Seriously from Scratch

In thinking about my previous post about tzatziki sauce - I wondered how I could further make it from scratch. Yes - this is how my mind works. So - one could grow their own cucumbers, garlic, and dill, but since my garden consists of tomatoes and weeds - that is out for the time being. Once my garden benches are built, I will attempt to plant a fall bounty in redemption of the spring bounty that was not. Out of the remaining ingredients, my options are to grow an olive tree, a lemon tree, or to make yogurt. I am going with the latter.



It is amazing to me how we manage to take perfectly healthy foods and make them perfectly unhealthy - as is the case with yogurt. Stroll through the dairy aisle in any grocery store and you will find shelves upon florescently lit shelves of flavored, squeezable, drinkable yogurt. Some fruit-flavored yogurts contain as much sugar, or more, than an 8oz soft drink!



Yogurt is one of my favorite foods - especially with fresh fruit stirred in. My recommendation is to always buy plain (or buy plain for yourself and strawberry flavored for your husband, who is adamantly opposed to plain) in the largest container available. Then portion out 8oz. servings in your own reusable containers for cooking and eating.



Back to making yogurt - I am giving that a go this weekend. I will let you know how it goes next week. All you need for making yogurt is 8 cups (half-gallon) of whole-milk and 1/2 cup of live/active culture plain yogurt. About making your own milk - don't worry - I won't go there.