hopeful

I've been trying to grocery shop every other week instead of every week; no reason, really, except that I'm constantly tweaking my grocery habits to find what works best for our family so I thought I'd give this a shot. There are definite upsides to less frequent shopping - it makes me plan very carefully, it means one less big trip to the store with two kids in tow - but there are downsides as well. Case in point: when I made the grocery list, it was cool and rainy and rather March-like, so I planned for lots of soups...and for the last few days it has been in the lower eighties, sunny, and warm. Really, nothing says spring like a steaming bowl of Baked Potato Soup, right?

Weather aside, this soup was absolutely delicious. How can you go wrong with a recipe that, as a final step, instructs you to throw in two blocks of cream cheese? This is another slow cooker recipe - I promise to get back to "fast" cooking one of these days, I'm just loving my new cookbook!

The recipe is included in full at crockpot365. I used vegetarian bouillon instead of chicken broth, regular salt instead of seasoned, and reduced fat cream cheese with no ill effect. For toppings, I served chopped scallions, crumbled bacon, and sour cream.


I used my friend Maggie's recipe for bread bowls - so good, so easy, and so much fun for the kids! Her recipe is here (along with another yummy-sounding soup recipe).



Enjoy!

This is something I have always wanted to try, and if I had known how easy it was going to be, I would have tried it a long time ago. The ingredients couldn't be any simpler, the steps are very straightforward, and the end result is absolutely marvelous. I came across the recipe in Stephanie O'Dea's Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (it is also included in More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow, which I like even better) - but you can also find it on her website, A Year of Slow Cooking.

O'Dea recommends making this on a day when you are going to be around, as there are different steps to follow throughout the day. I started it at 8:30 am and put it in the fridge to drain around 9:30 pm. When we woke up this morning, we had a huge bowl of the thickest, richest yogurt imaginable.

A vertical spoon!

The recipe is included in full here. A few things to note:

- After the eight hour stretch, the yogurt is ready to eat.  If, however, you follow the suggestion to drain the yogurt, you end up with Greek-style yogurt, as thick as sour cream. This is mentioned in the notes if you read all the way through the recipe, but I'll detail it again here. Line a strainer with a few paper coffee filter and set it over a big bowl. Pour the entire contents of the slow cooker into the strainer and stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours. This separates the whey, which can then be discarded.

- I used full fat Vitamin D milk. From what I read on the website, you can use lower fat milk but then you might need to thicken it up with gelatin. Your call.

- The yogurt lasts for 7-10 days in the fridge, and you get a lot of it, so prepare for lots of smoothies. And the cost effectiveness is pretty startling, as detailed on O'Dea's site:

• One 6-pack of yo-baby is $6.50 (24 ounces) 
• One gallon of almost totally organic milk is $3.00 (128 ounces) 
• One gallon of yobaby would be $34.67 or 10 times what it cost you to make it, more or less.

So go make a batch this weekend, and throw together some granola while you are at it!


Enjoy!

Mmmm....smoothie! (cup design can be found here)

In my last post, I shared a little bit about how my family celebrates Mongolian New Year, or Tsagaan Sar. I didn't include too much information about the food, or the fact that my amazing husband pinched over fifty meat dumplings (buuz) in the days leading up to the event, or the fact that my kids devoured the dumplings like they were Mongolian children. I also didn't include this slow cooker rice pudding recipe.

Disclaimer: Rice pudding is not typically served at Tsagaan Sar. There is, however, a kind of rice porridge (called "sootei bodah," or "rice with milk") that is sometimes served. I first incorporated this kicked-up recipe into our Tsagaan Sar festivities last year, and I vow to never again celebrate the holiday without it...it is that crazy good. So rich, so creamy, so easy...and so worth sharing with all of you.

This is a great recipe for a dinner party, because you can make it in advance, dish it into the serving bowls, then chill it and have it ready to go at dessert time. It's also absolutely delicious warm out of the slow cooker, which is similarly easy for last minute serving. Although it is a slow cooker recipe, it's actually quite fast, with about three hours total cooking time.

Sadly, I failed to take a photo of the pudding before we ate every last drop. Instead I'll share this pretty shot of our Tsagaan Sar table.


Vanilla Rice Pudding

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2/3 cup Arborio rice (the kind you use for risotto), rinsed and drained
1 13 oz. can evaporated milk
6 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
whipped cream or fresh fruit (optional), for serving

1 - Coat the slow cooker insert with cooking spray. Combine the rice and evaporated milk in the cooker.

2 - In a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat, combine the whole milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Heat until bubbles appear around the edges to dissolve the sugar.

3 - Pour the hot milk into the cooker and stir with a whisk. Cover and cook on low until the milk is absorbed and the custard is set, about 2 1/2 hours.While cooking, the milk will be gently bubbling.

4 - In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and cinnamon. Add about 1/4 cup of the hot pudding to the egg mixture and beat well to prevent curdling. Slowly pour the mixture into the pudding in the cooker, stirring constantly until well combined. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes more.

5 - Serve warm or spoon into small dishes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to eat cold. Top with whipped cream and fresh fruit, as desired.