Friday, December 27, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Yogurt in a crock pot
I was inspired to make yogurt in my crock pot by a couple of things. One, I used to teach a microbiology lab where we were pretty much making yogurt. I ended up researching how to make yogurt in order to explain what we were doing. The other thing that inspired me was that Ms. Becky "lent" me her yogurt maker while she was in DC (I think I still have it). I looked up how to use it and it just seemed easier to do it in my crock pot. Plus, I could make a lot more at one time. My reference for this was this site: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/06/homemade-yogurt-in-the-crock-pot.html
You really only need two ingredients: half gallon of milk and plain yogurt
You will also need a crock pot and a beach towel.
So to start off with, pour the milk into your crock pot. Turn the crock pot on high for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Truth be told, I have cut it off at 2 hours and 30 minutes.
I use whole milk to end up with a thicker yogurt. You could use organic milk to end up with organic yogurt. Now, this may work, but because most organic milks are ultra pasteaurized, that tends to kill some of the necessary "good" bacteria and denatures some proteins. I usually use conventional, but did find organic milk at Trader Joe's that worked.
The purpose of this is to bring the temperature of the milk up to where the bacteria are going to be happy and turn the milk to yogurt.
After your timer goes off (and yes, you need to set a timer), turn the crock pot off and let sit for 3 hours. Truth be told, I have let it sit only for 2 and a half hours at times.
The purpose of this step is that the milk got a little too hot on that last step, we are going to bring it down to the correct temperature.
Why don't you just let it go for shorter? I don't know. I'm not willing to sit there with a thermometer to make sure the temp is right for the right amount of time. We want two things: the right temperature and to hold that temp so the bacteria can work.
After three hours, get your plain yogurt. I use a whole container (6 oz) of chobani greek. The reason I use chobani is that it does not contain any fillers. Just milk and bacteria.
I also use the whole container. Other recipes will tell you to use less, but I just found it works better to use the whole thing. Besides, what are you going to do with 2 oz leftover yogurt?
Add a little warm milk to the yogurt and stir and then add the whole thing to the crock pot. You can do this in a separate bowl, but I just do it in the yogurt container cause I'm lazy and don't want to wash another bowl. Stir to dissolve.
Now, wrap the crock pot in a beach towel and place in an out of the way place for 8-12 hours. I do this overnight and sometimes I do this overnight and much of the next day. Its cool. I am a microbiologist and I have a stomach of steel.
When you check it, the mixture should have thickened and you will have yogurt!
Now, you can stay here and put this in the fridge and be happy with you yogurt. I usually strain it to make it greek yogurt. That is all greek yogurt is, yogurt with some of the liquid out to make it thicker and richer. That is why it is so expensive, but many of the greek yogurts you can buy in the store add thickeners like gelatin, and you can do that, but I don't. I pour the yogurt into a kitchen towel lined strainer.
I fold up the towel and put one bread plate on top. That is the right amount to push out some of the water, but not too much. I let it sit for 3-4 hours, and then scrape it into a container.
The result is so creamy and delicious! With the plain yogurts in the store, I have to add some sort of sweetener, but this yogurt, I can eat plain. Now, my kids won't eat it, but trust me, it is some delicious yogurt!
You really only need two ingredients: half gallon of milk and plain yogurt
You will also need a crock pot and a beach towel.
So to start off with, pour the milk into your crock pot. Turn the crock pot on high for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Truth be told, I have cut it off at 2 hours and 30 minutes.
I use whole milk to end up with a thicker yogurt. You could use organic milk to end up with organic yogurt. Now, this may work, but because most organic milks are ultra pasteaurized, that tends to kill some of the necessary "good" bacteria and denatures some proteins. I usually use conventional, but did find organic milk at Trader Joe's that worked.
The purpose of this is to bring the temperature of the milk up to where the bacteria are going to be happy and turn the milk to yogurt.
After your timer goes off (and yes, you need to set a timer), turn the crock pot off and let sit for 3 hours. Truth be told, I have let it sit only for 2 and a half hours at times.
The purpose of this step is that the milk got a little too hot on that last step, we are going to bring it down to the correct temperature.
Why don't you just let it go for shorter? I don't know. I'm not willing to sit there with a thermometer to make sure the temp is right for the right amount of time. We want two things: the right temperature and to hold that temp so the bacteria can work.
After three hours, get your plain yogurt. I use a whole container (6 oz) of chobani greek. The reason I use chobani is that it does not contain any fillers. Just milk and bacteria.
I also use the whole container. Other recipes will tell you to use less, but I just found it works better to use the whole thing. Besides, what are you going to do with 2 oz leftover yogurt?
