yogurt and beans

As promised, here are some pictures of my first batch of homemade yogurt that turned out:

(Translation: this was actually my second batch . . . )

I'm going to equate learning how to make yogurt to learning how to make bread -- you can follow directions in a book, but it's going to take a few tries to get things just right, just the way you like them. I'm still playing around with options, (fat percentage of milk, whether to add nonfat dry milk, whether or not to strain,) so I'll keep you posted.  :)

And here was a beautifully colorful, beautifully simple dinner we had over the weekend:

I simplified my meal-planning strategy this past weekend by sticking to recipes from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers, and the seasoned black beans and yellow rice I made on Sunday were super-easy, super-delicious, and super-healthy!  (In case you're wondering . . . I'm coming around to white rice a little bit more these days, partly because it is so much faster than brown rice, but mostly because I have a TON of it on hand!)  The black bean recipe suggested topping the beans and rice with pickled red onions; John has a tendency to be extra-sensitive to overly sour foods, so I skipped the onions in favor of guacamole.  :)  Guac's always a winner, if you ask me!  We also crunched through a simple side salad, containing both cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden.  Yum!