I have started making my own yogurt after husband en rouge heard something about all the nasty ingredients that have been found in the industrial ones. A yogurt maker would be an expensive way of taking up precious space in my tiny kitchen, so I’ve gone with the Thermos method, which is cheaper and takes up almost no space at all.
It’s quite a fun sort of biology experiment. Heat up the milk, throw in the last cup of your old yogurt, whisk with a fork, and pour into your Thermos. You leave it sitting about your kitchen somewhere, the little microbes all get to work multiplying and being fruitful, and bingo! Next morning you have your very own yogurt you made yourself. I’m sure this deserves some kind of Domestic Goddess award.
I should say it does! For the very first batch, do you start with commercially-produced yoghurt, or do you have to faff about with rennet and cultures and things?
I'm not being exactly goddessish, but there is a batch of loaves doing its thing in the bread-machine, which will be dealt with later.
D's playing in a concert this evening - the local Choral Society are doing something by Gounod (which D. says is a load of rubbish) and they asked him to fill in with a couple of organ pieces by Gounod as well. AIUI, this presented a bit of a problem, as Gounod didn't write any organ music, but he found a couple of pieces that he could adapt.
I don't know anything about Gounod's music except the Ave Maria, about which I'm not wild, but I'll go in with an open mind. Really.
Re. yoghurt: when we lived in Africa we used the Thermos method - but without the Thermos! All we had to do was put the warm yoghurt in a Tupperware container and wrap it in a towel and - hey presto! - by morning it was ready. We couldn't get fresh milk but used some very good Dutch powdered whole milk which we might up slightly stronger than it was supposed to be made. For the starter we used French yoghurt obtained from a Lebanese merchant on our very occasional shopping trips to the next country. We always made sure we took some starter (with some spare) from each batch to make the next lot. I can't remember though if we froze it (we had a fridge which could work on electricity or paraffin; sometimes, when we wanted a quick freeze, we ran it on both!)
I should say it does! For the very first batch, do you start with commercially-produced yoghurt, or do you have to faff about with rennet and cultures and things?
You don't need rennet for yogurt - you're thinking of cheese. You can buy the bacteria in a little packet in the supermarket but a plain commercial yogurt works and is cheaper.
One word of caution - when I bought our yoghurt maker, other buyers and users were commenting that from their experience it wasn't a good idea to use a bread maker and a yoghurt maker at the same time - apparently the yeast in the air messed up the yoghurt. YMMV and we've never had a bread maker so I can't speak from my own experience.
Oh - and sterilised milk makes much better yoghurt then pasteurised!
I used to use a cheap commercial yoghurt maker, re-using previous live yoghurt. I used UHT milk as it doesn't need pre-heating as it is already free from bacteria. Apparently it doesn't thicken as much as heated milk though (I never noticed).
Finished my month long stint of marking this evening. Now I have a week of preparing tutorials before my next batch arrive (only two weeks worth then).
Fun fact about the foodie French: they use UHT milk all the time. Pasteurised is a rather expensive luxury over here. It does have a different taste but you get used to it after a while.
Yes, it does have a taste, we use it when camping and tea isn't quite the same, more creamy.
I'm catching up on housework and food shopping today. Work wise it's mainly emails and forums and a bit of reading as I only have a couple of work hours left on my weekly schedule (I work flexibly and I'm very strict at keeping to my hours). Increasing my work hours this Autumn has made me appreciate weekends far more!
I'm feeling lazy and think I might buy pizza for this evening.
Fun fact about the foodie French: they use UHT milk all the time. Pasteurised is a rather expensive luxury over here. It does have a different taste but you get used to it after a while.
So that’s why they can’t make a decent cuppa tea!
john holdingEcclesiantics Host, Mystery Worshipper Host
Fun fact about the foodie French: they use UHT milk all the time. Pasteurised is a rather expensive luxury over here. It does have a different taste but you get used to it after a while.
So that’s why they can’t make a decent cuppa tea!
