Author Topic: Overheard in the street  (Read 20607 times)

c

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 300
  • Location: NYC
Overheard in the street
« on: February 26, 2013, 07:21:55 PM »
Two young women, early 20s. One says "do you think you can make tomato sauce?", the other said "I don't know, it seems like you should be able to right?".

The weird thing was that they were carrying a flat pack of canning jars.

MountainMan

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 165
  • Location: Minneapolis
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2013, 03:04:50 AM »
And what is your opinion?  Do you think you can make tomato sauce? ;)

DoubleDown

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2075
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2013, 09:25:18 AM »
I don't think it's possible. First off, you would need to know the main ingredients.

Daley

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4825
  • Location: Cow country. Moo.
  • Still kickin', I guess.
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2013, 09:32:39 AM »
Oh man... I think I heard what the ingredients were once. It's eggplant and swiss chard, right?

I'm gonna go make a batch right now!

/stoked

MrSaturday

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 138
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2013, 12:14:28 PM »
I unwittingly caused mass confusion at work when I let it slip that I make my own tomato sauce.  My coworkers must have argued about it for a solid hour, first disbelieving it was possible and eventually acknowledging that as unlikely as it sounds, tomato sauce must come from somewhere.

I've learned my lesson.  Now I refuse to discuss the source of my mashed potatoes.

mustachecat

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 398
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2013, 12:31:30 PM »
My friends think I'm a wizard because I know how to cook some stuff. Not even complicated stuff. Like, tomato sauce and roast chicken. It's awesome and depressing.

tmac

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 470
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2013, 03:12:48 PM »
I'm a pretty good scratch cook, but I just recently realized how easy it is to make spaghetti sauce from tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, whatever you've got. I was trying to explain to my husband why I felt so foolish, and he just looked at me like I was nuts. Yes, it's so stupid easy that I feel like an ass for wasting all of that money on high-end jarred sauce.

I was at work the other day, snacking on a homemade granola bar, and it was an eerily similar situation to what I'm reading in this thread. "Wait, you can MAKE granola bars?"

Daley

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4825
  • Location: Cow country. Moo.
  • Still kickin', I guess.
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2013, 05:11:35 PM »
I don't get what I did wrong trying to make that tomato sauce earlier! I cooked the eggplant and chard until it turned into a slurry, but it was all purplish, so I added a bunch of fruit punch kool aid until it turned red. Worst. Spaghetti. Ever.

Cooking's hard, guys! I'm going back to the Newman's Own jars of marinara. >.>

clarkai

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 217
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #8 on: February 27, 2013, 05:26:47 PM »
I remember in college regularly shocking friends and room mates by making from scratch pancakes, pizza, and pies. Their eyeballs probably would have fallen out if they had known me in my grinding my own grain phase.

DebtDerp

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 155
  • Age: 35
  • Location: Seattle
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2013, 06:42:22 PM »
I remember in college regularly shocking friends and room mates by making from scratch pancakes, pizza, and pies. Their eyeballs probably would have fallen out if they had known me in my grinding my own grain phase.

HAHA, yep this happened to me at the NFL Championship games this year. I had a few friends over, told them we would be having chips, salsa, chili, and pizza. They were floored when the only thing that came out of a bag were the chips. Homemade salsa and guac, 5 hour croc pot chili, and homemade pizza dough with whatever fixins' you want. It tasted better than anything that could be delivered and there was plenty of money left over for beer. I figure I saved $75 to $100 bucks that day.

Zaga

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2903
  • Age: 44
  • Location: North of Pittsburgh, PA
    • A Wall of Hats
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #10 on: February 27, 2013, 06:59:06 PM »
Lol, that is just too much!  I work for a food company, so I'm surrounded by people who know how to make their own of everything!  I make ketchup on a regular basis and know how to make mayo and mustard, though I generally don't.

melissak

  • Guest
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2013, 07:20:41 PM »
I remember in college regularly shocking friends and room mates by making from scratch pancakes, pizza, and pies. Their eyeballs probably would have fallen out if they had known me in my grinding my own grain phase.

