Dark Shadows and Odd Occurrences

Ok.  (You know how I love that work, and all the drama it adds.)  Ok.  I exerted some power over the men because they agreed to go see Dark Shadows rather than Battleship.  I was not going to see Battleship mostly because the words "action packed" does not impress me and the reviews said it was a movie that would be interesting to a 10 year old over stimulated boy.

the original 

Four of us went, Dan and Amber and Frank and I.  Dan and I remember watching Dark Shadows (the soap opera) after racing home from school and turning the TV on (in black and white no less) (oh, and without a remote we had to get up and physically turn the knob.)  I loved Barnabas Collins.  He was so exotic and sexy and vampiry.  Remember I was friends with Velvet the witch in real live already.  And the Maine coastline was so oddly beautiful and scary and so wonderful.  Having a family who had such loyalty to one another was another dream that was odd to me.  I craved what the Collins' had.  Family.

Jonathan Frid in 2001

The info I read last night told me that Jonathan Frid, the original Barnabas, was in the film as one of the townspeople but had died in April this year.  He did not get to see the film released.  But it was cool he knew the film was being made.  Johnny Depp was the perfect person to play old Barnabas, he is exotically feminine in his movements and his looks are so vampiry.

I loved it.  It was everything I wanted and more.  I only have one thing I would change, But I won't tell you because when you see it you don't need me to spoil the plot.  Just suffice it to say I would have stopped the fire.

And the really odd thing was this.  When I got home, there was a package on my doorstep.  It was another yogurt maker.  Two?  And the Big Bang Theory T-Shirt I ordered for Father's Day for Frank also came in two orders.  How did I get two of everything, separate orders, separate shippers.  Two of the exact times for the order.

So I am returning one of each.  But don't you think that is odd, very odd.  Vampiry odd? No, maybe ghostly ethereal......whoooooooo whoooooo!

glen

Did You Know Yogurtville Was in Italy?

Fresh from the Italian Riviera, brought to you by FedEx Brown, introducing the Roman Numeral II yogurt maker, the EuroCuisine!  (clapping, clapping, clapping)!

So if it is made in Italy than why does it have French on the box?  Hmmm.

And it has these wonderful glass jars.  The others were plastic, but I still have them and will use them for the second batch tomorrow.   Aren't they cute?  They look like tiny mason jars!  I am sure they will pop into the dishwasher so nicely.  Not that we don't wash everything before we put it into the dishwasher.  It should actually be called a dish sterilizer.
 So here is the whole deal.  It looks like an alien spacecraft.  Maybe we could get on TV on that show that debunks the claims of ETs.  It could fly through space looking like that with its red lights flashing!

I got out the pots and thermometers and milk and measured out 42 oz and began heating it up to 180.  I added some powdered milk for thickening and tried some agave nectar.  I see this is vanilla flavored so I did not add my usual vanilla.



Agave Nectar is 1.6 times as sweet as sugar and has a much lower glycemic index so it is not as fattening as sugar is to our bodies.  So that means we use less because it is sweeter and it affects us less, even better. It is more expensive right now, but you can go online and order through Amazon and get a larger quantity for less money.  I got mine from Albertsons and I forget how much exactly it was, like around $4.50 or so.  And the bottle is small.  When I tasted some leftover milk it was pretty sweet, so I will use less then the 1/ 4 cup I used this time in the next batch.

Here is my pretty little flying saucer yogurt maker heating up!  Yes!



And here is my little flying saucer still heating up two hours later!  Yes!



And in the morning..........YOGURT FROM OUTER SPACE!

glen:  And I am off for my mammogram.....

Waring Pro Yogurt Maker - DON"T BUY FROM THEM

Since you all have been following my yogurt making adventures, I have one more to tell you about that is a warning to all interested in getting into the yogurt making mode.

Don't buy the Waring Pro Products.  And they own Cuisinart so I am staying away from that brand as well.

Other brands to look at are Kitchenaid, Yogourmet, Cuispro Donvier, Eurocusine for about 1/2 the price of the Cusinart products and a hundred times the reliability.

They also own Scunci and Rusk Hair products, Interplak and Soho.  Just saying.