Add a little warm milk to the yogurt and stir and then add the whole thing to the crock pot. You can do this in a separate bowl, but I just do it in the yogurt container cause I'm lazy and don't want to wash another bowl. Stir to dissolve.
Now, wrap the crock pot in a beach towel and place in an out of the way place for 8-12 hours. I do this overnight and sometimes I do this overnight and much of the next day. Its cool. I am a microbiologist and I have a stomach of steel.
When you check it, the mixture should have thickened and you will have yogurt!
Now, you can stay here and put this in the fridge and be happy with you yogurt. I usually strain it to make it greek yogurt. That is all greek yogurt is, yogurt with some of the liquid out to make it thicker and richer. That is why it is so expensive, but many of the greek yogurts you can buy in the store add thickeners like gelatin, and you can do that, but I don't. I pour the yogurt into a kitchen towel lined strainer.
I fold up the towel and put one bread plate on top. That is the right amount to push out some of the water, but not too much. I let it sit for 3-4 hours, and then scrape it into a container.
The result is so creamy and delicious! With the plain yogurts in the store, I have to add some sort of sweetener, but this yogurt, I can eat plain. Now, my kids won't eat it, but trust me, it is some delicious yogurt!
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Denver Downs 2013
It has been a couple of years since we have been to Denver Downs. When we have gone before, the kids were pretty little and took naps. Ahh, those were the days. This trip is not cheap especially when we knew we weren't going to stay for longer than 2 hours. But finally this year, the timing, the weather, and the football traffic all worked out so we could go. I believe that Mark was at the BC game so we met the Penna's. Although still expensive ($12/person), they have added a lot more stuff. Plus, since the kids are older, they can do more. The first thing we had to do was the zip line.
Super fun.
They also did the corn cannon for quite a long time. The (slightly older then my kids) operator was a genius and told the kids that if they went to pick up balls, they could shoot a bunch of them at the same time. Management material right there.
Behind the corn cannon was a "hay maze" which the kids ran around in.
Then James begged me to play....tether ball? They also did this for awhile.
Then we headed to the barn for hay climbing and swinging. James, as it turns out was not good at hay climbing, but Andy was a freaking natural. That is him horizontal on the swing there.
This year also was the first time we had really made it into the famed corn maze.
We found points #1 and #2 and although I really felt pretty good with my navigation skills, got pretty lost on the back half of the maze.
We found a couple more points (not in order) but more importantly, found our way OUT.
After we had enough of good old fashioned, outside dirty fun, we went to Papas and Beers, where James and Andy were introduced to "queso". As an aside, every time I order queso here, I am corrected by the server, "you mean cheese dip?" Um, yes. At any rate, it is delicious.
I still wish they would offer season passes, but this year they did offer a "pass back" pass. We could go back for a discounted price. We actually did and still had a great time...even though we got rained on!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
My typical morning snack is an apple. I end up buying the bags of apples and usually go though a bag of them every week. I know what kinds I like and what brands of apples work best, and mostly can keep up with them. Every once in awhile, I end up with a few strays...old apples that aren't in great shape and I don't really want to eat them.
You can make apple sauce, or apple pie, but since I am always trying to find ways to get Andy to eat fruits, I end up making muffins out of them. I found this recipe, and have used it several times with good results. I do make one pretty big change in the fact that instead of chopping the apples, I break out my food processor and grate them.
You know, I can see how having nice little chunks of apples could be nice in a muffin, but again, my biggest goal is To Get Andy To Eat Fruit, and he ain't eatin' chunks. With the grated apple, the texture really melts into the muffin, but it holds up well enough that you can tell apple is there (foreshadowing...unhappy ending).
I sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar, and bake and they turn out pretty good!
I call them cinnamon apple muffins, but no dice. Andy chokes down half of the bottom, the bottom, not even the cinnamon sugary crunchy top and says he is full. Well, James and I liked them and there is always next time. Hmmm, I wonder how they will be with a big spoonful of peanut butter in the batter....
You can make apple sauce, or apple pie, but since I am always trying to find ways to get Andy to eat fruits, I end up making muffins out of them. I found this recipe, and have used it several times with good results. I do make one pretty big change in the fact that instead of chopping the apples, I break out my food processor and grate them.
You know, I can see how having nice little chunks of apples could be nice in a muffin, but again, my biggest goal is To Get Andy To Eat Fruit, and he ain't eatin' chunks. With the grated apple, the texture really melts into the muffin, but it holds up well enough that you can tell apple is there (foreshadowing...unhappy ending).
I sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar, and bake and they turn out pretty good!
