While I'm on a Chia kick...

How about a recipe for Fruit Smoothie with Chia Seeds?

Look...the thing is, why not try and max out the nutrition if I can.  I feel that giving my girls a few hidden health foods in their diet is not a bad thing.  My Oldest would only eat meat if she could.  The girl needs some antioxidants and fiber stat!  My Youngest would only eat bread and butter and chocolate if she could.  Girl could use some of everything healthy.  Mama of course insists on them eating well-balanced meals...as much as possible...but everybody can use a health boost.

I realized that maybe not everybody has the confidence to just whip out a Chia Seed Smoothie on their own without a smidge of guidance.  And please, that is all this recipe is.  It is by no means exact.  If you feel your smoothie is too thick.  Add more liquid.  If you feel it is too runny...I would say just drink it.  But that's my personal opinion.  You could probably add more yogurt and more fruit if you wanted.  Plus, use whatever fruit you like.

Fruit Smoothie with Chia Seeds
2 C. fluid...I use a combo of about 1 C. O.J. and 1 C. Milk.  Unless I don't have O.J. then it's all milk
1.5 C. Yogurt.  Again, this is an approximation.  Use your yogurt that you've homemade if you got it.
12 oz. Frozen fruit.  I usually use a mix of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, mangos and sometimes I get wild and throw cranberries in.  If you only do a few and make sure it's sweet enough, you can't tell they're there.
1 banana...sometimes I use 2
1 Tbl. honey.  this is especially important if I use cranberries
2 Tbl. Chia seeds having soaked in about 1/2 C. Water  Make sure to give them a couple of minutes for them to develop their slime.  When you add them to smoothie mixture, add them water and all...I don't really think you could separate them anyway...at least not without a seriously difficult time.

Pour all of this in a blender.  It is wise to put the fluids in first.  Blend til combined.  If you find it isn't mixing properly or just looks too darn thick, add more fluid.  Enjoy!

This is what the soaking Chia seeds look like.  Cool huh?  Don't be disturbed.  They are all that is good.

The final product...and what's the verdict girls...

If this one looks blotchy it's because she cries like her mother.  I made her talk to her sister politely.  You wouldn't believe the tears that one caused.  I think she needed a nap.

The verdict is...anything that gives these girls a mustache is number one in their books.

Thanks for reading everybody!  And this is possibly the last Chia Seed post...at least for a bit.

Heather

Homemade Granola with Chia Seeds

Today I am giving you my recipe for homemade granola with Chia Seeds.  Chia seeds are a fun way to get some good nutrition in your diet.  There is very little effort involved with eating Chia seeds, but the health benefits that come with them are huge.  If you are interested in making your own granola, you might also want to check out how to make home-made Greek Yogurt to go with it.  With some homemade Greek Yogurt and Chia Seed Granola...I think you can conquer anything.

Before I get to the recipe...here's a fun thing to do with Chia Seeds:  After letting them hydrate for 10 minutes in water (you could probably use juice and it'd be delicious), add a dash of lime juice and enjoy a refreshing...kinda slimy beverage.    Make sure to shake or stir well until your Chia sides are appropriately gooey or you could have a large lump waiting for you to consume.  If you are my Sister though, you might like a mighty lump of Chia Seeds considering she likes those boba drinks.  shudder 

You could also...

Add to your morning oatmeal for a healthy addition that your kids won't even notice. 

Add to yogurt. 

Add to meat loaf. 

Add to bread dough, cookie dough, muffins, cupcakes, pancakes or waffles. 

Add to scrambled eggs or omelets. 

Add to mashed potatoes. 

Add to salad dressings or any kind of dip or sauces.

Well, here's the recipe for Homemade granola with Chia seeds.  I hope you enjoy!