I purchased the Waring Pro Yogurt Maker on April 12, 2012.  And you know that it stopped heating up after just three uses.  I guess because it was an older model from 2008.  Do you think the company has a responsibility to those who purchase their products?  They do have a year warranty.  And all I want is a replacement machine that makes yogurt.  You would think that they would replace one lousy yogurt maker with a working machine, in the name of customer service.

But Waring Pro's idea of a warranty year is less than two months of ownership.

The customer service rep who has been emailing me has an email address from Conair so I am thinking they have enough company funds to replace a defective unit sold to me that is still within warranty in the name of customer relations.

The Customer Rep I first contacted when the unit failed to heat the second batch in a row said they don't repair, they replace.  I was directed to take the unit to their representative agent Home Appliances.  I did that very day.  They accepted the unit as part of the Waring Pro service centers.  

The customer service rep now emailing me, has a different story.  I am to mail the unit to them.  But I no longer have the unit.  She did contact Home Appliances and they must have told her they have the unit.

I am so disappointed in this company.  I researched the review and they were rated #2 product.  And for me to recommend them now is impossible.   And I thought they appeared to be a reputable company.

I am researching new and exciting yogurt makers.  But I didn't want to leave the old one without letting you know what has happened.  I hope you take my experience into consideration next time you shop for appliances.

glen:  Yogurtless in Yogurtville

Yogurtville Update

The unfortunate yogurt maker is in the hands of professionals.  It will be shipped back to the maker for replacement.  This is a good thing, while it does bump me out of the yogurt business for a while, it will garner me a brand new yogurt maker for greatly reduced price I paid for the last one.

I was told by the "authorized repair center" man that this is a 2008 model, way outdated.  He said, they don't make these guys anymore!  LOL.   The chick was impressed by the transaction.

So the result will be a new model at the old model price.  That is a fabulous thing.  Although it would have to last for more than 4 years..........but maybe by then I will be in super production!  I love the homemade yogurt over the other store bought stuff by leaps and bounds.  the fact that it has no preservatives and no sugars makes it way more attractive to me.

Meanwhile I will bake some bread.  I have a recipe for a bread dough that does not need kneading, and you make a quantity of it, put it into the fridge and take out a hunk when you want baked bread.  You can add all kinds of things and the refrigerated dough improves in flavor and consistency the longer it sits in there.  It will last for up to two weeks so you can make a good sized recipe once and have fresh bread every night!

I have my new batch in the fridge cooling right now.  We will have flax seeds in it with some pesto swirled in.  I don't know if you can see it but DiNozzo made it his place to test taste a tiny corner of the dough.  It passed his inspection.  He had been hunting since I put it on the stove to rise.

 Isn't this the most adorable timer?  This chick times my stuff like the old timers did, not those digital ones that are so totally accurate down to the second.  10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-----wait for it--2-almost there-1!!!!!

This chick is more laid back, kinda like me.  Laid back quilting and laid back cooking.  I might add the dog timer I bought from the same place I bought the yogurt maker from didn't work.  Go figure.

glen:  off to quilt something.......


I

Trouble in Yogurtville

Alas, my yogurt maker has taken a vacation.  It no longer heats.  Hmmm.  Not such a good deal, right?

I have done two things.

1.  Contacted Waring Pro for a replacement, and
2.  Purchased yogurt from Wal-mart.

I needed cat food and dog yogurt so I bought some for myself.  It was just a natural progression.

I did nothing today, well, worked on CAAWS stuff.  We had a board meeting tonight.

I did make 4 stars for the Block Lotto.  I still have not won that stupid Block Lotto, and I have made 9 blocks each time.  9 is the maximum.  I really wanted some of those blocks too.  These are Slash Stars where you just take a huge block and start slashing in the shape of a star and sew it back together.  Like Buggy Barn blocks.  If you are a precise piecer you go crazy.  but if you are like me, it is right up your alley.  I want to do 5 more tomorrow.

I am thinking of starting a charity lotto, where I make up patterns and everyone send me their blocks they make.  LOL.  That would be fun.......for me at least!

glen

I scream, You scream, We all scream for Frozen Yogurt!

