Making Raw Milk Yogurt

I don't have a double boiler so I improvise! I put a half gallon canning jar of milk (not quite full) in a pan of water on my stovetop. I constantly stir the milk while it is heating up until it reaches 110 degrees. I add 2 Tablespoons of my last batch of yogurt and stir well. Pour into 4 pint sized jars and add a heaping Tablespoon of yogurt to each jar as well. Mix well. Put the lid on tightly and put in an Excalibur dehydrator at 95 degrees for 8 hours. Remove from dehydrator and then refridgerate!

In order to start making it you will need to buy a good quality organic plain yogurt (I used Stoneyfield Farms brand) to use as your culture. After your first batch you can use some from a previous batch to make more. :-) About every 4 weeks I buy another tub of yogurt as my starter as I have found that the yogurt somehow ferments after about 5 weeks of using the previous batch (I make yogurt weekly).

Honey Hot Cocoa

For those of you who have given up white sugar a friend of mine came up with a good hot cocoa alternative! This recipe is from my dear friend E.M. (not sure if she wants her first name posted, so I'm posting her initials for now). I am planning on making some later this evening!

Honey Hot Cocoa
1/2+ cup honey (I add a bit more because I like mine sweeter)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cocoa
*Heat in a pan for 5 minutes or until it turns into a syrup.

5+ cups milk (to your preference - I like mine more milky)
*Add this to the syrup mixture and heat through.

tsp vanilla extract
*Remove from heat and add this lovely addtion. Serve hot or refridgerate and serve cold. :)

Edited 1/12/09 for honey and milk quantity. :-)