Yogurt

This is how I make one quart of plain yogurt:

-Heat 3 1/2 cups whole milk for 6 minutes in the microwave (or to 180 F)
-Let it cool in the fridge for 40 minutes (or to 110 F)
-Whisk in 1/8 to 1/4 cup dry milk (for thickening)
-Whisk in 1/4 cup yogurt (plain with live cultures)
-Pour into 1 quart jar and close lid tightly
-Place into small insulated cooler of some sort and add enough hot tap water (or 110 F water) to cover the yogurt (not the whole jar)
-Let it sit in a warmish place for 6 to 8 hours, and then refrigerate.

I forgot about it last time, and made it in the afternoon and didn't refrigerate it until the next morning. It was totally fine; it was just a little more sour than normal, but I kind of like it that way anyway.

I know these temps and amounts are flexible and debatable and whatnot, but this is my little system with my microwave and fridge that works well for me. I put the yogurt beside the fridge in the little water cooler jug thing b/c there's heat that comes off the fridge. Also, you could probably use lower-fat milk and a yogurt starter or something. I don't know. This is how I do it!

Sour Cream Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Cake batter:
Cream 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 1 tsp vanilla. Add 3 eggs, mixing well. Add 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt and 1 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt).

Pumpkin layer:
Mix together 1 3/4 cup pumpkin, 1 beaten egg, 1/3 cup sugar (white or brown) and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves).

Streusel:
Mix together 1 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup flour, 2 tsp cinnamon and 3/4 cup chopped pecans.

Layer in 9"x13" pan in this order:

1/2 of the batter
1/2 of the streusel
all of the pumpkin
remaining batter (it won't completely cover the pumpkin)
remaining streusel

Bake at 325*F for 50-60 minutes. Refrigerate leftovers.

here, there, and back again

i really wasn't planning to post this story, but robyn thought i should so here goes. i decided to make this cake for our 4th of july bbq with some friends of ours. there were 4 of us there. we each had a piece, and i left a good sized piece with them (about the size of 2 slices). the next night we went to my cousin's house for dinner, and i took the cake there to share. 4 adults plus 1 child each had a piece, and i left another (normal size) piece with them. the next day i had a piece with my lunch but still, there was cake. that night i went out with 2 friends and dropped jose off at one house to hang out with one of the husbands and he took the cake there. he and the husband of my friend each had a piece, and... we left the last piece there. finally the cake was gone. you can do the math to see how many servings it serves.

the weird thing about this cake is that it's quite a lot like a banana or nut bread of some kind, so it's not the normal cake texture. also, they ask for way way way too much icing sugar for the icing. the other thing is that although the link i've posted appears to be the exact same recipe (same magazine, same person's name, same picture of the cake) there are some minor differences from the one i made. so if you choose to make this cake, please keep in mind two things: 1. i want to hear how yours turned out with those changes, and 2. this cake is enormous. beware.