I have friends with master's degrees in science who cannot understand how I can make pancakes from scratch. (It's called a fucking recipe!!) They think pancake mix is magical or something, and don't bother reading the box to find out that it's basically flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder, plus a bunch of other shit they probably wouldn't want to feed their kids. Whoever invented selling baking mixes is a rich person by now! (Betty Crocker? Dunno.) It especially cracks me up because you still have to add a bunch of wet ingredients, so by the time you've added eggs and oil or whatever, you might as well have mixed some salt and baking powder into your flour and saved yourself the 2000% or so markup.


dragoncar

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9922
  • Registered member
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #12 on: February 27, 2013, 08:03:41 PM »
Guys, marinara sauce is cheap.  It's like a dollar something for a whole jar at trader joe's.  It's not like you save much money by making it yourself (especially if you are using better ingredients like good olive oil, fresh organic tomatoes, etc.).   Home made may be healthier, but I wouldn't call anyone who buys pre-made sauce "unmustachian".

Jamesqf

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4038
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #13 on: February 27, 2013, 08:12:15 PM »
Yeah.  I took a pumpkin pie to my friends' Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Everybody thought it was good, and kept asking where I bought it.  Likewise when I bring brownies, cinnamon* rolls, or similar to an event, someone always ask either where I bought them, or what mix I used.

*Hint: Instead of the cinnamon, try them with cardamom sometime.

kudy

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 945
  • Age: 41
  • Location: RV Traveling the U.S.
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #14 on: February 27, 2013, 09:46:44 PM »
This is where I post one of those Captain Picard facepalm images, right?

DebtDerp

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 155
  • Age: 35
  • Location: Seattle
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #15 on: February 27, 2013, 10:47:21 PM »
Guys, marinara sauce is cheap.  It's like a dollar something for a whole jar at trader joe's.  It's not like you save much money by making it yourself (especially if you are using better ingredients like good olive oil, fresh organic tomatoes, etc.).   Home made may be healthier, but I wouldn't call anyone who buys pre-made sauce "unmustachian".

I haven't been to Trader Joe's but really good and organic tomato sauce is not cheap. Newman's Organic Marinara is around $5 bucks. I've seen jars over $6 bucks. With that being said, I don't buy the stuff. If I buy tomato sauce it's usually the cheap non-organic cans of sauce. Homemade is better though.

destron

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 377
  • Age: 45
  • Location: Seattle
    • Mustachian Financial Calculators
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #16 on: February 27, 2013, 11:03:51 PM »
I don't think it's possible. First off, you would need to know the main ingredients.

First you need to create the universe.

Erica/NWEdible

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 881
    • Northwest Edible Life - life on garden time
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #17 on: February 27, 2013, 11:54:03 PM »
Conversation with my friend in Costco today:
Her: "I need to get cornbread mix."
Me: "Oh God, don't buy cornbread mix, I have like 25 pounds of organic cornmeal at home. I'll give you a few cups."
Her: "Nah, I just like the mix. It's easy."
---
Yogurt also blows people's minds. "You mean you can MAKE yogurt?"
"No, I'm pretty sure Yoplait invented yogurt at the same time little plastic tubs came out."

::facepalm::

mustachecat

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 398
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #18 on: February 28, 2013, 05:24:05 AM »
I don't think anyone is mocking homemade vs. canned. It's more the idea that otherwise intelligent people are seemingly baffled by incredibly simple things: making tomato sauce, filing your own taxes, painting a room, etc.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23128
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #19 on: February 28, 2013, 06:59:12 AM »
At about 70 cents or less (on sale) for a 650ml can of pre-made tomato sauce, is it even cost effective to make it from tomatoes?  Fresh tomatoes sell for more than than by weight.

I can make tomato sauce, but never find the raw ingredients for cheap enough.  (Our summer garden tomatoes are eaten so quickly that they never make it to a can.)

Self-employed-swami

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1090
  • Location: Canada
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #20 on: February 28, 2013, 07:01:39 AM »
My husband and I almost never buy jarred pasta sauce, with the exception of the PC Vegetarian Bolognese, but only when it is on sale.

