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Real Food - Real Life

Homemade Yogurt

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After many years of making our yogurt, I feel like I’m finally ready to put down all my tips into writing. To start with, we are going to focus on dairy based yogurt. If you want to make non-dairy yogurt, you’ll need to go elsewhere.

Once you’ve got a good batch of yogurt, you’ll want to top it with granola or müesli. I also love using it in smoothies and overnight oats. You can also add yogurt into your favorite waffle or pancake recipe. And if you get a nice tangy batch of yogurt, it makes a great substitute for sour cream.

Why make your own yogurt?

As with many things, I started making our yogurt because it saves money. Basically, your only cost is the milk. It does take some time to make yogurt, but it is really mostly a matter of timing and planning. Most of the process is hands off and waiting.

I also love that I know the ingredients in my yogurt. My yogurt has lots of good bacteria and probiotics in it, which is not always the case with store yogurt – but more about that later.

The basic process of yogurt making

My basic process of making yogurt involves the following steps:

  • Start with milk and a bit of yogurt as starter.
  • Slowly heat the milk up to 180 F and maintain for 2 minutes.
  • Cool the milk back down to 110 F.
  • Add the yogurt starter into the warm milk and allow the whole pot to rest in a warm spot for 12-24 hours.
  • Chill the yogurt for at least 4 hours before eating.

That’s it in a nutshell.

You may find recipes that don’t call for the heating process, but I find that my final yogurt is thicker and creamier with the heating method. Heating the milk is a method of pasteurizing the milk to kill any bacteria that may compete with the yogurt bacteria. It will allow the whey proteins to denature and coagulate to enhance the viscosity and texture of the final yogurt. Some recipes will also tell you to maintain the 180 F temp for 10-20 minutes for a thicker yogurt. I don’t personally find that extra heating time is necessary.

The 110 F temperature is important because it’s the ideal temp for the yogurt fermentation to take place. If you accidentally cool down the milk lower than 110 F, just allow it to ferment a bit longer to account for the time it takes for the mixture to come back up to 110 F once it’s in your yogurt maker (or other warm spot)

How long you ferment the yogurt is your decision. Some people do as short as 8 hours, but I find yogurt at a longer fermentation is a bit thicker and has a nicer tanginess to it.

Do I need a yogurt maker?

In short – no. A yogurt maker or a yogurt setting on your electric pressure cooker is just a way to control the temperature to set at 110 F. I had a $20 yogurt maker that worked for me for over 10 years. But if you are just getting into this, or if you don’t want to go out and buy a new one-use appliance (I don’t blame you), try the following first:

  • Check your electric pressure cooker and see if it has a yogurt setting. Most do now and they are wonderful. Use this if you have it.

No yogurt setting or maker? Then wrap your warm pot of milk and yogurt starter in a towel and set it into a larger cooler or the oven with a light on for the fermentation period. You can use an instant read thermometer to track the air temperature in the oven or cooler, if you really want to be accurate, but this works without that extra work. Alternatively, you can set the towel wrapped pot in a warm spot – such as on the top of your refrigerator – and go from there. You can even set the pot on a heating pad to help it keep warm. Once you’ve picked your spot, check the yogurt at about 8-12 hours to make sure it is thickened and doing its thing.

Do I need an instant read thermometer?

No, you don’t. Just like the yogurt setting on your instant pot, a good thermometer can make the difference between good and great yogurt, but it is not entirely necessary. I currently use an instant read thermometer with a clip that stays in my milk while it heats and cools. It has the added feature of an alarm that goes off at 180 F so I don’t scorch my milk.

Before I got my current thermometer, I used a candy thermometer for many years. So anything you have handy should work. No thermometer at all? Follow the temperature descriptions in the recipe and you should end up fine.

What type of milk is best?

Use the best milk you can afford. We are working with a two ingredient recipe here, so if you have access to high quality milk, this is a good place to use it.

Whole milk makes the thickest yogurt and that is what I generally use for my yogurt. If you are using a lower fat yogurt, you can thicken the yogurt by adding 1/4 cup of dry powdered milk when you stir in the yogurt starter.

What if my yogurt is too thin?

If you end up with thinner yogurt than you’d like, you can drain the whey from the yogurt and make a greek yogurt. You can drain as much or as little whey off the yogurt as you like to adjust the thickness. Just line a colander with a couple coffee filters and set over a bowl. Add the yogurt to the calendar and give it a couple hours to drain until it is as thick as you like.

