The Greek Yogurt Occupation
Don't cry over spilled milk. By this time tomorrow, it'll be free yogurt. -- Stephen ColbertA couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd be smart and load up on a bunch of Greek yogurt. It's a staple in my house, along with oatmeal, lentils, canned beans, canned tomatoes, and rice. I know if I have that stuff in the house, I will be able to put together a decent healthy meal without too much work. That's the prepper in me talking: when the revolution comes, I'll have some chili ready to eat.
I buy Greek yogurt in big tubs: 1.75 kilograms, in fact. It's a heckuva lotta yogurt, but it's one way to make sure I get enough protein each day without having to slaughter a cow, and it's a nice snack to have in the middle of a work shift. During our last big shopping trip, I noticed it was on sale, and the "best before" date was just before Christmas. I knew we wouldn't be back at the supermarket for a while, so I figured I may as well buy two tubs to make sure I wouldn't run out before the holidays.
And then life happened and I was away for a week and a half helping my family in Winnipeg, and then I was sick for three days when I got back to the Island. When I emerged from all of that, I was faced with over three kilograms of yogurt with only a week and a half to get through it. Hmmm... well, that's a predicament.
I hate wasting food. I managed to get through about two-thirds of a tub last week just from packing my daily portion to bring to work, but every time I opened the fridge, the two tubs just stood there, towering over me. I couldn't face having to dump it, but I knew I would not be able to eat all of that, even on my greediest days.
So, I started baking. I call it "value-adding," when I take an ingredient that is going to spoil and turn it into something I can store for later. I pulled out all the recipes I knew that used Greek yogurt and started baking up a storm. And then I started distributing the results: friends got cranberry and orange scones and blueberry muffins. And today, I experimented with a 2-ingredient dough (Greek yogurt and self-raising flour) and cranked out some pretzels, and while I was waiting for those to come out of the oven, I made a batch of lemon poppy seed muffins. Even with the gifting of half of my wares, this is what my counter looked like today:
The yogurt levels may be decreasing, but our freezer is going to be bursting soon. I still have over half a tub left, but I have two more days to do something with it. Those pretzels were pretty tasty so I might try another batch, but I was pretty tired after all that baking so I'm taking a bit of a break. Seymour is so exhausted from watching me that he can't even get into bed:
I was hoping to have my Cabled Tree project all hung up and ready to show off this weekend, but I kept forgetting to bring in a couple of bamboo stakes from outside to make a hanger out of them. It's also been wet and stormy for the last week, so by the time I did actually remember to bring them in, they were far too wet to do anything with them. Today, I tried to cut them to size, only to realize that they're actually too thick to fit into the folded hem I designed for them to go into. So... back to the drawing board, I guess. I'll have to search around for a better solution.
Meanwhile, my modified Loro Vest is coming along nicely:
Not the same kind of challenge related to Greek yogurt, but similar I guess...
We leave again soon to see my folks for the scheduled Christmas visit. I'm looking forward to being with them. I'm not feeling so Christmassy this year, but I think once I get there, the togetherness might just tip me into the holiday spirit.
Have a great week.
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