I buy flats of canned tomatoes (either diced, crushed, or whole, depending on what's on sale when I shop) and we make it work.  There is also a decent brand of organic tomato sauce (not pasta sauce, just crushed and blended tomatoes) at Costco in a flat of 12 for 8.99.  It's super tasty as well.

And I agree, trying to buy tomatoes fresh to make sauce would be crazily more expensive.

No Name Guy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 448
  • Location: Western Washington
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #21 on: February 28, 2013, 08:38:36 AM »
2 words for making it yourself from scratch:  Fannie Farmer. 

tmac

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 470
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #22 on: February 28, 2013, 08:44:32 AM »
I only get fresh tomatoes for processing during the farmer's market season. They're usually willing to sell you a big box for cheaper than the one-off price. I can them (pureed and whole), then use that for all of my non-whole tomato needs. Once I run out (since I can never seem to make enough to get us through the winter), I get the Costco flats of crushed and paste tomatoes, which happens to be organic most of the time. It costs much less than any sauce we'd get. Aldi also has good prices on crushed tomatoes. It ends up at about $.50 per meal.

dragoncar

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9922
  • Registered member
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #23 on: February 28, 2013, 11:24:35 AM »
I don't think anyone is mocking homemade vs. canned. It's more the idea that otherwise intelligent people are seemingly baffled by incredibly simple things: making tomato sauce, filing your own taxes, painting a room, etc.

Fair enough... although I think some things only seem simple once you know how to do it. 

the fixer

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #24 on: February 28, 2013, 07:10:47 PM »
Fair enough... although I think some things only seem simple once you know how to do it. 

But everything in this thread was made by hand for at least hundreds of years before the prepared in-store versions came out, and people who don't recognize that is what I think is silly about it. If it were hard, why would people living off the land for all those generations before us have bothered?

I have to say though that yogurt seems to have a trick to it that I wasn't able to figure out. But I KNOW it can be done, and if someone offered to show me I would humbly bow down to their awesomeness and soak up all I could!

clarkai

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 217
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #25 on: February 28, 2013, 07:18:22 PM »

I have to say though that yogurt seems to have a trick to it that I wasn't able to figure out. But I KNOW it can be done, and if someone offered to show me I would humbly bow down to their awesomeness and soak up all I could!

What issue are you having with your yogurt? Too runny?

nolajo

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 111
  • Location: New Orleans, LA
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #26 on: February 28, 2013, 07:23:12 PM »
My favorite one to show people is salad dressing. Most recently, while quite inebriated, I made a delicious vinaigrette using just the stuff my friends had on hand. It took more vinegar than I was used to because rice wine vinegar didn't hold up as well to olive oil as balsamic does, but man it was tasty. And it was safe for me to do a few beers in :) But seriously, I never have salad dressing on hand because a) it's so easy/tasty and b) given how easy it is, I have better things to do with that space in the fridge.

For the record, the way I was taught to make it was 3 parts oil to one part vinegar plus a bit of mustard. I left out the mustard and upped the vinegar at my friends house and it was still tasty. It's adaptable to pretty much any oil or vinegar (though I don't think standard vegetable oil and/or white vinegar would be ideal).

GoStumpy

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 243
    • YNAB = The ultimate budgeting software
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #27 on: February 28, 2013, 07:25:46 PM »
I can build a computer, fix a car, drywall a room, fix damn near anything....

Yet I don't know how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch :(

I am sad now, thanks guys!

the fixer

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #28 on: February 28, 2013, 07:36:36 PM »

I have to say though that yogurt seems to have a trick to it that I wasn't able to figure out. But I KNOW it can be done, and if someone offered to show me I would humbly bow down to their awesomeness and soak up all I could!

What issue are you having with your yogurt? Too runny?

Two big problems:
Most significant one was that it didn't set, it was all liquid. Either I jostled it, or I didn't have it at a high enough temperature (my house is cold this time of year). Probably it was both. Basically, I don't have a good system worked out, and none of my ideas were working, and moving from one to another was jostling it so it wouldn't set anyway.
The other one is timing and scheduling. When I tried making 3 or so cups, it took forever for the milk to cool from boiling, at least an hour. Then I had to make sure I was home and awake 6-8 hours later to stop it from culturing. I could pull that off on a weekend if I don't have much going on, but not during the week.