What about yogurt starter?

When you are starting with your own homemade yogurt, I recommend using a plain, unflavored whole milk yogurt from your favorite grocery store as a starter. You will use about 2-4 tablespoons of that yogurt to make two quarts of homemade yogurt.

Don’t eat the rest of that container of yogurt! You just made your own homemade yogurt, right? So, save that extra yogurt to make future batches of homemade yogurt. Just fill up an ice cube tray with that yogurt and freeze. When the cubes are frozen, pop them into a ziplock bag and keep frozen until you want to make yogurt again. Use one or two cubes per new batch – pop them out into a bowl when you start to heat the milk up and they will be thawed by the time the milk cools down to 110 F.

You can also save some of your homemade yogurt in the freezer to use to make future batches. But… (now this gets interesting), this won’t work forever. Store yogurt has active cultures in it, usually about 4-5 cultures. Those are the cultures that create good flavor or make the yogurt easy to culture for mass production. But over time, those cultures get contaminated and weaken and won’t produce as tasty of a yogurt. After somewhere between 5-10 batches of yogurt where you are using the yogurt from the last batch to make the next batch, your yogurt will start tasting slightly off. At that point, the yogurt culture has become “weak” and you need to restart with a new container of yogurt from the store.

If you really get into yogurt making – or you really just love good yogurt, then you’ll want to look up heritage yogurt cultures. These are the European and Middle Eastern yogurts that people talk about when they travel. I use a Bulgarian yogurt culture that is just amazing in flavor. Heritage yogurts have a wider range of flavors and textures and can be a lot of fun to experiment with.

Homemade Yogurt – With or Without the Instant Pot

Here is my tried and true method of making homemade yogurt. I love this recipe because it saves money and contains only milk and yogurt cultures.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 12 hours
Chilling Time 4 hours
Course Breakfast, Snack
Servings 8 1 cup

Equipment

  • 1 yogurt maker or pressure cooker with a yogurt setting if you don't have a yogurt maker, see the notes below
  • 1 medium to large saucepan
  • 1 instant read thermometer a thermometer makes this easier, but if you don't have one, follow the temperature notes in the recipe.
  • 1 whisk
  • 4 2 cup mason jars optional

Ingredients
  

  • 8 cups whole dairy milk You can use lower fat milk, but whole milk gives the creamiest results. See the recipe notes for more tips on using lower fat milks.
  • 3-4 tbsp plain, whole milk yogurt 

Instructions
 

  • In a large saucepan, heat milk slowly over low heat to 180 F, or until it is steaming and at a bare simmer with bubbles around the edges, but not boiling. Stir the milk occasionally as it heats. Remove milk from heat and cool milk down to 110 F or lower. It should be warm, but not hot. If you stick your finger in the milk for 10 seconds, it should feel pleasantly warm, but not hot. 
  • Transfer 1/2 cup of the warm milk into a small bowl and whisk in yogurt until it is well combined. Add this yogurt milk mixture back to the rest of the milk and whisk to make sure it is well combined. 
  • Place milk and yogurt mixture into a yogurt maker (see notes below) and set the time for 8-24 hours, until it is thick and tangy.
  • Transfer the pot to the refrigerator and chill for at least another 4 hours. It will continue to thicken as it chills.

Notes

  • You can substitute low-fat milk – the higher milk-fat, the creamier and thicker the final yogurt. 
  • If you use skim milk, you can whisk in 1/2 cup of dry milk powder or 1 teaspoon of gelatin in step 3 to make a thicker yogurt.
  • You should heat the milk slowly – don’t rush step 1. 
  • You can cool the milk quickly in step 2, if you are in a hurry. Ways to do this include: use an ice bath, transfer the milk into into a cool bowl, stir the milk frequently.
  • The longer the yogurt sits, the tangier it will become. 
  • If you’d like to make Greek yogurt, set a calendar or sieve over a bowl and line the colander with cheesecloth or coffee filters. Take your finished yogurt (either chilled or not) and pour it into the colander. Allow to drain in the fridge for 4-6 hours until it is as thick as you like. If it gets too thick, you can whisk some of the whey back into the yogurt. Transfer the yogurt to containers. The whey can be used for smoothies, soups, lemonade, or bread baking. 
  • Your final yogurt will taste like the yogurt that you used to start this batch with, so be sure to use a yogurt you like. 
  • You can save a few tablespoons to your finished yogurt for future yogurt making. I do this by freezing some of the chilled yogurt in ice cube trays and storing in a ziplock bag in the freezer. 
  • If you find you enjoy yogurt making, you can also find heirloom starter cultures on line or at some health food stores. These starter cultures typically have a wider range of cultures in them vs. the 3-4 that you find in store-bought yogurt, so they can have a better flavor and may be considered healthier as a pro-biotic food. Follow the directions on the package to active the powdered cultures and once you have a good batch of yogurt going, you can freeze small amounts for future batches of yogurt – it’s a continuous loop of yogurt! 
Keyword breakfast, healthy, homemade, instant pot

