just a smidgen

Barefoot ‘n Honey Vanilla Yogurt

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I love walking barefoot…

Sand would be ideal but even smooth, worn hardwood floors will do.

I love how natural and honest it feels… 

If you must puddle jump

Then I guess you need boots…
just make sure you have bare feet in those boots.

I think having bare feet helps you feel grounded, is it the intrinsic feel of the earth beneath your feet?

Like the whisper of natural woven cotton or linen sheets against your skin at night…

And fresh, organic ingredients

or anything homemade.

Today I have whisked up a quick little spin on an earlier recipe..

A fresh batch of yogurt.. but this time I’ve scraped and plopped in a few

Tahitian Vanilla Beans while the milk was bubbling away…

And at the end stirred in a few heaping spoonfuls of Dew Fresh Organic Honey

The result was a yogurt that tasted like honey vanilla custard

an uncontrived pudding.

It felt velvety and soft on the tongue…

And the fragrance…

bliss
♥ 

So.. slip off that party dress (sorry to any guys who are reading this)

or hang up that apron…

slide on a pair of worn blue jeans.. a t-shirt…

And bare your toes…

Find a pair of welcoming arms…

and plan to sit a while…

Slip your spoon into a silken cup of 

Honey Vanilla Yogurt

perhaps layer it first with a little of your

Blood Orange Black Framboise Coulis from this post

then top it with a Smidgen of Home-made Granola

Close your eyes and dream…

It’s almost like a walking along the beach, not quite… but isn’t ‘almost’ sometimes enough?

Barefoot ‘n Honey Vanilla Yogurt

Barefoot ‘n Honey Vanilla Yogurt
 
Ingredients
  • Automatic Yogurt Maker
  • (my brand is Euro Cuisine)
  • 1.3 liters 1% organic milk
  • 1 Vanilla Bean Pod, seeded
  • 6 oz organic plain yogurt with live cultures and no additives
  • (Liberté, Stoneyfield Farm)
  • 4-5 tbsp Organic liquid honey
  • Timer
  • Instant read thermometer
Instructions
  1. Every yogurt machine comes with a booklet of recipes and instructions. The following is based on my machine, but is simply to indicate that only two ingredients are necessary and a little bit of time…
  2. Measure out 7 of your yogurt maker’s jars of milk into a saucepan (mine is approximately 1.3 liters). Carefully slice one side of the vanilla bean from end to end. Open it flat and using the sharp side of the knife, scrape along to remove the vanilla beans. Add beans and the pod to the milk. Heat on Medium to Medium-High temperature until the milk boils. Use your instant read thermometer to check the temperature. Milk will boil at 180 F. Whisk occasionally at first and whisk constantly when boiling. Some prefer to use a digital leave-in thermometer that signals when the temperature is reached. This allows you to do other things while waiting for the milk to boil.
  3. When milk boils and begins to “climb” the sides of the saucepan, maintain a rapid boil for 2 minutes (set the timer).
  4. Remove the saucepan from the heat after 2 minutes and allow the milk to cool. The pan may be just set aside, placed outside with a tea towel over it or set in another pan of cold water. This is also when you need to check with a thermometer to know when the milk has cooled to 110 F. The digital thermometer (some even have a voice alert, like this one: http://tiny.cc/5n241 to let you know when it has cooled) can be handy for this. I just used an instant read and made sure I checked often enough until the milk temperature lowered to 110 F.
  5. In the meantime, measure out one jar (about 6 oz) of your plain yogurt into a small mixing bowl. Stir in 4-5 tbsp of Organic honey.
  6. Once the milk has reached 110 F, scoop a little of the milk into your mixing bowl of yogurt and stir to warm up the yogurt. Add a little more if needed.
  7. Then stir the yogurt mixture back into your cooled milk and stir. Mix well to ensure honey has distributed throughout evenly. Pour this milk into a large jug (for ease of pouring).
  8. Pour the milk into each yogurt jar and place in your machine, without the lids on. Cover with the plastic machine cover and set for the designated time. Mine runs for 10 hours.
  9. Remove and place the lids on. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours to set.
  10. I found these instructions worked perfectly and makes yogurt that is not too firm, nor too soft… just right! Your yogurt will expire in 10 days.
Notes
- yogurt from a previous batch may be used as the “starter” instead of store-bought yogurt
- purchased yogurt starter powder may also be used as the “starter”, just follow package instructions
- ignore the condensation on your yogurt machine, this is a normal part of the process
- yogurt can be made without a machine, but I prefer the accuracy and safety of a machine’s temperature control to ensure proper growth of the yogurt culture

 

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