If I had a gallon of milk to play with and worked from home every day I could figure something out...

the fixer

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #29 on: February 28, 2013, 07:41:09 PM »
I can build a computer, fix a car, drywall a room, fix damn near anything....

Yet I don't know how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch :(

I am sad now, thanks guys!
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/07/10/to-achieve-greatness-you-must-first-acknowledge-that-you-suck/
:)

I haven't made tomato sauce in years, but the traditional way from what I remember is to cook down tomatoes for hour(s?) until they thicken into a sauce. Add to that onions, spices (oregano and basil usually), and any extras you want like meat and mushrooms. You can shortcut the thickening process by using tomato paste.

If I'm going to get yogurt-making tips from this thread, I might as well pay it forward!

the fixer

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #30 on: February 28, 2013, 07:53:21 PM »
My favorite one to show people is salad dressing. Most recently, while quite inebriated, I made a delicious vinaigrette using just the stuff my friends had on hand. It took more vinegar than I was used to because rice wine vinegar didn't hold up as well to olive oil as balsamic does, but man it was tasty. And it was safe for me to do a few beers in :) But seriously, I never have salad dressing on hand because a) it's so easy/tasty and b) given how easy it is, I have better things to do with that space in the fridge.

For the record, the way I was taught to make it was 3 parts oil to one part vinegar plus a bit of mustard. I left out the mustard and upped the vinegar at my friends house and it was still tasty. It's adaptable to pretty much any oil or vinegar (though I don't think standard vegetable oil and/or white vinegar would be ideal).
I rarely eat salads but when I do I just mix together some olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a small cup or bowl, and pour it on. I just make up the ratio and it turns out fine. Adding a bit of mustard is a good idea.

Every time I eat my PB&J for lunch at work I secretly hope someone will ask about my oddly-shaped bread slices that came out of my bread machine. But alas, I still await the day.

No Name Guy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 448
  • Location: Western Washington
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #31 on: February 28, 2013, 08:11:44 PM »
I just make up the ratio and it turns out fine. Adding a bit of mustard is a good idea.

For the record, the way I was taught to make it was 3 parts oil to one part vinegar plus a bit of mustard. I left out the mustard and upped the vinegar at my friends house and it was still tasty. It's adaptable to pretty much any oil or vinegar (though I don't think standard vegetable oil and/or white vinegar would be ideal).

As most here probably already know, mustard is an emulsifier that will keep the oil and vinegar mixed.  Not to mention adding a whole lot of flavor.  Dijon is my preferred.

Jamesqf

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4038
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #32 on: February 28, 2013, 09:16:26 PM »
I have to say though that yogurt seems to have a trick to it that I wasn't able to figure out. But I KNOW it can be done, and if someone offered to show me I would humbly bow down to their awesomeness and soak up all I could!

Except that it's cheating if you don't milk the cow yourself :-)

And if you really want to be authentic, you probably should be using mare's milk.

PS: And from the local news, yet another way to make tomato sauce: http://www.rgj.com/article/20130228/NEWS/130228017/Truck-crashes-80-Reno-spilling-Heinz-ketchup-everywhere-watch-video-
« Last Edit: February 28, 2013, 09:20:51 PM by Jamesqf »

dragoncar

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9922
  • Registered member
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #33 on: March 01, 2013, 01:08:26 AM »
A) I don't put dressing on my salad.  What kind of wimp are you?

B) Best to use your own breast milk for yogurt.  Use the bacteria culture from your belly button.  That way you don't need to buy anything.

the fixer

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #34 on: March 01, 2013, 03:06:21 PM »
Except that it's cheating if you don't milk the cow yourself :-)

I've actually read up on owning a dairy cow, just to see if it would ever make sense once I'm retired. Then I found out that they produce like 5 GALLONS of milk per day? No thanks...

