Yogurt Success

I'm on my um-teenth batch of homemade yogurt.  It turns out every time. Getting that yogurt maker was a great investment. I do strain my yogurt to get the as much whey out as I can because it contains lactose which I'm intolerant or sensitive to. I found that if I take a few tablespoons of my thick, strained yogurt and mix it with some dry, aged Parmesan cheese, a few bacon bits and a little aged cheddar it tastes delicious on a baked potato.  There is so much you can do with the homemade yogurt! Dressing for the salad, add nutra sweet for a desert, I can even make ice cream out of it. I haven't tried that yet but will give hints that I want an ice cream/frozen yogurt maker for Christmas.

Homemade Yogurt

I can't eat yogurt from the store. It has pectin (a plant-based thickener...and laxative) in it as well as artificial sweeteners that I get bloat from like sorbitol or sucralose (Splenda) or other sugar alcohols.* Plus, modern yogurt isn't cultured nearly as long as the old days. They make it more mild and add pectin to keep the whey from separating and make it artificially thicker. I want the whey gone out of my yogurt as the whey has most of the lactose in it and I'm pretty sure it bothers me. I love yogurt and used to make my own back when I had milk goats way back when. That yogurt never bothered me. It had nothing in it but milk and yogurt starter.
* I did find Foge brand yogurt that is just milk and yogurt culture but it was too expensive for me to buy regularly.

So I bought a yogurt maker. I ordered it from Amazon.com and I've had it almost 4 days now. I've made and eaten batch after batch of yogurt using 2% milk and then I bought some instant nonfat dry milk and made some from that. You almost can't tell the difference between the 2% and the instant. I make mine to incubate about 10 hours. I tried one 14 hours and it was very tart, edible but needed more nutrasweet than the other batches. Any less and I'm worried the lactose hasn't been broken down.

I strained it in cheese cloth (not the kind you get at Lowes but the kind you can find at Bed,Bath and Beyond in a small package by the kitchen timers) for a couple of hours and it becomes Greek yogurt. Nice and thick and most of the lactose is gone out of it when the whey was strained off. I beat it with a fork just before I eat it to fluff it up a bit. It has a cream cheese texture and taste after I add some nutrasweet. Just like having a cheese cake dessert. And the best part is I have no reaction at all to eating this homemade yogurt. No bloat, no stomach pain, unlike the store-bought yogurt.

There are lots of websites out there that teach you how to make your own yogurt even without a yogurt maker. They'll have great photos, etc. Google it or search YouTube.  But all you need is:

1. Milk, (quart, half gallon or whatever) heated to 180 degrees, then cooled to 110 degrees (temps are important. Too hot and you kill the yogurt culture.)
2. You have to have yogurt starter.  Buy a small plain yogurt from the store that has live, active culture. Add a couple of tablespoons to the 110 degree milk and mix well.
3. Pour milk into container(s.)
4. Wrap jars or containers of the warm mixture in towels to keep them warm. 
5. Put them in an ice chest and fill any empty spaces with jugs of hot water and put the lid on to keep the heat in. Let it set in a draft-free room for 6 to 8 hours. You don't want the temp to be over 110 degrees or under 90 degrees when incubating. Don't disturb it when incubating as movement can keep it from setting properly. Just relax, it's turning into yogurt.
6. When done you can gently place yogurt into a colander lined with  cheese cloth or coffee filters to drain the whey off. If you like the whey, just refrigerate your jars and enjoy with fruit or honey.
7. Before adding anything, take a couple of tablespoons out and freeze it for your starter of your next batch so you don't have to buy any more yogurt to use as the starter.
8. If it didn't set or turn into yogurt, the mixture was probably kept too hot or too cool and/or the starter culture wasn't live and active.

Vacation at Mt. Rainier-Crater Lake-California

It's a long video. It was a long vacation, ha!  We drove and drove and drove.  It was great going west to see my family.  I sure miss them living out here in PA. We stayed at Mt. Rainier 9 days and had gorgeous weather most of the time.  We stayed at the Snowberry Cottage in Ashford, WA that was tucked away in the trees just outside the gate of Mt. Rainier National Park. This cottage was perfect for us. If you want to visit Mt. Rainier I highly recommend this cottage. Here is a link:  http://www.rainiercottages.com/id59.html
It's too bad my camera was set to macro when I took photos of the cottage in the video below and most didn't turn out but the website link above has photos of the cottage.