Can't be that -- everyone knows its only bad tea that needs milk added. [Puts on cloak of extreme age] Why I remember British Rail "Tea" --steam shot through a tea bag of floor sweepings utterly undrinkable without milk ... I'm afraid that's my memory of tea with mil. [removes cloak]
I agree, it's bad tea that needs milk. I always drank green tea, thinking black tea was undrinkable, and hating tea with milk. But since I discovered good quality black tea leaves (I get them at greatly reduced prices from Approved Food, because they are out of date, but the date doesn't actually make a difference) I have started drinking black tea all the time and like it more than green tea now.
One of my colleagues actually puts a sploosh of milk into green tea! It looks vile but he says it tastes nice. He is level-headed in all other respects but I am not going to follow his example.
Is a Sploosh an official S.I. unit of measurement? Does it lie between a Smidgen and a Dollop, or do those only apply to thicker liquids such as Custard and Cream?
One of my colleagues actually puts a sploosh of milk into green tea! It looks vile but he says it tastes nice. He is level-headed in all other respects but I am not going to follow his example.
Whilst I usually drink green tea by itself (I love matcha) I confess to occasionally making a matcha latte with my espresso machine. With cinnamon sprinkled on the top.
If we're talking about tea-related confessions, the Rosie Lee tipple chez Piglet is Earl Grey with milk. Sorry about that.
The concert last night went off very nicely: the orchestra started off with a piece by a Russian composer called Kalinnikov (of whom I'd never heard), which was really rather nice, and the whole thing was very well received.
As they paid D. quite nicely too, we went to our usual post-choir-practice pub afterwards and shared a v. good charcuterie board.
We've got a very busy (in a good way) few weeks ahead, with Much Singing and Quite A Lot Of Partying.
That sounds such great fun, Piglet. Your choir does sound like such a great community.
(whispers...I have milk in earl grey too, though I can also drink without).
There is a good community feeling in the Cathedral, much of it fuelled by communal eating. About three or four times a year instead of having three separate services on a Sunday, we combine them in one, with both the choir and the band taking part. It's not to everyone's taste, but those who don't like it just take a day off. They're always followed by a communal lunch; the next one is this Sunday, and the lunch is SOUP*, with some of the accompanying bread provided by le boulangerie Piglet.
* They've apparently got professionals in to provide the SOUP, so I'm not involved in that side of it this time.
Today’s alien-key-free offering was bone marrow stew and very nice it was too. 2 trips to the Swedish Store in one week Is the exception rather than the norm, but I could get used to it.
Today’s alien-key-free offering was bone marrow stew and very nice it was too. 2 trips to the Swedish Store in one week Is the exception rather than the norm, but I could get used to it.
I bought a set of them the last time I needed one. 'Always put the wrench back in the case' is next to 'always put the card back in your wallet' in my list of useful habits.
Is a Sploosh an official S.I. unit of measurement? Does it lie between a Smidgen and a Dollop, or do those only apply to thicker liquids such as Custard and Cream?
It looks to be the liquid equivalent of the indefinite article
I bought a set of them the last time I needed one. 'Always put the wrench back in the case' is next to 'always put the card back in your wallet' in my list of useful habits.
And rule n° 3 in the same line: always put your keys down in the same place when you arrive home to avoid panic and swearing next morning.
I'm a bit of a dab hand with an alien key. Chez rouge furniture from the Swedish emporium is always assembled by me (apart from any stages where you need two people). There is much less fraying of tempers that way. As the French would say, I'm saying that, I'm not saying anything
On occasions where alcohol is a no-no, I have found the low alcohol version of Ghost Ship to be just about the best of this type of beverage. It actually tastes like beer!
We have a set of dining chairs from the Swedish Emporium; they were bought on various trips to the British mainland when we lived in Belfast (Northern Ireland didn't get a branch until after we left, and we were limited to how many we could get into a Nissan Micra), and by the time we got to the last one D. had become a dab hand at assembling them. I can't remember if they needed an Allen key.
Bread for the communal lunch is doing whatever it does* in the machine, it's a beautiful sunny day (and +5°!), so I'm a happy piglet.
* One of Life's Little Mysteries™ is how just four ingredients can make something as nice as a French stick: after much thought I've come to the conclusion that yeast is made of little microscopic pixies who turn the flour into bread.
Ah, the Nissan Micra. Fascinating that they also made the famous Nissan hut, and in their audio recording branch, the Nissan Micro.
