Homemade Soy Yogurt

One of my favourite desserts is plain/natural yogurt with frozen or warmed berries and currants with granola. I love the tart and sweet together, and it's healthy enough that I don't feel bad eating it every night. I was getting my daily dose of probiotics from the yogurt and antioxidants from the berries, and I would feel good after eating it.

Then my 6 month old developed eczema about 3 months ago, around the same time he started sucking on his hands and drooling a lot. I thought that maybe he was teething, but he still has no teeth. After speaking with a few people, and looking things up online, we suspected a possible milk allergy/intolerance might be contributing to his terribly dry, red skin. Since I breastfeed, I cut dairy out of my diet for a week. His skin improved quite a bit, but cutting out dairy also meant cutting out my probiotics, and I was definitely feeling the effects. So, I ate some yogurt a week later, and the next day, my boy's eczema flared up. So, I quit dairy products again, and started searching for a way to get my probiotics without dairy.

I found a few recipes online for soy yogurt, which were all about the same. I ended up using this recipe. Of course, I've made a couple changes. I used a non-electric yogurt maker that I was given a few months ago. I also prefer to heat the soy milk on low heat in a saucepan instead of in the microwave.

I've attempted to make yogurt before, but it never quite turned out.  This time I bought a natural soy yogurt from the grocery store to use as the starter. I also bought a candy thermometer, which means that I can add the yogurt at the optimal temp to ensure it sets. The yogurt maker I have is essentially a large thermos with an insert to set the container on. I pour boiling water into the thermos so the water comes ups around the container of yogurt a few inches. Then I cover it with the lid, and wait for 10-12 hours.   I was so excited when I opened up the yogurt contained to find this for the first time:

I successfully made soy yogurt. As you can see, it sets pretty solid, and I prefer a more creamy texture, so, as shown at the top, I use a stick blender to make it smooth and creamy. Then I enjoy it with berries and granola, and my tummy is happy.

Coconut Oatmeal "Macaroons"

I had some leftover sweetened condensed milk sitting in the fridge that needed to get used up. Since I didn't have a recipe, I made up my own. I just mixed some coconut and porridge (quick) oats together with the sweetened condensed milk, and baked in the oven.

This is just about the easiest cookie recipe ever, super quick, and they were really tasty. You could also argue that they are somewhat healthy, with some calcium and the oats :) They turned out crispy on the outside and soft, dense and chewy on the inside. I didn't actually measure anything, but here's a guesstimate:

Coconut Oatmeal "Macaroons"

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup dessicated coconut (unsweetened)

1/2 to 3/4 cup porridge (quick) oats

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet/baking tray with non-stick baking paper (or grease the pan). Mix all ingredients together until combined. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto the pan. Bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges start turning brown. Cool on wire rack, and enjoy.

Makes 12 cookies.

Transformer Cake

For my son's 4th birthday this year, we had a Transformer party. Most of the party food was just normal stuff (no red and purple coloured foods for me thank you). Of course, I always try to have some healthy food with all the junk food. I served vegetable sticks and tortilla chips with hummus dip, fruit slices, and cheese sandwiches. For the adventurous eaters, I made Bahn Mi with teriyaki chicken. For anyone who's wondering, the Bahn mi is our favourite baguette sandwich.

We also had cake and ice-cream. For the cake I made a two layer round zucchini/courgette cake, with a cream cheese frosting. Before adding the icing sugar, I separated two small amounts of the frosting mix from the main, and added blue or red food colouring to each.

I copied and enlarge this picture of the Autobot logo, and printed it up, and glued it to the back of a cereal box. Then, using an exacto knife, I cut out the sections of the picture to form a negative image stencil. (I had to leave a couple of strips to connect the middle triangle).

After layering the cakes, with cream cheese frosting, I spread a thin layer of white frosting on the top. Then I placed the stencil on top, pressing it down to ensure total contact.

Then using a palette knife, I spread the blue and red (OK, so it's pink) frosting on top of the stencil as shown below.
After carefully peeling the stencil off the cake, I ended up with this.
To finish it off, I filled in the gaps and frosted the rest of the cake with the white frosting. You could use a straight frost tip and a piping bag. Since I had neither of those on hand, I used medicine syringe dispensers. They were a bit of a pain to keep refilling, but the size of the tip was perfect for filling in the small gaps. After filling in the gaps and outlining the logo with the syringe tip, I used a palette knife to frost the rest of the cake.

Here is the end result. I was pretty excited that it turned out so well.