I call them cinnamon apple muffins, but no dice. Andy chokes down half of the bottom, the bottom, not even the cinnamon sugary crunchy top and says he is full. Well, James and I liked them and there is always next time. Hmmm, I wonder how they will be with a big spoonful of peanut butter in the batter....
Monday, October 21, 2013
Peanut Butter Ninjas
Andy is so funny. He really doesn't like to do anything, but every year, he always insists that he wants to play soccer. We ask him, "really? because last year it didn't seem like you liked it." but he always ends up getting signed up. I got signed up as well. I actually volunteered to be the assistant coach, but so did my assistant coach, so I kind of took over. Oops. At any rate, we started off pretty rocky. I mean, the kids had fun, but it was crazy. We ended up with a lot of kids that we already knew and that already knew each other. This is good and bad. Then there is Andy. He really started off in his own little world, crying on the sidelines because he didn't get his way, or he didn't want to play. By the end of the season, he ended up scoring several goals and being aggressive.
He got the award for Most Improved, but I'm not sure it means anything since he was related to the coach. ;)
The rest of the team did pretty well also. I'm relying on pictures that other parents took and put on facebook. This was a different league then we have played in before. They had much nicer fields and bleachers. However, we played 3 vs 3. This is really great because it allowed every player to get touches because there is no where for weaker players to hide. There is also no place for the stronger players to hide, and it was tough figuring out how to challenge those players.
I worked a lot on teaching them DO NOT kick the ball in the center when you are on defense. They didn't always listen. We did pretty well, I don't think we won every game, but we didn't lose every game either. The kids had fun and we survived the season!
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Green Dragons
Also, know as "shit gets real".
This is the first of a two part installment of this blog dealing with soccer. First up, James's soccer. He was right on the cut off of playing with Andy in the 6 and under division, but we decided to put him in the 8 and under division. It was the right decision, but wow, completely different world. They had goalies, and throw ins, and tryouts, and actual drills to get better in practice.
Again, shit just got real.
But James took it like he always does, with a smile and a determination to win. His coaches were super hard core and talked a lot about "strategy" and stuff. I'm not sure James ever really paid attention
They actually played positions and James found out he had a favorite position...center forward!
Whenever he was in defense, he wasn't really into it. Its funny he would watch the play and cheer for his team when the didn't get scored on, but he wouldn't get involved...
But, James learned a lot and he did pretty well! We are super proud of him.
Another funny thing that happened during James's game was Andy playing with the other kids. It was super cute. I remember playing on the sidelines during Keturah's soccer games maybe even more than I remember playing in my own soccer games. It is neat to see my kids do the same thing.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Charleston
Our anneversary was at the end of September, and Mark and I were able to get away for a weekend in Charleston. We left Saturday after lunch and drove down to Summerville and dropped the kids off with the in laws. Then we headed downtown. We got there in time for dinner, and ended up at Basil Thai, one of our favorites! As an added bonus, it was restaurant week! I got the pad thai (as always). It was delicious!
We stayed one block off market street at the Andrew Pickney Inn. It was perfect for us. They had a "delux breakfast" on the rooftop. Here was the view!
Now, we have been to Charleston before, and we have done all the Charleston stuff. We were kind of at a loss on what to do this time, but it turned to not be a problem. We did nothing! After breakfast, we drove to Mount Pleasant and ran the bridge. Here is the view from the top.
Here is Mark running to the top. This is the only picture including either one of us, so enjoy...
After we showered, we ate lunch at Taco Boy (highly recommend), then walked to King Street and shopped. Then walked to the water and sat.
Then walked to a bar and had a beer. Then went to get ready for dinner at Coast (which was ok). Here is a graveyard we saw on the way.
The next morning we got up, had breakfast, then ran to the battery. There were porpoises off the water!
Great weekend away. Very nice!
We stayed one block off market street at the Andrew Pickney Inn. It was perfect for us. They had a "delux breakfast" on the rooftop. Here was the view!
Now, we have been to Charleston before, and we have done all the Charleston stuff. We were kind of at a loss on what to do this time, but it turned to not be a problem. We did nothing! After breakfast, we drove to Mount Pleasant and ran the bridge. Here is the view from the top.
Here is Mark running to the top. This is the only picture including either one of us, so enjoy...
After we showered, we ate lunch at Taco Boy (highly recommend), then walked to King Street and shopped. Then walked to the water and sat.
Then walked to a bar and had a beer. Then went to get ready for dinner at Coast (which was ok). Here is a graveyard we saw on the way.
The next morning we got up, had breakfast, then ran to the battery. There were porpoises off the water!
