Yoghurt Maker and a Recipe

Okay so I have to admit I'm NOT posting a craft project but I am posting.  I have been reminded by a few people lately that I haven't posted for a while and am in danger of not doing it if I don't do it now so I'm sharing a few things from my kitchen.  Some of you may know I love being in my kitchen.  It may not be a high tech, glossy magzine kinda kitchen but it's the heart of our home and it's where I feel so much at ease - where I do the bulk of my creating don't ya know.

Anyhow my week with my daughter was fab (I miss her already) but it plum wore me out!  That girl could shop for England and win a medal for it. LOL!  The week wouldn't be complete without a trip to Lakeland Plastics in Ipswich.  Love, love, love that store - I could come home with more than half of it I swear!  Sorry - shouldn't swear (see - I still have my sense of humour in there somewhere - haven't totally lost it).  I also love that my daughters are becoming home makers as well as everything else besides.  We are sharing more and more as the years go by and I love it.

Jess kept singing the praises of her yoghurt maker.  Since Dave and I try to be healthier - as long as it's easy that is - I was almost convinced but I didn't cave.  We're supposed to be conserving our pennies right now.  Usually we're busy doing something with church, kids, friends or family on weekends but we'd kept this one free since we needed some time together.  We decided a walk into town might be nice and before I knew what I was doing (ok maybe I knew exactly what I was doin) we found ourselves in Palmers and they were having a sale.  Gee!  Imagine that!  Despite cutting back I knew the yoghurt maker thingy was in there and I was just gonna check it out - that's all - honest!  Nah! We all knew I was gonna end up leaving with it so who am I kiddin?  But it will be so much healthier and save us pennies too won't it? Yes indeedy!

Well here it is.  Doesn't look mega impressive does it?  I am testing it out today since we are both at home doing things together again today.  I chose to make a batch of lemon flavour, low fat, no sugar, yoghurt for my first try so after mixing it up I poured the boiling water in the flask thingy, popped my yoghurt mix in and by the time we have dinner this evening we should have some yummy home made yoghurt ready to chill for work on Monday morning.  Jess says she makes this up before she goes to bed and just gets it out fresh in the morning.  Hopefully it will turn out good and Jess was right.  In fact it was so super easy even Dave could manage this one LOL!  You'd know how funny that was if you saw him in the kitchen - he's such a clutz - but I still encourage him to come cook with me even if it does mean I'm cleanin up everywhere including the floor.  Bless him :-)

Since making the yoghurt took all of 5 minutes (am lovin that part) I decided to try out a quick and easy recipe for lemon curd that I ran across recently.  I adore anything lemony and I love anything that cooks in the microwave in minutes but gives a fabby end product.  Like my peanut brittle or microwave jam for instance - so much quicker that you'd be hard pressed to find a reason NOT to make em' and perfect for gift giving too.

This was the resulting jar which apparently has to live in the fridge - that's what the recipe said.  It doesn't look like any lemon curd I'm used to seeing but it was made fresh.  I don't really care what it looks like - it was yuuummmeeeeee! And that was before it even got cold! My brain got real busy for a while there trying to think of all the things I could do with it.

My plan is to put a swirl of this yummy lemon curd into the home made lemon yoghurt to sweeten it up and then maybe take along a bit of crushed ginger snap biscuits or something to add just before eating.  Doesn't that sound like a scrumptious yoghurt?  I could see layering this up in a pretty glass with gingernuts and sweetened soya or oatmeal cream too for a tasty dessert. 

Want the recipe?  Thought maybe I'd share it with you in case anyone's interested.

Lemon Curd

50g butter

150g castor sugar (finer grain)

Zest & juice of 2 lemons (non-waxed kind)

3 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk)

Put butter, sugar and lemon in a large bowl and microwave 1-2 minutes until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Beat eggs with a fork until smooth.  Strain if you prefer a smoother end product.  (I didn't bother to strain).  Add the egg mixture to the slightly cooled lemon mixture and blend well. 

Pop in microwave for 3-4 minutes stopping to whisk up after each minute.  Curd should thicken nicely but remember it will thicken even more as it cools too.  Let cool for several minutes and then place into a hot sterilised jar (or 2 smaller ones).  Place in refridgerator once completely cooled.

It's as easy as that!  I think this would be yummy in the centre of lemon cupcakes or sandwiched between a lemon sponge topped with fluffy frosting.  Ooooo it's making my mouth positively water!

Next time I post hopefully it'll be a craft project to share.

Enjoy!