• Bookish,  Recommendations,  Writing

    Foodie Friday: Instant Pot Yogurt

    This isn’t turning into a food blog! But if you’re like me and you love to save money and simplify your busy days, then this recipe for Instant Pot Yogurt is for you.

    I’ve tried multiple recipes and while the basic instructions are pretty much the same, I’m pulling together the small tweaks and tips I’ve picked up through trial & error and searching the inter webs for the perfect yogurt recipe.

    *This post contains affiliate links*

    Instant Pot Yogurt

    Ingredients:

    • 1/2 gallon of milk (I prefer whole milk but it’s your choice)
    • 2 Tablespoons of yogurt with active cultures (look for “live active cultures” on the label when buying)

    Instructions:

    • Pour milk into the Instant Pot and close the lid – It doesn’t matter if the valve is opened or closed.
    • Press the “Yogurt” button until “Boil” is displayed – this boil takes about 30 minutes
    • After the first boil is complete, repeat the previous step and boil again (this will take less time than the first boil since the milk is already hot). I have found that boiling twice gives you thicker and creamier yogurt.
    • Once the second boil is complete, carefully remove the liner and set aside to cool. Using a kitchen thermometer, let the milk cool to 115 degrees Fahrenheit – no more, and no less than 110 degrees.
    • A thin skin will have formed while cooling. This is normal! Remove with a spoon and discard.
    • Whisk 2 tablespoons of the yogurt with 1/2 cup of the boiled milk.
    • Pour yogurt/milk combination back into the liner and gently stir.
    • Return the liner to the Instant Pot and cover with the lid (venting does not matter)
    • Press the “Yogurt” button until 8:00 is displayed. Adjust this to 10:00. Incubation for 10 hours yields perfectly thick and creamy yogurt.
    • After the 10 hours are complete it should be thick and pulling away from the edges. There will be some liquid on top. If a wooden spoon doesn’t stand up in the center, return and set Instant Pot to incubate for another 2 hours.
    • Remove liner and allow to cool at room temperature for at least an hour. 2 hours is best.
    • Once cooled, cover and place liner in the refrigerator to chill at least 6 hours. Overnight is best.
    • After it is chilled, remove and whisk yogurt to blend. This will give you lump-free yogurt.
    • Store in sterile containers of your choice. I prefer the Mason jars listed below.
    • Stored properly, your yogurt will keep for 2 weeks… but we’ve never had it last that long. This is a favorite in our house!
    • Reserve a 1/4 cup of your yogurt for your next batch. You’ll only need 2T but it’s nice to have a little extra.

    Supplies/Tools

    Helpful Hints:

    • Make sure your Instant Pot liner, silicone ring, and valve are clean. If they are not, your yogurt will have the smell and taste of the delicious curry you made last week. I actually use a separate Instant Pot for yogurt, rice, oatmeal, and desserts. The other option is to have multiple silicone rings and swap them out.
    • Do not sweeten yogurt during the process or use sweetened yogurt. You will risk the cultures not activating.
    • Be sure that your store-bought starter yogurt says “live active cultures” on the container! You will not end up with yogurt if they aren’t live cultures.
    • Don’t use more than 2T of yogurt. More is not better! It will short-circuit the process and you will end up with bland, watery yogurt that won’t set.
    • I have tried using an entire gallon of milk to make one large batch and this is only batch that did not turn out. It is harder to incubate and keep a large amount at a steady temperature.
    • Don’t stir your yogurt until it is time to whisk at the very end. Doing so will leave you with thin, watery yogurt.
    • There aren’t any shortcuts in the process. Allow proper cooling/chilling to take place.
    • Some recipes say that you can use an ice bath to cool the boiled milk. But I have found that the rapid cooling yields grainy and thin yogurt. Patience, my friend.
    • Our favorite toppings are berries, granola, and honey. I also love this yogurt plain and unsweetened. It’s also great for recipes that call for Greek yogurt.
    • The first hour or so, you need to be around while the milk boils and cools. But once you set it to incubate for 10 hours, it is truly set it, forget it, and go read a book!.

    Time:

    • 5 minutes prep
    • 35 minutes cooking (double boil steps)
    • 3 hours total cooling at room temperature
    • 10 hours incubating
    • 6 hours chilling

    Happy yogurt making!

