 day old refrigerated yogurt as my starter.

Good luck to you! Email or comment with any questions!

Update -- June 2017

I am still using a descendant from that first container of Yoplait, as my starter yogurt. For this last batch of homemade yogurt I used a starter from my freezer that had been there for over a year, and the yogurt still turned out great. My freezer is a 0 degree F freezer. My thinking is that yogurt cultures remain viable for a year and a half or longer if kept at 0 degrees. Results may be less reliable if storing yogurt starters in a freezer that is not as cold, or that repeatedly self-defrosts.

Another update -- March 2019

I made yogurt this month with some frozen starter which was dated June 2017. Yep, it had been frozen for nearly 2 years and it still made high quality yogurt. This starter is a descendant from my first container of Yoplait, bought in 2012. I've made dozens of batches of yogurt with descendants of this starter, and still the yogurt is high quality. After making yogurt for about 7 years, I have found that sticking to precise temperatures in heating the milk and incubating the yogurt is perhaps the most important aspect of successful yogurt-making. Making my own yogurt is very satisfying. A gallon of milk plus 6 to 8 ounces of starter yields 3 and 1/2 quarts of yogurt, for about $2.20. That's about 63 cents per quart. That's a savings of over $4, if I had bought 3 1/2 quarts of plain yogurt at the grocery store. Very satisfying.

_______________________________________________________

Querly Quilling -- Floral Greetings

by Grace Mounce

First of all, hello to all of you readers at creativesavv!  I am Grace Mounce, Lili Mounce's daughter; and I am here to share the magic of paper quilling with you all!  But first, let me tell you a quick little story.

I have always loved crafting, and I can remember a time when I would spend about two hours sitting in the art/craft book section of my library picking through shelves of craft books and selecting each one as I would a perfectly ripe, juicy blackberry.  It was only when I got home, however, that I would discover that most of the crafts in the books had a "what you need" list with such foreboding supplies as glycerin and acetate.  As a young girl, not only did I lack the money or means of transportation for accessing these items; I didn't even have a clue what that acetate stuff was.  Fortunately, however, there was one craft that never let me down; and this craft, as you might have guessed, was paper quilling.  I learned this art, which is referred to by some as paper filigree, from a lovely Sunday School teacher; and because it can be done with basically as little as glue, paper, and a toothpick, I could quill pretty much any time I wanted to.

I hope that you too discover how delightful this craft can be.  Quilling is a wonderfully frugal and useful art--it provides crafters (kids and adults alike) with a cheap activity, and it does not take much effort to create spectacular quilled creations.  In this post, I will demonstrate one of the handiest uses for quilling: making quilled greeting cards.  As you can find out in a previous post on this blog, making a greeting card is transparently cheaper than buying one; moreover, a handmade quilled greeting card shares kindness with and elicits amazement from the recipient.  And did I mention that the card that I will show you how to make is easy?  In fact, it took me about three hours to create; and I was taking pictures, determining measurements, and arguing with my sister during that time as well!

Here are the supplies you will need to quill your card.  Notice that there is no acetate necessary for this craft.  All you need is plain or colored card stock (thick paper) for the card portion, a toothpick or darning needle (or any stick that is about as thin; you can also buy a professional quilling tool at craft stores or on the internet for as cheap as $1.50, but a thin toothpick or needle works fine for me), glue, scissors, a ruler, a pencil and pen, an eraser, and quilling strips.  These are thin strips of paper that can be found at either craft store such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels or online (for about $1.50 for a pack of fifty in one color), but I usually prefer to make my own using plain letter paper and markers or colored pencils.  It's cheaper and usually more convenient for me.

Here's a picture of the quilling strip creation process.  To make your own quilling strips, all you need to do is mark and cut along lines that are 1/8" apart from each other  on a piece of paper and color them in.  Markers work well for bold coverage of the paper, and colored pencils offer a range of pastels and specific brights.  Just make sure that you erase all pencil lines before you color so that they don't show up on the final strips.

Coloring a quilling strip can be difficult, so I advise securing it to your workspace with your hand as shown below.  Your index finger and thumb should hold it taut while you color.  For this project, I made five 8 1/2" long yellow strips, one 6" pastel coral strip, and four 4" light green strips.

Now let's begin quilling!  With your quilling tool, take one of your 8 1/2" or 6" strips and begin to roll it around the stick as you would a little roll of bathroom tissue.  Here is an image of the process.

Once you have reached the end of the strip, carefully remove it from your tool while keeping the coil intact with your index finger and thumb; then, separate your finger and thumb a little bit and witness the magic.  From a skinny piece of paper, you have created an elegant spiral!  If it is an 8 1/2" strip, it should be roughly 3/8" of an inch in diameter; if it is 6" long, it should be about 1/4" in diameter.  You may want to let it sit on your workspace to loosen if the diameter is smaller.