Several have asked about the yogurt machine.  And if it was easy and was it good.

The answer to both is a resounding YES!  And cheaper.  And healthier.  And lower in sugar and fat.

Here's the deal.  To make it is easy.  You definitely need a candy thermometer.  It was at that point in the making of the yogurt that I realized I had three meat thermometers and not a single candy therm.  But I have since remedied that fly in the proverbial ointment.

My research showed me there were several features that vary on the major YMs.  The top YM was the Salton at $189.  And the #2 was the Waring Pro, which is what I found at that shop on deep discount! Yeah!  You can make yogurt without a YM but you need a good heating pad and you can't disturb the culture for a long time.  I wanted to be able to make Frank comfortable eating it.  He is a really phobic guy when it comes to food and germs.  He constantly thinks I am trying to kill him with some odd food thing or something that has been left out too long or even in the fridge too long.  He is difficult sometimes.  So with him it was well worht spending them money to get the real machine.

So first you need either a starter or the freeze dried yogurt culture.  I started with the yogurt culture but will save some yogurt from the next batch to make the third batch.  I wanted to have all 5 of the active cultures and not miss any.  Most yogurts have two or three of the active cultures but they recommend Stoneybrook Organic to start your yogurt with.

And you need to decide on your milk.  You can use soy, skim, whole or low fat, but the lower the fat the less thick the yogurt will be.  I decided on whole for my first batch.  You bring it up to just before boiling, and then cool it to add the cultures, and then put it into the YM.  If you want creamier yogurt you can add some powdered milk but it will make the yogurt culture faster.

People do different things with their additives.  Maple syrup or honey can be added when the cultures are added.  If you put preserves, you can add them to the bottom of the jar before you add the milk mixture and not stir it up.  Or you can add everything later when you eat it, like fresh fruit.  I will add some of my expensive mexican vanilla into the warm mix next time.  We live smack dab in the middle of giant strawberry country.   I want some now just thinking about it.

If you like tart yogurt, you just leave it in the YM up to two hours longer and you will have thicker yogurt as well.  And if you want Greek Yogurt you hang it in cheesecloth.  Some people discard the whey but some cook with it.

There are lots and lots of recipes to make various flavors of yogurt but the best is the frozen yogurts.  You will need an ice cream maker of some sort.  I have one from my Kitchenaid mixer that I ordered from Direct Buy last week.  I can't wait to have Almond Amaretto Cream Frozen Yogurt.

And you can make gelato in the Kitchenaid as well they say!  When we were in Rome, we didn't get a chance to eat the gelato this time because we ran out of the necessary money to purchase it and it is so expensive to change money now.  They want a 100% exchange rate in those small shops.  And it was not going to happen no matter how badly I wanted gelato!  Although it would have been nice.

I guess I will just have to make my own!

glen

An Attempt at Healthy Living

When you are with Ann, you get results......FAST!

We had lunch, sort of "a friend propping up a friend session of just being with somebody you know can't change the facts, but can help you get through them" lunch. And I casually mentioned that I was researching yogurt makers. First thing I know we are walking down the streets of Perkins Rowe, so fancy it needs that extra "e", and into Sur la Table.

All I wanted to do was to put my hands on a yogurt maker and see what they were all about. Twenty minutes later, I was the proud owner of a deeply discounted Waring Pro Yogurt Maker!

This will be my next attempt at healthy living. I headed to the book store to see if they had any yogurt making books, but they did not. When i get home i need to order from Amazon I guess.

I couldn't wait to tell you, so I stopped in at the coffee shop in the bookstore and posted. So the pictures will have to wait till I get home. My simple phone you know, doesn't take photos.

(OK -- here are photos. The left one is what it looks like for 8 hours and the other one is through one of those little clear spots.  After 8 hours I take them out and put them in the fridge for 3 hours to stop the fermentation.  I went to the store and got some Real Fruit Blueberry to add to Frank's breakfast yogurt.  You know he HAS to have yogurt for breakfast, don't you!  I can't eat it at all right now.)

I can look up somemore  recipes and get the ingredients before I get home today!!!

How about some yogurt tomorrow??

glen: I might even freeze some for you!!