Zaga

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2903
  • Age: 44
  • Location: North of Pittsburgh, PA
    • A Wall of Hats
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #35 on: March 01, 2013, 04:21:38 PM »
Except that it's cheating if you don't milk the cow yourself :-)

I've actually read up on owning a dairy cow, just to see if it would ever make sense once I'm retired. Then I found out that they produce like 5 GALLONS of milk per day? No thanks...
Then just get a dairy goat!

Jamesqf

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4038
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #36 on: March 01, 2013, 04:44:02 PM »
Or club together with some neighbors, and have a community cow.

the fixer

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #37 on: March 01, 2013, 08:23:36 PM »
Or club together with some neighbors, and have a community cow.

Doesn't that run afoul of state/federal food safety regs? Not that I've dismissed any of this outright, I just won't be in a position to raise farm animals for at least a few years.

If I ever, for some strange reason, end up with a giant yard, I'm definitely getting a goat to help me maintain it.

KimPossible

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 111
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #38 on: March 02, 2013, 10:29:20 AM »

Two big problems:
Most significant one was that it didn't set, it was all liquid. Either I jostled it, or I didn't have it at a high enough temperature (my house is cold this time of year). Probably it was both. Basically, I don't have a good system worked out, and none of my ideas were working, and moving from one to another was jostling it so it wouldn't set anyway.
The other one is timing and scheduling. When I tried making 3 or so cups, it took forever for the milk to cool from boiling, at least an hour. Then I had to make sure I was home and awake 6-8 hours later to stop it from culturing. I could pull that off on a weekend if I don't have much going on, but not during the week.

If I had a gallon of milk to play with and worked from home every day I could figure something out...


I make yogurt all the time, now (going to make some this morning....).  I had had some variable results in the past, but this blog post laid it out clearly and I've had consistently good results since trying it.

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/10/how-to-make-homemade-yogurt-2/

clarkai

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 217
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #39 on: March 02, 2013, 10:37:54 AM »


Two big problems:
Most significant one was that it didn't set, it was all liquid. Either I jostled it, or I didn't have it at a high enough temperature (my house is cold this time of year). Probably it was both. Basically, I don't have a good system worked out, and none of my ideas were working, and moving from one to another was jostling it so it wouldn't set anyway.
The other one is timing and scheduling. When I tried making 3 or so cups, it took forever for the milk to cool from boiling, at least an hour. Then I had to make sure I was home and awake 6-8 hours later to stop it from culturing. I could pull that off on a weekend if I don't have much going on, but not during the week.

If I had a gallon of milk to play with and worked from home every day I could figure something out...

Sounds to me like a warmth issue (jostling it really shouldn't have an effect)- I personally had good luck using a cooler with warm water to maintain the temperature. I also like my yogurt tangy, so I let it ferment at least 12 hours, which also firms it up. Make sure you have a good, live culture too- some yogurt brands have killed the fermenting bacteria.

KimAB

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 79
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #40 on: March 02, 2013, 03:43:40 PM »

I haven't made tomato sauce in years, but the traditional way from what I remember is to cook down tomatoes for hour(s?) until they thicken into a sauce.

When I did it I  just planted tomatoes that were to be used for sauce.  No cooking down for hours required.  That year I bought any plants off the $1 table (5-6 tomato plants for a dollar... ) so I had over 100 plants.  The non sauce tomatoes did require hours of cooking down and sometimes straining. I didn't do anything special with them either.  I ripened them, tossed them into large zipper bags.  No skinning or par boiling...  Then when I cooked them I'd just use the wand blender.  Life is too short to stick my hand into boiling water to peel tomatoes... 

Season as you like.  Now that I'm a city girl and gardening/ composting is not allowed as per the lease (Not kidding...) I just buy the giant cans of tomato sauce and season it myself.  I'm feeding a lot of people, though, those cans might be too big for a normal family.

KimAB

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 79
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #41 on: March 02, 2013, 03:52:37 PM »
I forgot yogurt.  I've made it from store bought yogurt and tried a lot of different methods.  I never really liked the results.  Now I use whipping cream and get bacteria packets from the health food store.  I heat the cream to kill any bacteria in it, cool it to body temp (ish), whisk in the bacteria and put it on top of the freezer for the next 12-24 hours.  I don't do it to save money.  It's mostly for food value/ good gut bacteria. 

