yogurt!

This was my breakfast this morning. Garden strawberries (a surprise from the back of the freezer!), backyard honey, and homemade yogurt. A delight!
I've been wanting to try this for a while, and after a lengthy conversation about homemade yogurt over the weekend with friends, I was inspired to try it.

I used a gallon of 2% Organic Valley milk.

Heated it to 170F...

Then let it cool to 112F before mixing in a half cup of already prepared yogurt.

I tried two methods for "incubation." One friend recommended putting the warm milk mixture into a crockpot (OFF) and wrapping it with towels. Another recommended putting the mixture into Mason jars and keeping them in an insulated cooler filled with warm water.

I left both overnight, and in the morning found runny yogurt. Both the crockpot and the cooler batches were about the same. I strained it twice through cheesecloth.

Now its about the consistency of greek yogurt, and I like it. I also like that this yogurt will cost about 25% of what an equal amount would have cost at the co-op! I put yogurt on everything from chili to french toast, mix it into curries, and use it as a base for sauces and dressings. (My current favorite- mixing equal parts yogurt and pesto and pouring onto boiled potatoes. Mmmmm.)