The Thing I Eat Out of the Pan - aka: Chrissy's Custard

1 liter milk (4 c.)
4 eggs
300 g sugar (1 ½ c.)
50 g flour (¼ c.)
50 g vanilla pudding powder (¼ c.)

Heat the milk, stirring occasionally with spoon or whisk.  As milk is warming, whisk eggs, sugar, flour, and pudding powder in a separate bowl.  Once the milk starts to develop bubbles around the edge of the pot (around 180-190 degrees F), pour half of the milk into the bowl with the eggs and whisk.  Temper the eggs.  Once the eggs are tempered, pour the mixture in the bowl back into the pan with the milk.  Bring custard to a boil and stir while it thickens.  Be careful as the mixture is very hot.  Once the mixture has thickened, remove from heat.  Place a towel or lid on the pan and allow the pan to cool until you can easily touch the sides.  Transfer the mixture into a bowl and put a layer of saran wrap directly onto the mixture to prevent a crust from developing.  Place in fridge and allow to cool for several hours.  The longer it sits the better it tastes.  We like it best after 12 hours in the fridge but it usually doesn't last that long.

Chrissy's Cheesecake

3 8-oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
3 drops lemon oil (from do-Terra)
2 c. cream (whipping cream)
3-4 Tbps. powdered sugar
3/4 c. boiling hot water
1 lemon jello (packet)
crackers, for crust

Break crackers into pieces and layer on the bottom of a springform pan.

Beat 3 blocks of cream cheese with maybe 3/4 cups of sugar and 3 drops of lemon oil.  

Beat 2 containers of the whipped cream with 3 or 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  Scooped out a little for the topping and place in the fridge.  

Then fold the rest of the whipped cream into the cream cheese.  

Boil water and pour into the lemon jello until dissolved.  While the beaters were running, we drizzled (key word drizzle as you cannot pour it all in at once, just bit by bit) that into the cream cheese mixture until all was well blended and put it in the pan on top of crackers.  Set in fridge overnight.

Almost Chrissy's Bread

In mixer bowl (I use my Bosch and it is the BEST machine ever!) or large bowl, mix 3 cups of warm water (you want it warm, not cold or hot) with 3 tablespoons of active dry yeast and 5 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar.

*the sugar is important because it feeds the yeast. You can use honey or white sugar but I like the molasses taste of brown sugar. Chrissy uses honey.
*try to get most, if not all, yeast granules immersed in the water either by swirling or stirring

Let mixture proof while you get out flour (King Arthur brand or ConAgra for hotels), salt, yeast enhancer, and prepare milk mixture.

In a glass measuring cup pour about 1/4 cup of molasses (my addition) and fill the remaining 3/4 cup with milk (up to the 1 cup line for those of you who don't want to add fractions). If you don't want to use molasses, fill measuring cup with 1 cup of milk. Add 4 tablespoons of butter - cubed so they melt better. Warm entire mixture in microwave. Again, you want it warm, not hot or cold. (For my current microwave that means 1 minute but my previous microwave only needed 30 seconds.)

*When I am making bread without dairy I use rice or almond milk and a good olive oil. Although not as yummy, it works just fine and my family devours it. In fact, I don't think they know the difference.

Once yeast has proofed (that means it is bubbly and foamy), add about 3 cups of flour. Start to mix into yeast mixture. It does not need to be completely mixed before you continue. Add about 1/2 of the milk mixture and start to incorporate, once again not mixing to completeness. Add about 3 more cups of flour along with 1 tablespoon yeast enhancer Once mixed, add remaining 1/2 of the milk mixture, mix, 2 more cups of flour and 1 1/2  teaspoons - 1 tablespoon of salt. (I pour a palmful of salt into my bread.), mix, and continue to add flour in one cup increments until dough is a slightly sticky cookie dough feel where I get a small amount of dough stuck to my finger but not a lot. It should also pull away from the sides and become a ball as you knead through each step.

*When making it by hand, I would pull it out of the bowl after adding the second flour and salt and knead it on my counter - adding the remaining ingredients a bit slower. When making it by hand it tends to be a bit drier - or at least it was when I made it.

*You don't want to add the salt into the yeast mixture before you have given it a good flour base. The salt will kill the yeast if there is not flour already in the mix which is why I add it in the second flour step.