Müesli

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Müesli is a wonderful, healthy alternative to granola. And it’s even easier to make than granola, because no oven is involved. Unlike granola, müesli has no added fat or sugar to mess with the goodness of the whole grains, nuts and dried fruits.

For serving, I spoon about 1/2 a cup of müesli over homemade yogurt for my morning breakfast. Add a banana or some berries and you are really set to go for the morning.

And if you are into overnight oats, you can sub müesli for the rolled oats. Just place about 1/2 cup of müesli into a 2 cup mason jar, cover with milk or coconut water, add some yogurt and then top off with your favorite fruit (frozen blueberries are mine). Let sit in the fridge overnight (or two) and you’ve got breakfast ready for the morning.

This recipe really should be considered as a starting point. You can mix and match your grains, nuts, seeds and fruits as you wish. A good rule of thumb to start with is about 80% grains and 20% nuts and dried fruit, but feel free to play with that ratio. I’ve added some warm spices to the mix for a little extra depth of flavor, but they can be left out or played with as you like. Here are some ideas for the ingredients to get you started.

  • Grains: Rolled oats, wheat bran, whole rye, rye flakes, whole barley, sorghum flakes, quinoa flakes, millet puffs, millet flakes, buckwheat groats.
  • Nuts/seeds: Sliced almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas, chia seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes.
  • Dried fruit: Dried apricots, dried cherries, dried figs, raisins, golden raisins, currants, apple chips, dried blueberries.

Müesli

andrea
Müesli is a healthy, low-sugar alternative to granola. Use this recipe as a starting point to make your favorite combination of grains, nuts, and dried fruits. Serve with milk or yogurt.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Course Breakfast
Servings 12 1/2 cup

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup buckwheat groats
  • 1 3/4 cups rye flakes or rolled oats 
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
  • 2 tbsp shelled sunflower seeds
  • 1 tbsp flaxseed
  • 1/4 cup dried cherries
  • 1/4 cup dried apricots, small diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
 

  • Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well combined.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to six months. 

To Serve

  • Serve 1/4 – 1/2 cup of muesli with an equal amount of yogurt or milk, a drizzle of honey, and fresh fruit like a sliced banana or berries. 
  • Müesli also works really well in overnight oats as a substitute for plain rolled oats. 
Keyword breakfast, easy, healthy, oats, whole grains

Recipe for Holiday Jam

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First off, if anyone can come up with a better name than Holiday Jam, please let me know. At any rate, this is a little bit strawberry, a little bit cranberry, some spice, some sweet, and some tang. It pretty much has it all.

The original recipe that I based this on was a Ball Recipe that called for 5 lbs of sugar and powdered pectin. At that level of sugar, I’m not sure how you even taste anything else. I’ve cut the recipe in half to make it a small batch, and I’ve cut the sugar way down and taken out the powdered pectin. I don’t like the taste of powdered pectin and it isn’t necessary anyway, because cranberries are so high in natural pectin.

I’m pretty darn happy with the end result on this jam. It would be great as a hostess gift over the holidays. We are planning to use it over cream cheese or goat cheese on a cheese plate. I think it would also be great on turkey sandwiches. Honestly, this one, I’ve just been eating straight up on crackers. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am!

