Homemade Raw Milk Yogurt

Yogurt is a traditional healthy food packed with enzymes, B vitamins, and helpful probiotics.  And it's so easy to make your own! Why would you do that? The obvious reasons are that it is much cheaper to make yourself, and it's much more nutritious, with no additives, preservatives, food coloring, weird stuff, etc. But the main reason I wanted to make my own was to use Raw milk! Raw milk has so many health benefits compared to pasteurized milk, which is used in commercial brands. Raw milk has it's own digestive enzymes to help you digest it. (For all the benefits of drinking raw milk, go to realmilk.com)  Plus, it's de-li-cious.
You can make it in just a few easy steps!

Raw Milk Yogurt

 Yields 1 gallon yogurt

You'll need: 
crockpot
digital thermometer
towels
mason jars
1 gallon raw milk (check out realmilk.com to find a source near you!)
1 cup yogurt or starter culture



Step 1. Pour 1 gallon of raw milk into a large crockpot. Turn heat on to low.

Step 2. Heat milk to 110 degrees F. This takes about 2 hours in my crockpot. I have a digital thermometer with an alarm that I can program to 110 degrees. So I just pour the milk in, set the thermometer, and go about my day until I hear the alarm. Makes it really easy. (Thermometer was about $15 at Target.)

Step 3. Add 1 cup of fresh yogurt or starter culture and stir to combine. Either homemade yogurt or store-bought is fine, but it needs to be no older than 1 week. This is important to make sure the culture is strong enough to turn your milk into yogurt.  I usually use one cup of my previous batch, or if it's been longer than a week since I made yogurt, I use one of these starter cultures pictured below.

Step 4. Turn crockpot OFF, cover with towels, and let sit about 4 - 8 hours until yogurt is set. You want the temperature of the yogurt during this time to stay between 105 - 110 degrees. If you find it dropping under 105, turn the crockpot on to WARM for a few minutes until it rises again. Make sure the temp doesn't go over 112 degrees, or your yogurt won't be raw anymore. The yogurt is done when you tilt the pot and the yogurt comes away from the sides. I've found that mine sets in as little as 4 hours.

Step 5. Cover and place yogurt in the fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours to finish setting up. You can skip this step but your yogurt won't be as nice and thick.

 

Step 6. Spoon yogurt into mason jars. Raw milk yogurt is naturally not as thick as pasteurized yogurt and can separate a bit while it sits in the fridge. Either shake it up to make a nice, smooth yogurt, or you can strain it to make it thicker. The liquid that's strained out is called whey and is delicious! You can use it in baking, pancakes, waffles, etc. or to ferment grains or other foods!

That's it! Now you have delicious homemade raw milk yogurt that you can use on anything. It helps digest whatever you're eating and adds delicious flavor to any meal. Be creative! We've used ours on just about every meal. Some of our favorite ways to eat it are:

Mixed with oats and berries
Poured over fish and rice
On Tacos, burritos, enchiladas (add salt and you've got a delicious sour cream!)
Mixed with salsa for a tasty dip
Mixed with vanilla, honey, and cinnamon
Poured over salad to make a creamy dressing

...the possibilities are endless. Use your imagination, and Enjoy!

Sourdough Bread Class This Saturday!! (August 23)

Traditional Sourdough Bread-Making Class

Taught By Laure Rona

What:

Learn to make an easy, cost-effective, traditionally soaked sourdough bread that has all of the amazing benefits of probiotics and anti-oxidants.  This method neutralizes the phytates and breaks down most of the gluten, so your body doesn’t have to! Learn about the value of soaking your flour, using natural yeast, and how to feed and care for a starter. Plus go home with your own sourdough starter and bread dough to bake at home!

When:

Saturday, August 23, 2014, 10:00am—noon

Where:

Laure Rona’s Home

Pleasant Grove, Utah

  

Cost:

$35 per person

To register email Laure at laurerona@gmail.com

**There are only a few spots left, so register today before they fill up!

 

 

 

Rumbi Island's Voodoo Chicken Salad

If you have ever eaten at Rumbi Island Grill and had the Voodoo Chicken Salad, this post is for you! I found this recipe on a website that claims to have the original recipe for the Voodoo dressing from Rumbi, so this is the real deal folks!  I made a few slight alterations to make it healthier. The results are just as delicious, if not more so, than the original! Tangy, savory, sweet, this dressing would work well over any of your favorite salad toppings. 

Voodoo Chicken Salad 

(Adapted from oneshetwoshe.com)

**This dressing recipe makes a ton. You can cut it in half and it will still be a lot. But it saves really well, and you'll want tons because it's so delicious!!

Dressing Ingredients:

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard

1/4 cup Lime Juice

1/4 cup Chili Paste (found in the asian food section) (I leave this out.)