Ok, maybe not.
Rather chilly here, though above 0 degree C, and with dense fog. The drought we've had since spring seems to continue, as it does in other parts of Middle Europe. Many streams and even the lesser rivers have run dry, or are trickling along rather miserably. The occasional, even day-long showers, haven't done much to reverse the situation. Even my sense of humour is drying up, but that could lead to a career in stand-up, who knows?
Had my Irish Breakfast tea, cuppa no 1, more may follow, possibly Yorkshire, or Yorkshire Gold. One likes variety!
Why thank you, Wesley J!! My Sunday here is grey and rather chilly, though that may just be me, as there are several hardy souls around outside! Old bones, and all that!
Or it could be I overdid the gardening yesterday, which has doubtless contributed to my painful back.
On the plus side I am getting my Christmas presents organised prior to getting in early at the post office and avoiding long queues!
Skipped church again today for the second week running (I think I need to go to the Post Church Traumatic Disorder thread....I'm hoping to be absent for all the usual Christmas services as well ), but there is a nice chicken-and-pasta thingy in the oven, and some equally nice BEER (in the fridge, I hasten to add) to go with it when it's done.
I might (if still awake) listen to Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3 later, as my spiritual shot for the day.
Our collective service went off very well this morning, and the SOUP afterwards was very good. There were three choices: vegetable, butternut squash and Acadian chicken fricot, which was a v. nice chunky-veggies-and-chicken in a thin broth flavoured with summer savory, a herb that seems to feature quite a lot in Atlantic cooking - it's very popular in Newfoundland.
It was served with rolls and Piglet's French sticks (which seemed to go down a treat - it was suggested I should do two batches next time), and followed by CAKE. A very nice day altogether.
Feeling very frugal. Made pearl barley dish with remainder veg, the end of some cooked gammon from a catering thing, roasted pumpkin (bought for 10p from Sainsbury's Local post-Halloween) and various other Things from Cupboards Mad-Scientist style. A Success; leftovers always make the best food.
We went to a very nice birthday party yesterday in an old Victorian bathhouse just by Liverpool Street station. Excellent food and birthday cake and great live music from a klezmer band.
That place looks lovely.
I used to live in Bath Street near Old Street (I worked at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the nurses' home was there) but I rather suspect our local baths was a rather more basic one for the local dodgy population of Hoxton.
Had a visit from an old friend last week. She was widowed at the same time as I lost the better half and after a few years I'd begun to think/ hope we might make a couple. However, before I made a complete fool of myself she told me she'd acquired a "walker" for events where she needed a partner and that they were starting to see more of each other.
Well, they came together. She is still being fairly skittish (I think the term applies) but he is obviously besotted. She is 61, he 38. At the moment she is anxious her children remain in the dark while he, a lot closer to them in age, says they should "go public".
My own two were fascinated and one of them (her Godson) made her blush by remarking as they left that he now saw her through fresh eyes.
We had new church Church Christmas Fair on Sat, new church yesterday (the children are doing reasonably well considering all the changes they've had) and an expats' Thanksgiving (mainly not cooked by me, thankfully, but hosted by us).
I am making Christmas puddings today but actually I'm glad to be sat at my desk (at home) and not running around after dishes/children/a slightly broken hob.
Goodness, @TheOrganist - that's quite a tangle! I'm not quite sure what the right response is, but if she's happy with the new chap and comfortable with introducing him to you and your children, maybe she really does see you more as a chum than anything more.
Considering the age gap, I think I can understand her reticence about introducing him to her own children though!
* * * * *
We're bracing ourselves for more sn*w (see TICTH thread) - up to another 8 inches, which we could really do without.
Update on my would-be squeeze:
(1) I got her age wrong - its 62 (63 in 2 weeks) so the age gap between her and her new man is the same as her sons' age.
(2) She took a deep breath, took him home for supper with her sons and tried to broach the subject (after he left) of her forming a new relationship. Both sons were not keen and one made specific point he hoped she wouldn't be trying to "do the cougar thing".
I think they've guessed something may be in the offing and aren't madly keen. I've told her I'll be standing by with tissues, brandy and a shoulder as and when necessary. Meanwhile my two (who are on goodish terms with hers) are meeting up with her sons for a drink later this week so we'll see if there are any indications there.