Homemade Granola with Chia Seeds

3 C. Old Fashioned oats
1 C. Slivered Almonds
1 C. Chia Seeds
3/4 C. Coconut (You can use either sweetened or Non...I used non-sweetened coconut)
3/4 C. Honey
1/4 C. Vegetable Oil
3/4 tsp. Salt
1 C. Dried Fruit of your choice (I used peaches)

Preheat oven to 250 F.
In large bowl mix all dry ingredients except dried fruit and salt.
In Small bowl mix honey, vegetable oil and salt.
Add wet mix to dry mix and stir well.
Place granola on two cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour.  Stirring every 15 minutes or so to promote even browning.
When done, place in bowl, add dried fruit and mix well.

Consume in any way you can think of.

Granny Square Pic of the Day

Here are some fun and interesting facts on Chia Seeds..and why you want to eat them...They are native to Mexico and were a staple for the Aztecs and Mayas. Get ready to learn something because we got info coming out of our ears today!

-Chia Seeds have more polyunsaturated fats than any other crop.
-Why are polyunsaturated fats important?

-Chia Seeds contain 60% Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
-Why are Omega 3 Fatty Acids important?

-Chia Seeds have more protein than other grains. More importantly, Chia Seeds are a complete protein. So unlike getting your protein from beans where you also need something like rice to make it a complete protein, Chia Seeds are complete with all the essential amino acids.
-Why is protein important?

-Chia seeds are high in fiber.
-Why is fiber important?

-Chia seeds are rich in Calcium.
-Why is Calcium important?

-Chia Seeds have almost as much potassium as a banana
-Why is Potassium important?

-Chia seeds have 3 times the amount of antioxidants are blueberries.
-Why are Antioxidants important?

Chia Seeds hold 10 times their weight in water. They form a sort of gel that is tasteless. A fun thing to do is put a couple of Tbl. in a glass of water and just let it sit for 10 minutes to several hours. Next , add the gelled Chia Seeds to a smoothy or fruit drink for a fun and nutritious supplement.
-Why is hydration important?

-Chia seeds help to curb sugar cravings.
-Why is this important? If you feel full longer and the need to eat carbs or sugar diminishes, it will help with weight loss and your blood sugar levels.


Chia Seeds hold 10 times their weight in water. They form a sort of gel that is tasteless. A fun thing to do is put a couple of Tbl. in a glass of water and just let it sit for 10 minutes to several hours. Next , add the gelled Chia Seeds to a smoothy or fruit drink for a fun and nutritious supplement.
-Why is hydration important?

-Chia seeds help to curb sugar cravings.
-Why is this important? If you feel full longer and the need to eat carbs or sugar diminishes, it will help with weight loss and your blood sugar levels.

Thanks for reading!!  Now go and make some granola with Chia seeds...you will be glad that you did.

Heather

I am slowly turning into a hippy.

It's true.  The title of this post says it all.  I am gladly turning into a hippy a little more each day.  Maybe it's due to the fact that there is pink slime in some ground beef.  shudder to the max Maybe it's because of memories I have as a child of eating chicken nuggets and chomping down on an unsavory bit.  shudder  Maybe it's because there is unnecessary sugar, fat and salt in almost everything we eat.  rude nazi food scientiests!  Maybe it's due to the fact that oil prices are ridiculous and it doesn't matter because our earth is getting warmer so maybe we should attempt to do something to help slow it down a bit.  And before any conservatives get crazy, I don't necessarily attribute this warming strictly to the use of fossil fuels, it's just a fact that our earth goes through cycles and we are currently in a warming trend.  The fossil fuel thing isn't helping matters though.  This is why I have told The Mister that I want a basket afixed to my bike so I can ride with the girls to the grocery store for our necessities.  Fun, right?

Okay....so there's a brief list of why I am slowly turning into a hippy.  Obviously a lot of it has to do with food. Can we all just say, please no more fussing with our food.  Can't we just eat what we think we are eating without the added junk? 

This is why I am currently making my own yogurt.  Check out the label on a carton of yogurt sometime...you might be distrubed.  Too much sugar.  Too much added junk, like gelatin.  If yogurt is given enough time to do it's thing naturally, it thickens up quite nicely.  If the manufacturers of yogurt are in too much of a hurry to get it on the shelf they thicken it artificially with gelatin. 

