Monday 9 March 2009

Homemade at Oma's Hermitage

At 2 a.m. I thought I might have thrown away time and money. The yogurt in the mason jars had set but the two bowls contained very liquid whey.

I put the jars in the fridge, put the bowls back in the oven, turned on the oven light, went back to bed and stewed.

Oh well, I thought philosophically, the whey will be healthy. I will pour that over Kenya's food and use it to make bread. And I went back to sleep.

This morning I got up to discover that I had 4 (yes, I made a mistake yesterday) litres of fresh nicely set yogurt. The cost per litre is $1.30. The cheapest commercial yogurt I have found (packaged in plastic and not as full of wonderful enzymes and such)costs $5.69 for 2 litres or $2.84 per litre. And I have to make a trip to Costco to buy it.

My yogurt, like my homemade bread, is cheaper, healthier and always available. Availability is an important consideration when you live where I do.

Do I sound like a proselytizing born again hippie living off the land? Yeah. But I promise I won't keep blogging about it. I'll just get that lovely little thrill of accomplishment every time I make some, the same as I do when my multigrain bread comes out of the oven or I make a great meal on the wood stove which was already being used to heat the house.

On the knitting front I just have to graft the toe of the second red sport sock and I will have completed my fourth pair of socks. Each time they get better ... never perfect ... but the owner of Wabi Sabi (a knitting store in Hintonburg near the Elmdale Tavern) told me that Wabi Sabi means it's okay to make mistakes, that the purpose of knitting is the process not perfection. I think that philosophy is what has enabled me to learn at this late date to knit socks.

This pair has grafted toes AND sturdy double heels!

The next pair I tackle will be made of very fine wool worked on needles the size of toothpicks ... but it knits up BEAUTIFULLY. I love the swatch I made. I suspect it will be months before I graft the toes on these. I bought enough in different colour combination to make four pairs. I decided to start with Heartland (pale yellows, blues and greens) because it was my least favourite. I figured if I were going to destroy one with ineptitude it better be the one I like least. The others are Mellow Stripe, Tequila Sunrise and Spring Stripe ... don't they sound yummy?

And the novel? Dan is going to discover the body today. I have written the suicide note which will be part of the back story ... and the suicide will appear to be an accident to everyone except Emily, the recipient of the note. I wish I could enact the situation by walking through a local barn beside Dan, but it's icy and grey today so I will likely not bother. I will try to slip imaginatively into Dan's skin and make the trip at my computer.

And yes, I will try to get to the things on my to-do list!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

How long does 4L of yogurt last and can you eat that much in that length of time?

Oma said...

Between the two of us Kenya and I eat between 2 and 3 litres per week, sometimes more. She eats more than I do, but I use it instead of sour cream, half and half with mayo, mixed with fruit, honey and muesli, and instead of whipped cream. I use it every time I need dairy for something basically. It is easier to digest than milk and better for you. (But I don't put it in my tea!)

it is particularly good with hot food like Indian.

Kenya gets a great big dollop on her food twice a day.

It keeps both our tummies happy.

Fräulein Eberg said...

My Smother has made her own yoghurt as long as I can remember, and it's always tasted better than the stuff from the store - do you sweeten yours with vanilla or anything?

Oma said...

I just make it plain and Kenya gets it that way and I use it as a dairy substitute that way. Occasionally I add honey or maple syrup when I serve it over berries or other fruit. I love it plain with apple sauce with a sprinkle of cinnamon.