Macro Monday ~ Spidey (along with Pie and Pioneer Woman)

 

This one’s for Ed, ‘cause we all know how much he loooooves arachnids. hehehe!

(Only cropped, otherwise, straight out of camera (SOOC), using my Canon Power Shot SX110 IS)

Check out Macro Mondays to see what other folks have captured within their cameras this week.

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Ok, for those who have the willies and the heebie-jeebies after that 8-legged larger-than-life horror, I’m here to erase all that and share a little proud moment of mine.

Hold onto your seats, people!

I made my very first Deep Dish Apple Pie!!!! Oh yes, I’ve baked apple pies before, but always used canned apple pie filling and store bought crusts. This puppy’s all home-made, baby! From the crust to the apples harvested from our own apple trees. And I’m happy to say that it was really good, too. I was terrified to make the crust as I’ve read such awful stories about tough, inedible crusts, and I’ve tasted a few pies like that, too.

But this apple pie worked out perfectly. The crust was light, flaky and buttery! And the apples were sweet with a flavorful amount of cinnamon. It was so good, we ate that darn pie in one day! I’m so proud, I could burst!

    

And in the same theme, I have a thank you to say to Patches of the Furry Four Legged Kids Blog. I entered her contest just by answering some questions about what kinds of quirks her readers have, and I had no idea what the prize might be. It just sounded like something fun. So, I was so excited when Patches told me she was sending me the brand new Pioneer Woman Cook Book just for entering her contest! Whoohoooo!

I only rarely read the Pioneer Woman blog and never comment. My comments would end up lost in her 400+ comments she receives for each post anyway. But I do check out her homeschooling blog and her cooking blog and have tried many of her recipes, including Pioneer Woman’s Onion Strings, which I posted about in that link. I don’t think Ree Drummond could make a bad meal. Every recipe I’ve tried is simple to prepare and tastes great.

And I just love her cookbook. It’s very bright and colorful with tons of photos and is written just the way she writes on her blog. It’s more than just a cookbook, too. There are stories about her family, and her husband, Marlboro Man, along with photos of the beautiful horses in their care.

So I just want to thank Patches for the super gift of the Pioneer Woman Cooks cook book. I’ve become rather lazy in the kitchen with John always on the road, and I’m thinking that this is just the thing I need to spice up my cooking around here.

(So, have you ever prepared a Pioneer Woman Recipe? If so, which was your favorite, and why?)

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Making Yogurt

Last week I started making my own home made yogurt, something I've often wanted to do, but never got around to. All I can say is "Why did I wait so long?!"

Yogurt is so simple to make and so much better tasting than store bought that it's a no brainer why to make it yourself. It's just healthier and better tasting!

My favorite yogurt brands are either Stoneybrook or Brown cow yogurt. My favorite flavors are vanilla, coffee, lemon, maple or honey. And I can make all of these flavors at home as well as hundreds more using my International Book of Yogurt that I also bought along with the yogurt maker, extra glass jars and yogurt starter.


First, I raised up the milk temperature to 160 degrees. And then allowed it to cool to between 110-115 degrees degrees-
Then I strained it, which at first I thought was weird and a waste of time, but straining does remove any 'skin', lumps, bumps etc.
Then I add the starter. Some folks just use a scoop of unflavered yogurt as their starter, but it might not be fresh or it could have something artificial, plus you need to prepare the yogurt starter. So for now I just use the powder starter and it works great.
Then it's time to whisk the starter into the warm milk.
Then it's time to fill the glass containers with the milk/yogurt mixture
The yogurt machine cooks the mixture for about 6-7 hours until it is coagulated and sweet, tart and delicious!
Only thing wrong with this yogurt maker, is that, even though their are 7 glass cups, we go through one 7 batch of yogurt in one day with our family of five! I wish we could produce more yogurt without having to buy a second yogurt maker....

I suppose I should be greatful, though. My kids love my homemade yogurt so much that they want to eat it all day long. Yum!