1 TBS. Crushed Red Pepper

3/4 cups Vegenaise (or mayo)

1 cup Sesame Oil

½ cup Olive Oil

1 cup Rice Wine Vinegar

1/2 cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (instead of soy sauce - GMO)

1 1/2 cups Honey (or less)

1/4 cup Minced Garlic

1/3 cup Pureed Ginger (I use 2-3 drops of ginger essential oil)

Other Ingredients:
grilled chicken (recipe here)
romaine lettuce
tomatoes
feta cheese
tortilla chips (organic to avoid gmo corn and/or oil)


Directions: 

Mix all of the dressing ingredients, except the ginger, in a bowl with a hand mixer for a couple minutes. Add the ginger and stir with a whisk until well blended. Chop romaine leaves and place on individual plates. Add chicken, chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, crushed tortilla chips, and dressing. Feel free to add other toppings as desired.

 Enjoy!

Easy Grilled Chicken

One of my favorite ways to eat chicken is grilled. I love the moist texture that it keeps inside, with the flavorful crisp outside layer. With a super taste and ingredients I always have on hand, this is my go-to grilled chicken recipe. It is super tasty, and very versatile. You can use it to top your favorite salad, make delicious wraps, or fill a taco shell. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Easy Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
garlic powder
onion powder
salt & pepper to taste
2 TBSP Coconut Oil

Directions:

 Heat coconut oil over med heat. Add chicken breasts to oil and salt and pepper each. Sprinkle garlic and onion powder over each. Cook until brown, then flip and do the same thing on the other side. Turn heat down to med-low and continue cooking until cooked all the way through. You can cut the breasts into a few pieces to finish cooking faster. Place on a cutting board and cut into thin slices.

Enjoy!
 

Chocolate Sourdough Cake

One of my favorite real food desserts is this delicious chocolate sourdough cake. Its deep, rich chocolate taste satisfies that sweet tooth, while its fermented whole wheat and cocoa breaks down most of the gluten, and those pesky anti-nutrients and frees them up to gather and eliminate free radicals from your body. Plus it develops a culture of healthy bacteria to help digest your food. Yes folks, this cake will help you digest the rest of your meal! 

This cake is also made with rapadura, instead of processed white sugar. Rapadura is the whole form of the sugar cane that has been crushed and evaporated, leaving all of its natural nutrients intact, instead of taking all of them out and processing it down to more of a chemical substance that wreaks havoc on your system. If you've never tasted it, you are in for a treat! Do yourself a favor and get some from your local health food store. You'll love its rich nutrient-full taste!

Chocolate Sourdough Cake

Sponge Ingredients

(The night or morning before)

1 C starter, active & bubbly

1 C milk

1 ¾ C whole wheat flour

1 ¼ C coconut oil melted and cooled

1 tsp sea salt

½ C cacao powder

3-4 oz. chocolate (3TB cocoa + 1 TB butter = 1 oz.)

(can combine last 2 ingredients)

Final Batter Ingredients

1 C rapadura sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ C chocolate chips (or cacao nibs)

Directions:

Combine sponge ingredients in a large bowl, cover, and let sit on counter 6-12 hours.

 Before Rising

 After Rising

After the rising time, mix together the final batter ingredients. 

Add spoonfuls of the chocolate dough into the final batter and  mix well with a whisk or an electric mixer until smooth. 

Add in chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Top with your favorite frosting. I prefer a less sweet frosting so the sweetness of the cake can stand out, such as the one below:

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Frosting:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a double boiler, or in a saucepan set over a pan of hot (not boiling) water, melt the chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. 
Add the sour cream and the vanilla and beat, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth and creamy. Let cool just slightly - until the frosting begins to thicken. But don’t wait too long because it will quickly thicken beyond spreadability. Spread frosting evenly over cake, then chill until set.
  

If you have any left after the first day or two, put the cake in the fridge for a delicious chocolate-frosted chocolate doughnut texture. 

Enjoy!!


Printable Recipe:

Chocolate Sourdough Cake

Sponge Ingredients

(The night or morning before)

1 C starter, active & bubbly

1 C milk

1 ¾ C whole wheat flour

1 ¼ C coconut oil melted and cooled

1 tsp sea salt

½ C cacao powder

3-4 oz. chocolate (3TB cocoa + 1 TB butter = 1 oz.)

(can combine last 2 ingredients)

Final Batter Ingredients

1 C rapadura sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ C chocolate chips (or cacao nibs)

Directions:

Combine sponge ingredients in a large bowl, cover, and let sit on counter 6-12 hours. Mix the final batter ingredients together. Add the chocolate dough to the final batter ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer or whisk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Frosting:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a double boiler, or in a saucepan set over a pan of hot (not boiling) water, melt the chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. 
Add the sour cream and the vanilla and beat, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth and creamy. Let cool just slightly - until the frosting begins to thicken. But don’t wait too long because it will quickly thicken beyond spreadability. Spread frosting evenly over cake, then chill until set.