Yogurt Cheese

Today I've decide to try my hand at making yogurt cheese. It should take at least six hours for the finished product, so I might as well talk about the process while I'm waiting!

The main idea behind making yogurt cheese, or any cheese for that matter, it getting the extra milk product liquid, or whey, out of the yogurt. I've concocted a drainage system using a mesh strainer, coffee filter and a bowl. I put about a cup of plain non-fat yogurt in the contraption, covered it with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge. Now, I just have to rely on the magical powers of gravity to draw out the excess moisture over the next several hours!

I've never tasted yogurt cheese, but my sources say both the flavor and texture will be like a cream cheese or neufchatel. I'm thinking that once it's complete, I'll pour some homemade jalapeno jelly over it and sample it with a cracker.

 I wonder what I might be able to create using the whey...

Applesauce: a substitute for oil

I've decided to stray from yogurt for a day and talk a little about another healthy substitute used in baking; applesauce. You can easily substitute unsweetened applesauce for oil in any baking recipes such as cookies, quick bread, or cake. Doing this will cut back on fat and calories quite a bit. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) showed that the substituting 1 cup of applesauce for 1 cup of oil in a cupcake recipe led to savings of 220 g of fat and 1900 calories (9 g of fat and 80 calories per cupcake).

The research substituted 1:1 like we did with the sour cream/yogurt. The science involved with the baking process wouldn't suggest using a 1:1 substitution,  which is explained well in this post.  Generally you'll want to start out by substituting about half of the oil called for in the recipe - if the recipe calls for 1cup of oil, use 1/2 c. oil + 1/2 c. applesauce. 

Using applesauce WILL change the taste and texture of the finished product no matter how much you use. Cookies will be a little flimsy, or won't crunch, cakes will be more dense and moist since fats aerate baked goods and allow them be light and fluffy. If you decide you like the difference, slightly increase the ratio- 1 cup oil =1/3 c. oil + 2/3c. applesauce or 1 c. oil = 1/4 c oil + 3/4 c applesauce.

If baking cakes from scratch isn't your bag, try getting one of the boxes of cake mix that just calls for oil and eggs, then substitute half of the oil for applesauce and see what you think. Also, keep in mind this will only work correctly when substituting oil or shortening in a recipe. Substitution for butter is not recommended. I'll go into more detail with butter substitution in later posts.

Note: If you don't buy unsweetened applesauce you can use the sweetened variety, but be sure to cut back on the sugar in the recipe.

Other Substitutions

Yogurt can be used as a substitute for several things in the culinary world. Over the past few years I have done more cooking than ever, and I'm discovering some recipes that include ingredients that I will either never have on hand because they're either expensive or hard to find, or I opt not to use them for health reasons. Buttermilk is the most common of these recipe elements that I have found. For a long time, I used what I thought was a very simple alternative for the fatty, sour milk which was:

1 cup buttermilk = 1 Tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in measuring cup then fill with enough milk to make 1 C.

I still use this from time to time but have also discovered something much more effortless (which is always a plus); simply substitute 1 cup of plain yogurt for 1 cup of buttermilk!

There are surprisingly several other substitutions that use yogurt which I will share in later posts so that I can draw this blog out for as long as possible, and also because I have yet to try some of them.

I've decided to post a baking recipe that uses yogurt. I can't remember if this recipe originally called for sour cream or buttermilk but it's decidedly better for me either way, and quite tasty I might add.


Jam Filled Muffins
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c. vanilla yogurt (you can add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to plain yogurt)
1/4 c. butter, melted
3 T milk

1 egg
1/4 cup jam (any flavor)
(1 T sugar + 1/2 tsp cinnamon)


-combine the first 5 ingredients, make a well in the middle. -combine the next 4 ingredients in another bowl, then pour into the flour well and mix. - fill each muffin tin/paper with 1 T batter, 1 T jam, top with more batter until about 3/4 full. -mix the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Substitute for Sour Cream

Plain yogurt. PLAIN yogurt. PLAIN YOGURT?! Don't let its drab title scare you away! Plain yogurt is a miracle food, I'm convinced, and I plan to convince as many people as possible of this. I first discovered its usefulness while living in Missoula, Montana. There wasn't an Indian restaurant within 100 miles so I had to experiment with making my own Chicken Tikka Masala, a yogurt and spice marinated chicken dish, at home.