Then you can decide on your comfort level, but I don't refrigerate it.  It will get stronger and stronger tasting, but does mellow after that.  I done a lot of fermenting and yogurt really is one of the easiest ones to do. 

eyePod

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 963
    • Flipping A Dollar
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #42 on: March 05, 2013, 07:05:47 AM »
Most days at lunch I eat a sweet potato.  I just rinse it off, nuke it in the microwave, and then eat it.  People are literally amazed that I'm eating that type of vegetable and that I cook it at work.  Look, my cooking specialty peaks at "eggs." Nuking a sweet potato really isn't anything to be amazed about!

igthebold

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 470
  • Age: 45
  • Location: NC Piedmont
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #43 on: March 05, 2013, 08:48:57 AM »
It seems somewhat sad to me that people are willing to let things be "magic" to them. Where does yogurt come from? The grocery store, of course! How does an electric motor work? Dunno, and don't care! Where does meat come from? Cows, whatever that means!

One of the most valuable AND cheapest delights in this life comes from the understanding and demistifying of things.

melissak

  • Guest
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #44 on: March 05, 2013, 10:01:22 AM »
I've always had good luck making yogurt. I preheat the mason jar with hot water, and preheat a cooler with hot water. To keep the milk warm as it turns to yogurt, I wrap the mason jar in my sleeping bag, and tuck that tightly into the cooler, and just leave it be.

Also: To make thick greek-style yogurt, you just let the yogurt sit on a coffee filter over a container for a few hours. The whey (I think it is) drains off and leaves you with extra-thick yogurt.  Then tzatziki is just a cucumber and some garlic away.

I agree completely about the demystifying of things. One thing the shitty economy has been good for is DIY - seems to be more and more popular all the time.

the fixer

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1029
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #45 on: March 05, 2013, 04:30:35 PM »
I've always had good luck making yogurt. I preheat the mason jar with hot water, and preheat a cooler with hot water. To keep the milk warm as it turns to yogurt, I wrap the mason jar in my sleeping bag, and tuck that tightly into the cooler, and just leave it be.

Also: To make thick greek-style yogurt, you just let the yogurt sit on a coffee filter over a container for a few hours. The whey (I think it is) drains off and leaves you with extra-thick yogurt.  Then tzatziki is just a cucumber and some garlic away.

I agree completely about the demystifying of things. One thing the shitty economy has been good for is DIY - seems to be more and more popular all the time.

Oh my gosh I love the sleeping bag + cooler idea! I'll have to try that. I've heard of using a cooler with a bunch of jars filled with hot water but this seems like it would be easier.

kdms

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 178
  • Location: Ottawa, Canada
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #46 on: March 08, 2013, 01:33:58 PM »
I do something similar to the sleeping bag trick....I line a portable cooler with towels and just put the whole pot in the cooler to set, covering it with more towels.  Then I forget about it overnight.  It's still warm in the morning when I dump the now-set yogurt into a strainer to drain off the whey....hasn't failed yet.  :)

EMP

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 344
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #47 on: March 08, 2013, 06:44:35 PM »
Thanks to this thread I decided to try my hand a making yogurt again.  The first time was a spectacular failure.  This time...success!!

mobilisinmobili

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 217
  • Age: 40
  • Location: Montreal
  • Advance daily
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #48 on: March 11, 2013, 04:21:32 PM »
So you put tomatoes in it right.. now where do I find the sauce to add to the tomatoes?

;)

maryofdoom

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 221
  • Age: 41
  • Location: Southwestern PA
  • Jeopardy! loser since 2010
Re: Overheard in the street
« Reply #49 on: March 11, 2013, 09:00:16 PM »
My uncle holds an annual event called "Sauce-a-palooza" where he gets everyone he knows to come over to his house to make the year's tomato sauce. I think they ended up with 200 quarts last year. AND IT IS SERIOUSLY THE BEST SAUCE EVER.

I mostly stick to making jam. We have black raspberries growing in our backyard and they make the BEST jelly.