If you read my previous post on homemade yogurt I would like to say thanks.  But, having made yogurt now for several weeks, I have refined and improved my technique.  I now make it by the gallon.  This way I only have to make it twice a week (we eat lots of yogurt in my house).  So here is the new and improved recipe for homemade greek yogurt.

What you need:
Large heavy-bottom sauce pan with a lid
Food thermometer
Spatula
Whisk
Wire rack for cooling purposes
Towel
1 gallon milk (fat percentage is your choice, I use 1% milkfat)
4 Tbl. yogurt with live active cultures (use your homemade yogurt if you got it.  If not, buy one that you like)
Colander
Large glass bowel
Dish towel

Pour all but 4 Tbl. of milk into sauce pan.  Over medium heat bring the milk up to between 180 F to 185 F.  Be very careful that you don't scorch the bottom.  Quite frequently, stir with your spatula to prevent any milk from scorching to the bottom of the pan.  Once you have reached the desired temperature, remove your milk from the stove and put it on a wire rack to speed cooling. 

Turn your oven onto the lowest temperature it has.  150 to 170.  My lowest is 170.

Mix the reserved 4 Tbl of milk with the 4 Tbl of yogurt set aside in fridge.

Let your milk cool to between 105 F and 110 F.  This is the process that takes the longest.  You don't have to do anything but wait.  But, come on, sometimes that's the hardest thing to do.  Patience.  You will be rewarded.  Once it achieves the desired temp, whisk in the milk and yogurt combo thoroughly.  Turn off your oven and turn on the oven light.  Put a lid on your sauce pan, wrap it in a towel and put it in your oven.  Make sure the towel isn't touching the heating element or the light.

Let this sit in the oven for 7-8 hours.

Put dish towel in your colander.  Put colander inside a bowl.  Pour yogurt inside colander and let it sit for several hours.  You are draining the whey right now.  If you prefer a runnier yogurt, you won't want to drain it as much.  If you prefer a thicker yogurt, you will go longer.  Adjust time according to your preferences.  I typically will empty the whey from the bottom of the glass bowel twice.  Beware not to over drain your yogurt.  I like to reserve some of the whey, probably 1 cup or so just in case I do over drain...which I have in fact done.  If you over drain your yogurt, just mix in some of the reserved whey until you get the consistency you desire.  I would say for a Greek-style texture you will want to drain 2-4 hours.

Reserve 4 Tbl. of yogurt from this new batch so that you will be ready for the next time you make yogurt.

Enjoy with jam, honey, granola and in smoothies. 

Yum.

This is what my yogurt containers look like in my house.  The smaller one holds my 4 Tbl of yogurt for my next batch.  The larger one contains our yogurt for the week.  One gallon of milk will fill it up completely, it is a 61 oz. container.  Taking the time to pre-package the 4 Tbl. just makes it easier for me.  I'd hate to have eaten all the yogurt and then realize that I forgot to save some...then I'd just have to buy a carton at the store.  So, do it ahead!

If you notice the picture of yogurt up at the top, you'll see it's got granola on it.  This was my own recipe that includes Chia seeds.  I'll post it in a few days.  It's super good and Chia seeds are the latest and greatest fad.  I'll tell you more later.

Granny Square Pic of the Day

Thanks for reading!

Heather

What's Coming Up Spring

My Mom got a wild hair and decided we should take a quilting class together.  The last quilt class I took with my Mom...just so you get a reference, was 10 years ago, I'm sure, and ended up with us attempting to make a terribly difficult project using the technique of reverse applique.  That little quilt sits unfinished...probably forever.  My tastes have changed considerably in 10 years and I no longer am a fan of the fabrics we chose.  That quilt pattern is still cute, maybe for my girls' rooms...but not for me.

