Connie's Corner

Homemade yogurt

2011-11-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

There is nothing better than making things yourself. That way you know exactly what is in your food.
I recently learned how to make my own plain yogurt. Here's what you do!

Take 1 qt water (4 cups)
add powdered milk + 1/3 cup more than what your brand requires. Mine calls for 1 1/3 cup so I add 1 2/3 cup. Mix and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, allow milk to cool naturally to 110 degrees. At this point add 1 Tablespoon of plain yogurt. Unpasteurized is best, but if you cannot find it you may use regular plain yogurt. Put milk in a glass jar and keep warm at 115 degrees for three hours. I use my dehydrator to keep the yogurt warm. At the end of three hours you should have a very nice yogurt. Add fruit if you desire.

At our RS meeting we were shown different ways to keep the yogurt warm for processing. The most ingeniouse way (I thought) was done in a cooler with an electric heating pad. Place the milk in a quart jar, wrap with a towel, place in the cooler (ice-chest) with an electric heating pad on low to med. Close lit. Let rest for 3 to 5 hours. Check after three hours to see if the milk has set to yogurt. If not give it more time until it is set. If yogurt "cooks" too long it will be bitter.

My husband use to make yogurt on his mission in Italy. He use to place his container of yogurt in a bath tub full of warm water. Go out tracking for several hours and when he came home he had yogurt.

So you see you don't need a fancy yogurt maker, you could probably set your oven for 115 degrees and make it that way as well. Just make sure to cover your jar or else your yogurt will develop a "skin" on top. If this happen just remove the top layer and all is good! Happy yogurt making.

White Pumpkins -

2011-11-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

As I was getting ready to can my pumpkins I was quite surprise when I cut open my white pumpkin - they were white inside . . . In Virginia white pumpkins are a darker orange than regular pumpkins. Luckily I had both a white and an orange pumpkin. I cooked both and mixed the two and this is what I go.

Last Canning of the Season - Pumpkin

2011-11-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

I have been canning pumpkin like this for years and I just found out that it should not be pureed but should be canned in chunks, because supposedly it does not get hot enough in the center when it is done this way - not hot enough to kill the bacteria in a pressure canner. Well I went ahead and did it anyway and once I took it out of the canner it was still bubbling in the jars an hour in a half later. I think I got it hot enough! But I would never suggest that you do it my way. Follow the US Canning guide.

A Day with The Grandkids!

2011-11-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Oh To Be A Dog!

2011-11-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

Oh To Be A Dog!

2011-11-06T05:27:00.000-08:00

There’s No Substitute For Butter - Actually there is!

Coconut Spread. I was a little skeptical at first but once I tried it I loved it. I f you don’t like coconut don’t worry. It doesn’t taste like coconut. I love it on toast. I haven’t tried it with my eggs yet, but I bet it would be good. It is a bit pricy to replace butter fully – especially with the holiday baking coming on, but when you have to worry about high cholesterol like I do, every little bit helps. Hmmm . . . Wonder how it would work on basting a turkey?!!

Check out this link for more info and great flavors of coconut spreads. www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com

2011-11-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Grandkids are the best source of entertainment!

2011-11-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Blueberry-Maple Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup whole flaxseeds (equals ½ cup ground)

1 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup nonfat buttermilk, (see Tip)

1/4 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon sugar

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

2. Grind flaxseeds in a spice mill (such as a clean coffee grinder) or dry blender. Transfer to a large bowl. Add whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; whisk to blend. Whisk eggs and maple syrup in a medium bowl until smooth. Add buttermilk, oil, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla; whisk until blended.

3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with sugar.

4. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly, 15 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly.

TIPS & NOTES

Tip: No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make “sour milk”: mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

New To Me!

2011-11-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

I went to a Relief Society activity on healthy cooking and learned so many great things that I wanted to share them because they are things I wish I had known years ago. So let’s talk about . . . . Lecithin!

Lecithin is naturally found in the foods that we eat, especially rich foods, such as egg yolk, soybeans, grains, wheat germ, fish, legumes, yeast, peanuts, etc

Majority of commercial lecithin’s sold in the market today come from soybean (mostly), sunflower, and grape seed.

I learned that you can use liquid lecithin in place of pam or cooking spray to keep foods from sticking to pans. I tried it the other day when I made some homemade blueberry muffins. It worked great, in fact better than pam and the clean up of the muffin tin was a breeze.

Now instead of getting extra fat with my breads and muffins I get a healthier alternative.

Liquid lecithin can also be used as an 'anti-spattering' agent for shallow frying. I haven’t tried it yet but I suppose you just add a little to your oil.

Lecithin can be used to lower the fat content of some foods at the same time enable them to still taste good, therefor it may have a positive affect on those with high cholesterol levels in the blood stream and is said to support brain function and heart health. That is what the scientist say anyway.

Hey I need get all the brain function help I can get!

The following are some of the many health claims that lecithin is said to have:

• Cardiovascular health

• Liver and cell function

• Fat transport and fat metabolism

• Reproduction and child development

• Treatment for gallstones

• Improvement in memory, learning and reaction time

• Healthy hair and skin

• Cell communication

• Physical performance and muscle endurance

• Relief of arthritis

Grandma Status!

2010-04-11T14:55:00.001-07:00

Clarice & Savanah

On March 29th 2010 I became a Grandma for the first time.

Savanah Paige was born weighing 8 lbs 5 oz and 21 inches long.

Savanah Paige Garcia

I'm back!

2010-03-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

surviving record breaking heat in Arizona

Well it has been two years since my last post so I guess it is time to do an update.

My new adventure will be Grandma Status! My two oldest Kids are having kids of their own.

I was here in Utah 7 months ago and had a great adventure. Visited so many places and did many things such as climb Angels Landing with Dan and Rachael.

Went to Mt. Rushmore for the 4th of July with Clarice.

Went Jet skiing and to sliding Rock with Mikey and Bryan, Scott and Nathan and Clairce & Eduardo.

Went to Arizona with Dan & Rachael and to St. George to visit our good friends the Koyles.

Here are just a few pictures since I am not at home on my own computer to access my own photo's.

Angel's Landing Zion National Park

Finally!!!!

2008-05-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

May 1st 2008 Utah State Uni.