The ice-cream was also homemade (unfortunately I didn't get a picture if that), but it was pretty good. I found this recipe for ice-cream that doesn't require a machine, and I just had to try it out. I made strawberry ice-cream and cookies and cream ice-cream. Since I didn't have quite enough Oreo cookies, I even made the chocolate cookies from scratch.

I tweaked the recipe according to the ingredients I can get in the UK, but was basically the same.

Home-made Ice Cream without a machine

1 container single cream (284 ml)

1 container double cream (284 ml)

1/2 to 1/2 cup (8 0z) milk (optional)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

flavours/topping/mix-ins of choice

Whip the creams and milk until stiff peaks form (it's best to use an electric whisk or mixer if you have one). In a separate bowl add the toppings to the sweetened condensed milk. If you want two flavours, divide the condensed milk into two bowls first. Fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture, until combined well. Place mixture into a freezer safe airtight container and freeze6 hours or until firm. If you are using an ingredient that is rather heavy (like my diced strawberries), they tend to sink to the bottom. It's a good idea to mix the ice-cream after a couple of hours, when it is more solid, but still mixable.

Chocolate (Oreo) Cookies

I can't remember exactly where on-line I got this recipe, and I didn't include the frosting, just the biscuit.

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons butter, at room temp

1 large egg

Mix the dry ingredients together, then beat in the butter and egg.

Place the dough by rounded teaspoons onto a baking tin lined with parchment paper, and flatten slightly.

Bake for 9 minutes at 375 degrees F (190 Celsius).

If using in the ice-cream, place required amount of cookies into a bowl, and crush with the end of a rolling pin.

6 Minute Chocolate Cake

My mom discovered this chocolate cake recipe in my Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook when she was here after the birth of my second boy. It has since come to be my go to chocolate cake recipe.

As the name suggests it only takes about 6 minutes to mix together (from scratch). Other pros about this cake, you use a minimal amount of dishes, all the ingredients can be found in your food storage or store cupboard, and it's a great cake to make with your kids. Not only is it really simple, but you can talk science as you watch the vinegar react with the baking soda, and since there's no eggs in it, you don't have to worry about salmonella when you lick the spoon and bowl afterward!

Since I found the recipe online, I figured it was okay to copy here. There is a chocolate glaze to go with it, but I never make that, just the cake. I made the last batch into cupcakes, which work well, but it's even easier to mix it all in the 8x8 pan.

6-Minute Chocolate Cake

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup cold water or 1 cup brewed coffee
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons vinegar

Directions:

Prep Time: 6 mins

Total Time: 31 mins

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. 
   
3. 2 Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and sugar into an ungreased 8 inch square or 9 inch round baking tin.
4. 
   
5. 3 In a 2 cup measuring cup, measure and mix the oil, water or coffee and vanilla.
6. 
   
7. 4 Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking tin and mix the batter with a fork or small whisk.
8. 
   
9. 5 When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. Pale swirls will occur where the vinegar and baking soda react. Stir just until the vinegar is even distributed throughout the batter.
10. 
    
11. 6 Bake for 25-30 minutes. Set aside the cake to cool.

Egg Whites

One of hubby's favourite meals to make (and eat) is Pasta Carbonara. If you've never made this before, it involves a lot of egg yolks, and we are left with a mess load of egg whites that I never remember to use for anything. Last Sunday we had "cheesy pasta with peas and bacon" (as my oldest calls it) again and I was determined to use the egg whites in something other than an omelet. I went to eatingwell.com for some inspiration, and found some really yummy recipes to try.

The first was a Red Onion and Goat Cheese Pancake. As the recipe header says, it's like a savoury German pancake (or as we called it growing up, a Popeye pancake). It was really good, especially with the balsamic honey syrup. You could probably substitute the eggs whites for one large egg instead.

We watch a lot of cooking shows here in the UK, and the professionals are always making souffles. Of course they make everything look easy, but the souffles really did look doable. I found some small ramekins and thought I'd give a souffle a try. I made the Broccoli and Goat Cheese Souffle, but instead of having 10 ounce ramekins, mine were only about 3 oz. So, I did my best to 1/4 the recipe adjusting the sauce (pre-egg white) to taste. They were actually really easy to make, and turned out great. I was surprised at how light they were (first time eating a souffle as well). I will definitely have to try another souffle soon (maybe a sweet one next time). I would recommend using larger ramekins though, as you don't get much out of a 3 oz one.