Holiday Jam
Recipe Type: Preserves
Author: Andrea
This is a bright jam that combines strawberries and cranberries. It is perfect for canning in small jars for holiday gift giving. It goes well over cream cheese or goat cheese, on sandwiches, or crackers.
Ingredients
  • 4 cups frozen strawberries, slightly thawed
  • 2 cups fresh cranberries
  • 1 orange, peeled and seeded
  • zest of one orange (from above), finely shredded or chopped
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t fresh ginger
  • 1/4 t nutmeg
  • 1/8 t cloves
  • 3 cups of granulated sugar
Instructions
  1. Prepare a boiling water bath and 5 half-pint (8 oz) jars or 10 4-oz jelly jars. A boiling water bath can be done in any stock pot that allows for water to cover the jars by at least 1-inch. A tall stock pot is fine to use, just place a towel or rack in the bottom so the jars don’t sit directly on the heat source. If your stock pot doesn’t fit all of your jelly jars (it may not if you are doing 4-oz jars), only jar up the ones that will fit in the pot, keeping the rest of the jam warm on the stove while the first batch of jars processes. Once the first jars are done processing, jar the remaining jam and process in a second batch. Alternately, you can just jar any extra jam to eat right away or freeze.
  2. Wash and prepare lids and rings, according to the package directions.
  3. Place strawberries, cranberries and peeled orange in food processor and pulse to medium to finely chopped, but not pureed. It will break down some as it cooks, so it is better to go with larger pieces than too small.
  4. Combine the fruit mixture in a large skillet or dutch oven. The skillet allows for more moisture loss over the surface, which reduces cooking time and maintains the fresh fruit flavor. Stir the fruit over medium-high heat until they are combined, about 2 minutes.
  5. Add the spices and sugar.
  6. Stirring regularly over high heat, bring the fruit to a boil and cook until it bubbles and looks quite thick.
  7. This will take about 15-20 minutes. It’s done when you pull a spatula through the jam and it doesn’t immediately run back into the cleared space. You can also check the temperature with a candy thermometer – it’s done when it hits 220 F.
  8. When the jam is done cooking, remove the pot from heat and allow to rest 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Skim any foam off the surface and reserve. Ladle the de-foamed jam into the prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims with a wet paper towel, remove air bubbles, if necessary.
  9. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
  10. After the processing time is complete, remove the jars from the water bath and place on a towel on the counter to cool. Allow to cool, untouched, for 24 hours and then check seals.
  11. If you don’t want to process this recipe (or if you have a jar that doesn’t seal) – just jar the jams up to step 8 and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. It will also freeze well.

Lentil Soup in the Pressure Cooker

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This is a super straightforward recipe for lentil soup. Pair it with some crusty bread and you’ve got a comfort food perfect for cool evenings. I’ve also been known to make a batch during warmer weather, since the leftovers make a super easy and healthy lunch.

If you want to mix the flavors up a bit, you can swap out the thyme and Italian seasoning with cumin and smoked paprika. Turmeric, red pepper flakes and curry powder also make a nice spice combination.

I used green lentils in this recipe – Trader Joe’s carries them. If you only have yellow or red lentils, that’s fine also – just change the cooking time to 8 minutes.

I will note – the lentils are a good source of protein and fiber. Lots of good things going on with lentils, but if you miss the meat, feel free to add in some cooked chicken or sausage at the end. Pop the lid back on for a few minutes (no heat) to let everything get warm.

Enjoy!

Lentil Soup in the Pressure Cooker
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 large carrots, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 t Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cup of green lentils
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, fire roasted
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1/2 t sea salt, or to taste
  • freshly grated parmesan, for serving
Instructions
  1. Preheat the base of an electric pressure cooker on the brown or sauté setting.
  2. In the preheated base, add olive oil and allow to heat for a minute. Add onion, carrots, celery and sauté until onions are translucent and a little soft – not brown.
  3. Add thyme, Italian seasoning, and pepper and stir into onion mixture. Add garlic and sauté another minute.
  4. Add green lentils, tomatoes, and broth. Stir.
  5. Close and lock lid on the pressure cooker. Check that the valve is set to sealing and turn keep warm setting off. Set to cook at high pressure for 12 minutes.
  6. When the cooking time is up, release the pressure using the quick release method.

 

Sweet Potatoes with Black Eyed Peas – Electric Pressure Cooker

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In this recipe, we will be cooking two separate dishes at once in the pressure cooker. The black eyed peas cook on the bottom of the pot while the the sweet potatoes cook above the peas in a steamer basket. The liquid from the peas is enough to cook the sweet potatoes and everything is done cooking at the same time. Brilliant!

