I am up, so I might as well start making the yogurt, bread, and butter. 
There is no sleeping in in this house. The dogs want fed, the cats want fed, the birds want fed, and I want fed.  I can put the animals off for a little while, they won’t wait very long. This morning was no different but I did manage to lounge around till about 6 o’clock.

I finished off the last yogurt this morning. I made some last week in a new little contraption I found at The thrift store.

Each of the little jars makes roughly 1/2  cup of yogurt.  The most difficult part of making yogurt is keeping the milk at the proper temperature while the bacteria work. I made an insulated bag a couple years ago that works wonderfully. This little contraption, however, allows me not to worry whether the temperature is dropping. It maintains the proper temperature for the entire incubation.

I heat whole milk to 185° in the microwave. You have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t boil over. Then I cover the top with plastic wrap,  plop the food thermometer in the middle and watch it as it cools.

On occasion I give it a gentle swirl to mix the milk and help lower the temperature. I need it to get down to 118°. At that point, I will ladle out about 4 tablespoons of the  milk in the yogurt culture bacteria. Then gently stir it into the larger container of milk. Once that is completed pour it into each individual jar close the lids and wait while the culture works, roughly 12 hours.

When the yogurt is ready, let it cool two hours on the counter then place it in the fridge. You don’t add flavor or fruit to until you get ready to eat. I add honey and vanilla.