Apple Valley Creamery (part 2)

I wanted to show a little of what we did with products purchased from the creamery. We love to make whole milk yogurt once in a while and it is so easy to do. I did get a little creative in the way I make it at home, since I use my warming drawer, but store bought yogurt makers are great too. In the near future I'll post more detailed directions for making yogurt.

This is plain yogurt with last summers' blueberries and some homemade granola for crunch.

Blueberry Topping

4 Cups frozen blueberries, divided.

Place 1 cup frozen blueberries in med saucepan and cook them with about 1/2 C water then strain out seeds and skins with a fine strainer. Discard seeds and skins.

In separate small bowl mix about 1/3 cup sugar and 1 heaping T of cornstarch.

Pour strained blueberry juice back into pan and start a simmer.
Add the sugar/cornstarch mixture, then 3 cups frozen blueberries and bring to a quick boil until the sauce thickens. You don't want to keep the blueberries in their shape and not cook down. Cool to room temp.


The creamery also sells flavored milks like orange, root beer, chocolate, but the mocha flavor sounded like a good one to experiment with for flavored yogurts and it came out very good. Here it is the Mocha Yogurt paired with my granola and a few bittersweet Guittard chocolate sprinkles.



Since my warming drawer can keep a constant temp I wanted to try making creme fraiche which the French make out of whipping cream and something with active cultures like buttermilk or yogurt. My first problem is the whipping cream from Apple Valley is so natural it can be cut with a knife, but it did fine when I ever-so-gently warmed it in a pan. I should have added some milk at this point, but instead added the some yogurt and let it do it's magic.



At room temp the creme fraiche had a very nice super thick consistency, but when it came out of the fridge it is back to being so stiff it needs a knife-but this definitely has possibilities....





I also made clarified butter, which is normally made with unsalted butter, but since it will be used it for sautes I just have to keep in mind to cut back on salt as the cooking takes place.





Granola:

3 C old fashioned oats-lightly toasted (in a 325' oven)
1/2 C wheat germ-lightly toasted
1 C nuts-pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, cashews or a combo of them-lightly toasted
1/2 C sunflower seeds-lightly toasted

warm 1/4 C butter and place in a large bowl then add:
1/2 C honey
2 t vanilla extract
optional flavoring:1 t cinnamon

then add the warmed and toasted oats, wheat germ, nuts, sunflower seeds. Stir well, and spread on a baking sheet (this is where a silpat liner works well) to toast all together until golden about 325'-350'. Let cool on sheets then break apart and place into jars, I like the glass jars so I can give them a good shake to break up the granola when I need it for serving.

The only reason I don't include dried fruit is because I like my granola very crunchy over fresher fruit, but if we want it for a snack in a bag then I will throw some in along with some chocolate pieces.