Serve the peas on top of the sweet potatoes and top with a bit of greek yogurt. If you want to make this vegan, swap the yogurt out with balsamic vinegar.

A couple notes on the ingredients –

  • The black eyed peas are high in fiber making them heart healthy. They are also low calorie and low fat. Use dried black eyed peas in this recipe – you can find them in the supermarket with the rice and other dried beans. You’ll soak them 8 hours or overnight for this recipe. Soak some extra black eyed peas and freeze them for future recipes – 1 cup of dried beans will equal 2 cups of soaked beans and is equal to one 14-16 ounce can of black eyed peas.
  • Harissa is a fiery and garlicky North African hot chili pepper paste. I found a small jar of it at Trader Joe’s, so it’s becoming pretty easy to find in regular supermarkets. It pairs well with the coriander, caraway, and cumin seeds called for in the recipe.
  • If you don’t have harissa, coriander, caraway, or cumin seeds in your pantry, feel free to eliminate any that you are missing. You can substitute in a chopped jalapeño pepper for the harissa. Powdered versions of the spices will work in a pinch, also – just skip step 2 and add the powdered spices at the end of step 3 with the garlic.
Sweet Potatoes with Black Eyed Peas – Electric Pressure Cooker
Recipe Type: Pressure Cooker
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 3-4 medium sweet potatoes, sliced in half length-wise
  • 6-8 T plain whole milk yogurt, or more to taste
  • 1/2 t coriander seeds
  • 1/2 t caraway seeds
  • 1 t cumin seeds
  • 1 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 cup dried black eyed peas, rinsed and sorted
  • 1 T tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 T harissa, or more to taste
  • 1/2 t sea salt
  • 2 cups of baby spinach
Instructions
  1. Place the sweet potatoes in a steamer basket with cut side up, side to side. If you need to layer the potatoes, do the second layer at an angle to the first layer. Set aside.
  2. Pre-heat the pressure cooker using the brown or sauté setting.
  3. Add the spices and toast for about 30 seconds in the pressure cooker until you can smell the spice.
  4. Add olive oil to the pan and let heat up a few seconds. Add the onion and sauté until soft. Add the garlic gloves and sauté another 30-60 seconds.
  5. Add the black-eyed peas, tomato paste, and water. This is the point of no return for spicy food eaters – if everyone likes spicy food, you can add the harissa now. If you have someone who doesn’t like spicy, wait and add the harissa with the salt.
  6. Stir the black eyed peas. Lower the steamer basket on top of the pea mixture.
  7. Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes. Turn off the keep-warm setting.
  8. When the cooking time is over, do a natural release for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure with a quick release.
  9. Remove the steamer basket and sweet potatoes.
  10. Stir the spinach and salt (and harissa, if not added yet) into the black eyed peas.
  11. Serve the black eyed peas on top of the sweet potatoes with yogurt on the top.

 

Gingerbread Cheesecake in the InstantPot

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It’s just before Thanksgiving and I’ve been assigned to bring dessert to a friend’s house this weekend. Whoopee! Cheesecake, anyone? Yes, please. I’m not in the mood for more pumpkin, and I was imagining something eggnog or rum flavored. But when I didn’t have eggnog around the house, I landed on gingerbread.

The recipe that inspired me for this cheesecake was originally from This Old Gal’s blog, and here is the link to her Holiday Spice Peppernuts Cheesecake. She has lots of amazing tips on her website about making cheesecakes in the pressure cooker. I’ll touch on my favorites in this post, but if you are inspired to start using your pressure cooker for cheesecakes, be sure to check out her blog.

For my crust, I crushed up my favorite molasses cookies and added some butter. If you don’t have molasses cookies sitting around, try gingerbread cookies  or the standard graham crackers. Just add 2 T of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the crushed graham crackers.

