Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Kefir

I have fallen in love with Kefir! The best way I can explain it is that it is very similar to yogurt, except it has more probiotics! I make a Kefir smoothie almost everyday. I just throw Kefir, honey, a banana, and a bag of frozen strawberries in the blender! It tastes so yummy, plus it is super healthy! I have lots of kefir grains, so if anyone is interested in getting some let me know. You can make kefir with raw milk and pasturized milk, but not ultra-pasturized milk. I take a canning jar and fill it about 2/3 of the way with milk, add the grains, put the lid on loosely, and let it sit for a day or two. I occassionally tighten the lid and carefuly turn the jar to "mix" it and then loosen the lid again throughout the couple days. Then I strain it and put the kefir grains into another jar 2/3 full of milk and start all over! I typically rinse my grains between uses with room tempterature water, but that is not a necessary step.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

How To Make Cottage Cheese

So, many of my friends have asked me how I make cottage cheese. It is seriously the easiest thing ever! I take raw milk and leave it in a loosely covered pan on my counter for about two days. Then I heat it to 120 degrees farenheit, strain it (I use a very fine strainer, but most people recomend cheesecloth), and then you have cottage cheese! It is so easy!