Easy yogurt cheese

The snow banks in the back yard are getting smaller and smaller every day. Soon we will have the chicken coop ready for the new birds. It will be interesting to see what Marlin (our new puppy) will think of them!

Last week we shared with you how to make yogurt. Hopefully a few people tried it. This week, we will share with you how to make yogurt cheese! Yogurt cheese, called yocheese, is a very healthy snack that can be made to suit almost every craving. It can be made in virtually any flavor you desire. For instance, we have made a fruity one for toast in the morning, as well as an onion chive and hot peppery ones for snack crackers when company comes over.

What you will need:
a jelly bag
a blender
a glass jar for the process.

Instructions:
Take your yogurt, put it into the blender, as well as what ever you want to use for flavoring it, blend well. For instance when we made the onion chive spread, we just added our home made garlic powder, onion powder and dried chives. There really are no boundaries as to what you can create!

Place the jelly bag suspended inside the glass jar. Make sure you leave enough room on the bottom on the jar because the whey will separate from the curds and drip into the bottom of the jar. We usually leave about 2 inches.
After you have blended your yogurt and ingredients together, pour the mix into the jelly bag that is hang in your glass jar. Then set your creation on a shelf, on top of your refrigerator, in your refrigerator, anywhere really. It doesn't need to be refrigerated for the process to complete.

You let it sit anywhere from 8 hours to a couple of days. Depending on how strong you want the flavor to be. The longer you let it sit, the thicker it will get. When desired thickness is achieved, take the cheese out of the jam bag and enjoy. It will last in the refrigerator for about a week and a half to two weeks. Besides spreading your yocheese on toast, or crackers, you can add it to what ever your cooking. For instance in pasta. And if you make the fruity cheeses, those can be used a very healthy desert! Yocheese is very addicting, once you make it. I think most of you will not only enjoy the process and taste of the yocheese, but will also feel artistic in your creations.

Do not throw the liquid in the bottom of the jar away! The whey is also very healthy for you. Here is some information on what the health benefits of yocheese and whey. Remember, that the yogurt is a living culture so it keeps fermenting. It is already full of probiotics, and when you add things that are high in antioxidants, to it when making cheese, it will increase the antioxidant effect by 20 to 50 times in just a couple of days! Yocheese will boost your immune system. Will detoxify you and can knock out stomach or intestinal flu in 8 hours just by adding cinnamon!

The whey can be used in protein shakes. It is what body builders spend lots of money on to add to theirs. We add it to our smoothies in the morning. It is also very good for your liver, and has anti-cancer properties.

Our product review for the week is a little different. We would like to recommend a seed company for those of you that have a garden. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. This is the second year we have bought from them, and are very satisfied with everything we have received so far. Their seed selection is amazing. Over 1000 different varieties to date. Germination has been amazing! Almost 100 percent. And we plant a lot of seeds, over 500 every year, so to have that kind of germination is amazing! Their website is rareseeds.com Go check them out. We would also like to tell you about an amazing new site that we came across this week. It is called Natural News. It is a web site dedicated to natural health, natural living and natural news. Check it out at naturalnews.com

Need a menu idea for company? This is what we are having tonight for our friends that are coming over: Appetizers are sweet potato and prime rib roll wrapped in bacon with a wasabi cream dipping sauce, bruchetta (homemade of course) over Eddies homemade rye bread, and an avacado dip, served hot from the oven, with blue corn tortilla chips. For supper: Northern pike ala griglia with brussle sprouts and herb salad.

We want to thank everyone that takes the time to read our blog and are happy with the questions we receive every week. We will be launching our new web site soon! It is called Pine and Prairie Trading Post. We will have lots of interesting articles as well as links and our on-line store on there. Stay tuned!
Thanks for your dedication to us as we continue ours to you.
~Amy and Eddie