Gingerbread Cheesecake in the InstantPot
Recipe Type: Cheesecake
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
This is a holiday flavored cheesecake that will amaze everyone!
Ingredients
  • For Crust:
  • 1 1/2 cup of crushed molasses or gingerbread cookies
  • 2 T butter, melted
  • For Cheesecake:
  • 16 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 T flour
  • 1/4 cup of blackstrap molasses
  • 1/2 t ground cloves
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 1/4 cup of whipping cream or heavy cream
  • 3 eggs
Instructions
  1. Line the bottom of a 7-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
  2. For crust, combine cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 7-inch springform (cheesecake) pan and slightly up the sides of the pan.
  3. Place pan into the freezer while you are making the cheesecake batter.
  4. Prepare the pressure cooker by placing a steamer rack on the bottom and add 1 1/2 cups water to the cooker. Prepare a sling for the cheesecake.
  5. For cheesecake batter, in your food processor, add the cream cheese and process until it is light and fluffy. Scrape the sides down as needed.
  6. Add the remaining ingredients through the whipping cream to the cream cheese and combine.
  7. Add the eggs one by one and pulse only enough to combine. Do not overtax at this point or the cake will end up with a fluffy texture.
  8. Pour the batter into the cake pan with the prepared crust.
  9. Wrap the bottom of the pan with tin foil, place a paper towel over the top of the cake and cover loosely with tin foil. Use the foil sling to lower the cheesecake into the pressure cooker.
  10. Set the time for 45 minutes on high pressure.
  11. After the cooking time is complete, allow the pressure cooker to natural release for 15 minutes. Then release remaining pressure and remove the cake using the foil sling.
  12. Remove the tin foil and paper towel covering the cake. Allow to rest at room temperature for one hour. Then move the cake to the fridge. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight. The cakes flavor will improve as it chills.

 

Pressure Cooker “Baked” Beans

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My mom has a great baked bean recipe for the crock pot. It takes anywhere from 3- 6 hours to cook in the crock pot and uses canned beans. I have tried and tried to convert her recipe to use soaked, dried beans in the crock pot, but I’ve finally decided I don’t have the patience for them to cook that long. Plus the sauce never got thick enough with the soaked beans. Enter the pressure cooker. After trying several different baked bean recipes for the pressure cooker, I finally found one that came close to what I wanted. A little tweaking and used the seasoning in my mom’s recipe, and I think we have a winner!

Pressure Cooker “Baked” Beans
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
This is an update of my moms crock baked beans. Plan ahead and soak your beans the night before. Soak extra and freeze them and save time the next time you make this recipe.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of dried beans – navy is traditional, but I use a combination of pinto, black, butter and kidney.
  • 6-8 thick cut slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 T molasses
  • 1/4 c catsup
  • 1 t mustard
  • 1/4 t salt
Instructions
  1. The night before or morning of, rinse and soak beans in clean water. Cover by at least three inches of water. After 8-12 hours, drain. You should have about 4 cups of soaked beans, or about 2 pounds.
  2. Heat pressure cooker to sauté and brown bacon. When bacon is almost done, add onion and sauté another 3 or 4 minutes until onion is translucent.
  3. Add drained beans, 2 1/2 cup of water, brown sugar, molasses, catsup, mustard and salt. Stir.
  4. Lock lid on pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 35 minutes. When timer beeps, turn pressure cooker off and wait 10 minutes. After 10 minutes use a quick pressure release to release any remaining pressure. Discard any beans that are floating. Check several beans to see if they’re tender. If not, pressure cook 5 minutes longer and check again.
  5. Leave lid off. Turn pressure cooker to simmer and simmer beans uncovered, stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn’t burn, until the sauce is the desired consistency.
  6. * If you don’t have time for an overnight soak, use the browning setting to bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Boil beans for two minutes. Turn pressure cooker off and let beans soak one hour. Proceed with the recipe as directed.

 

Hot Chocolate

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Hot Chocolate
I have been trying to make a good cup of homemade hot chocolate for a while now. Most of the premade hot cocoa mixes have ingredients that I don’t recognize (even some of the really expensive mixes). And when I find a mix that has ingredients I recognize, I keep finding myself thinking that I should be able to make it at home and with less sugar. So after many iterations, my family and I have finally settled on this recipe. The kids and I did a lot of tastetesting to get to this point – it’s a rough job, but in this case, the kids were champs in helping out.