Meanwhile, I'm still in the market for a pleasant, single with some va-va-voom musical woman c50-65 out there with time to spare for a decentish type with own hair and teeth and a reasonable sense of both humour and the ridiculous.
Not sure if that's true here in The Land Of Song. We were promised warm wet winds from the south-west, what we've got are cold (but equally wet) winds from the north-east. But nothing like cold enough for the white stuff.
The wet stuff falling heavily right now is cold enough for me, even if it’s not cold enough for snow. I’ve decided that today is a day of Getting Things Done without going outdoors and am steadily ploughing my way through those Things, although they have to be do-able from the back of my house where I’ve retreated to, away from the drone of the trimming of the ginormous (as I overheard the trimming chaps call it) hedge opposite the front. Cat wasn’t impressed to be thrown outside when she showed signs of needing to be, but she’s not reappeared to I assume she’s found somewhere dry enough for her. I might even start to tackle writing Christmas cards - I’m trying to cut down to the essential ones, but making that decision seems to elude me.
Update on my would-be squeeze:
(1) I got her age wrong - its 62 (63 in 2 weeks) so the age gap between her and her new man is the same as her sons' age.
(2) She took a deep breath, took him home for supper with her sons and tried to broach the subject (after he left) of her forming a new relationship. Both sons were not keen and one made specific point he hoped she wouldn't be trying to "do the cougar thing".
I think they've guessed something may be in the offing and aren't madly keen. I've told her I'll be standing by with tissues, brandy and a shoulder as and when necessary. Meanwhile my two (who are on goodish terms with hers) are meeting up with her sons for a drink later this week so we'll see if there are any indications there.
Meanwhile, I'm still in the market for a pleasant, single with some va-va-voom musical woman c50-65 out there with time to spare for a decentish type with own hair and teeth and a reasonable sense of both humour and the ridiculous.
Best of luck! (Been there - got the T-shirt etc. etc.).
Alas, the One I'd Like To Squeeze (nicely) is 58 (so only 9 years younger than I, but in much better condition), and happily settled with a Chap Who Treats Her Well. Jolly good luck to them both, but I still love her to bits....(she's NOT the ex-Mrs BF, BTW).
ION, just noticed wet stuff falling. Seems to be ra*n.......but I have a nice Beef Stroganoff to go into the oven.
Today I am drinking some of my blackberry gin, because I have a horrible cold - seems like I'm constantly alternating blowing my nose and coughing, and feeling generally miserable - and I have read that gin helps fight coughs and lung congestion. In fact I read an article about all the health benefits of gin, from being good for your liver to helping with joint pain, as well as making your skin look younger and making you live longer - which seems a little farfetched, but I'm thinking surely at least the alcohol might kill germs in my throat or something.
Weather-wise, it's been raining all day, but I've been at home because of feeling rotten. I did put my brown bin out to be emptied, but it turned out I had got the date confused and today was green bin day, so then I had to put my brown bin back, unemptied.
I get confused between plastic-rubbish days and paper-rubbish days (they alternate week about here, so if you miss one it's another two weeks).
We don't really generate enough paper rubbish to justify a separate box*; I probably ought to put a blue bag in the bin in the study, but I doubt that I could train D. not to put anything other than paper in it. The box we used to use for plastics blew away in the big gale we had a few weeks ago, and God only knows where it ended up, so we've had to stock up on blue bags.
The snow that we were promised has only really partially materialised (so far!): it didn't start until about 11 this morning, and it's been off and on all day, but doesn't seem to have added too much to the total. I don't think it's quite finished yet though ...
* Over here you have to buy your own - either blue bags or boxes. A wheelie-bin came with the house for ordinary waste.
Comments
It’s quite a fun sort of biology experiment. Heat up the milk, throw in the last cup of your old yogurt, whisk with a fork, and pour into your Thermos. You leave it sitting about your kitchen somewhere, the little microbes all get to work multiplying and being fruitful, and bingo! Next morning you have your very own yogurt you made yourself. I’m sure this deserves some kind of Domestic Goddess award.
I'm not being exactly goddessish, but there is a batch of loaves doing its thing in the bread-machine, which will be dealt with later.
