Trip Finding: Raw Milk Cream

After reading Cure Tooth Decay, I’ve been looking for raw cream with no success. I’ve talked to local farmers, made calls and spread the word about my need to buy Raw Milk Cream for Carlos and I. All this with no success.

I forgot the basic rule of thumb when it comes to traditional food: Just ask my Aunt.

Last week I spent a good deal of time talking with her in my visit to Ibarra. She’s a good talker and we ended up talking about raw cream

I asked: Do you know where can I get raw milk cream?

She said something like: Near the market, I go there everyday. It’s very fresh and I always buy from them.

(laughs, dances, jumps…I finally found a source of raw cream!!!)

Next day she bought the cream for me. It was very cheap, like  US$4 per liter.

I’ve never seen a cream like this. It’s very thick and it tastes great, but most important, it makes me feel good and healthy when I eat it.

I brought the jar in my backpack to Quito and I’ve already consumed half of it. I need to plan another trip to the North soon!

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Menu Planning Tips For The Busy Mom

Dinner is the last meal of the day and a time when families can get together and discuss their day. But it could also become a hectic meal for busy moms who are just getting off of work or who are just tired at the end of the day.

Here are some menu planning tips to help make dinner meals easy and even fun:

1. Schedule your meals. This is one of the most important planning tips for meals. Knowing what you are going to eat throughout the week means less chance that you will stop off at the closest fast food joint for a convenient, but unhealthy meal. Decide on the last day of the previous week what the menu will be for the following week. Create your shopping list from the list of ingredients. This way you won’t buy what you don’t need.

2. Look for bargains. Clip coupons, read advertising circulars and the like to decide where the best grocery to shop is for your menu items. If one ingredient is a common denominator in many meals, consider buying in bulk to save money. Plan your meals with seasonal food, which is cheaper and healthier.

3. Search online. After a while your family will get tired of the same menu every Thursday. You can get into a menu rut sometimes. Use the Internet to search for new and exciting recipes. Learn to put a twist on old recipes for a new taste.

4. Have a leftover night. After preparing meals for five or six days, there is bound to be some food left over. Get used to mix and match to create tasteful dishes. It saves mom from having to throw away any food.

5. Do preparation work in advance. Enlist your kids to help chop (give them the kitchen shears instead) vegetables, dice cooked meat and mix together dry ingredients. The night of the meal, all that is needed is to add the wet ingredients and bake.

Meal time doesn’t have to be all on mom. The entire family can help with dinner so it is a relaxing meal for everyone.

photo credit: BruceTurner

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Need more help meal planning? Check Menu Planning Central for a Free Menu Planning Basics Report and Printable Resources

Simple Yogurt Making Directions

I get my raw milk from an organic food co-op, and usually transform most of if into yogurt to drink throughout the week.

Making my own yogurt is healthier, cheaper and greener (less waste).

How To Prepare Delicious Yogurt At Home

What You Need:

• Milk, preferably organic-raw. I’ve tried with pasteurized milk in the past and found that some brands would work and others don’t
• 1 tablespoon of natural yogurt per liter of milk
• A glass or stainless steel container with airtight lid. I use my stainless steel pressure cooker
• A hot/cool thermal bag big enough to fit your container

I know most recipes call for the use of a thermometer and oven or heater, but I’ve never used them.

Now I live in a just warm enough valley near Quito, but this worked when I lived in cooler Quito, and a similar arrange in cold Japanese winter (just add more covers to your container to keep it warm until next day)

Directions

The best time to prepare this is at night, after dinner.

1. Heat the milk a few minutes, so that it’s warm but not hot. A good measure is to put your little finger inside the milk and shake it. If it’s a bearable temperature, go to the next step;
2. If you’re going to use a different recipient, transfer the milk. I prefer to use the same container to heat the milk so it helps to keep the milk warm thru the night;
3. Put the natural yogurt or yogurt from a previous batch in the milk and stir well;
4. Cover and put the container inside the cool  bag. If you live in cold areas you’ll need to add extra covers like an old winter jacket. Put everything inside a basket or cardboard box;
5. Leave for about 8 hours. The container should be still warm after this time;
6. Ready! Keep the yogurt in the fridge and use it through the week.

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