Hot Chocolate
Author: Andrea
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 5 cups
This makes about 5 cups of cocoa. You decide how many that serves! I also use a pretty minimum amount of sugar – I recommend starting there and adding a little more as you need. I’ve seen recipes that use up to four times as much as this, but it seems unnecessary to me.
Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup of half and half, heavy cream, or whole milk
  • 1/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup of cocoa powder
  • 4 cups of milk (use whole, if you have it)
  • 1/2 -1 t of cinnamon (optional)
  • 1/4 t of nutmeg (freshly grated, if you have it) (optional)
  • 1 t of vanilla
  • mini marshmallows, for serving (optional)
  • whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
  1. Heat the 1/3 cup of half and half with brown sugar in a small sauce pan set over low heat. Heat and stir just until the sugar disolves
  2. Add cocoa powder and 4 cups of milk. Heat and stir with a whisk until just warm enough for drinking.
  3. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla just before serving.
  4. Add marshmallows and whipped cream at serving time.

 

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

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CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI BREAD

It’s that time of the year again – zucchinis are coming out of my ears. I’m constantly dropping off the extra at friends’ and neighbor’s houses. I’m known as the zucchini fairy in several circles. Late in the season, I start leaving the zucchinis without ringing the doorbells, because I’m pretty sure that everybody else is done with zucchini also.

 

One Day's Worth of Zucchini Picking

One Day’s Worth of Zucchini Picking

This is a great recipe for zucchini bread. I really like it because it is not overloaded with fat or sugar. Of course, using whole wheat flour makes it even healthier. But it tastes so good, that you wouldn’t even know that it’s a little bit healthy. It also freezes really well. I often make a triple batch and freeze the extra loaves – just wrap them in some tin foil, freeze, and use within a couple months.

A couple tips to make your bread even better. You can peel the zucchini to get rid of the green skin. Also – if your zucchini is a big guy, you can quarter it and slice out the seeds. To shred the squash, use the larger shredder disk on your food processor or shredder attachment on your mixer.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
If you don’t like little bits of green in your zucchini bread, just peel the zucchini before you shred it.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, melted butter or coconut oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour – I use freshly milled flour
  • 2 T unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 1/4 t baking soda
  • 1 t ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini (about one medium)
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a large 9×5 inch loaf pan.
  2. Combine sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Combine with a whisk.
  3. Whisk applesauce into sugar mixture.
  4. Combine flour, cocoa, soda, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl and add into sugar mixture. Stir until just combined.
  5. Add zucchini and chocolate chips to batter. Don’t overmix.
  6. Pour batter into prepared bread pan.
  7. Bake 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  8. Let cool a few minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a cooling rack.

 

Homemade Fruit Vinegars

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Making your own fruit vinegar sounds so hard. But it’s not. Have you ever had a jar of apple cider go sour accidently? Or a bottle of win or beer? Then you’ve made vinegar and probably not even known it.

I’ve made vinegar from scraps of all sorts of fruits – apple, peach, pear, raspberry, strawberry, and blackberry. I’m even giving cherry a try this spring. Your final vinegars are more interesting than most store-bought options and they have the added advantage of containing beneficial probiotics. Give it a try, you’ve got nothing to loose.

The Basics – Getting Started

Vinegars are one of my favorite ferments to play with – I have to say I’m slightly obsessed with them. I love seeing science in action in my kitchen. This stems back to high school chemistry. I think. Anyway, to make a fruit vinegar, you start with fruit, water, and a little sugar. Mix everything together in a large glass jar with a wide opening. I like the 1/2 gallon Ball jars to start with – they are cheap and easy to find at most hardware stores. I also have some large one gallon jars that I picked up at our local beer brewing shop. You’ll want to use a glass or other non-reactive container for this so the vinegar doesn’t react with the metal. Also, the beneficial bacteria don’t like the metal either. Finally, look for a wide mouth jar since you want a good air to liquid contact area. The bacteria need oxygen to do their job on the vinegar.

I use fruit scraps to get my vinegars started. I love knowing that I’m not throwing away all those apple peals or slightly mushy strawberries. You can use the stems, peels, brown spots, and mushy fruit for this. Just make sure everything is clean – both the jar and the fruit scraps. Basically, you’ll ultimately end up making something out of nothing. Fill the jar about half full of the fruit scraps. Add anywhere from a tablespoon to a quarter cup of sugar per quart and top the jar off of with water. The sugar gives the bacteria a little boost to get to work and it will affect the sweetness of your final product. Try to use water that has not been chlorinated since the chlorine will stop the natural processes that we are aiming to encourage.