D's playing in a concert this evening - the local Choral Society are doing something by Gounod (which D. says is a load of rubbish) and they asked him to fill in with a couple of organ pieces by Gounod as well. AIUI, this presented a bit of a problem, as Gounod didn't write any organ music, but he found a couple of pieces that he could adapt.
I don't know anything about Gounod's music except the Ave Maria, about which I'm not wild, but I'll go in with an open mind. Really.
Re. yoghurt: when we lived in Africa we used the Thermos method - but without the Thermos! All we had to do was put the warm yoghurt in a Tupperware container and wrap it in a towel and - hey presto! - by morning it was ready. We couldn't get fresh milk but used some very good Dutch powdered whole milk which we might up slightly stronger than it was supposed to be made. For the starter we used French yoghurt obtained from a Lebanese merchant on our very occasional shopping trips to the next country. We always made sure we took some starter (with some spare) from each batch to make the next lot. I can't remember though if we froze it (we had a fridge which could work on electricity or paraffin; sometimes, when we wanted a quick freeze, we ran it on both!)
You don't need rennet for yogurt - you're thinking of cheese. You can buy the bacteria in a little packet in the supermarket but a plain commercial yogurt works and is cheaper.
Oh - and sterilised milk makes much better yoghurt then pasteurised!
Finished my month long stint of marking this evening. Now I have a week of preparing tutorials before my next batch arrive (only two weeks worth then).
I'm catching up on housework and food shopping today. Work wise it's mainly emails and forums and a bit of reading as I only have a couple of work hours left on my weekly schedule (I work flexibly and I'm very strict at keeping to my hours). Increasing my work hours this Autumn has made me appreciate weekends far more!
I'm feeling lazy and think I might buy pizza for this evening.
So that’s why they can’t make a decent cuppa tea!
Can't be that -- everyone knows its only bad tea that needs milk added. [Puts on cloak of extreme age] Why I remember British Rail "Tea" --steam shot through a tea bag of floor sweepings utterly undrinkable without milk ... I'm afraid that's my memory of tea with mil. [removes cloak]
Whilst I usually drink green tea by itself (I love matcha) I confess to occasionally making a matcha latte with my espresso machine. With cinnamon sprinkled on the top.
The concert last night went off very nicely: the orchestra started off with a piece by a Russian composer called Kalinnikov (of whom I'd never heard), which was really rather nice, and the whole thing was very well received.
As they paid D. quite nicely too,
We've got a very busy (in a good way) few weeks ahead, with Much Singing and Quite A Lot Of Partying.
I love Advent and Christmas.
(whispers...I have milk in earl grey too, though I can also drink without).
I'm currently having a beer, Adnams Ghost Ship.
* They've apparently got professionals in to provide the SOUP, so I'm not involved in that side of it this time.
I can't help thinking that the Professional SOUP won't be quite as tasty-sounding as some of the recipes/ideas promulgated here....
I’m trying to work out what an alien key is! 🤔
Yes, I knew but was teasing 😈
Nevertheless, the Allen (or Alien) Key is a Useful Tool - indeed, a Boon and a Blessing to [anyone] struggling with Swedish furniture.
If you can find the right size version of the bl**dy thing when you need it.
It looks to be the liquid equivalent of the indefinite article
Ah! A Person Of Sense!
Just so.
I'm a bit of a dab hand with an alien key. Chez rouge furniture from the Swedish emporium is always assembled by me (apart from any stages where you need two people). There is much less fraying of tempers that way. As the French would say, I'm saying that, I'm not saying anything
On occasions where alcohol is a no-no, I have found the low alcohol version of Ghost Ship to be just about the best of this type of beverage. It actually tastes like beer!
Bread for the communal lunch is doing whatever it does* in the machine, it's a beautiful sunny day (and +5°!), so I'm a happy piglet.
* One of Life's Little Mysteries™ is how just four ingredients can make something as nice as a French stick: after much thought I've come to the conclusion that yeast is made of little microscopic pixies who turn the flour into bread.
Ok, maybe not.