The Tikka Masala turned out beautifully and afterward I considered the possible love affair that this simple, creamy package of nutrition and I could have. After trying a spoonful for the first time, I noticed a striking similarity to sour cream and immediately decided that I would make some sort of Tex-Mex meal the next day that would require sour cream as a condiment. The next day I prepared tacos and scooped the plain yogurt into a modest dish that sat next to the cilantro, onions, and other toppings. No one that ate dinner with me that evening even considered the possibility that what they so generously spread over their dish was anything other than sour cream. At the end of the meal I disclosed my little secret to my future husband. He congratulated me on my discovery, which encouraged me to do some research.

Consider this simple comparison from calorieking.com:

Sour Cream (1 Tablespoon)

• 61 calories
• 6 g fat
• 3.7 g saturated fat
• 15 mg sodium
• .9 g protein
• 32.9 mg calcium
• 40.8 mg potassium

Plain Yogurt (1 Tablespoon)

• 17 calories
• .9 g fat
• .6 g saturated fat
•  13 mg sodium
• 1 g protein
• 34.3 mg calcium
• 43.9 mg potassium

The difference in calorie and fat content is amazing! Realistically, the products are very similar. Yogurt is made by essentially the same process as sour cream - fermentation of a dairy product. The main difference is that sour cream is fermented cream and yogurt is fermented milk, which means you get all the nutritional value of milk, less fat, and some of that pro-biotic stuff that everyone's talking about these days.

I know that sour cream probably isn't a common condiment in most households, but if you consider the difference in nutritional value it's worth it to at least try plain yogurt as a substitute. I challenge you to get a small 8oz container for taco night, don't tell anyone that will eat with you, and see what happens. 

Don't forget the option of fat-free plain yogurt is out there, but I understand if baby steps are needed.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

In the Easter post, I had forgotten to mention the fabulous brunch of Strawberry Stuffed French Toast!!! I basically followed this recipe, but of course made some slight changes. Instead of using Texas toast, I found a Blueberry Streusel loaf made by Franz, a regional bread company. The slices used were much smaller than the ones called for in the recipe so I ended up only using two eggs and a splash of milk for "frenching." Also, I made a strawberry syrup similar to what the recipe shows but I used a mixture of dark Karo syrup and maple flavored syrup. The guys thought it was a success and raved about it all day! Here are a couple pictures of the finished product taken just before I sunk my teeth in!

Easter Dinner

I just realized that I haven't posted anything on this blog for quite a long time, and I have made a lot of great stuff over the past months. My creative habits had moved from crafty to culinary over the winter mostly because I couldn't safely sand and polish resin creations inside. With the weather warming up I'm excited to get back into resin casting, but let me tell you a little about my recent kitchen fun.

This Easter I decided to create a delicious feast using recipes from the magazine Saveur that I recently subscribed to. They have some great articles about ingredients and methods used in all styles of cooking and a huge online database of recipes. On their website I found a Pineapple Chipotle Glazed Ham recipe and immediately decided that's what I would make. It was absolutely fantastic and the only thing that I changed was the size of ham used. Here's the recipe.

I took some photos of my finished product but haven't uploaded them yet, so here's a picture from the Saveur website. ;-)



My side dishes consisted of wild rice with asparagus, ginger-honey glazed baby carrots and a smokey cheddar potato casserole. The potato casserole was based off of one that my friend, Tyler, suggested we have at Thanksgiving this last year. His original recipe called for a pint of sour cream and 1/2 c of butter and was DEADLY. I modified it a bit and came up with a great comfort casserole that, of all the dishes, was the only one completely finished up by the end of the meal.