To preserve your beautiful coil, spread a very tiny amount of glue on the tip of the strip.  Note that I bolded, underlined, and italicized the words "very tiny."  Directly squirting the glue from a glue bottle, in fact, would probably give you too much; I recommend putting a little on your finger first and then transferring it to the quilled strip.

 Once you are done, repeat the process for your remaining 8 1/2" and 6" strips.  For your 4" strips, roll them on the quilling tool until there is a 1 1/2" tail left; then remove the coil and let it loose so that it looks like the extending green strips on the card below or a lock of hair on a little curly-headed fairy.

Now it's time to glue the coils together and watch what they create.  Spread glue on the sides of the circles to create the flower shape shown on the image of the card at the end of the post.  Notice that the coil made from the 6" strip is in the middle with the five 8 1/2" strips surrounding it.  You will also want to glue the 4" tailed curls in back-to-back pairs and glue each pair to the sides of one of the petals in the flower.  Once you are done, let it dry.  Doesn't it look lovely so far? It still has to be glued onto the card, but give yourself some applause for the masterpiece that you have before you now!

To make a card on which to glue your quilled creation, cut two pieces of card stock, one that is 4" by 7" and one that is 3" by 2 1/2" (for mine, I chose pink and white, respectively).  Fold the larger piece in half lengthwise and glue the smaller piece onto one of the sides of the card.  There should be a 1/2" wide frame surrounding the smaller piece as there is in the picture below.

Now that the card is ready, you can begin the final step of the process.  Spread a thin layer of glue on the top left corner of the card and place the flower upon it, making sure that you have spread just the right amount of glue to fit the size and shape of the flower.  Shape the stems of your flower so that they extend directly below and to the right, creating a 90 degree angle; then, spread glue on the area where the coils of the stems meet the card and secure them down.  To finish the card, you can write a short little message on the framed square of paper such as "A Cordial Invitation," "Happy Birthday," "Please let me borrow the car tonight," or simply "Mom."

 Your card is done!  Aren't you proud of yourself?  You have created a beautiful gift that is not only a frugal but also an artistic alternative to a store-bought card.  And take note that people are impressed by quilling--you will undoubtedly receive praise.

Thank you so much for taking the time to quill with me!  I hope you had fun; and if it was frustrating at times, don't worry.  Quilling, as with all art forms, gets easier with experience and trial and error.  Practice makes perfect, so I also recommend searching your library for quilling books with treasure troves of new project ideas; you will need them, after all, since quilling is a highly addictive craft.  And many thanks to my mother for allowing me to do this guest post!  Creative savv is a wonderful blog, and I am so glad to have been a part of it!

Here's another quilled greeting card.

Using every last bit of deodorant: good to the last drop

Got 10 minutes?  Not the classiest of subjects, but here's what I was up to the other day, while waiting for the laundry to finish.

Getting every last bit out of my stick deodorant.
Tools I used:

pocket knife with tiny screw driver or toothpick and flat head screwdriver accessories
table knives (2) for scraping out container, and cutting a tiny bit off my lip balm
small dish
piece of paper
microwave
rubber spatula

I disassembled the deodorant package into 3 parts, the holder, the lid and the part that goes up and down dispensing the deodorant.

Using my tools I scraped out as much as I could, out of all three parts, into a small, microwaveable bowl. I also, shook the piece of paper into the bowl. As the stuff was dry and flakey in parts (especially inside the main container), I cut off a very tiny smidge of plain lip balm to add to the mix. (This just gives the mixture a bit of moisture to hold it together better. You could also use a drop of mineral oil, or tiny dab of petroleum jelly.) I put the dish in Microwave for 15 seconds, then scraped it all together into a nice neat pile with the rubber spatula. I ended up with a mound the size of a marble, about 10 days worth of deodorant. Sometimes there's even more, quite a bit more, trapped inside the main container, beneath the part that moves up and down.

To apply, I just use my fingers. Sounds kind of gross, but the warmth of my hands helps the mixture to go on more smoothly. I have also tried squares of cotton fabric (like muslin), and tissue, for when not wanting to get any on my hands. And those do work, too. After a few days, my little pot of deodorant will get a bit dry. My remedy is to drop a bit of hand lotion onto it every few days. It seems to add just the right amount of moisture to soften it up for use.

The plastic parts, I also reuse. The holder, dispenser and lid become fresheners either in my sock drawer, or at the bottom of the hamper. I've been toying with the idea of making my own deodorant, so will hang on to a couple of these for applicators. Will keep you posted.