So, fast forward to this weekend.  We think...we're pretty good, we know our stuff, we can handle just about anything...Well, this is all true, but at the same time, we are learning a lot!  We are taking a class from Jodie Warner called "What's Coming Up Spring.  It's totally cute and a fun idea.  She's made it small enough that you can hang it on a toilet paper stand and it will just tuck up someplace in your decor and be super cute.

I have had an entire weekend to work on this project mind you...here's what I have done...

Yup.  That's it.  3 teeny little blocks.  I guess the tulips count as 4 blocks.  So that makes 6 teeny little blocks I've completed.  But, darn if you wouldn't believe how long it takes to make one.

The iris is a lot of fun...if you can see here, it has a 3-D detail.  So cute.  But, what a pain.  I couldn't quite figure out her instructions...mind you, I took her first class, but unfortunately this detail was kind of rushed through, but...

the leaves on this puppy caused me to earn several new gray hairs.  Thanks Jodie.  She uses a tricky technique, that's quite cool, but her instructions left much to be desired.  You use an already pieced block and have to line up the seam of that block onto the seam of the other block, but you're working with crazy angles and....let's just say The Mister had to help me figure out how to line it up.  I had to quickly explain the intricacies of Machine Paper Foundation Piecing so that he knew what we were working with.  Yay him.

The other difficult part is, we are using quite large chunks of fabric and in paper piecing it's hard to determine just where your fabric is going to line up.  I need to take another geometry class I think, but, all I'm going to say about this is...Pin your fabric people. It'll help save you a few gray hairs.  My Mother says she wasted 1/2 a yard on this piece.  Luckily I was forewarned by her and I took extra precautions.

The thing I love about quilting, is what I am going to make is completely different from what Jodie made based off of fabric choices.  Mine's gonna be cuter...hehe.  But it's just fun to see what everybody ends up with.  She also taught a nifty technique so that you don't waste a ton of fabric...see above where my mom wasted 1/2 yard....hi mom. 

Can't wait to show you what else we get done after our next class on Saturday!  Oh and I'm working on my Swoon quilt again.  Yay.  I will talk more about that another time.  Just know it's got mitered corners and they are awesome!

Granny Square Pic of the Day

Gratuitous I got a cute kid pic of the Day

My oldest officially rode her bike without training wheels!!!  Not very far..but she did it.  Oh, and that curb she's headed towards, she totally dominated it.  Went straight over it and didn't crash.  Yay her!

Thanks for reading!

Heather

St. Patty's wall hanging

St. Patrick's Day is rapidly approaching so I thought I'd do a couple posts in a row in honor of it. You'd think, what with my happy little Celtic family that I'd be more apt to decorate for this hallowed day....but turns out not so much.  Maybe someday.  People ask me how I have so much time to make things...truth is, I don't.  I take bits of time here and there and get what I can done.  So the wall hanging above is it.  That's all I've got by way of St. Patty's decorations.  If you want to check out how the above was made you can refer back to Here.  And then here.  And finally here.

I think it turned out really cute.  I like the black binding with white polka dots, I think it frames the quilt nicely. And I feel the yellow isn't too much.  Sometimes I like too much color and too much pattern and the main focus of the quilt gets lost. 

There's only one problem, and I am sad that I didn't pay attention.  Remember folks, the motto of this blog, if anything is PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS!!  The kind of Celtic-Looking patterned fabric on the checker board panels is not facing the same direction in both panels.  It's minor and not terribly noticeable...except to me.  And it makes me crazy.  Maybe not crazy enough to unpick the whole thing...but crazy nonetheless.

Yay!  Happy St. Patty's to my family.  This is our one nod to the land of my husband's and half of my family's ancestors.  A totally cute one too if you ask me.

Instead of quilting it traditionally, I used 3 strands of yellow embroidery floss.  I made bigger stitches and it went so quickly and gives it that extra touch of detail.

It's so hard to see.  Taking pictures with a lot of white makes my camera go crazy. 

Now, I know you have enough time.  4 days to be exact.  Go make something green!

Gratuitous I got a cute Celtic kid pic of the Day

Granny Square Pic of the Day

I'll leave you with and Old Irish Blessing...

