Make Your Own Yogurt

Homemade yogurt is smooth, creamy, inexpensive, delicious, and contains only two ingredients (a half gallon of milk and 1/4 cup of plain yogurt with live cultures).

Heat a half gallon of milk...

to 180 degrees (stir to keep from sticking to pot).

Cool to 115 degrees. Ice water speeds up this process.

Take one cup of the warm milk.

Mix it with 1/4 cup of yogurt (store bought or your own).

Add the yogurt/milk mix to the warmed milk and pour into ceramic bowl.

Cover with cloth and place it in a dehydrator with the shelves removed for 7 hours at 110 degrees.
(If you do not have a dehydrator or yogurt maker, other options are: a heating pad, crock pot, or a cooler with jugs of warm water.)

If you prefer a thicker, Greek style, yogurt, drain for a few hours in a colander covered with cheese cloth, positioned over a large pot in the refrigerator.  Cover with a pot lid.

When the consistency is to your liking, fill glass jars and refrigerate.
The yogurt will thicken a bit after it is spooned into jars and refrigerated.  

I flavor the yogurt with low sugar jam. 
Other optional include maple syrup, granola, &/or fresh fruit.

The whey, the drained liquid from the Greek style yogurt, is a terrific buttermilk substitute to use in breads, pancakes, and crust. It can also be used as acidic fertilizer for plants.

Save 1/4 cup of the yogurt for your next batch, if you can resist eating it all.

Planting Lavender

Fall is the perfect time to plant lavender, a carefree perennial that will reward you with twenty years of fragrant, savory, beauty, when planted following basic guidelines. I follow the advice of Ellen, the farmer at Northwinds Lavender Farm in Pawling, NY, to ensure healthy plants:

Buy your lavender plants from a reputable grower who propagates their own stock in your zone. This ensures the plants have been acclimated to wintering over in your area and are also true lavender varieties from parent stock.

Ask for varieties that are hardy in your zone.

Make sure the planting bed is free draining. (Add sand if the soil does not drain easily.)

Choose a bed location that receives full sun for a minimum of 6 hours daily.

Check soil pH and amend bed prior to planting if possible; 
pH of 7.0 or greater is required.

Amend soil with lime if the pH is less than 7.0. 

Dig a hole the height of the plant root system and three times its width. 
Remove the plant from the container and place it in the hole so that the new soil level is even with the plant's soil level.

Avoid using bark mulches; these are too acidic and retain moisture close to the plant crown. White stone reflects the sunlight into the center of the plant, keeping it healthy. 

Water until established.

Then, for years to come, enjoy this amazing plant that requires very little attention, yet offers soothing fragrance and culinary flavor, while adding color and texture to the landscape. 

Low Sugar Jams -- Fruity Rather than Sugary

     If you prefer jam with fruit as the main ingredient, and a minimal amount of sugar, Pomona's pectin recipes are a great option. Jam recipes using this pectin require up to 80% less sugar than standard pectin recipes. Calcium water activates the citrus based pectin, so as little as 3/4 cups of sugar will sweeten 4 cups of fruit. The result is intensely fruit flavored, healthier jam. (Small amounts of honey, agave, maple syrup, frozen juice concentrate, or Stevia can also be used as sweeteners.)
   

Harvesting Garlic (Cure, Store, & More)

  

Garlic is the ultimate "sustainable crop". Once you begin growing your own, simply save the best bulbs from your harvest for the next season's crop. If you also preserve your garlic, you can have garlic all year long: scapes, fresh garlic, cured garlic, and finally, dehydrated garlic, without ever having to purchase garlic again--unless you want to try new varieties.

If your garlic was planted in New York in the fall, the lower leaves are likely brown and dying back, indicating it's time to harvest.

Gently pull the bulbs from the ground.

I “cure” three-fourths of our bulbs for a month, spread in a single layer 
on screens indoors out of direct sunlight until the stalks are dry.

Once cured, I set aside enough of the largest and healthiest bulbs to plant in the garden in the fall, and store the rest in the basement to be used in the kitchen over the next six months or so. Then I dehydrate the final bulbs to cook with during the limbo months after the stored garlic is no longer fresh and before next season’s harvest.

How-to Dehydrate Garlic:

                                                          

1.  Divide cloves by cutting a small incision in the outer layer in the indentations between the clove bulges, and peel back.  

                                        

2.  The outer skin peels off fresh garlic with little effort once the ends of the clove are removed.

                                             

        3.  Slice or dice cloves into pieces that are between 1/8” and 1/4” thick.

                                            

4.  Spread pieces on a dehydrating tray.

                          

5.  Dehydrate outdoors on a sunny day so the intense garlic odors remains outdoors.

6.  Dehydrate at 135 degrees for 12-16 hours until the pieces are no longer squishy. 
Store in mason jars.

Garlic has been used for thousands of years to sustain good health; so ensure a plentiful supply throughout the year.