Smokey Sharp Cheddar Potato Casserole

2 lb bag of frozen hash browns, thawed
8oz of plain non-fat yogurt
1 can cream of chicken soup (it probably wouldn't hurt to use the low sodium type)
1/2 c onion, chopped
6-8 oz smokey cheddar cheese, sliced or grated

mix the yogurt, soup, and onions in a bowl. grease crock pot. layer 1/2 of hash browns in crock. pour 1/2 of yogurt/soup mix. layer 1/2 of cheese. repeat layers. cook on low about 4 hours.
-or-
mix all ingredients, except half of the cheese, in large bowl. pour into greased 9x13 baking dish, and bake at 350 for about 30 mins. cover with remaining cheese and return to oven for another 30 minutes.

For dessert, I used another recipe from Saveur magazine. It was from an article about cardamom, which is one of my favorite spices.
Once again, a picture from their site...and click here for the recipe.



These little babies are an explosion of flavor! The pound of butter used mixed with the abundance of ginger and cardamom make for a rich little treat, but I'm in love with them.

Muffins!

The past few weeks I've been frequenting the amazing Missoula farmer's market every Saturday, and manage to come home with tons of fresh goodies on the cheap. Lately I've always managed to have zucchini and huckleberries, and wanted to make a nice treat using both. I found a zucchini and blueberry muffin recipe and substituted one berry for the other. The first batch was awesome and is pictured below.


I then decided to try and make the yummy muffins even yummier - and healthier! So, today I made the muffins again, substituted part of the zucchini for carrots and part of the regular flour for whole wheat. They are SO AWESOME (and prettier than the original batch)!

Here's the recipe:

1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
5T butter or margarine, melted then brought to room temp
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 c sugar
1 c. shredded zucchini
1/2 c. shredded carrots
1 c. huckleberries

-beat: butter, sugar, egg in one bowl; mix all dry ingredients in another. stir shredded veggies in egg mixture, then gradually add flour mixture. fold in berries. bake at 375 for about 25 mins.

tank top

Problem: Yesterday it was hot. I own two tank tops and didn't want to wear either of them. Solution: Attempt to make a tank top out of a ridiculously large t-shirt that I found at a thrift store months ago for a ridiculously cheap price (and that I absolutely love but don't ever wear because of the size issue).

I basically just put the shirt on the ground, set a well-fitting tank on top of it, traced it, then stitched it. I suck at hemming, but I managed to make something fairly wearable for super hot days where you don't really leave the house...

it also makes a nice cover-up for swimwear ;-)

resin casting!

I've been toying with the idea of resin casting for a long time and about a month ago decided to purchase some Easy Cast 2-step epoxy resin and give it a try! I did a bit of research about mold types, inclusions, etc. for a couple of weeks then finally started casting. I found a cool little ice cube tray for $1 to use in the experimental pour.


I made a few heart shaped magnets with candy and popcorn kernel inclusions, also Wenk asked to have a Big Sky Brewery bottle cap turned into a magnet.

After the first round of casting I was hooked and started coming up with ideas for things to use as inclusions. I also bought two bangle bracelet molds on eBay off of a nice lady in Texas who has a "resin obsession," and a sweet store of casting supplies because of it. The first round of bracelets is made with plastic bb inclusions. I found an old stash of Wenk's airsoft pellets supplies and went to town. I'm afraid I may be well the way to my own little resin obsession with this bangle thing because the bbs are super cheap and come in a million different colors...


check out my Etsy shop for the opportunity to purchase some of these items!

breakfast food-filled corn muffins

It's that time of year where friends are moving away after completion of grad school, which also means that we acquire more "stuff." I have only accepted useful stuff, mind you. That chest of drawers was much needed, and it never hurts to have more than one set of muffin tins. Okay so I may or may not have needed all the muffin tins, and Chris probably had the right to wryly ask if I was going to open up a muffin shop. After that very appropriate comment I actually started brainstorming muffin ideas and came up with some interesting breakfast muffin ideas.

Now, these were not the traditional fruit and cream cheese filled muffin ideas. I started thinking, "sausage and gravy corn muffins?" or, "bacon, egg n cheese?" Just before work yesterday I decided to experiment. I found a basic corn muffin recipe using masa harina, and started filling them with ham, peper jack, and eggs. The tricky part was trying to figure out how to make a barrier so that the scrambled egg wouldn't just run into the mix. I tried cheese barriers and ham barriers. The ham seemed to work the best...but didn't do exactly what I had imagined it would.

