Yogurt, Bread and Movies

Today is my sisters 44 th birthday. How did we get to be so old? It boggles my mind. I am 40 yrs old. I have a husband and 4 children. We own a farm. We own a vehicle. We pay taxes. When did all that happen? Some days I feel like such a fraud. I can't be responsible for all these kids. I can't run a farm. I'm just a kid myself. I don't know how to do any of this. I'm not an adult. There has been a mistake. Do any of y'all know what I mean? How DOES this happen? I have no idea.

We don't get any TV channels, we just have movies. A few months ago we discovered our library has a great selection of DVDs and videos. Last week we found a fabulous assortment. We tend toward the classics (anything with Cary Grant HAS to be good right?) No Cary Grants this week but we got Gone with the Wind, National Velvet, My Friend Flicka, Christy, The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Light in the Forest, and my daughter got an Arthur.

It has been fun watching them with the kids. We haven't watched Gone with the Wind yet. We are waiting for Daddy to get home so we can watch it together.  It's good timing for it as we are doing a study on the Civil War. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a d*mn."

Today I  made some zucchini-carrot bread. I posted the recipe a while back. It came out kind of dry but still yummy

I also made yogurt. I usually make strawberry but today I used some of the blackberries we picked & froze last summer. I used Xylitol to sweeten it. I've done some researching on Xylitol & it is supposed to be very good for your teeth. Strengthens them & prevents decay. So I have been incorporating it into a few things trying to build up the kids teeth. The yogurt came out especially yummy

I also started a batch of vanilla yogurt. I haven't made that before so we'll see what happens. I use a Yogotherm yogurt maker. It is non-electric. Essentially it is a plastic bucket which fits into a styrofoam canister. Pretty low tech. Like me. This is my method:

I heat 2 quarts of milk to between 95 & 115 degrees. Then I stir in the starter. Cows milk takes more starter than goats milk. Cows milk takes 4 tbsp. Goat takes 2 tsp. I use yogurt from the last batch as starter if I remember to keep it. If not or if it is old, I use organic store bought yogurt as starter. Thin the starter with a little milk & mix it well. Somehow or other, incubate the yogurt for 6-12 hours. You can use it plain like this in a number of ways but what we like is to put it in the blender and add a little sweetener---honey, sugar, xylitol etc---vanilla, fruit and blend it into a yummy drinkable yogurt. I pour it into pint jars and it is soooo good and  good for you. It makes a healthy, quick , grab & go breakfast this way. When my husband worked locally and packed a lunch he always took a pint everyday. He would accuse me of neglecting him if I didn't pack it.

Well I've rambled on enough. I will leave you with a pic of my little man enjoying the melting snow. Have a blessed day.