  • Book Reviews,  mental health

    Checking In: book review

    Title: Checking In

    Author: Michelle Williams

    Publisher: Thomas Nelson

    Publish date: 5/25/21

    Pages: 240

    Genre: Depression/Anxiety Help, Celebrity Biography

    Synopsis

    “I need help.”

    Acclaimed musical artist Michelle Williams shares the intimate, never-before-told story of how, even in the midst of enormous fame and success, she battled depression, leading her to find her true calling as an advocate for mental health–especially her own.

    As a member of Destiny’s Child, one of the top female R&B groups of all time, Michelle Williams felt blessed. After the group disbanded, she continued to create bestselling albums, appear on television shows, and star in theater productions. Though she had always struggled with low moods, in 2018 her depression deepened, and when she found herself planning her own funeral, she checked herself into a treatment facility. There she found the help she needed to live out the incredible story God was writing for her life.

    In her first book, Michelle courageously shares the hidden secrets that nearly ended her life; the importance of her faith, family, and friends; and the lessons she learned about prioritizing her mental health. She is on a quest to increase mental health awareness and urges others to understand the importance of “checking in” with themselves, God, and others. Her candid, often humorous, and incredibly brave book will inspire readers who desire hope for their own difficult times.

    Review

    This book is an honest and refreshing look at depression. I have personally battled depression for many years and anytime I can read something and fell less alone, it’s a good read for me.

    To be upfront, I’m working my way through this book and I’m not finished with it yet. It’s that kind of book – it demands your attention, thoughts, and an honest look at your own life.

    I love the idea of checking in with yourself – a foreign concept to me. I’m not good at self-assessing my own feelings and struggle with prioritizing my mental health.

    That previous sentence – it caught up with me in a big way in the past year but I’m getting better everyday at setting boundaries and paying attention to my physical health and my mental health.

    Michelle also writes about checking in with others – something similar to what I wrote about last week. Many of us have lost touch with each other.

    This book is one I would recommend to anyone that struggles with trauma, depression, and/or anxiety. The author tells her own story beautifully and provides a feeling of hope to the reader.

    Want your own copy of Checking In?

    Enter my giveaway on Instagram or Facebook! 

    Thanks to TLC Book Tours and Thomas Nelson for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

    Purchase Links

    Thomas Nelson | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

    Connect with Michelle

    Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

     

  • Bookish,  mental health,  Writing

    Mean Girls & Mental Health Awareness

    Mean Girls: the cult classic

    Mean Girls: the memes

    Mean Girls: the musical

    Mean Girls: the pandemic


    March, 2020

    I remember when everything shut down a little over a year ago.

    There was lots of talk of when we could be back together, how things would be different, and the appreciation for human contact.

    But as the year continued another storyline developed – the mean girls (and guys) who emerged from the pandemic.

    Plot twist

    It was easier to be a Mean Girl.

    Hiding behind a computer keyboard in an email.

    Texting passive/aggressively and ending said text with a smiley face.

    Or the worst, hiding in plain sight on Zoom calls. Prime time to say things in a public forum to someone’s face without in-person consequences.

    All because of distance and screens.

    I loathe Zoom

    The last scenario recently happened to me and it was a virtual face slap that hurt worse than a real one.

    Why?

    I was alone. I had no one sitting next to me in that meeting.

    And because we have all grown so numb to these virtual interactions, no one knew what to say.

    No one stood up for me as a person.

    No one told this woman to stop her baseless attack.

    It was only after she finished her attempted assault on my character and reputation that I was able to get a word in to defend myself.

    I am convinced that this never would have happened had this been a meeting where we all physically occupied the same space.

    And even if this person had been so bold, I believe the consequences would have been very different without screens to separate us.

    Eventually one person did speak up and told this woman why she couldn’t get her way. But the damage had already been done.

    Mission accomplished, drama mama.

    Context

    We have lost our context, our human frame of reference.

    We get our groceries delivered, we wear masks, and we stay home to hide behind technology.

    Here’s some context for the Zoom interaction I had: my mental health was at its lowest point in over a year.

    I struggle with depression and anxiety and always will. I have PTSD that will never fully resolve.