I didn't get any photos of these glorious creations because they were compled just minutes before I had to leave for work, and when I got home from work, all but two were gone - and they were not the two best examples of the batch.

At any rate, I think i'll keep experimenting with muffins. I'm thinking - Chicken Tamale muffins - or- Chili and Cheese???

here's a link to the masa harina corn muffin recipe I followed. I'd recommend it over the usual yellow cornmeal muffin.

strawberry-blueberry sorbet

Yesterday we attended a bbq for a friend who is moving out of town. Strawberries happened to be on sale and it also happened to be a fairly warm day so sorbet was made! I didn't get any pictures because it was made at the last minute then devoured within seconds of being shared, but just imagine a rich dark red frozen delight sprinkled with seeds and flecks of deep blueberry skin. I modeled my recipe off of a simple strawberry one that I found through a google search but added blueberries and used lime juice instead of lemon (because I had a lonely lime waiting to be used for something). The blueberry wasn't very prominent but there was just enough to notice that it wasn't just strawberry, which is what i was going for. More blueberries can be added to this recipe as needed.

2 lbs strawberries, rinsed & hulled
1.5 c sugar
2 oz blueberries (about a handfull)
juice of 1 lime

Puree all ingredients into food processor until smooth. You can pour the mixture through a sieve if you don't want seeds, but I firmly believe it will compromise the aesthetic integrity of the dessert. freeze in ice cream maker as manufacturer's directions or freeze in airtight canister.

I believe that experimentation with food, no matter at what level, is a very important part of life...especially when you're in college. I've since graduated the years of nothing but ramen noodles, pizza and sandwiches but still end up randomly eating like a student, and I have to admit that I keep a small stock of ramen in the pantry. This "regressive eating" happens mostly on Fridays when the week's groceries are starting to dwindle and I'm at my laziest.

Today happens to be a Friday, a day that started with thrift stores and rummage sales. The last rummage sale I went to was in a church and while sifting through piles of other people's used stuff, the all too familiar smell of what I like to call "cardboard pizza" started wafting through the air vents. I immediately craved it, but didn't want to go to the store and buy only a frozen pizza. So, when I got home I realized that we had some frozen chicken nuggets (for emergencies only, i swear) some jarred pasta sauce, and some cotija cheese leftover from Cinco de Mayo. What does that make? A little something I like to call, Ghetto Chickn Parmesan. This is the closest I could get to something pizza-like in the sense that it has sauce and cheese. HA! The cotija cheese is really what makes it. I like to think that the Mexican crumbling dairy solid tastes like a mix between mozzarella and Parmesan, so it worked perfectly. It ended up being a couple of levels higher on the taste scale than those frozen cheapo chicken parm dinners you can but in the freezer section, so I'd say it was a success.

I really wish my pictures were more flattering, but I'm convinced that it takes a pro or a HD camera from the Food Network to make it so. I've had a few conversations in my life about the unflattering-ness of most food photos, and it really doesn't help that I've been using my phone's camera! I'll eventually have everything I need to use my "real" camera again but for now they'll just have to look like those nasty old photos of jello molds in your mom's cookbook that are more nauseous than appetizing.

First thing's first: PIE!!!

From the moment that I decided to create this blog, a mere 6-7 hours ago, I've been contemplating what would be the optimal first post. Today I didn't have to actually work much, so I planned on cooking a bit. Wenk had purchased a few mangoes the other day with the sole intention of convincing me to make a pie. A month or so ago, there was a huge sale on the aromatic bulbs and I had decided to use them in lieu of peaches in a traditional 2-crust southen dessert favorite. Wenk loved it but soon after eating it talked to his mom and realized that a cold mango pie, made to imitate his great aunt k's cold-peach pie would be wonderful. He knows me well enough to know that if he gets the ingredients and throws an idea at me that I'll eventually whip something up. Well, I didn't get the recipe for that but found a good and healthy looking recipe to follow for my cold mango strawberry pie. Fresh peach and yogurt no-bake pie

I really wanted to make my own graham cracker crust with some cinnamon grahams that have been occupying my pantry but soon realized that I had lent out all my pie pans to our friend Carrie, who recently did her non-fiction thesis reading which included a piece on searching for authentic pies and of course featured several pies at the reception. So the crust was store bought sadly enough, but ended up being delicious. I substituted 3 decently sized mangoes for the peaches and used a 6oz container of strawberry flavored yogurt from Tillamook (yum!) for the yogurt/sour cream option. While mixing the vanilla into the yogurt I couldn't stop myself from adding some powdered ginger, which ended up amounting to probably 1.5 tsp.