Drive-in Movie

It's been forever since I've been to a drive-in movie theater.  My husband and I went to the one several years ago that used to be where Tom Ridge Center is now near Presque Isle.  We went when we found out it was closing and wanted to have one last memory there.  The last movie we saw there was The Perfect Storm.

Tonight we went to the Waterford drive-in just for the fun of it. I'm not really into X-men but X-men First Class was playing with the new Pirates of the Caribbean as the second feature.  It was a beautiful night to have the windows down (until the mosquitoes came out) and seeing the children throwing footballs in the front area under the huge screen until it got dark enough for the movie was fun.  I brought my pillow and a blanket and we leaned our car's seats back and munched ourselves full of popcorn and chocolate before the movie even started.  The first movie was over just past 11PM. We didn't stay for the the Pirates of the Caribbean because it would be past 1AM before it was over!  It didn't look like many cars were leaving, they were in it for the long haul.

I remember the days when you paid "per car" but this theater charged per person.  I guess "per car" days are over. But I've heard tales of people hiding in the trunk of cars on the way in so they wouldn't have to pay, so maybe they did charge per person back in the "olden days."

It was nice that we could bring our own snacks and soft drinks with us.  I'd like to do it again on a nice summer evening.

Hummer (short video)

 

My husband and I spent part of the afternoon at Scott Park again looking for birds.  We saw another Black and White Warbler, many American Redstarts and some Hooded Warblers.  We were bothered a little for the first time this year by mosquitoes.  Not bad but enough that we sprayed ourselves.

We returned to my in-laws house in the woods and had a wonderful outdoors meal prepared by my father-in-law (a wonderful chef!) and then waited for the birds to come to us.  They did.  A beautiful Pileated Woodpecker, Cardinal, Chick-a-dee, Phoebe, and even a Wild Turkey!  A Ruby-throated Hummingbird was perched on top of a dead stick on the very top of the tree over our table.  He finally came down to drink just feet from us.  A perfect end to a most perfect day.

Indigo Bunting, Black and White Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Wow, we had such a great birding day today.  I was surprised to still see the Black-throated Blue Warblers still around.  We saw one bouncing around the large woodpile at Fry's Landing along with many Yellow Warblers and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. We headed out to Scott Park and saw Magnolia Warblers on the Bay Trail again, hummingbirds, the usual flickers and woodpeckers and then we spotted a bunch of Indigo Buntings.  They were so pretty.  They were along the west edge of the ball fields where it meets the woods.  We also saw a Black and White Warbler in the trees by the BMX area. It was late afternoon when we left and the Wood Thrushes were going to town with their musical fluting. Can you believe they were thinking of logging Scott Park a while back?  Crazy!

I still have to work on the videos of the other birds (I didn't take my still camera and I could kick myself for it) but I got a little clip of the Bunting finished.

Birding Heaven (pics)

The past few weeks has been wonderful! We finally have some warmer weather and the birds arrived pretty much on schedule. First the ducks came and then the warblers, orioles and others.

I was so enthusiastic about seeing all the different warblers I fixed us a picnic and as soon as my husband got home from work today we headed to Presque Isle for our dinner. It was great eating outside to the sound of the birds.

Tonight as I was getting ready for bed I found a tick on me! I was so upset about it as I'm so scared of Lyme disease. Deer ticks are a real concern in our area. It kind of put a damper to my "birding" enthusiasm. There is a spray out there that you use on your clothes, shoes and hats that lasts 2 weeks even if you launder the clothes item so we'll have to do that. It kills the ticks if they walk across it, not repel them. Ticks can live up to 6 months in your car or house I read, and that is even without getting a meal. Maybe we could spray some on the car seats and rugs. Every few minutes I think I feel a tick on me now.

Here are photos that I was able to get of the warblers. They are very hard to photograph because they are so quick and don't stop for a second.

