I’ve been experimenting with cultured foods lately. I have tried 4 types of mesothelic yogurts and I am loving them! This recipe works with viili, filmjolk, matsoni, piima, or other room temperature yogurts.
You will need:
- Starter culture
- Jar with lid (a quart jar works well)
- Milk or cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
Take yogurt from previous batch of yogurt to use as starter culture (1 Tablespoon for every 8-10 oz of desired yogurt).
Place starter culture in a clean jar (you will need a lid).
Add milk to desired amount. Example: 1 Tablespoon starter yogurt and 8 oz of milk makes 8 oz of finished yogurt).
Cover with lid and allow to sit for 10-12 hours or until the yogurt pulls away from the side of the jar when jar is tipped.
This isn’t an exact science, using more milk or less starter just means it will take a bit longer. If your “room temperature” is warmer, your yogurt will culture more quickly. If you find it is ready too soon, use less starter or use more milk to have the batch ready later. When the yogurt looks like it is starting to curdle or separate into curds and whey, it is a bit over cultured. It is still good, but must be stirred and loses a bit of it’s creaminess. It will also taste a little more tangy. Experiment a little to find what works for you and what taste you prefer.
Use any type of milk you like. Milk with less fat will make thinner yogurt. If you want thicker yogurt, you can put some in a coffee filter until some of the whey drains out and it is the consistency you like. (Use the whey for lacto fermenting vegetables!) If you leave it longer, the majority of the whey will drain out and you will be left with cream cheese. Add some herbs or fruit and enjoy on bagels 🙂
You can do a second ferment after removing starter for your next batch by adding fruit if you desire. Or just add fruit, honey, maple syrup, vanilla, (or whatever sounds good) to taste.
Yogurt Bread (tastes like sourdough)
Put equal amounts of yogurt and flour in a bowl and stir to make a sponge. You may need to add one or the other to make a sticky sponge that is thicker than pancake batter, but not as thick as dough.
Example: 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup flour.
Allow to culture for 12 hours.
Add a pinch of salt. Optional: add 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil and any desired spices (garlic? italian herbs? dill?)
Add flour 1/2 cup at a time until you have a soft dough. Shape as desired for loaf (bread sticks sprinkled with garlic and parmesan anyone? pizza crust?).
Allow to rise for several hours.
Bake at 375 degrees F until crust is brown.
Remove and cool before cutting.
When our kids were preschoolers, I made these fun little Bible Boxes for them. I was inspired by making our own Resurrection Eggs, where you open the eggs and talk about the items inside and how they relate to the Easter story. I thought it might be fun to have some interactive and tactile boxes for several other Bible stories. I put the items and stories in little boxes from the craft store, but you could use tupperware containers for printable/foldable takeout style boxes from the internet if you don’t want to go out and buy some. I got some of the items from the dollar store, some from the craft store (miniatures), some from my kids toy boxes, etc. Feel free to use whichever items you can find or have on hand. I adapted to what I could find. You could even print an image of a crown in you can’t find one, for example. As you read through the story, have the child find the item that goes with the story (in parenthesis and bold). Kids love retelling the story from the items after it has been read to them too. I hope you and your child or children enjoy these as much as we did!!
Rebuilding of the Temple from 2 Kings 22-23
John The Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus from Matthew 3-4 and Mark 1
Peter’s Miraculous Escape From Prison from Acts 12
