Soymilk

I never thought I would actually have to milk soy beans to get their milk out, but that is exactly what I was doing!
I followed the instructions here. With a few exceptions, of course...
At first I removed the outer layers of the beans after they've soaked, per said instructions. A lot of them were very easy to peel, and practically came off of their own free will. Most of them, though, were more resistant. After awhile, seeing how many more beans I still have to peel, I decided to read the post and comments again, just in case I missed something. Sure enough, I did! One of the commenters mentioned that he doesn't remove the peel, and it may even add some fiber if you leave it on. Good enough for lazy me!
Other than that, I followed pretty much exactly, and here's what I got:



One quart of rich, creamy, soy-tasting drink. It was not the same as Silk or most other store bought soymilk, but it did remind me the soymilk-black sesame drink (minus the black sesame flavor) I got from an Asian store. I guess that makes sense. The soy flavor is pretty mild, and overall, I think it's a darn good drink!

I'm not sure I want to do it again, though. It was A LOT of work. And A LOT of dirty dishes to wash afterwards. I'm going to try another version, that cooks the beans before extracting the milk. We'll see if I like that method better.

Yogurt

As I opened the yogurt container, I couldn't help admiring the contents. As I spooned some of it into a bowl, I was amazed by its smooth texture and creamy consistency. It really was the most beautiful yogurt I have ever seen.


Doesn't it look awesome?

And to know that I made it all by myself - well - that's something to be proud of, don't you think?

The fact that it's incredibly easy to make it should not diminish the pride, either. All you need is milk, some yogurt, and a thermometer!

• Heat 1/2 gallon of milk (fat content of your choice) in a pot over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, so it doesn't get burnt on the bottom. When the milk gets to about 160-170 degrees F (I take it to 170, but not a degree more), you can remove it from the heat and finally stop stirring (it takes about 15-20 minutes, and the milk starts to foam, but it should not boil).

• Then let it cool to 120 degrees. To me this step takes about 40 minutes.

• Once it's cool, transfer a bit of the warm milk to a small bowl containing 4 tablespoons of yogurt to make it a bit more liquidy, and then pour the yogurt into the warm milk, making sure it's mixed well.

• Now cover the pot with the lid, wrap the whole thing in a big towel, and just let it sit overnight and the bacteria will do their thing.

• Next morning, you'll get a nice wabbley yogurt. You will need to drain it, and you can drain it for as long as you like - mine was drained for 1.5 or 2 hours, and the product fits exactly in a 32 oz yogurt container. You can use a white sheet or a pillowcase.

You see - you can do it over and over again, if you just use the last of your yogurt to make a new batch. - A very small anna calls it a neverending yogurt. I followed her instructions pretty much to the point, except I found that going up to 190 degrees makes my yogurt look grainy (though it still tasted smooth), so I only go up to 170 degrees, as mentioned above.

Simple, ha? If you like yogurt, and don't like the jello-like texture store-yogurt has and/or don't want to pay too much for Greek yogurt, you should give it a try!