Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Home Made Goat Yogurt

This takes a minimum of 6-8 hours to complete.

I used Trader Joe's European yogurt as the initial starter. I believe the TJ yogurt it tastes just like the Strauss yogurt we fell in love with in SFO.

Put 1.5 tablespoon of yogurt as starter into a 1 cup container to be warming up while you heat the milk.

Pour 6.5 cups of Sugar & Spice Cookie's goat milk into a stainless steel pot.

Heat Milk: Heat as slowly as possible to 180F, stirring occasionally with a stainless steel spoon. Do not use a wooden spoon. You should stir more often once the milk gets warmer to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Hold the milk between 179 - 184 for 15 min.

Cool Milk: Place pot of milk into a cool water bath in sink and stir until milk reaches 110F. This goes pretty quickly.

Add Starter: Add about a cup of warm milk to starter and stir with stainless spoon. Add diluted started back into pot of warm milk.

Wait: Pour milk with starter into yogurt Vita Clay crock pot and put on yogurt setting. Leave it alone for 5-6 hours or to taste. Don't move it or stir it. It is pretty forgiving on time if you forget it. I have done from 4 - 9 hrs, but at 9 hrs it was fairly sour.

Enjoy: Remove crock insert from Vita Clay and place in refrigerator. It will be firmer in the morning.

Friday, August 08, 2014

Peach Dutch Baby

This is a great summer breakfast. We tried freezing peaches to use all year, but it is just not the same.  Found this recipe on Seasons and Suppers. Only made the sauce twice so far, once with blackberries.


Blueberry Sauce:

  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • 3 Tbsp. water
  • 1 cup wild (or regular) fresh blueberries
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice

Dutch Baby Batter:

  • 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt (or pinch of table salt)
  • 1.5 lb peaches (3 large, 6 small), halved, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges (no need to peel)

  • Powdered sugar,for dusting

Instructions

Prepare blueberry sauce:
In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in water. 

Add blueberries and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and berries are softened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Set aside. (Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Simply re-warm before using to top dessert).

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in the microwave and then pour into a blender or food processor. 
Add the eggs, milk, flour, 1 Tbsp. sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. 
Blend batter until smooth. Let sit in blender, while you prepare the peaches.

Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. 
Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter and melt. 
Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes.
Add peaches to skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 2 minutes.
Briefly re-blend the batter, then pour evenly over peaches. Transfer the skillet to the pre-heated oven.
Bake pancake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 25 minutes. It will deflate as soon as it’s removed from the oven. Don’t despair. That’s what it is supposed to do.
You may dust pancake generously with powdered sugar, but we don't, Serve from the skillet and top with optional berry sauce.

Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 25 min | Total time: 40 min
Number of servings (yield): 4