As the fermentation process proceeds, the jar may start attracting fruit flies. I normally cover  my containers with a breathable cover (such as a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth) held on with a rubber band. Once I start seeing the flies, the jar usually gets kicked out of the kitchen to either the garage or basement. The temperature range for the fermentation process is pretty wide – between 59 and 94 degrees F – so this gives you a lot of flexibility on where to store your jars as they are fermenting.

During the first step, natural yeast and bacteria (Acetobactor) in the air start to go to work on the sugar and they produce alcohol, essentially turning the water into alcohol. Meanwhile, your fruit is also flavoring the water into juice. You’ll notice some bubbling in the mixture, which is a good sign that your reaction is taking place. Stir the container once a day to keep it oxygenated. Stirring also helps redistribute the fruit so that the pieces sticking out of the top don’t go moldy. If you get a moldy piece of fruit, just pick it out and keep going.

After about a week or so, the bubbling will stop and you can strain off the fruit and let the yeasts and bacteria keep working on the alcohol. At this point, your chemical reaction will change and the alcohol will ferment into vinegar.

This is the point where the process gets really fun – and some people may get grossed out by this stage. But you will start seeing a gelatinous mass begin to cover the top of the vinegar. At first it will look like a foam forming on the top. This mass is called the mother of vinegar and it is actually a cellulose mass of the Acetobactor bacteria. It consumes the alcohol in the liquid and expels acetic acid – or vinegar. The mother will get thicker as the fermentation proceeds. If you have a little unpasteurized apple cider vinegar or mother from a previous batch of vinegar, you can jump start the mother formation by adding a couple tablespoons to your jar. But I’ve actually seen mothers start to form within the first day of removing the fruit scraps.

Once the mother forms, try not to disturb the jar so that the mother can remain floating on the top. If it sinks to the bottom, don’t worry. The fermenation will keep proceeding, but the jar will probably start forming a second mother on the top.

The entire process is an aerobic process, which means that your jar of liquid needs to have oxygen for the chemical processes to occur. So keep the breathable lid on the container this whole time. After about 3-8 weeks, the vinegar will be finished.

Finishing & Bottling

Now the tough question – how do you know when the vinegar is done? For me, it is mostly a matter of taste and smell. Does it smell like vinegar? Yes? Good. To taste it, stick a straw in the container, slide it under the edge of the mother, and see what you think. It’s really a matter of personal taste. The acidity level can have a pretty high range to give you a weaker or stronger vinegar. If it’s too strong, you can always water it down.

What if you let the vinegar go too long? It’ll get stronger – to a point. And then the chemical reactions start backfiring on you and it actually will start converting back to water. This can take a few months or more.

Once you have a vinegar you like, you can filter and bottle the vinegar. First, remove the mother. You can save it for future vinegars. Most of mine get composted. Then filter the vinegar through a cheesecloth and bottle into narrow necked jars. Now you can cap the jars for storage. At this point, you don’t want oxygen contact with the vinegar because you want to stop the fermentation process.

You may find a new mother form in you stored bottles. This is most likely to happen if you don’t bottle it into narrow jars. If it happens, just fish it or strain it out of  there.

Your vinegar will continue to develop flavor as it ages. I have some two year old raspberry vinegar that has wonderfully deep flavor. You can even store the vinegar for three years or more, depending on the vinegar and storage conditions.

Ideas  for Using Vinegar

Obviously, cooking is a great use for flavored vinegars. Homemade vinegar can be used in almost any recipe calling for vinegar – including salad dressings, potato salad, coleslaw, and barbeque sauce. Just don’t use your vinegar in canning recipes that call for 5% vinegar since you don’t know the actual acidity of your vinegar.

If you make up a bunch of apple cider vinegar, you can use it for all sorts of health, cleaning and beauty products. While I do use vinegar in cleaning, I don’t use it for much of the health and beauty stuff myself. If you are interested in this, do a search for uses of apple cider vinegar and you’ll find lots of ideas such as wart remover or a digestive aid. I personally like the ideas for a hair conditioner, but then again I haven’t actually attempted it myself. Although, I will admit to giving the chickens a little apple cider vinegar in their water as a probiotic.

Along the idea of probiotics, as long as you don’t pasteurize or can your vinegar, it contains natural bacteria that are good for your gut. This is the same reason that yogurt and kiefer are good for us. Even using your homemade vinegar in your salad dressings is a great way to help introduce some additional good bacteria to our systems.