Once dough is to the consistency you want it, place in 3 greased bread pans. Cover the pans with saran wrap and then a good quality kitchen or bathroom towel. The warmer the bread stays and the warmer the environment, the faster it will rise. (The amount of humidity in the air plays a big part as well.)

Let the dough double in size. While they are rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*If you let them over rise, feel free to reshape them into loaves and let them rise again.

Once they are the size you want them to be, place them in the oven for 36 minutes. You want the internal temperature to be around 190 degrees. (Chrissy cooks hers to 195 and I am okay with mine somewhere between 185 and 190.) Once the internal temperature has been reached, removed from oven. Smother the top with butter (unless you are making it dairy free). Remove loaves from bread pans and place immediately on cooling racks. YUM YUM!!

*I like my crust to be crusty so I leave my bread out for a while to cool
*You don't want to refrigerate homemade bread
*Eat within about 4ish days or it will start to mold
*If making rolls, divide the dough into thirds and divide each third into 12. Place on a greased cookie sheet and let rise until doubled. Cook for 18-19 minutes.

Quark

For quark:

Take as many oven dishes that will hold 2 quarts as you want to or can fit in your oven.

Fill each dish with 2 quarts of buttermilk.  I use low-fat but one low-fat + one non-fat works also.  I advise to not use 2 non-fats.

Put them in the oven (does not need to be preheated but you may) at 150 degrees.  My oven goes no lower than 170 and that works fine too.

Leave them there for 8 to 10 hours. 

Line collander(s) with cheese cloth (available in kitchen stores, I wash mine like I do dishes, rubbing it in between my palms and fingers with clean soapy dish water, rinse very well and hang up to dry, can be re-used many times).

Suspend collander(s) over bowl(s) or if you don't care for the whey, the sink.

Pour the content of the oven dishes into the lined collander(s).  A lot of whey will be on the bottom and it is OK if it pours over the quark but I tend to stop pouring into the collander when all the quark is in it.  It is very important that when done pouring, the quark is not touching the whey below the collander, so if needs be, you might want to pour out some of the whey.

Let sit another 6 hours so all the whey can drip out and the quark can dry out.

Pour the quark into a mixing bowl and add as much cream or any type of cow milk as you would like.  Start with a little and use your mixer to mix it up.  Add more until you have the consistency you like.  I keep mine fairly thick because when I start using it, I may add juice from fruit for a dessert or the juice of a cucumber for tzatziki and that makes it thinner.  I also like to be able to spread it on bread or bagel.

Done.

For a yummy healthy dessert: Mix in a little sugar and some jam, or fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, add sugar if needed), or even a can of your fave fruit with some of the juice.

For tzatziki: Add very finely shredded (peeled) cucumber and make sure you catch all the juice.  I shred over the quark always, so the juices run right into it.  Shred as many garlic cloves as you desire.  Add some salt and (white if you have it) pepper, mix.  There is no rule as too how much cuke or garlic you put in, it is all personal taste.  This goes well with roasted pork or chicken.

It is the sauce used to make gyro sandwiches, so if you can find the spices for "shoarma" or "gyros", than rub it onto the pork and let sit over night, grill the meat and make wraps with tzatziki.

For the yummiest bread spread (apart from just spreading it on and putting jam or honey on top of it):

Very finely chop some spring onion (scallion), and add other vegetables to taste, finely chopped (they really should be specks) of red pepper, spinach... and mix in with some salt and pepper.  Sun dried tomato?

And of course, there are things you can bake with it too.  I often sub the quark for half of cream cheese or sour cream in a recipe.

I use the whey in bread baking instead of water/milk.  There is a lot of it, so if you plan to not make quark often, you can refrigerate it for more than a month or freeze it. If you make quark a lot, use it in your garden to water or give it away to Dianna Purves.

Have fun, once you make it (and 4 quarts yields more than a pound), you will find endless ways of using it.

Yogurt

1 qt. milk (any type)
1/4 c. dry milk powder (optional; for thicker product)
1 Tbsp. thickener, such as carrageenan, pectin, or gelatin (optional; use as a substitute  for or in addition to dry milk powder)
1 packet yogurt started or 2 Tbsp. live-culture yogurt

Combine the milk, milk powder, and thickener.  Heat to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Let the milk cool to 116 degrees Fahrenheit.  Add the starter and mix well.