Rather chilly here, though above 0 degree C, and with dense fog. The drought we've had since spring seems to continue, as it does in other parts of Middle Europe. Many streams and even the lesser rivers have run dry, or are trickling along rather miserably. The occasional, even day-long showers, haven't done much to reverse the situation. Even my sense of humour is drying up, but that could lead to a career in stand-up, who knows?
Had my Irish Breakfast tea, cuppa no 1, more may follow, possibly Yorkshire, or Yorkshire Gold. One likes variety!
Wishing everyone a lovely Sunday.
Or it could be I overdid the gardening yesterday, which has doubtless contributed to my painful back.
On the plus side I am getting my Christmas presents organised prior to getting in early at the post office and avoiding long queues!
And you can't beat Yorkshire Tea!
Skipped church again today for the second week running (I think I need to go to the Post Church Traumatic Disorder thread....I'm hoping to be absent for all the usual Christmas services as well
I might (if still awake) listen to Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3 later, as my spiritual shot for the day.
It was served with rolls and Piglet's French sticks (which seemed to go down a treat - it was suggested I should do two batches next time), and followed by CAKE. A very nice day altogether.
I used to live in Bath Street near Old Street (I worked at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the nurses' home was there) but I rather suspect our local baths was a rather more basic one for the local dodgy population of Hoxton.
Well, they came together. She is still being fairly skittish (I think the term applies) but he is obviously besotted. She is 61, he 38. At the moment she is anxious her children remain in the dark while he, a lot closer to them in age, says they should "go public".
My own two were fascinated and one of them (her Godson) made her blush by remarking as they left that he now saw her through fresh eyes.
I wish them joy, but am madly jealous.
We had new church Church Christmas Fair on Sat, new church yesterday (the children are doing reasonably well considering all the changes they've had) and an expats' Thanksgiving (mainly not cooked by me, thankfully, but hosted by us).
I am making Christmas puddings today but actually I'm glad to be sat at my desk (at home) and not running around after dishes/children/a slightly broken hob.
Considering the age gap, I think I can understand her reticence about introducing him to her own children though!
* * * * *
We're bracing ourselves for more sn*w (see TICTH thread) - up to another 8 inches, which we could really do without.
Bloody Trump sending us his weather!
(1) I got her age wrong - its 62 (63 in 2 weeks) so the age gap between her and her new man is the same as her sons' age.
(2) She took a deep breath, took him home for supper with her sons and tried to broach the subject (after he left) of her forming a new relationship. Both sons were not keen and one made specific point he hoped she wouldn't be trying to "do the cougar thing".
I think they've guessed something may be in the offing and aren't madly keen. I've told her I'll be standing by with tissues, brandy and a shoulder as and when necessary. Meanwhile my two (who are on goodish terms with hers) are meeting up with her sons for a drink later this week so we'll see if there are any indications there.
Meanwhile, I'm still in the market for a pleasant, single with some va-va-voom musical woman c50-65 out there with time to spare for a decentish type with own hair and teeth and a reasonable sense of both humour and the ridiculous.
Best of luck! (Been there - got the T-shirt etc. etc.).
Alas, the One I'd Like To Squeeze (nicely) is 58 (so only 9 years younger than I, but in much better condition), and happily settled with a Chap Who Treats Her Well. Jolly good luck to them both, but I still love her to bits....(she's NOT the ex-Mrs BF, BTW).
ION, just noticed wet stuff falling. Seems to be ra*n.......but I have a nice Beef Stroganoff to go into the oven.
Weather-wise, it's been raining all day, but I've been at home because of feeling rotten. I did put my brown bin out to be emptied, but it turned out I had got the date confused and today was green bin day, so then I had to put my brown bin back, unemptied.
We don't really generate enough paper rubbish to justify a separate box*; I probably ought to put a blue bag in the bin in the study, but I doubt that I could train D. not to put anything other than paper in it. The box we used to use for plastics blew away in the big gale we had a few weeks ago, and God only knows where it ended up, so we've had to stock up on blue bags.
The snow that we were promised has only really partially materialised (so far!): it didn't start until about 11 this morning, and it's been off and on all day, but doesn't seem to have added too much to the total. I don't think it's quite finished yet though ...
* Over here you have to buy your own - either blue bags or boxes. A wheelie-bin came with the house for ordinary waste.