I’ve been back to making soy yogurt. The price of food these days has propelled me back into the kitchen. You can save a lot of money by cooking at home. One quart of soy yogurt is about $2.79. You can buy Kirkland brand soymilk for $1.00 and make your own yogurt. Or make your own soy milk, it’s quite simple.

Soy Yogurt

I start with 3 c. of soy milk because then I can fit it all in a quart jar. Or you can start with 1 quart soy milk if you use a larger container.

Take about 1/2 of the soy milk (room temperature or cold) and stir in 1 T. of tapioca powder or arrowroot powder. You may also add a tsp. of vanilla and 1 T. sweetener if desired. Heat and stir with a whisk to thicken, but don’t allow to boil hard. When thick pour this into the remaining soy milk and stir with a whisk. Allow the soy milk to cool to about 100 F, checking with a thermometer.

When it is the proper temperature mix in 1/2 c. of culture. (For the culture use 1/2 c. of commercial soy yogurt with live organisms or use 1/2 c. of your previous batch of yogurt) pour the thickened soy milk into a quart jar and place in a warm place to incubate. You may use a yogurt incubator which uses water to surround your container and keeps it at the proper temperature. Or many ovens will be the proper temperature if you just turn the light on. Check with an oven thermometer. 100F to 106F is what it needs. A crock pot will be too hot.

Allow the yogurt to incubate for about 6 - 7 hours. After six hours stick a spoon in it to see if it has thickened. The longer you leave it the more sour it will become. This yogurt will have a mild pleasant taste. It will not be a thick as commercial yogurt, but wonderful on cereal or fruit. Try it and let me know how it goes.

Kay H.

I received a question today about summer savory.  It is one of the herbs used in the Live-for-Health Chicken-style seasoning from Vegan Homestyle.  Summer Savory is a perennial herb with a mildly spicy flavor. Traditionally it has been used with fish, beans, stuffing, pates and other meat dishes.  I like to use it for its mild tangy taste in place of pepper, which is an irritant.

Savory can be easily grown in a pot or in your herb garden.  Harvest leaves and dry in the summer and you’ll have them all winter.

If you cannot find it in your grocery store, the chicken-style seasoning can be made without it.  There will be little change of flavor.  I encourage people to make the seasoning though, you’ll find tons of uses for it.

blessings,

Kay H.

I received a phone call from a very lovely lady the other day who is new to vegan cooking. After purchasing Vegan Homestyle she wondered where in the world you can get chicken-style seasoning. Well there is a recipe for it in the book. It is in the section called “Essential Little Bits” where you’ll find other tasty and useful seasoning mixes that you can make very simply. It’s called Live-for-Health Chicken-style seasoning and it’s on page 195 in Vegan Homestyle: Simple Recipes For Healthy Living.

This vegetarian chicken-style seasoning has no chicken in it, but sort of a reminder of a light chickeny taste. As opposed to a heavier beef-style flavor. I use it in the noodle soup, which is surprising like chicken soup. But I also use it in scrambled tofu and many other soups and casseroles.

We’ve thought about packaging a selling it, which we may in the future. But it is very simple to make. Make a double batch and put it in a jar and you’ll use it often. Other vegetarian chicken-style seasonings on the market can be used, but the often have more salt so you’d have to correct for salt.

If you need a source for the yeast flakes, try somethingbetternaturalfoods.com or bobsredmill.com. Either source will be happy to ship it to you.  Here’s the recipe:

Live-for-Health Vegetarian Chicken-style Seasoning

1-1/3   c.         yeast flakes

1/4       c.         onion powder1          t.          garlic powder

1          T.         barley malt powder

1          T.         parsley

1          T.         salt

1          t.          basil

1/2       t.          marjoram

1/2       t.          paprika

1/2       t.          ground celery seed

1/2       t.          turmeric

1/2       t.          savory
Place all ingredients in a dry blender and blend until well mixed.  Store in an airtight container. Use for seasoning tofu, soup, veggies, gravy or sauces.

My friend, Agness, shared these tasty walnut meatballs at a recent potluck dinner. Everyone wanted the recipe so I’m sharing it on our website. Just click on the link for the recipe.

Tofu Walnut Meatballs with Sweet & Sour Sauce