Food Storage experiments...

In the time that I have been silent on this blog - I have been experimenting with food storage. I got an awesome recipe for yogurt from Cassie Jacobsen and tried using powdered milk - guess what - we couldn't tell the difference!!! Here is the recipe I use:
2 quarts of milk - bring to a boil and then turn off and cool in a sink of ice until it reaches 100 degrees.
1/2 cup or so of plain yogurt (make sure you get plain - not vanilla) - after the first time, just save about 1/2 cup at the end of your yogurt to make more.

When the milk cools to 100 degrees, stir in the yogurt (it does not need to be totally smooth) and then pour into one of those 1/2 gallon thermos jugs. We've had one for years in our camping stuff and NEVER used it. After you fill the jug, screw the lid on and let it sit for about 24 hours on your counter. After that you can put it in the fridge and enjoy.

Cassie does hers in a gallon jug - I use the 1/2 gallon because that is what I already have. You can also pour it into canning jars and then put them in a warmed oven to sit overnight (warmed oven means heat it to about 200 degrees and then turn it off)

But wait - that isn't all! Did you know you can sprout any grain or dry bean you've been storing? Wheat (love the wheat grass, right) tends to like dirt if you want the actual grass. Did you ever wonder how people lived off of just grains??? If you spout them, you now have living plants (i.e. GREENS). To sprout beans, fill a quart jar 1/3 full with the beans and then fill it up with water. Let them soak overnight, drain the water, rinse the beans, and then turn the jar on its side. Every time you walk past it, turn the jar a little. The next day, rinse the beans again and then continue to turn the jar on its side. You shouldn't need to turn it after that and within a few days you'll see the sprouts. You can then use them in salads, eat them plain as snacks, ect. For a lid, I use a piece of cheese cloth held on by a canning ring.

Finally, I've been continuing to make my own bread (and loving not having to go to the store for something so simple.) Instead of copying the recipe down hear, I'll just send you to this great recipe site where I got my recipe. It is really the best recipe I've found and the bread is so light and fluffy you would swear you are eating store bought bread (but it is soooo much better for you). Word of warning though, this recipe makes 4-5 loaves. If you are not going to finish it all within about 4 days, put a few of the loaves in the freezer because without preservatives, it will go bad rather quickly.