    Guess what is a trigger is for me?

    Being blindsided and attacked. And all this happened at a time where pulling myself out of bed some days was an accomplishment.

    Did this woman feel bigger? Better? More important in that square on the computer screen? You bet.

    But back to the context. Did anyone know where I was coming from?

    Sure, a few knew that I had spent the better part of the year being bullied by this person.

    But no one knew the context – where I was standing or functioning on a daily basis.

    Or how I felt that night in the meeting, alone in my study, facing a screen of many who I thought to be friends.

    Or what it’s taken in these past weeks to pick myself up and move on for my own health.

    Off/Mute

    When this incident happened to me on Zoom, I was mortified.

    People who didn’t know me at all and certainly had no context saw me as someone called out, questioned, and attacked.

    I was in tears but I could turn my camera off, hit mute and exist in a dark square that only displayed my name.

    But the day is coming where that won’t be possible and these pandemic mean girls won’t be so brave.

    Half the time I dread this and the other half – bring it, girls.

    Mental health awareness month

    So why share this story and parts of my own mental health struggles?

    May also happens to be the month we focus on mental health.

    The month we talk about removing the stigma.

    The month we talk about having open conversations with our friends.

    The month we acknowledge that many struggle with mental illness.

    This month – as the pandemic hopefully is winding down – is the perfect time to really be aware of those around us.

    Because some of us have been wearing more than one mask during COVID.

    Return to “normal”

    As life slowly returns to whatever our normal is going to look like, be gracious with one another.

    We have little or no context for the lives we are entering back into for the first time since COVID began.

    Take the time to understand. Talk. Ask questions. Don’t assume that everyone came out of this the same as you.

    And certainly don’t continue the entitlement some felt as they were hiding behind technology, doors and masks.

    Enough hiding.

    No books, no sequels, no musicals, no memes… Mean Girls: the pandemic is coming to an end.

  • ARC's,  Recommendations

    The Stepsisters: excerpt tour

    Welcome to my stop on the excerpt tour for The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery. Her books are the perfect beach reads and last summer her book, The Friendship List, was one of my favorite poolside books.

    Today I’m super excited to be sharing an excerpt of The Stepsisters. I’m reading the book right now and it’s got me in the mood for summer already!

    Summary

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery pens a love story of a different sort…a heartfelt tale of friendship between two women who used to be sisters.

    Once upon a time, when her dad married Sage’s mom, Daisy was thrilled to get a bright and shiny new sister. But Sage was beautiful and popular, everything Daisy was not, and she made sure Daisy knew it.

    Sage didn’t have Daisy’s smarts—she had to go back a grade to enroll in the fancy rich-kid school. So she used her popularity as a weapon, putting Daisy down to elevate herself. After the divorce, the stepsisters’ rivalry continued until the final, improbable straw: Daisy married Sage’s first love, and Sage fled California.

    Eighteen years, two kids and one troubled marriage later, Daisy never expects—or wants—to see Sage again. But when the little sister they have in common needs them both, they put aside their differences to care for Cassidy. As long-buried truths are revealed, no one is more surprised than they when friendship blossoms.

    Their fragile truce is threatened by one careless act that could have devastating consequences. They could turn their backs on each other again…or they could learn to forgive once and for all and finally become true sisters of the heart.

    Excerpt

    Adam returned carrying a plate stacked high with the crispy snacks. He smiled as he set it between them.

    “Why are you working in retail?”

    “Because I don’t have the training to be a jet pilot,” she said, reaching for a taquito. She thought about mentioning her tutoring, but that wasn’t impressive, either.

    “Seriously, why? You’re rich. You don’t need to work.”

    She licked her fingers as she stared at him. “I’m not rich. Where did you get that idea? I have a small settlement from my ex-husband and that’s it. I’m paying my mom rent and I enjoy eating, which means I need to be a working girl.” She frowned. “Not in a hooker sense.”

    “I just assumed you’d married money,” he said, then raised a hand. “Not in the hooker sense. Just in the beautiful women tend to gravitate toward wealthy men sense.”

    “It didn’t work out that way. My first husband was a race car driver, but then he crashed and if you can’t drive, you can’t earn money. My last husband made me think he was rich, but he was lying.”