I still had some egg whites left, so I tried my hand at making meringues. I didn't use a recipe, I just whipped the egg whites until soft peaks formed, added some sugar, and then a little cream of tartar, and whipped until the egg whites were glossy and stiff peaks formed. I was being lazy, and just spread the meringue out on baking paper on a baking sheet, and baked in a warm oven until cooked through. I then turned to oven off and let them rest in the residual heat for at least an hour or overnight until they were crisp. The next day I broke up the meringue into pieces and used it in an Eton Mess. An Eton Mess is an English pudding that is traditionally served with Strawberries. I used Mango instead.

Mango Eton Mess

1 Mango, diced

Whipped Cream

Meringue pieces

Mix all the ingredients together, or layer them as you wish in a nice dish. It couldn't be simpler.

Rustic Pear Tart

It's been a while since I've gone food shopping in the States, but I don't remember there being quite the selection of sugars as they have in England. When you step into the baking aisle at Tesco or ASDA the sugars you will find include: granulated, caster, icing, fondant icing, royal icing, natural golden granulated, natural golden caster, Demerara, light and dark Muscovado, light and dark brown soft, natural molasses, jam and preserving sugar. For the following recipe I used Demerara sugar, also known as unrefined cane sugar.

I had some leftover whole wheat short crust pastry dough in the freezer that I needed to use up, and some pears that were going soft and not getting eaten. So I thawed the dough one Monday evening, and quickly threw together this easy dessert. My oldest boy scarfed it down, and my hubby said it was delicious (and that's with a ww crust!)

I don't have the specific recipe for the pie crust. I made this a while ago, and can't remember what I did exactly. I'm pretty sure I used a normal pie-crust recipe, but used 1/2 whole wheat flour and half all-purpose (plain) flour. Then I think I actually used a mixture lard and butter for the fat.

If you are looking for a simple yet delicious dessert, this tart, also known as a Gallete, is the one for you. If you have ready made short-crust pastry, it only takes about 5 minutes to assemble, and you don't have to measure anything. This truly is a little-of-this-and-that kind of recipe. There are no measurements, because it all depends on your taste, as well as the size you want to make the tart. I made some very small ones for my boys, and medium sized personal ones for myself and my hubby. You could make one large one and cut it into slice if you'd like.

Rustic Pear Tart

Short-crust Pastry (ready made or your own recipe)

Pears, peeled and sliced

Demerara Sugar (unrefined cane sugar)

Cinnamon

Grated fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 375 degree F/190 C. For each tart, roll a circle out to desired size, sprinkle with sugar. Leaving 1 to 2 inches around the edge, Place the pear slices in a single layer. Sprinkle with more sugar, cinnamon and a bit of fresh grated ginger. Add another layer of pears followed by sugar, cinnamon and ginger according to taste. Fold the edges of the pie-crust over the filling, and sprinkle the edges with sugar.

Place tarts on a baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is browned and the filling is bubbly.

Variations: You could try this with any fruit, apple, plums, etc. I also made a pear and plum tart which was very good.

Black Currant Crumble II

I had to use up the rest of our black currants in the freezer, but had different ingredients. This one turned out really nice. It was a little runny, so maybe I'll add a little more flour to the fruit mixture next time, but other than that, it was delicious!

I didn't measure exactly, just cut up fruit and placed in the dish until it looked about right, about 5-6 cups fruit in total. You could probably try any combination of fruits if you like.

Fruit mixture:
About 2 cups black currants, one cup diced plums, and 1-2 cups peeled and dessert apples.
Juice and zest of one orange (next time I just do juice of 1/2 orange.)
2 Tbs flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar

Crumble mixture:
1 1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

The recipe instructions are the same as Black Currant and Nectarine Crisp.

Black Currant and Nectarine Crisp

We had a bunch of black currants given to us that we needed to use up. I didn't like any of the recipes I found, so I made my own. I only put 1/4 cup of sugar in the fruit mix, and it was still very tart. You'll probably need at least 1/2 cup, but maybe more, depending on how tart/sweet you like it.

Filling:
3 cups Black Currants
3 nectarines, diced
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons plain/all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Crisp:
1 1/4 cups rolled oats (I used porridge oats)
1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 ounces butter, diced

Grease a 2 quart casserole dish, and preheat oven to 180 Celsius/350 F. In casserole dish, mix together all ingredients for the filling. In a medium bowl mix together oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Then add the butter and rub into the mixture with your fingers until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Spread crisp mix evenly over the filling. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until filling is bubbling and crisp is nicely browned.

Serve warm with custard or ice cream if desired.