Yogurt has been with us since mankind was nomadic, the wild Huns lived on fermented mare’s milk and conquered the world. It is very easy to make and is high in vitamin C and homemade probiotics.

In this video we use raw goat’s milk from our local farm and demonstrate various ways to incubate the yogurt. I have found the best method is to use an airplane blanket. They retain heat amazingly well.

This post is part of the Natural Cures Tuesday BlogCarnival run by www.hartkeisonline.com, please stop by her site for up to date information on what is going on with raw milk.

Follow this link for detailed instructions on the in’s and out’s of yogurt-making.

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I haven’t got much money I don’t like to make a show But when it comes to real good friends I love to share my ‘dough’

-By Hal ‘Lucky Luke’ Lucas

Some of you may remember passing round Alaskan Sourdough Starters to your friends and family along with your own yarn of how you came to possess such a precious, delicious, practical and ancient culture. Here is a version I discovered on a scrap of paper mixed in with my grandmother’s recipes:

This starter originated from the Sour Doughs of Alaska in early gold rush days, and has been handed down from igloo to ice-box to electric refrigerator and propagated through friendship channels. The original sample was brought from the Yukon. It was smuggled out by a successful miner who found the original in a deserted miner’s cabin on Sour Dough Creek; he in turn, shared his secret with the Captain of a four-master sailing vessel. The Captain gave a sample to the mayor of San Francisco. From him it was stolen by the mayor’s cook who in turn sold ’starts’ to wealthy Spanish Grandees. My sister in San Jose got her ’start’ through connections from a hermit who lives back of Mt. Hamilton.

(You may pass this along to your friends, but be sure to add your own flavor to the above story.)

This recipe followed the above yarn:

Sour Dough Hot Cakes

Serves 2 to 3 people

Do this at night:

• Take 2 cups of sifted flour and add
• 1 c milk and one of warm water more or less

Mix in your sourdough starter to thickness similarly to hot cake batter. Cover with oiled paper and set over night in a warm place; (on top of the pilot burner is a good place.)

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This is an amazingly simple recipe and results in a delicious, high-quality white vinegar with the flavors of the honey you have chosen to use. Try basswood or buckwheat honey for a darker, richer vinegar. Use raspberry honey for a lighter fruitier vinegar.

• 8:1 Water : Honey
• Eight parts water to one part honey
• Wild yeast

Method: Place in a crock. Cover the crock with cheesecloth and leave to sit in a warm place for about one month or until the fermentation has died down. Pour off the liquid and leave the yeasty residue behind. Bottle and seal. Will keep indefinitely.

Uses: Vinegar has been used medicinally for years. Apple cider vinegar is a famous home remedy for digestive complaints. Vinegar was traditionaly used as face and hair washes for glowing faces and glistening hair. Raw honey vinegar can be used medicinally in the same ways that apple cider vinegar is used.

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Method: Rub the eggs through a sieve and mix with sour cream. Add salt and pepper.

If a thinner dressing is desired, add a little cream.

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People all over the world make preserved lemons. They generally leave the jar in the hot sun for a couple of days for the best flavor.

• 6 lemons (thick skins) organic
• 6 T sea salt
• Juice of 3 lemons or more

Method: Wash and scrub lemons. Cut each lemon in quarters but not right through, so that the pieces are still attached at the stem end. Stuff each lemon with plenty of salt.

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I found this handwritten recipe in one of the many second hand community cook-books I search through for old-fashioned traditional recipes.

• Whole oranges
• Whole cloves
• Powdered orris root
• Ground cinnamon

Method: Select firm oranges. Stick cloves into orange skin, until rind is all covered. Roll orange in equal parts orris and cinnamon. Pat in as much powder as orange will take.

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Oven Temperature Conversions from Fahrenheit to Celsius

Slow Oven= 250-325F= 120-165C

Moderate Oven= 325-400F= 165-200C

Quick or Hot Oven= 400-450F= 200-230C

Very Hot Oven = 450-550F= 230-300C

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Weights, Measures, Equivalents

T= tablespoon t= teaspoon pt=pint L=litre 3t=1T 16T=1c 8T= ½ c 2T= 1oz fluid 1 heaping c= 1c and 3 to 4 T 4c=1qt 1 dessert spoon=2 t 2T=1 fluid oz 4 T = ¼ c 16 T=1c 2c=1pt (1 pound) 2 pt=1 qt 4 qt=1 gallon (8 pounds) dash, pinch, speck=1/16 t 480drops= 1oz 8drams= 1oz 8 qt=1 peck 4 pecks=1 bushel 16 oz=1 pound 16 fluid oz=1 pt 8 pts=16 c Butter- ½ lb = 1 c -1 oz = 2 T 5 eggs = 1 c 8 egg whites = 1 c 16 egg yolks = 1 c 1 lb rice = 2 c ( 3-4 c cooked) 1 sq choc = 4 T cocoa plus 1 ½ t butter size of nut=1T size of egg=1/4 c beans ½ lb=1 c butter ½ lb=1 c cheese ¼ lb=3/4c grated chicken-3 ½ lb chicken yeilds approximately 2 c cooked meat coffee dry ground 1 lb=5c. cornmeal 1 lb=2 2/3 c eggs average size 8=1c flour white-1/4 lb=1c sifted rice-1 lb=2c juice of 1 lemon=3-4T juice of 1 orange= ½ c split peas 1 lb= ½ c powdered sugar ½ lb=1 ¼ c

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• The water in which vegetables has been cooked and leftover vegetables should be used for making soups. (Vegetable vitamins and minerals are often water soluble, don’t throw out the water).
• A quick way to cut raisins and other sticky foods is to use wet scissors. Dip the scissors in water to keep the fruit from sticking.
• To remove nut meats whole, pour boiling water over the nuts and let stand overnight before cracking.
• Ice water is conducive to tender pastry. Pastry can be handled more easily if chilled before rolling.
• Grease measuring cup slightly before measuring molasses.
• To stop grease from popping from the frying pan, sift about ¼ t flour into it.
• If soup is too salty, drop into it a slice of raw potato and boil for 5-6 mins. The potato will extract some of the salt. Amount of potato to use will depend on how salty the soup is.
• To sour sweet milk, add one teaspoon vinegar to one c milk, or 2 teaspoons lemon juice to one c milk.
• To sweeten sour milk, add a pinch of baking soda.
• To whip top milk add one-fourth teaspoon lemon juice to one c top milk and whip just before serving.
• When scalding milk to keep it from sticking, first rinse the pan in cold water.
• When beating eggs, add a pinch of salt.
• Add a pinch of salt to cream to help it whip more quickly.
• After peeling bananas, dip in lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
• Put peaches into a bowl of milk to prevent darkening after peeling.
• To peel tomatoes easily insert fork into stem end of tomato-hold over lighted gas burner turning constantly, when skin bursts remove from fire and remove skin.

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VJR is a fabulous Burmese-Indian chef who makes tasty seafood samosas with this freshly made masala. Amounts given are not precise, feel free to adjust them according to your taste and needs.

• 1/2 c yellow or brown mustard seeds
• 1/4 c fenugreek
• 1 T cardamom

Method: These spices can be toasted in a dry pan and ground in a spice blender. Or they can be added into a sauce whole as they are.

Very good as a crust for baked fish or in a sauce for prawns.

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