Some Undocumented Successes

I've been making a lot of things in the kitchen lately and not photographing them.
Partially this is because I don't really like my camera phone picture quality, and partially just because I've been trying to spend less time nerding out in front of the computer and more time snuggled in bed with my honey watching RuPaul's Drag Race. Still, I do want to record these things for my own benefit at the very least.
First up, I made yogurt. I followed Sandor's instructions from Wild Fermentation, and it could not have been easier. Here's exactly what I did:
1)poured milk(hormone free, pasture raised non homogenized and "gently" pasturized, from the co-op---I am pretty sure it was Hartzler's) into a quart sized mason jar.
2)poured it from the jar into a copper bottom saucepan.
3)stuck the candy thermometer I got inherited from a friend's parents' divorce about 7 years ago into the pan.
4)heated the milk gently to 180.
5)when it reached 180, took it off the burner and let it cool to 110.
6)when it was almost 110, I rinsed out the mason jar and the playmate round beverage cooler I got for $2.75 at the thrift store last weekend with hot water.
7)added 1 tablespoon of plain whole milk brown cow yogurt to the hot milk and stirred it up.
8)poured the innoculated milk into the jar, screwed the top on, and dropped the jar into the cooler.
9)screwed the top on the cooler and set it on the stovetop above the pilot light for about 9 hours.
10)opened up the cooler, took out the jar, opened it up, and spooned out some creamy delicious yogurt!
It was that easy. I will say that my yogurt has a slightly weird viscosity, somewhere between honey and store bought yogurt. However I only noticed that when spooning it out---the 'mouthfeel" is fantastic. The fact that I made this yogurt myself makes me want to eat it 1000x more than the yogurt from the store that is always sitting in the fridge. Plus it looks so pretty in the mason jar. I am a convert.
Before I made the yogurt even, I made some granola to eat on top of it. I make granola all the time for the restaurant so it is pretty much intuitive for me now, but I did stumble upon the magical addition of just a little bit of molasses to the brown sugar and vegetable oil mix I usually use(don't use honey for the restaurant granola so it can be vegan.) The dark sweetness of the molasses seemed to help the oats toast even better and seriously upped the crunch. Love that crunch. To this home batch I added slivered almonds, cinnamon, ginger, and then after the oats and nuts toasted, some dried apricots and cranberries. I am making a serious effort to incorporate fruits and vegetables into my life. 5 a day? are you kidding me? Not in the winter. Not without some serious planning.
I've got more undocumented successes to share but right now I have to get ready to go to a Bioneers planning meeting! And then to a Local Foods Showcase! And maybe a trip to the Strip District! And bonus Walk In The Sunshine!