I have been back to the US since last Friday and one thing that I already start missing is the yogurt. If you haven’t tried homemade yogurts, you haven’t tasted the goodness of what a real yogurt can be. I have always been nostalgic about the wonderful yogurts you can find in France in the yogurt/dairy section in any supermarket area. There are about four full aisles of yogurts and dairy specialties of dairy and non dairy fresh desserts. I am in heaven. Yogurts in the US tend to be on the boring side and quite frankly not very good. I tasted all of the brands, and I always remain faithful to Strauss, their European called yogurt. It seems like all yogurts contain gelatin and taste artificial especially the flavored ones, so I stick to the plain kind.

Yogurt making is like bread making in France right now, two nationwide spread trends. So after going to FNAC, a bookstore/electronics store, and spending hours on the cook book section, I run into an intriguing book on making yogurts, and I decided to buy it.

After landing in the U S of A and going through customs with half a supermarket in my suitcase, I realized that I had no yogurt maker. Yogurts can be made in many other ways if you don’t have a yogurt maker, like using a pressure cooker, an oven, etc…but I just wanted a yogurt maker and not go through a few times of failing the yogurts, like it happened before. So on day 2, I went to buy a yogurt maker and if you are a yogurt “freak” like me, it’s a good investment. In a next post, I will explain how to make yogurts without a yogurt maker, in case you don’t have one since I suspect many people don’t have one. It’s a little more tricky but it does work.

I used approximately the recommended proportions I found on the book called “Yaourts” from Solar Editions, then I somehow flavored them according to my tastes. You can use any fruit you like.

The great thing about making yogurt is that you can play around with different milks, spices and fruits. For this first attempt, I used fat free milk, but next time I will use the 2% fat and see the difference. The only inconvenient is that it takes about 10 hours to have your yogurts ready, but then you get seven of them. You can use either a plain yogurt or yogurt ferments for your mixture.

Ingredients for 7 yogurts

• 2 kiwis, peeled and cut in small cubes
• 1/2 granny smith apple, peeled and cut in small cubes
• 4.4 oz (or 125 g) black figs, peeled and well ripe
• vanilla powder
• 2 tbs sugar
• 3.38 cups milk (or 800 ml) whole, skim or half-skimmed
• 6 tps evaporated milk (canned or in powder)
• 1 regular plain yogurt

Preparation

If you are using fruits at the bottom, I suggest to start preparing them beforehand. Peel figs and cut in small cubes, add sugar and let it cook until it becomes into a smooth consistency. Add vanilla and let it cool. Proceed the same way with the apples and kiwis (without the use of vanilla).

Remove milk from the refrigerator and keep it room temperature for a while. In a mixing container, mix milk and yogurt. Add evaporated milk. Mix well.

Place 2 tbs of fruit sauce in each jar, add milk mixture and place in yogurt maker as per instructions. Do not close jars with lids. I kept those for 9 hours in the machine since I used non-fat milk. If you are using regular milk, or half-skimmed milk, you need to leave the yogurts about 7-8 hours. When the machine has stopped, put lids on and place in the refirgerator for 3 hours.

Not sure what I like best, vegetable flans or fruit flans…

The French love flans, for the simple reason that they’re just too good. I bought too many apples and needed to do something with them. The thought of more apple cakes, apple tarts, baked apples, and last night apple papillotes, did not inspire me at all. When I am in that particular mood, I cannot put my mind to rest until I start coming up with something, just like an obsession. I am sometimes possessed by the cooking devil, that’s what I like to call it.

Nothing complicated in these flans, simple ingredients for irresistible little bites. Their particularity is that apples are reduced in a “compote” then mashed in a purée type of texture. I did not use sliced apples, so the apple flavors are well blended in the flan and adds great texture to it. As any fruit based dessert, they’re very light and are guilt-free desserts, so no need to worry about calories. Maybe some of you guys don’t worry about it but I do, so winner desserts for me are the ones that are light, un-greasy that satisfy sweet cravings. I hate to feel stuffed at the end of a meal, such an unpleasant and unsexy feeling. After eating the five of them, I felt as light as a feather.  So for those who are somehow health conscious, I would recommend those apple flans.

Ingredients for 5 flans

• 2 eggs
• 2 medium size apples or 4 small ones, peeled and sliced
  
• 100 ml milk
• 2 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs flour
• 2 tbs crème fraîche or heavy cream
  
• vanilla extract
• vanilla powder

Preparation

Place apple in a pot, add one tbs water and cook at low heat until the apples are cooked and reduced into a compote. Then mash with a potato masher to make it into a puree. Let them cool down.

In a mixing bowl, add apple compote, sugar, eggs, milk, cream, vanilla extract and powder and flour. Mix well to obtain an homogenous batter.

In individual silicon molds, pour batter in each mold and cook in a pre-heated oven for about 20-30 minutes until the flan are cooked. Let them cool and refrigerate for a couple of hours.