Cardamom chicken curry

Sometimes you have most of the ingredients of a recipe, but not all. Depending on how you feel about improvising, you have a few options. You can simply proceed without those ingredients, and see what happens; you can substitute something similar; or you can go out and buy those things. Almost always I'll choose 1 or 2. Occasionally I'll get a final result that's nothing like the original. But that's okay too, because it's usually still pretty good.

As happened with this chicken curry. I wanted something to use up two packages of chicken thighs, and I liked the idea of a curry made with yogurt. This is the original recipe. I had green cardamom and turmeric, but not the other more exotic spices. I decided to make it anyway. I skipped a few ingredients that I didn't have (cilantro, fresh ginger, black cardamom); it ended up more like a spiced yogurt version of chicken cacciatore.

But you know what? Still pretty tasty.

A face mask for dry skin

Lately my skin has become appallingly dry.

I don't know if it's age or the new climate (maybe both?), but my face is dry all the time. Like, peeling. Even with multiple applications of high-powered facial moisturizer every day. I'm experimenting with different lotions, and I've given up trying to use powder or exfoliators on my face. It's not a reaction to anything, and I'm drinking plenty of water, so maybe it is age. Bleh.

I'm also using this homemade face mask every other day or so. It's one egg yolk, mixed with one tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of plain yogurt. Mix well, put on your clean dry face, and let sit for 20 minutes or so. Wash off with cool water. It makes my face feel almost hydrated again.

Greek yogurt panna cotta

I've made buttermilk panna cotta before, to spectacular results. This incorporates homemade yogurt (Greek or plain yogurt would work just as well) for a tangier, slightly thicker panna cotta.

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
One 17.6-ounce tub of Greek yogurt (2 cups)

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water; let stand until softened, 5 minutes. In a small saucepan, bring the cream, sugar and vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer. Off the heat, stir in the gelatin until melted. In a bowl, whisk the yogurt until smooth. Gradually whisk in the vanilla cream; remove the vanilla bean. Pour the mixture into six 1/2-cup ramekins and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.

Blueberry frozen yogurt

Pardon the lateness of this post, I spent all morning drinking beer on a sailboat in the sun. Awesomeness factor = 11.

1 1/2 cups plain whole milk yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups blueberries
1 teaspoon kirsch
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Puree the yogurt, sugar and blueberries together, then press through a fine sieve to separate out the blueberry seeds and skins. Add the kirsch and lemon juice, and chill. Freeze in your ice cream maker.

Best breakfast ever

Homemade yogurt, fresh blueberries, some slivered almonds, and a sprinkle of bourbon-vanilla sugar. Mix and enjoy. Best breakfast ever. Best part: it costs less than 50 cents, since homemade yogurt is about 15 cents a cup.

Beet and yogurt salad

4 roasted, peeled and sliced beets
3 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 1/3 cups greek or plain yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped pistachios

Whisk the oil with the lemon juice and garlic. Add parsley, salt and pepper, and the oil to the beets. Mix the beets gently with the yogurt, or just pile it on, and top with the pistachios.

Homemade yogurt

I love the Salvation Army near me.

I find all kinds of great stuff there--including brand-new board games, several brand-new pieces of Pampered Chef stoneware, and a yogurt maker. I gave the yogurt maker a trial run, and I'm pleased to say it passed with flying colors.

It's the Waring Pro Professional Yogurt Maker, which I believe has been discontinued, so don't take this post as an endorsement of that particular yogurt maker--merely as an endorsement for home yogurt making in general. You don't even need a yogurt maker; the internet abounds with recipes for homemade yogurt using only things you already have, and if you like, I can try one of those methods as well and report back.

But since I picked up this yogurt maker for $5, I'm going to use it, dammit.

According to the instructions, there are two ways you can make yogurt: by heating the milk (which gives you firmer yogurt), or by not heating the milk (softer yogurt; or you can add powdered milk to the room temperature pasteurized milk, which makes firmer yogurt without heating).

Since my particular yogurt maker is obsolete, I won't bore you with its specific recipe or details. But I did go through the trouble of heating the milk, and the yogurt turned out beautifully. Next time I'll try the powdered milk/room temperature variation.

I love yogurt, but I hate a) the cost and b) the fact that I have to pay more to get either plain or Greek yogurt, without artificial fruit flavoring and whatever. This way I can keep myself in good, fresh, no-added-crap yogurt.

BONUS: You can make your own sour cream from your own homemade yogurt, thereby negating ever having to buy yogurt or sour cream ever again.

I'll cover that tomorrow.