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It must be a fall thing with me; the temperature starts going down and I start feeling a tiny bit melancholy and homesick. I retreat just a little bit, start looking at warm, fuzzy things to insulate my body during the winter months, and my palate starts wanting warmer, spicier food. So the late summer salads are making their way to more substantial options. I always get the urge to indulge my inner Martha Stewart, or someone similar but less austere as that great lady.

So to start things off, I invested a pittance in four ramekins from Marshalls. A small (3.99 for 4) investment, but with endless possibilities for appetizers, individualized breakfasts, or mostly desserts. I also looked at the miniature dutch ovens or casserole dishes, just to get a taste for them, but decided to move slowly. So I walked away with ramekins and an eagerness to make baked eggs on a layer of spinach and tomato for brunch the next day. The baked eggs were good, very interesting. I skipped the important parts that makes that dish decadent and very French: the cream and real butter that are poured liberally over the dish as it cooks. I am sure it would have been better with that extra fat, but the soft egg yolk adds the perfect amount of creaminess and lipid for me.

I was also shocked to see, in my recipe searches on Williams-Sonoma and Epicurious, that you can make your own yogurt. I was so excited. I have been an all to frequent visitor (and subsequently wealth squanderer) at Sweetgreen, the new "healthy" frozen yogurt and salad establishment less than a block away from me on Pennsylvania Ave (between 2nd and 3rd St Southeast). I just love the tangy, bare sweetness of the plain, frozen and greek yogurt varieties that have been popularized recently. So I have been stocking up on Greek yogurt, both the Fage and the Trader Joe's variety, recently to combat that urge to go buy it at the restaurant down the street. Still, even at the grocery store, it is a bit expensive and indulgent for me.

So I was excited to make my own, both for the financial savings, and the not-insignificant pleasure I get from making my own food, conducting "scientific" experiments, and manipulating ingredients and playing with the nutrient content of my food. (I think if ever I have the chance, I would love to study Molecular Gastronomy).

So I bought 1/2 gallon non-fat milk, Pectin, and a starter yogurt with live bacteria (I chose an all-natural version that boasts a variety of live/active cultures). I didn't have a thermometer, but I followed an online guideline that gave great time measurements for the different steps. I DID have to set my alarm to wake up two different times at night, but by this morning, I had made 1/2 gallon of plain, nonfat, delicious yogurt! So now I don't have to pay the prices or make the trek to the grocery store as often. That, especially, in the winter months coming up, is priceless.

Anyway, more adventures to come. Soon I will be rolling out my account of my Amy Grant history which was fulfilled in my attending her concert last Saturday. I actually have more to say about that than I thought I would. Talk to you soon.

Love,
Juliet