On a less healthy note, Wenk has also been craving tater tot casserole. I've pretty much stopped making anything that calls for a condensed cream of mushroom soup, but decided it wouldn't hurt to make it since it's kind of a comfort food. I used cousin Erika's traditional recipe, 1lb gr. beef/2 cans green beans/2 cans cr. of mushroom soup/tots, but substituted the gr beef for some elk. Wenk had a baseball/bbq get-together the other night and a buddy brought elk burgers.

There were a couple of well seasoned ones left over so I just crumbled them into the mix. Yay comfort food! Great first post, me!

shopping bag

So, I haven't posted for quite some time because we've had some major computer issues, but i've made a few things. The most recent venture into the crafting world was a couple of shopping bags made from reclaimed fabric and old cloth napkins found at a thrift store here called the Wunderground, which by the way is an amazing place under the senior citizen's center here in Missoula.

Here's a pic of one...

things to carry things

since i've moved to montana, i really haven't made anything. i definitely haven't posted anything on this blog for quite some time. recently, my mom told me how how make a really simple, flimsy bag out of an old t-shirt. making these bags out of "my sized" shirts is just ridiculous, so i went to the local goodwill and found a couple of baby-sized t-shirts to experiment with. they're still pretty ridiculous and flimsy, but also fun.



i've also made my first wallet with some kickass vintage fabric that my mom's friend, who runs a recycling center, salvaged for me. mom sent a care package for me not to long ago with a bunch of crafty seasonal stuff that she had made, and also enough of this fabric to make a king sized blanket and have enough left to reupholster a large sofa. anyway, my previous wallet had mysteriously disappeared...then i found it three days later in the trash and smelling like rotten bananas. what motivation to create something new!!! i'm pretty proud of it...

purse!

i'm so excited! i actually finished a purse, and it looks decent! i used fabric from two vintage pillowcases that i had lying around and this pattern

i actually took the time to measure out and make my own version of the pattern with an old newspaper. i decided to go ahead with the inside pocket, but didn't have the patience for the button closure. maybe i'll add velcro or something in the future...

this project was successful AND resourseful in the recycling sort of way. i can't wait to make more!

recycled calendar postcards

yesterday i finally made some postcards with my 2006 Van Gogh calendar. hooray! i finished with 18 total and sticky hands from spray adhesive. they're so pretty!

felt balls

yesterday, we were all recovering from (hopefully the last) winter storm...out of boredom I decided to try my hand at making some felt balls with the left over roving i had from my felted soap venture earlier this winter. it was a lot of fun to make these things...and i think i could like the idea of making stuff out billions of little felt balls...

also i just finished this weird little owl thing i started out of felt scraps like a month ago...

another beanie + pom pom!

On thurday night, Rayna showed me how to make pom-poms...i started a hat from some of the huge bag of yarn i got for christmas and just finished it last night! I think i could have made it a bit longer, but oh well...

successful beanie!

i finally made a beanie that will fit a normal adult-sized head! i used this pattern as an example for the amount of increases needed. I used two strands of worsted weight acrylic yarn in contrasting colors with an N hook (that i finally purchased the other day!). i wasn't planning on having the green band at the bottom, but i ran out of the yellow...and actually i think it looks much better than it would have with all yellow and green. its too big for me, and too small for the BF's GIANT head, so i'll be passing this one along to some lucky cranium.
i swear i'm not covering up herpes in this pic. or am i? afterall, it is the day after VD...

*edit* here's the new and proud owner of the hat,our neighbor, Chris.