Upping our efforts . . .

[Mrs-M]

Way to go, Fidgeigirl! Sounds yummy good! (Slow and steady wins the race)! Nice part about beans, is nearly everything goes with them, so pulling together recipes is super-easy, and of course, so healthy, too! I'm still thinking for you...

[Zoebird]

that's cool. it's a nice way to go if you eat beans. and a quick way to do brekkie for sure.

[Stella]

Kelli, I freeze beans like that sometimes too. It's very convenient.

I have been sewing up more cloth napkins. I really can't ever have enough cloth napkins in this family. With so many small kids we have lots of messy hands and faces.

[Mrs-M]

Great on you, Stella, Re: cloth napkins! Such an indispensable item they are! Nothing like having extras (or a reserve).

[Stella]

I agree Mrs. M. I love my cloth napkins. I have a big drawer in the kitchen reserved for washcloths, dishtowels, rags and cloth napkins, depending on the situation.

We have been stepping up the composting this spring too. Isabella is fascinated with the concept and is making a big effort to compost. We're also saving eggshells for using in our tomato pots.

This has been a very inspirational thread. It's one of those areas I could always do better at.

[fidgiegirl]

Ok all, my first attempt at yogurt has begun. I am going to try the Year of Slow Cooking method: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008...-crockpot.html.

However, she says you cannot use ultra-pasteurized milk. I thought I had read that before, too. Is it just too dead?

Well, I inadvertently bought organic ultra-pasteurized. So I took it back, and lo and behold, ALL the organic milks at that Lund's were ultra-pasteurized. So then that made me mad because basically to refrigerate them is a marketing ploy; they could be stocked on the shelf. All throughout Mexico and Central/South America that's how people get their milk.

So anyway, long story short, what milk do you use so that it is both organic AND not ultra-pasteurized? Or is it really not that big of a deal? Looks like Cedar Summit might work.

[Rosemary]

I'm pretty sure I've used ultra-pasteurized milk before with no problems. The organic half gallons tend to be ultra-pasteurized and I've bought them many times on sale. And no, they can't be stocked on the shelf - there is a difference between shelf-stable milk in the aseptic containers and the ultra-pasteurized, refrigerated milk.

I usually buy organic milk by the gallon at Cub or TJ's and freeze it in quarts (because I only use it for yogurt). When we're about halfway through a quart of yogurt, I take a jar of milk out of the freezer to thaw, because it takes about 2 days in the fridge.

[fidgiegirl]

Well, that's good to know. Hopefully if this batch goes well, then next time I won't be so worried about it. I used whole milk this time but we always have skim on hand. If it runs low you'd think it was a national emergency

[Zoebird]

Can you get raw milk? That's the best. ;D

[fidgiegirl]

Well, fail on the yogurt. Pretty sure the temps were not correct and not sustained long enough. I have a thermometer, but didn't use it. Seems like the crock pot method is great for people whose crockpots run the same as hers, but lots of people in the comments did not have success - same as me - the yogurt didn't thicken. So I'm going to try a different method. Do you think I can reuse the milk, or should I just start over? I popped it in the fridge this morning.