Super easy/healthy dessert

Berry Dessert

Berries
Yogurt
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar








Fill four custard cups with berries - I used blueberries.  Stir some yogurt with cinnamon and spoon on top of the berries.  Sprinkle some brown sugar on top and broil for 5 minutes.  Easy right?  And you probably have most the ingredients in your larder already.  Tasty, tasty tasty!

Tomato and Asparagus "Carbonara"

Another Cooking Light Recipe - and this one is now a favorite that I will put into regular rotation.

Tomato and Asparagus "Carbonara" from September 2012 (yup still catching up on some of the old magazines on my shelf.)  Below you can see my picture vs. their picture.

  

This recipe was super easy to follow- and I would say takes even less time then the time that they allow, especially if you take the time to prechop your veggies.  (Prechopping veggies is a great thing to do while a baby naps.  Makes life much easier.)  I have made this recipe twice now, the first time I was right at the 25 minute time limit.  The second time it only took as long as it was needed to cook the pasta.

There are no unusual ingredients.  The only concern is catching the asparagus when it is in season, and of course I am sure you could substitute frozen.  There are also any number of ways to substitute to  make it work for your pantry.  I have done 2 different pastas, 2 different cheeses,and even switched around spices a bit.

With only a couple veggies - and those being veggies that can be rough chopped - the prep work only takes a moment.  The veggies are cooked in one pan, and the pasta is cooked in its own pot.  So there are 2 pots used.  Other than that the serving bowl is the only other item that will need to be washed. 

Now for the only part of the recipe that initially worried me.  Your sauce is a raw egg in a bowl that cooks when you add in the hot pasta.  Scary.  But since I will drink raw eggs drowned in sugar in egg nog I decided it would be silly to skip this recipe just because of a little fear of illness.  Can I say it totally paid off?  So easy, and quick and yummy.

This is a recipe that is worth making every week as the pasta item.  It's inexpensive since it doesn't have meat - and it's quick to cook, and easy to clean up.  I would definitely recommend trying it out and making adjustments for your own family!

Roasted Cauliflower Fettuccini

I have been cooking from Cooking Light magazine recipes lately, and for the most part really enjoying it.  Last night we had the Roasted Cauliflower Fettuccine featured in the September 2012 issue.  Yes, I have a bit of a backlog, I just can't throw them out without trying the recipes, you never know where you will find a gem! 

Their picture -








My picture -

Just a bit of difference - LOL.  Overall though it was really tasty.  The predicted time factor was about right at 15 minutes of hands on time, which is important to me since I have a baby to cajole while cooking.  Being able to work separate parts without a huge time factor was a big plus.  I was able to roast the cauliflower and then leave the kitchen.  When it was done wouldn't impact the next step.  I had the sauce ready to go for whenever the pasta was done so the pasta wouldn't have to wait and dry out.  Having the individual components really helps me keep the baby happy, and not ruin supper.  It wasn't super heavy, and the bacon flavor really came through on the sauce.  Portion size (as with most light recipes) can be a bit skimpy.  If you truly do plan to feed 4 I recommend having a green salad for starters, and either bread with it - or a dessert planned.  On to clean-up!  For pans used this was a bit on the high side.  There was the pasta pot, the baking sheet for the cauliflower, and the pan for the sauce.  Three baking pots is a lot to clean up at the end of the day - especially when you don't have an automated dish washer.  Luckily, I was able to leave S to do the clean-up, so I really can't complain.

I enjoyed this dish, but I probably would not put it into weekly rotation due to clean-up. 

Homemade Yogurt

Ever since visiting E and L in Arizona I have been wanting to make some homemade yogurt.  While we were there L made VF some homemade yogurt that was delicious, and to be honest I had never considered the possibility of making yogurt at home. I mean, making yogurt involves special equipment - right?  It probably means getting milk at a certain stage of its processing - right?  No it was just milk.  Just slightly heated, slightly cultured milk.  L absolutely inspired me in wanting to do this at home. 

  

When L  made us yogurt she used a yogurt maker, so I started out shopping my options.  Turns out yogurt makers aren't all that expensive - however in my online research I came across this page - http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/ and decided to give it a try.  These instructions were straightforward and easy to follow,  and if you want to make some yogurt I do recommend using them.  What I will be writing below is pertaining to my experience and not as detailed as using the other site for instructions.  The plus to this site's directions that it is done without a yogurt maker which means that I wouldn't have to have any additional equipment to store.  This definitely made it worth trying before buying.  So yesterday I decided to jump right in and make my own yogurt.

 

First things first I pulled out all the items that the site said I needed.  A large soup pot, a small pot, a spoon, a thermometer, a cloth, a heating pad, and milk, yogurt (for the starter.)  The thermometer that I used was a candy thermometer that I already had.  Next I got the water bath started.  I boiled water in the large soup pot and used that to sanitize all my other items.  I also used it to sanitize the jar that I was eventually going to use to store the yogurt.  Then I used that storage container to measure out the milk so that I knew exactly how much yogurt I would be making.  Once everything was sanitized I set the smaller pot inside the larger pot and poured in the milk. 

 

 Now a water bath can be a bit of a pain, but it was one of the main reasons why I chose this set of instructions over others.  When L made the yogurt for us she mentioned that getting the milk to the correct temperature was the only tricky part of making yogurt.  Scalding and boiling the milk was the only place that you could really go wrong.  Using a water bath definitely made it easier to catch the milk at the right temperature.  I know for most people this wouldn't be a concern, but when I have a baby to tend to at the same time as making yogurt having a system work with me is definitely a plus.

 

Once the milk was at the right temperature I held it there for about 20 minutes, this was to help it be a thicker yogurt.  Doing this was a bit trickier than I expected.  The instructions seemed to show that just keeping it in the water bath would keep it the right temperature.  I found that it would get quite a bit warmer.  So I alternated between being in the pot and out, I am sure there are easier ways to do this.  After the proper time had elapsed I jumped it into the icy water, waited to reach the right temperature, and then added my culture.  I gave it a stir with the spoon, but as the yogurt going in was in a clump I wasn't sure just how vigorous to get.  A part of me wanted to use a whisk to be sure it was fully mixed, but I stuck to the spoon in case the additional air a whisk would add mattered.  I put it on the heating pad as instructed and waited.  Waiting can be a tricky thing for someone with as little patience as me.  I admit I opened it up a couple times to check the temperature, and every time it was as it should be, maybe next time I can trust it and leave it alone.  After 7 hours it looked just as one would expect, and just like the picture on the site.  Last night I was feeling very confident as I put it in its container and in the fridge. 

 

This morning what I found was perfect yogurt.  Delicious and tangy.  I think it tastes like Dannon yogurt.  This was great!  Once I get some fruit blended in there it will be super amazing.  Making my own yogurt is definitely the way I will be going in the future.  I would say it had 1 hour on hands work, and the product makes up for that easily.  I challenge you to give this a try and see just how rewarding it is to make your own yogurt.