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Heather

Seeds to be sown and St. Patty Breakfast Sandwiches

First things are first...St. Patrick's day is in a few days and if you're searching for something easy and fun and tasty for St. Patty's breakfast, then make this...

Green Eggs And Ham Breakfast Sandwiches.  Super easy.
How to make green eggs and ham as follows...
 Ingredients you need are:

English muffins-Toasted

Canadian Bacon-fried up nice and tasty

American Cheese-a classic

Kraft Sandwich Spread-Never heard of it....go look next to the mayo...I think it's thousand island dressing mixed with mayo and pickle relish...trust me.  It's good....on this at least.  I've never had it on anything else

Scrambled Eggs-With green dye added to the un-cooked eggs.  Once cooked they will be nicely green.  My kids were mightily afraid of eating these eggs...and I was a bit heavy handed with the food coloring. I think I did three largish drops of gel food coloring...so, take it a little easy on the dye.

Put all these ingredients together and you have a tasty breakfast that's a little bit green and freaky.  Just what you need on St. Patrick's...or the day after when you've had one too many Guinness Pints and all you want is some yummy hangover food.

Now, let's talk the time of year.  30 degrees one day, 65 the next.  You know it's got to be spring.  The Mister has a big project this weekend...making me grow boxes for my seeds because they have got to be planted in the next couple of weeks.  What seeds you might be wondering?

These seeds!  My order was just delivered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds  I have no science really behind choosing them as a the provider of my seeds...except that they have a store in Missouri and one in California.  I live in Utah...so, I felt like I was right in the middle of the two stores and surely that meant the seeds sold at these locations would clearly thrive in my desert clime.

I mean, some of the online heirloom seed providers are located in Maine.  Come on, I know for a fact that a Maine sown seed is definitely not going to work for me.

Wanna know what I'm gonna attempt to grow?  I am only doing two re-grows.  Everything else is a complete experiment.  And starting my own seeds is a complete experiment...this could be the worst garden disaster EVER!

Purple Podded Pole Bean...they're purple.  How could I not choose them?

Country Gentleman Sweet Corn...sounds so refined

Parisian Pickling Cucumber or cornichons...this group of three is going to be my attempt at re-creating the Native American growing practise of the 3 Sisters.  Normally there would be squash in there..but I feel that Parisian Pickling Cucumbers will work just as well as squash...right?

Detroit Dark Red Beet

Golden Beet...Yum on the beets.  My husband who swears beets are the devil....actually loves them.  Well, he loves the beet greens lightly steamed with lemon juice, salt and pepper sprinkled on top.

Parisienne Carrot...These are supposed to taste just like a carrot is supposed to taste...and are small and round!!!  Can't wait to see these pop up!

Honeydew Tam Dew Melon...I have a terrible record with melons.  I have never attempted honey dew though...cross fingers.

Padron Peppers...these are supposedly Martha Stewart's new favorite pepper. 

Emily Basil...chosen strictly because of a beloved member of our family has the name Emily.

Blue Curled Scotch Kale...these are going in my flower beds.  Shhhh... don't tell The Mister...he has a thing about planting produce in the flowers.  Whatever.

French Breakfast Radish...yes, there is a French thing going on here...but from what I've heard the French are very finicky when it comes to their produce.  They only want the best.  So if it's good enough for the French,  yeah...you know.

A slew of tomatoes...Green Zebra, Black Cherry, Pierce's Pride, Fox Cherry and Egg Yolk.

Lincoln Garden Peas and a bunch more. 

You may be wondering at the size of my garden...

Extremely petite.  This is a photo from last year's weeding attempt.  I would say it's approximately 8 feet by 8 feet and that might be generous.  This is why I am desperate to convince The Mister to let me tear up some grass on the side of our yard.  This is where my precious 3 Sisters are going.  I need more space.  I'll keep whispering sweet nothings in his ear until he consents to my wishes.

Now, one more thing...You may have noticed I was wearing something in the top picture...

