We try to do as much as we can at home. Currently there’s 11 varying loaves of bread rising on the bench, we’ve just been out wrangling the chickens and J just washed up the food processor, after making hummus. (We also love to make our own tortillas, dips and preserves.)
Something else that I’ve really loved making is my own yoghurt. I eat this for breakfast and often J and I will both take it to work for morning tea with muesli. It’s so easy and cheap, we buy local milk (which is a little more expensive) but we get about 1 litre of yoghurt for $2.
I like to make it in the morning, then it can set throughout the day and then cool over night, ready for breakfast in the morning. I’ve also recently discovered that you can add various flavours to the milk, when heating, to get different flavours. So far I’ve only tried honey and maple syrup. I think vanilla should be next.
Over time, I find that the culture gets quite sour and tart, so I’ll make a sweet yoghurt to combat that. You could always buy a new yoghurt and start from scratch.
Have you recently started making something instead of buying the finished product? 
- 1 litre full cream milk
- 50 gm milk powder
- 2 tbsp good pot set yoghurt
- 1/3 cup maple syrup – [i]optional[/i]
- Add milk and milk powder and maple syrup to pot with thermometer, heat to 90*C.
- Keep at 90*C for 5 mins
- Remove from heat, reduce heat to 45*C.
- Add yoghurt, whisk, pour into thermos.
- Allow to set for at least 8 hours.
- Remove from thermos, put into container for the fridge.
I like making my own yoghurt but I don’t do it often enough. Thanks for the reminder.
No worries, we just don’t buy it, so if we don’t make it we don’t have it.
I always forget about homemade yoghurt! I’ve had to stop eating it recently unfortunately but as soon as bubba arrives I’ll be back into it. I have an easy-yo maker though but it really is so easy. Just mix it all together, pop it in the container then fill it with boiling water and walk away.
I’m very impressed that you have 11 lots of bread!
Tonight I’m making pasta for the first time in ages. I’d totally forgotten about making it but went to a demo earlier in the week and they made it look so easy. Fingers crossed!
I really need to make more pasta, but our pasta machine seems to have karked it.
I love how you’re baking your own bread and eating eggs laid by your own chickens – it sounds like an ideal way to live. And now you add yoghurt into the mix! How perfect! xx
It really is lovely Charlie!
I’ve been making bacon and something I call fake chocolate a lot lately – we’ve stopped buying chocolate totally now.
I wish I could make bacon!
There’s a recipe on the blog! It’s dead easy and now I don’t think I will ever buy shop bought again. I just slice and freeze it and it’s always there to use.
http://www.jamjnr.com/2013/08/how-to-make-bacon-at-home/
Thanks Nancy, I’ll definitely have to check it out!
I do all of those things at home too and also make my yogurt in a thermos! It’s very rewarding.
It’s so great isn’t it Lorraine. So much more satisfying to make your own.
My parents make their own yoghurt so I really should start doing it too, as I love it and eat it regularly.
I’ve just had to start again, our yoghurt was getting a little sour.