    And hadn’t that been a bitter discovery, she thought, telling herself she’d moved on from the disappointment. She reached for another taquito.

    “You have a sweet ride for a working girl,” he said, grabbing a taquito and dipping it in the guacamole.

    She smiled at the mention of her BMW 3 Series. “She is pretty, isn’t she? She cost me a Hermes Birkin crocodile handbag, but she was worth it.”

    Adam frowned. “I don’t understand,” he admitted.

    “I sold a handbag and bought my new-to-me car with the proceeds.”

    “No handbag is worth a car.”

    “You say this as a women’s accessory expert?”

    His confusion morphed into complete bafflement. “But it’s just a purse. My mom has a purse. How can there be one worth thirty or forty thousand dollars?”

    “It’s a Birkin bag. A crocodile Birkin bag.”

    “But…”

    She patted his hand. “You’re going to have to trust me on this. When I leave, you can look them up online and later you can apologize.”

    He still looked shell-shocked, which was kind of sweet. She liked that the world of high fashion and ridiculous prices was foreign to him. No doubt he would assume that one of her husbands had given her the bag, which was fine with her. She saw no need to tell him how she’d earned it. She might enjoy his company, but she didn’t know him well enough to trust him with a secret like that.

    “You live a life I can’t imagine,” he admitted.

    “I did, but not anymore. Now I’m just a regular person.”

    “How does that feel?”

    No way she was going to get into that pit of failure. She gave him a bright smile. “I’m ready to be back in the States. I’m not excited about starting over, but this time I’m determined to make better decisions. And that’s enough about me. Tell me about yourself, Adam. You live here alone?”

    He smiled. “I wouldn’t have invited you over for drinks if I was involved with someone.” He picked up his drink. “Let me clarify that by saying I’m offering information, not assuming this is anything more

    than friendly. I’m smart enough to know my place in the universe and mine is not with the likes of you.”

    She waited for the jab that was sure to follow, but he didn’t seem to have anything else to say on the topic.

    Details

    Author: Susan Mallery

    Publisher: Mira

    Release Date: 5/25/21

    Pages: 416

    Genre: Contemporary Romance/Friendship Fiction

    Purchase Links

    MIRA | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

    Thanks to TLC Book Tours and MIRA for the gifted copy of this book!

     

     

     

  • ARC's,  Book Reviews

    Stormland: review & feature

    Author: John Shirley

    Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

    Date: April 13th, 2021

    Pages: 368

    Genre: Post-apocalyptic, climate change

    Publisher Synopsis

    They call it Stormland: a sprawling, largely abandoned region of the southeastern coast of the USA, where climate change’s extreme weather conditions have brought about a ”perfect storm” of perpetual tempests; where hurricane-strength storms return day after day, 365 days a year.

    The heart of Stormland is Charleston, South Carolina, a flooded ruin where hundreds of people remain for their own peculiar reasons; where thugs prey on the weak, and a strangely benevolent cult tries to keep everyone insanely sane. Here, plutocratic evil takes advantage of Stormland’s lawlessness to cultivate a weirdly puppeted theater of cruelty.

    Swept into the turbulent vortex of Stormland is an unlikely duo — a former serial killer and a former US Marshal — who must work together to bring light to America’s late twenty-first century heart of darkness.

    A cyberpunk detective thriller set in a maelstrom of climatic upheaval, classism, and corrupt power, Stormland paradoxically dramatizes the resilience of the human spirit.

    Review

    This book is a page-turner! I couldn’t put it down. I’ve really been liking books that tackle global warming and climate issues and this book took it all on in such a creative way.

    The characters were complex and drove this story. I enjoy that in a book but be aware that there are a lot of characters introduced that made things difficult to keep track of, especially in the beginning. This was my one issue with the book.

    Post-apocalyptic books haven’t been my thing recently – hello, global pandemic – but this story arc was so unique that the time period didn’t bother me.

    There’s something for everyone here and I could really recommend Stormland to anyone – it has such a broad appeal. A sequel would be perfect and I hope that is on the horizon.

    Thanks to TLC Book Tours and Blackstone Publishing for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review


    Purchase Links

    Blackstone Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

     

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