Homemade Yogurt

Homemade Yogurt

I have thought about homemade yogurt for a long time.  Thought about it and done nothing.  A few weeks ago I decided to stop just thinking and I got out my crockpot (because I was told this was the easiest way to do it) and…I made cheese.  I took a deep breath and went to make something else. Weeks later, I tried again with a different method.  This was easy and perfect, needing nothing more than my stovetop and oven (which is good because my crockpot has since cracked in half).  I am not sure I will ever buy yogurt again.

1 gallon milk
½ cup live cultured plain yogurt

Pour 1 gallon of milk into a large stock pot and heat over medium low heat until the milk is 180 F.

Kill the heat and let the milk cool down in the range of 115 F to 95 F.  Add ½ cup of live cultured yogurt to a bit of your cooled milk, mix until thoroughly combined and then mix into the big batch of milk.

Pour into desired storage containers, either glass or plastic works.  I used a couple of large yogurt containers that I had saved.  Put the soon to be yogurt into the oven (not on) and turn your oven light on.  Let the yogurt sit in the oven with the light on for 12 hours.  Mine turned out a bit mild for my taste, so I will test next time if letting is sit a little longer will produce a more tangy product.

When the culturing time is finished, move your yogurt to the refrigerator to cool.

Consume.

Want something a little thicker? Add 2-3 cups per gallon of powdered milk to up the protein content.  This will make for a thicker yogurt.  Add the powder before you cook the milk.  I need to test and see if using whey protein works the same.

Like I said, the yogurt I made is not as tangy as I like so, after further reading, I found out you can culture your yogurt up to 24 hours to increase the tang.  Also, if you let it incubate at closure to 100F you will get better microbial growth.

I can’t wait to make the next batch.

Thank you for reading,

Sarah McTernen

www.anardentlife.com
http://smcternen.etsy.com
http://ardentlife.etsy.com

Fog Behind Pear Blossoms

Fog Behind Pear Blossoms

When I started to make jewelry, I often received questions about being done with photography.  My answer is always, no, I am not done with photography.

Photography is of a moment.  Sometimes you can make those moments, but it requires patience.  Patience is harder to come by when toting around three children. 

Speaking of which...I'll be right back.

Okay, I'm back...what were we talking about?  Oh yeah, three children.

This morning I woke up to fog.  Fog Behind Pear Blossoms and I was excited to take photographs.  If I was just me, I would have thrown on some close, grabbed my camera and headed out to catch the Puyallup river cloaked in fog and sunrise.  It is not that it is impossible, but I know by the time I got them all ready, my motivation would be waning.

I have not let go of photography, just as I have not let go of writing.  One day I will have my words published.  One day I will...

just a minute...I'll be right back.

Photography is a moment, and when that moment is gone, it doesn't repeat itself.  If you are not there with camera in hand, looking through the lens, it will pass you by, leaving you with nothing but regret and images close, but not magic.

Thank you for your interest in my work,

Sarah McTernen
www.anardentlife.com

http://smcternen.etsy.com (Photography)
http://ardentlife.etsy.com (Jewelry)

A World of Good Intentions

IV

A world of good intentions.  That is what I had about posting here this year.  They all went out the window when my three year old went into surgery in February.  Our journey with Hip Dysplasia took us to the hospital and through surgery into a big purple cast and brought us to the latest stage of a less big purple brace.  I'll post more about the journey later, but I wanted you to know I was thinking of you all as I slowly get back into the swing of things. 

Best wishes,

Sarah McTernen
http://smcternen.etsy.com
http://ardentlife.etsy.com
www.anardentlife.com

The Path of Creation

Every once in a while, I will create a piece that took an interesting path to existence.  I was looking over some inventory the other day and realized that I had the Strata Connector in copper, gunmetal and tinned copper, but nothing in a gold tone.  So off I went in search of brash lobster clasps.  This lead me to Shipwreck and these Jasper Rings that jumped out and said, "Buy me!"   When I got my hands on the rings, I realized that they were a bit smaller than I had assumed (sometimes I don't think about my purchases as much as I should).  The biggest problem with their size was finding something that would fit inside without too much room.  When I finally found something that worked, the necklace had already begun to take shape.  I had recently chopped a bone choker that had the lovely centerpiece and I found the sardonyx drop on my mat of miscellaneous beads.  Knowing that I did not want the pattern to be too basic I found some sardonyx barrels that I had purchased a while back and found my long strand of tea dyed bone rondelles.  The necklace was complete.

 

As I sat there, pondering the necklaces existence, I started picking out some random beads that went together: the sister tea dyed bone centerpiece, a piece of sliced horn, a bit of sponge coral, a button, some tigers eye along with a large chunk of carnelian and mookite.  Soon I was wiring these unconnected pieces together with copper wire and attaching a larger lobster clasp.  I loved the cohesive quality and the randomness.  My brain starts thinking that this could be a new line of bracelets.  

 

My eyes head back to the mat of miscellaneous beads and land squarely on a skull that I am sure belong to one of my kids at some point.

 

Sometimes you just have an extra skull lying around the house.  What to do?  Make a bracelet!  This is how a very random bracelet in created with a plastic skull, a found rock that I drilled, a glass pearl, a white chunky rectangle, some mother of pearl and a few other stones strung together with tinned copper and closed with a silver plated lobster clasp.  I didn't set out to make a skull bracelet, but through the path of creation this is what I have created. 

 

I like it. 

 

Do you?

 

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Sarah McTernen

 

Art Photography

http://smcternen.etsy.com

 

Art Jewelry

http://ardentlife.etsy.com

 

www.anardentlife.com

 

 

The Art of Balance

Half Wished

Balance is something we are all striving for.  I think that is my word for the year.  All the blogs I follow are talking about their "word(s) for the year" and I wasn't even considering that I needed one until just now. 

Balance is the key to a happy life.

Balance in emotions, balance in workload, balance in eating, balance with gravity, all very important.
 

I want to work on a better work/kid balance.  What that looks like I am not sure yet.  I know that I am constantly trying to fight for time to work which means that I am not as "there" as I should be when it is time for the kids. 

of course, there are three of them, and only one of me...in this there is not balance

it's worth a shot anyway

hmmm

BALANCE

I've typed it too much, it looks funny now.

Anyway....

What is your "word" for 2013?

Thanks for reading,
Sarah McTernen

Art Photography
http://smcternen.etsy.com

Art Jewelry
http://ardentlife.etsy.com

www.anardentlife.com