Only the sweetest most perfect pair of slippers ever!  We searched high and low for them.  I wanted a soft sole.  Because, how can you get comfy if you're wearing shoes...which a hard-soled slipper basically is.  I wanted a back on them and I wanted them to be perfectly fuzzy.  They are called Sophie Soft Sole Sheepskin Slippers and I bought them on Amazon.  They are truly amazing. 

Granny Square Pic of the Day

As always, thanks for reading!

Heather

Welcome to my blog's new home!

Formerly known as www.why-because-i-can.blogspot.com  I realized, that title is just too long.  So, I have been thinking long and hard about what to change the name of my blog to....and I kept focusing in on the word "Hearth"  The one-time center of the home, everything that was important was done around the hearth.  It was a cooking source, a light source and a source of warmth.  And that's pretty much what I want my blog to be about.  It's about cooking and crafting and fostering your creativity and exploring new things.

So, everybody thanks for reading.  Don't get confused that I've changed names, pretty much everything else will be more of the same.  Awesomeness I hope.  So here's a little bit about my philosophy on why I do what I do.

This is about many different things. It's about getting back to making things ourselves. It's easy enough to go to the store and buy whatever we want, but why not make it ourselves? It lets you express your creative side and gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment. It's awesome!

This was partially inspired by my sister who when I told her I was going to make some fingerless gloves because my fingers get cold typing in the morning said, "Why don't you just go buy some?" I mean, where's the fun in that? I won't get to pick my own yarn, I can't get the experience in making gloves (which I've never done before) and I don't get the satisfaction of making something awesome.

I've gotten more interested in getting back to the basics of making things for my family for several reasons.
I quilt because I love to express myself creatively in fabric and enjoy the warm coziness afterwards.
I crochet because I love making amigarumis for friends who are having babies and for my own kids and nieces to run around playing with something made from the heart.
I grind my own wheat and make homemade bread for my family because I like the idea of giving them the freshest, healthiest food available without all the preservatives and added sugar in the grocery-store options.
I embroider because I like to see my ideas manifest themselves onto fabric, it's a creative thing again.
I make crazy things like homemade yogurt because it's amazing to be part of a culinary tradition and make it your own.

So here's to doing it ourselves because we can. It's fun, it teaches us something and allows us to express ourselves with love and creativity.

Granny Square Pic of the Day

As always, thanks for reading!

Heather

Awesomeness, pure and simple

Please refer to my re-named blog www.beatinghearth.blogspot.com and this post for a revised and better version of this yogurt recipe

Homemade Greek Yogurt.  How amazing is that?  Why would I make homemade yogurt?  Because I can and because it's completely awesome.

My oldest declared that she "never tasted anything like it" and "it's the best yogurt I've ever had" and "It probably took you a lot of work to make it"

Thank you darling. 

2 ingredients.  Yeah...I love a recipe that calls for only 2 ingredients....that and some time and some unusual equipment...aka a bath towel or blanket and something for straining: paper towels, cheese cloth or a clean dish towel.

Ingredients
8 Cups Milk (any fat percentage of your choice, I used 1% because I like a little fat, but not whole fat and make sure that it isn't Ultra pasteurized.  Just pasteurized is what you want.)
3 Tbl. starter (this is also known as any Greek yogurt you currently have in your fridge, as long as it has live and active cultures, as that's what you need to reproduce and make your yogurt yogurt)

Other Necessary Equipment
Candy Thermometer
Cheese Cloth, Paper Towels or Dish cloth for straining
Heavy Bottom Pan
Ceramic casserole dish with lid
Strainer
Large bowl that the strainer fits in
A blanket or bath towel

Pour all but 2 Tbl of your milk into a heavy-bottom pan.  Put the 2 Tbl of reserved milk in a bowl and back in the fridge. Stick a candy thermometer in the milk in the pot.  You need the candy thermometer.  Go and buy one if you haven't already.  If you read this blog at all, you will know that a candy thermometer is an essential piece of equipment!  Over medium heat, bring the milk to exactly 180 degrees F. 