Yellow-throated Warbler

Our outing to the peninsula was well worth the time. We cut short the Pittsburgh Penguins game (they were losing bad)and headed out into the wonderful but short-lived sunshine. The loons were still on the bay as well as some Red Breasted Mergansers, Ruddy ducks, Buffleheads and Scaups.

We stopped off at the bird banding area not far from the office and only saw some woodpeckers. We then headed for Frys Landing and were surprised to see a butter butt and Golden-crowned Kinglets. Then we saw the Yellow Throated Warbler. This was a lifer for us. We've seen lots of different warblers in the past few years but not this one. I was pretty excited. I read that they are starting to move their range a little bit more north. The map shows them to go as far north as the Pittsburgh area. I don't have one of those great cameras with the big zoom lenses and focus but I was able to get a few pictures that you can at least tell what the bird is.

Home from California

We just returned from California on Sunday.  We spent a week with my dad visiting.  We had a 2-1/2 week vacation just a month prior out west (Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons) but I wanted to spend some quality time with Dad and stopping in while on vacation rushes things. 

It was really nice just watching ballgames, going on some local sight-seeing drives and playing cards.  Had I gone at Thanksgiving or Christmas there would have been too many people and too much going on to actually get a good visit in and there is the travel nightmare of it all. 

We did let Dad have some alone time and went to the movies and drove to Calaveras Big Trees for a day trip. They never stop amazing me.  How anyone could have cut down those amazing trees back over 100 years ago is beyond me.  They were so taken with them that they took them.  The huge ones that are left hopefully will live on. You can read about these trees and about organizations trying to save them but the best way to get that message across is for people to see them in person.  They couldn't help but care about them if they see them. Pictures never do justice to the wonders in nature.

We did not get scanned or patted down while on our trip. We just walked through a metal detector both in Sacramento and Erie.  In both airports they didn't even have scanners.  I don't understand why they would only pat down if you set off the metal detector.  The underwear bomber didn't set off any alarms did he?  Anyway, I believe it is all for show.  Someone will get something on that plane if they want to.  Most likely it would  be in some mail the plane carries or luggage. I accidentally brought my contact solution in a zipper bag in my carry-on backpack and didn't realize it until I got to California and took it out to use.  It was a 4oz bottle, over their 3.4 fluid oz limit allowed.  They didn't catch that. I just read that gel sole inserts are not allowed. I didn't know that and I'm glad I wore my newer shoes as my old ones does have them.

My luggage wasn't hand searched like it normally has been in previous trips.  Everything was exactly as it was before.  I had lots of electronics in my suitcase. They must just x-ray them and have some kind of explosive detector.  I was glad they didn't search it because every time they do they break something or don't put the lid back on tight and things get broken and ruined.  I've lost, due to breakage, my portable Water-Pik, hot rollers and a brand-new makeup mirror in the past couple of years.  You pack it carefully and they unpack it and just throw everything  back in your suitcase and you know what happens to the suitcases after that.  I had all my rollers just dumped in my suitcase and the plastic lid cracked and pieces missing from it last year. I realize they are in a hurry  but that just shows a lack of respect to the traveler. 

Our flight was so miserable with the lack of leg room, dry air to breathe, no food (unless you pay $7 for a box lunch) and it is impossible to sleep on the planes with the constant announcements and bell dinging. We had to connect with planes on the opposite side of the airports in the middle of the night.  It isn't fun anymore.  You are herded like cattle and no one cares about your comfort like in the decades past. We made a decision to never fly again unless there is a family emergency.  We love to drive and will just have to plan extra days to get there and back.  We love to see America in the car, we can take what we want with us and stop anytime we want in the car.  On the road, you are king.

Compatibility

We got out of the car at the parking lot of Artist Point at Yellowstone National Park back in September and headed for the path. Purple caught our eyes. My first thought was not something I am proud of. Luckily it only lasted a second or two and my thoughts changed to admiration. Do you know how compatible those two people are that they would dress alike, in matching purple no less? And when a squirrel moved near the rocks their cameras came up in unison as they both joyed in photographing the animal each having their own camera? All I can think is that they are truly compatible, and really enjoy life together. I snapped and ran. It is one of my favorite photos of the trip.