Tag: yogurt

Yogurt Dips

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Ingredient, Using5 Comments

Homemade cheese and yogurt are delicious not just on their own but also when featured or even a footnote in other recipes. Bring a tray of homemade dips, cheese, and sourdough bread to a potluck or party (or house concert), and guests immediately compliment your tasty contribution. Then when someone asks what’s in the dip, say, “homemade yogurt”; eyes brighten, jaws drop, and people dig back into the bowl. At least, that’s my experience.

I’ve long been a fan of tzatziki, and it’s among my favorite ways to showcase homemade yogurt. A tangy fresh batch makes the dip pop—so much so that I cut back on the lemon juice. Although traditionally made with sheep’s or goat’s milk, draining a cow’s milk yogurt until it’s thick works beautifully. Just a tablespoon or two of the same thickened yogurt gives a surprising creaminess to other dips, especially ones featuring beans.
Learn to make Tzatziki and Asian White Bean Dip

Cheese and Yogurt

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Topic, Using, Workshops5 Comments

Queso blanco, paneer, whole-milk ricotta, farm cheese, lemon cheese—they’re the same cheese by different names. Even where recipes for them may vary, they share two features: all form curd through the addition of an acid, and all coagulate because they are heated above 176°F, the temperature at which the milk protein casein “sets.” This makes Lemon Cheese, my preferred name because I like to use lemon juice to form the curd, surprisingly simple and easy to make. This recipe is also a great first cheese because you need few special tools or ingredients: just cheesecloth, a thermometer, and ideally cheese salt. You can make about 2 pounds of cheese from a gallon of milk, but I prefer to use some of that gallon to make yogurt.
Learn to make Lemon Cheese and Fresh Yogurt

Fresh Homemade Dairy

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Refrigerating, TopicLeave a comment

My first experience with making dairy products at home was yogurt. Long before Greek yogurt was popular in the United States, my travel bug had given me an insatiable craving for the thick, creamy fermentation. A hostel owner turned me on to a local maker of sheep’s milk yogurt, which I then ate mixed with honey and topped with fruit almost every morning I was in Greece.

American yogurts paled by comparison, so back home, I searched for an alternative way to get my Greek yogurt fix. I could strain almost any yogurt to approximate the consistency, but only expensive ones got me in the right flavor neighborhood. Then I learned all I needed was a little bit of good yogurt and a gallon of milk: Even with cow’s milk, homemade tasted better and was more affordable than anything I could buy. Which of course led to the question, Could cheese be this easy?
Read more about homemade cheese and yogurt

New Workshops and a Road Trip

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Event, Fermenting, Refrigerating, Using, WorkshopsLeave a comment

People love to gather in kitchens. Whether you’re feeding a family or hosting a party, the scents of good food being prepared draw people to the room. It’s part of what makes a Twice as Tasty–catered house concerts special: live music in an intimate setting is coupled with delicious appetizers and the scent of baking cookies for intermission. It’s also what is making Twice as Tasty workshops so popular: instead of trying to keep people from hovering while you cook, you gather your friends in your kitchen. Then I teach everyone how to prepare a fabulous dish, make a favorite from scratch, or use a new technique.

Twice as Tasty workshops have been so popular that I’ve taken them on the road. My recent road trip to the Pacific Northwest was such a success I plan to repeat it in the future. Workshops are always available locally in Montana’s Flathead Valley.
Read more about the current topics and scheduling a workshop

Mushrooms

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Event, Grilling, Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

When it comes to feeding a crowd, two things generally happen: expensive premade dishes pack the table, and those with special diets are left with precut fruit, naked greens, and a bare baked potato. This year’s Montana Cup meals proved it doesn’t have to be that way.

Dinner’s salads got the Twice as Tasty treatment, but North Flathead Yacht Club also had vegans and vegetarians fully covered with marinated and grilled Portobello mushrooms. NFYC also brought in gorgeous Yukon River Coho salmon fillets from Flathead Fish & Seafood Co. and top sirloin steaks provided by regional grocery chain Super 1 Foods. I decided to whip up some sauces that could accompany any option or the sides of salad and baked potato, relying on our local Kalispell Kreamery and my own canning shelves. Learn to make Marinated and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Yogurt-Dill Sauce and Romesco Sauce

Salad Dressing Bases

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Refrigerating, Topic, Using1 Comment

The salad dressing aisle at a grocery store baffles me: so long, so heavily preserved, so expensive—and so easy to make at home. Every dressing starts with oil and an acid, like vinegar, or something to make it creamy. From there, spices and other flavorings are added to make the desired blend. Even the most dedicated bachelor likely has the basic ingredients in his kitchen.

Imagine this: You’re invited over for a first dinner date, and the guy pulls out a squeeze jug of store-brand ranch. Impressed? Perhaps he splurged for a bottle with a fancy label. It’s probably still not memorable. Now imagine he combines oil, vinegar, and a few spices in a bottle, shakes it, and sprinkles the result over greens. Suddenly, you’re paying attention. In less than 5 minutes, he has a lip-smacking salad dressing—and you might be considering a second date before you even taste the main dish. Learn to make Vinegary and Creamy Salad Dressing Bases