Keep covered, at 116 degrees Fahrenheit, for at least 6 hours, or until the mixture has set to the consistency of thick cream.

Refrigerate and serve cold.  The yogurt will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Yields: 1 quart

Ricotta

1 gallon whole milk
1 tsp. citric acid dissolved in 1/4 c. cool water
1 tsp. cheese salt
1-2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Combine the milk, citric acid solution, and salt in a large pot.  Mix thoroughly.

Directly heat the milk to 185-195 degrees Fahrenheit (do not boil!).  Stir often to prevent scorching.

As soon as the curds and whey begin to separate (make sure there is no milky whey), turn off the heat.  Allow to set, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.

Line a colander with butter muslin.  Carefully ladle the curds into the colander.  Tie the corners of the muslin into a knot and hang the bag to drain for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese has reached the desired consistency.

For a creamier consistency, add the cream and mix thoroughly.

Store in a covered container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

Yields 1.5 - 2 pounds

Mozzarella

1 gallon of milk (non-ultra pasteurized)
1/4 cool water
1 tsp. citric acid
1/4 renit tablet (1/4 of 1 tablet)

Put in pot on stove and bring to 55 degrees Fahrenheit.  Mix citric acid into water in a separate bowl.  Add renit tablet and water mixture to milk once up to temperature and stir.  Heat the milk to 88 degrees Fahrenheit over medium-low heat.  (The milk will start to curdle.)  Stir with an up-down motion and continue heating until temperature reaches 100-105 degrees Fahrenheit.  Turn off heat.  The curds will be pulling away from the sides of the pot and are ready to scoop out.  Wait a few more minutes.  Scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon and place them in a 2-quart microwaveable bowl.  Press the curds gently with your hands, pouring off as much whey as possible.  Reserve the whey.  Microwave the curds on high for 1 minute.  Put on a pair of rubber gloves and drain off all excess whey.  Gently fold the cheese over and over and over (as if you were kneading bread) with your hand or a spoon.  This distributes the heat evenly throughout the cheese, which will not stretch until it is too hot to touch.  Microwave 2 times for 35 seconds each.  After each heating, knead again and drain excess whey.  Add the salt to taste (if you want) after second microwave.

Knead quickly, until smooth.  When the cheese becomes elastic, start to pull and stretch it (as you would taffy).  If it breaks, the curds need to be reheated.  When the cheese is smooth and shiny, roll it into a log or small balls and eat while still warm.  Or, place them in a bowl of ice water for about a half hour to produce a consistently smooth texture.  If you must wait, cover it and store it in the refrigerator.

Makes about 3/4 - 1 pound.

Tzatziki

use quark and grate cucumbers (juice and gratings), garlic (about 7 cloves), and add salt & pepper to taste.

Quark

1/2 gallon or 2 quarts buttermilk per bowl that can go in the oven

Put in oven at 150 degrees for 8-10 hours.

Put in colander with cheese cloth and let sit for 6 hours.

Pick up cheesecloth and dump into bowl.

(The drained part is whey and can be used in bread, pizza dough, potatoes, etc.  It will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.)

Use electric mixer and add cream or milk to make consistency you want.  Start with 1/2 c. per 2 quarts.

Sister Davis' Soup

1 can kidney beans or red beans, not drained
1 onion, chopped
carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can baked beans
1 kielbasa
2 Tbs. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbs. mustard
1 Tbsp. cidar vinegar
1 can corn, not drained

Place all ingredients in crockpot and mix.  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8.  Eat!

Boule

from Chrissy Davis

2 3/4 c. luke warm water
1/4 tsp. yeast
3 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt

Mix it all up and it will be wet.

Rise at least 12 hours and up to 18 (longer is better).

Turn onto floured surface.  Knead until soft and spongey.  It will still be wet but able to touch.

Dust a towel (not terry) with cornmeal or flour and put "ball" on it.  Dust some more cornmeal or flour on top of ball and cover with towel.

Rise 2 more hours till double.

Turn oven to 450 F with stone or ceramic pot (that has a lid) for 1/2 hour.

Take pot out, flip towel over, and let ball plop into pot.  Shake a little to shape it around bottom.

Put lid on and bake for 30 minutes.  Take lid off and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown and thermometer reads 195 degrees.

Cool on rack.