The Perfect Time to Read Seedtime

     Many of us will be sowing seeds this season; patiently watching them plump; anticipating the hint of green; and rejoicing when new life explodes and the casing is cast aside; what a perfect time to reflect on the miracle of the seed. 

  

   Scott Chaskey's new book, Seedtime, guides us through the history of seed saving with words he has chosen as carefully as the seeds he sows. A poet and organic farmer, he explains the importance of seed biodiversity to combat the current threats to our "food freedom" by large corporations, and future crop failure due to climate change.  

    


 Written for farmers, gardeners, or any consumers of food, Chaskey describes worldwide efforts to protect our future seed supplies. He believes the answers to our future food security are stored within millions of diverse seeds. He marvels at seeds' adaptation and survival over time, as well as, the miraculous annual life-giving process.

    

Seedlings, Season Starters

It's not possible to do much gardening outdoors yet, but recycled yogurt containers, a soil blocker, and florescent lights enable me, impatient as I am to get my hands in the dirt, to jump start the season.

Kale and collards seedlings are ready to be planted in the garden next week.

Other seedlings will spend time in the greenhouse to continue growing under protection.

Tomato and pepper seeds, sewn today, will be ready for transplanting after the last frost. 

Winter's snow and ice are still a foot high in some areas; temperatures continue to dip into the teens at night; and there's snow in the forecast. Seedling greenery serves up the first course of spring's delicacies.

Making Sense of Food Labels

What do labels actually tell us about a food's production? 

It's valuable to know the subtle differences between common food labels, especially when some labels significantly influence prices. Labels may be backed by government oversight, signify inclusion in  independent verification programs, or simply represent marketing ploys.  Know what you're purchasing.

USDA Organic certification indicates: "The food...has been produced through methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used."
(Try Farm Aid's organic knowledge quiz to tests your knowledge of the term "organic".)

USDA Free-range chickens are provided shelter in a building, room, or area with unlimited access to food, fresh water, and continuous access to the outdoors during their production cycle. The outdoor area may or may not be fenced and/or covered with netting-like material. There is no standard for free range beef, pork, or chicken eggs.

USDA Natural meat, poultry, and egg products must be minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients. However, the natural label does not include any standards regarding farm practices and only applies to processing of meat and egg products. There are no standards or regulations for the labeling of natural food products if they do not contain meat or eggs.

USDA Cage-free poultry is able to freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle.

USDA Grass-fed animals receive a majority of their nutrients from grass throughout their life, while organic animals’ pasture diet may be supplemented with grain. The grass-fed label does not limit the use of antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides. (The American Grassfed Association, "Certifies beef, bison, dairy, lamb and goat that is fed only on pasture, in addition to being raised without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, confinement and with standards for high animal welfare.")

Pasture-raised. The USDA has not developed a federal definition for pasture-raised products.

Humane. The USDA does not specifically verify humane treatment of animals. (The American Humane Certified program ensures, "Animals raised for dairy, poultry, beef, veal, goat, swine, turkey and bison products are raised in a humane manner.)

No added hormones indicates the cow was not injected with artificial growth hormones. Federal regulations do not permit hormones or steroids to be used in poultry, pork, or goat.  

Animal Welfare Approved. A division of the Animal Welfare Institute certifies family farms when, "Animals are able to behave naturally and be in a state of physical and psychological well-being".

The Fair Trade label is not regulated by the US government, but when certified by Fair Trade USA, "Workers must receive decent wages, housing, health and safety guidelines, the right to join trade unions and child or forced labor is completely prohibited. Crops must also be grown, produced and processed in a manner that supports social, economic and environmental development."

Non GMO - Plants and animals that are not genetically engineered are verified by the non profit, Non GMO Project. Since the USDA does not require labeling, purchasing organic food or unprocessed conventionally grown food, is currently the best ways to avoid GMO.

Understanding the meaning behind food labels ensures that our purchases reflect our personal values.

Good Clean Food

     If you're interested in learning how to navigate food purchases to avoid GMO, HrBGH, herbicides, and antibiotics--or to understand why you should--Good Clean Food by Samuel Epstein, MD, and Beth Leibson can help. The authors document health risks of foods: milk, meat, fruits, vegetables, and processed food. They encourage consumers to prevent cancer and other diseases by shopping carefully. They explain their concerns, give the history as to why changes in our food system have come about, and offer specific shopping suggestions. Stories about specific organization that offer healthy, sustain-ably produced food are highlighted at the end of each chapter. A nutritional chapter on detoxification includes therapies like vitamin-c drip, chelation, juicing, supplement, mediation, yoga, and acupuncture. The appendix lists companies the Cornucopia Institute, a nonprofit farm policy research group, endorses as ecologically sound producer of healthy food. If you're trying to locate healthy food, and avoid the grocery store minefield, this guide can help.