Make sure your milk doesn't scorch!  You will want to use a rubber scraper quite religiously during the cooking of the milk.  One benefit of making your own yogurt, during this cooking process your house smells soo good.  Kind of pudding-ish.  Getting it up to temp does take a few minutes, so be patient.

Once you have achieved 180 degrees, immediately remove from stove and pour the heated milk into a large ceramic casserole dish. Put it on a wire rack for cooling. 

Take your reserved milk and to it add 2 to 3 Tbls of your starter...aka some yogurt you have in your fridge.  I would hazard a guess that you want to use a brand of yogurt that you enjoy eating.  My personal favorite is Greek Gods, it's mild and creamy and sooo good.   Mix the milk and the yogurt thoroughly and then put it back in the fridge.  You have to wait for your cooked milk to cool now on the counter top.

Now let it sit WITH THE LID OFF until the temperature comes down to between 105 F and 110 F.  The picture above, if you can see is where I let my temp come to...I would say it was 109 F.  Okay, the reason you keep the lid off, is apparently you need the good bacteria fairies to start working their magic....don't think about it too much.  Lacto-Fermentation is awesome, just let it be. 

Now while your milk is cooling, and mine took about 30 minutes (my house is really cold), you want to turn your oven light on.  This is going to be your heat source.  Yeah...I said the light in your oven.  Don't think I mean that I want you to turn your oven on at all...no.  Just the light bulb and you will keep it on for like 8 hours or over night.  I started my yogurt making process at about 8:30 pm and at about 7:30 am was when I removed it from the oven.  Just to give you a little timeline.

Now that your milk has cooled, whisk in the reserved milk and starter so that it is thoroughly combined.  If you feel tempted to add more yogurt thinking it will give you a more yogurty product, don't.  Apparently the bacillus (which is what the bacteria is called) likes to have plenty of room to do their thing and if there is too much then your yogurt will end up watery and off-tasting.  I used 3 tablespoons but think next time for fun I will use 2 just to see if there's a difference.

Lid on.

Make the dish cozy by wrapping it in a towel.  Don't look at me like that.  Wrap it in a towel.  Put it in your oven and leave the light on.  Close the door and walk away.  Please make sure that your towel is not anywhere near the light bulb though...you don't want to start a house fire in the name of homemade yogurt.

You will leave it here for around 8 hours, or over night is convenient (which is what I did)

This is what you wake up to.  See, it's yogurt.  But it's not Greek yet.  So put your casserole dish in the fridge and let it cool for at least 2 hours.

Line your colander with whatever straining item you are using and put the colander in a dish that is big enough.  Now my colander has short stubby legs and because I didn't want my yogurt swimming in it's own whey (which is what you are straining out of the yogurt by the "whey"), I propped my colander up on an inverted bowl so that it would be above the whey.  I used a dish towel for my straining, but I had doubled it up and maybe feel like a single layer would have been plenty.  Scoop your yogurt in and put it back in the fridge for about an hour.

Okay, so after an hour you need to dump your whey and squeeze your yogurt to get the moisture out and then put it back in the colander for another hour of straining at which time you will be surprised again by the amount of whey you get out of it.

Anyone in the whey market?  I got a bunch.  This is only half too!

And now your yogurt is complete and should be thick and tasty.  Sweeten as you like.  We do it with a drizzle of honey and some fresh fruit.  Jam would be nice.  Even some brown sugar would give it a yummy mapley flavor.  Try this.  Especially now when to buy Greek Yogurt is like 6 bucks for 32 oz, here it took half a gallon of milk and so cost....$1 maybe.

Yay for homemade yogurt, you'll feel like a champ and true human being if you do.

Granny Square Pic of the Day

Gratuitous I got a cute kid pic of the Day

My baby on Thunder Mountain Railroad during our DisneyLand vacation.  Too big!  She loved it!  We rode it 3 times.

Thanks as always for reading!

Heather