Fresh yogurt cheese is simply fresh, plain yogurt minus the watery whey.

Six Variations – beginning in the upper left, nasturtium petals gave a peppery punch, rose petals added a sweet scent and flavor, chive flowers are pretty but the onion flavor is too strong; bottom row – chopped dried cranberries, (my favorite because they add texture, a sweet/tart flavor and good color), chopped walnuts worked well, and the last, mint leaves gave a fresh scent but the texture of the leaf wasn’t good with the softness of the cheese, (next time, I’ll roll the cheese in minced mint leaves).

Dried apricots, currents, minced fresh mint or basil, chopped olives, diced sundried tomatoes are other possibilities.

Small rounds of yogurt cheese combined with dried fruit, chopped nuts or minced herbs served with crackers make a pretty and interesting appetizer served with a glass of wine.

Here’s how I made the cheese. … read more

Three gray, rainy, cold days in a row demand action.

A bowl of yogurt topped with warm plums would be delicious and pretty. Here’ how I did it. … read more

At the Norwich Farmers’ Market this morning I stopped to chat with Kathy Barrett from On The River Farm, my source for local, organic, raw, Guernsey milk. With half a gallon, I can make yogurt for the week and have enough milk to last til next Saturday’s market.

Yogurt is extraordinarily simple to make.  Here’s how I made it. … read more

Turning heavy cream into butter isn’t difficult. In fact it can happen when you are whipping cream to top strawberry shortcake and the telephone rings. The gift of two quarts of heavy cream was a perfect excuse to make butter.

I used my KitchenAid mixer to whip the cream until the butter was massed on the blade leaving a pool of milky buttermilk in the bottom of the bowl.