Homemade Yogurt and Granola - by Bob

A couple of weeks ago Jovan requested some granola. He loves it, but it's kind of expensive at the store so I said, "I think I will try to make some." It is so good! After making that a friend told me she had been making her own yogurt so I thought I would give that a try and mix them up. I'm eating it right now and wanted to post this new masterpiece on our blog :) Hope others enjoy it too! The yogurt I made is plain but if you want sweet you can just add some maple syrup/vanilla or anything else you want. We use ours as a sour cream substitute and I like it with the granola since it's sweet enough.



Granola recipe

1 container of oatmeal ( 6 c - not quick or instant)
2 c mixed nuts and seeds (sunflower, sesame, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds or cashews)
1 c dried unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
1tsp ground cinnamon (or to taste)
dash salt
1/2 to 1 c honey or maple syrup, or to taste
1 cup raisins or dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350. Combine oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, cinnamon, salt and sweetener in a bowl. Place on a sheet pan and place in oven. Bake for 30 min, or a little longer, stirring occasionally. Stir occasionally. Mixture should brown evenly. The browner it gets (without burning) the crunchier it will be.

Remove from pan and add dried fruit. Cool on rack stirring once in a while till it reaches room temperature. Transfer to sealed container and store. It will keep indefinitely.



Plain yogurt

1 quart milk (whole, lowfat, skim)
1/4 c commercial, unflavored yogurt
2 to 4 tbs sugar or honey (optional)
add milk powder for thicker yogurt

Place cold pasteurized milk in top of a double boiler. stir in sweetener if desired. Heat milk 180-200 degrees, stirring and hold for 10 minutes. Do not boil!
Place pot in cold water to cool rapidly to 112 degrees. Add commercial yogurt to mix. Pour into clean hot containers (mason jars) and place in incubator for 7-12 hours. Refrigerate immediately.

Incubation method I used. Cooler full of hot water.