Great weekend away. Very nice!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Oatmeal in a rice cooker
So, I had a really bad spring. Why? Well, that is for another post, but in order to make myself feel better, I bought a really expensive rice cooker. I know "retail therapy" is a real thing, but most people buy clothes, or shoes, or purses. Me, I buy kitchen equipment. I have heard a lot of people LOVE their rice cooker, but I always though, that's weird, you could just use a pot! But in my depressed haze, it just made sense. And what really sold me on it, was the timer function and I could use it to make oatmeal. Done! My original inspiration was from this website.
It's a pretty sharp piece of equipment! Now that the weather is cooler, I am actually using it to make oatmeal. I usually measure about 3/4 cut steel cut oats and 3 cups water. I add one pinch of salt for every serving (1/4 cup) oats. I was low on oats, so this is 1/2 cup oats and 2 cups water. I also added 1 TB vanilla protein powder and 4 drops stevia. This serves me, James, and some extra for the next day.
I set the timer to be done at 7am and then I have perfectly cooked oatmeal.
Serve it in a bowl and add toppings. This one was blackberry puree, PB2 (that deserves its own post), toasted coconut, and some granola for crunch.
Hmm, can't figure out how to rotate that, but you get the idea. My absolute favorite topping is cookie butter. You can get it from Trader Joe's or there is another version from Ingles, YUM! It gets all melty in the oatmeal.
So, that is how you make oatmeal in a rice cooker.
It's a pretty sharp piece of equipment! Now that the weather is cooler, I am actually using it to make oatmeal. I usually measure about 3/4 cut steel cut oats and 3 cups water. I add one pinch of salt for every serving (1/4 cup) oats. I was low on oats, so this is 1/2 cup oats and 2 cups water. I also added 1 TB vanilla protein powder and 4 drops stevia. This serves me, James, and some extra for the next day.
I set the timer to be done at 7am and then I have perfectly cooked oatmeal.
Serve it in a bowl and add toppings. This one was blackberry puree, PB2 (that deserves its own post), toasted coconut, and some granola for crunch.
Hmm, can't figure out how to rotate that, but you get the idea. My absolute favorite topping is cookie butter. You can get it from Trader Joe's or there is another version from Ingles, YUM! It gets all melty in the oatmeal.
So, that is how you make oatmeal in a rice cooker.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Where a kid can be a kid!
I think the hardest part about being a parent is when you do something that you swore you would never do.
I am queen of the park parties, right? I am still queen. Each party has a theme. I spend extra money on favors...usually costumes, pinatas (which I hate), a cute cake topper, bring the rocket launcher and you have the party of the year! This year, James said he wanted a Chuck E Cheese party. Well, thank goodness! Now, Chuck E Cheese goes against everything I stand for. The marketing, the cheesyness, the nickle and diming, but....they do everything and I just need to bring a cake. Well, and the kids. It is far for us, so I made my neighbors/really good friends make the drive, but I offered rides to some of the other kids. Their parents really appreciated it!
When we got their, craziness ensued! Yikes. They hadn't brought out the tokens yet, but it turned out to not be an issue:
Now comes the part where Mark and I had nothing to do, because they literally do it all for you!
Oh, except collect Andy's tickets. I hate those tickets!
After 30-40 minutes, they bring out the pizza, then Chuck E comes out and they have a little show.
And then a guitar contest. James totally won!
They gave James a medal.
Miss Juliet might have had a little bit of a bad attitude about the Chuck E. Cheese party. She brought ear plug, just incase, and then took off. Ok, I sent her to Costco and Trader Joes so I wouldn't have to go. Thanks Ms. Juliet!
Cupcakes! They couldn't get the candles lit. Good thing I brought the flame thrower!
James took a turn in the ticket blaster! Ms. Becky was stressed out we didn't have a strategy, and unfortuately, James was the first to go so we didn't have time to develop one. For the future: open the bottom of your shirt and allow the tickets to blow into your shirt.
James did NOT grab the 1000 ticket coupon, but our handler was so impressed with the J-A-M-E-S cheer, that she gave him one. I hate those tickets.
Christopher....was... a little put off by the whole thing. He had a good time, but spend the "show" under the table.
The end of the party was pretty hectic and we didn't have time to open present. Since we had a 45 minutes drive, we opened them on the way home.
This quickly developed into "musical paper" which yes, was the highlight of the party for everyone in our car. We could have saved money and ears!
All in all, it was a great party. Yes, there were lots of other kids and other parties and it was loud, but they made James feel like a rock star and everyone had a great time. Plus, I didn't have to do anything except bring cupcakes. And pay.
The only issue I have is the tickets. I hate those tickets. You have like 6 parties all ending at the same time and all the kids need to cash in their tickets, most of them have the 1000 ticket coupon. It just took FOREVER. Ugh.
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