L Reuteri Yogurt Test / Packing Enoki / Dehydrating Japanese Sweet Potatoes

 

Album:  Autumn

Artist:  George Winston

I spent today...

testing my homemade yogurt...

packing up the Enoki I had dehydrated...

and cooking and slicing Japanese Sweet Potatoes for dehydration.

I had placed my homemade yogurt mix into the yogurt maker some 44 hours ago.

I normally set it for 36 or so hours...

but that would have necessitated me staying up until 3 AM...

so...

for the sake of experimentation...

I let it run an extra 8 hours.

In the morning...

I took the finished yogurt and placed the individual containers into the fridge to chill.

I would later try my first successful batch.

I say successful batch because my first batch had come out completely separated

into curds and whey.

I looked it up online and found that it was a typical experience for a first batch.

However, it said to merely take two tablespoons of the failed batch and use them 

as a starter for the following batch.

I did...

and it had turned out perfectly.

Now...

I had originally got interested in this particular strain of bacteria (L Reuteri)

with which to make my own yogurt because of its particular

ability to lower inflammation in the body through its effects in the gut.

I had numerous tests done last year...

only to find that while everything was in the good range...

from liver enzymes to all my other blood work...

there was one that was way too high.

That was the marker for ongoing inflammation in the body.

Inflammation can cause a whole host of problems in the body...

not just limited to arthritis...

but to other serious conditions...

if not remedied.

That is when I began researching various ways to limit inflammation in my body.

It all starts in the gut...

and without healthy gut flora...

a whole range of cascading effects manifest in various parts of the body...

none of which are good.

I have already had great effects from eating live culture Sauerkraut...

and many of my arthritic symptoms greatly decreased...

and even one had disappeared.

And so...

I bought a yogurt maker so I may always have a fresh batch 

with which to supplement my daily meal...

for the extra anti-inflammatory effects.

I was pleasantly surprised by my first successful batch...

as I will go into later in this article.

I make 8 to 9 individual containers at a time...

one for each day.

As the yogurt was chilling in the fridge...

I began preparing the Japanese Sweet Potatoes for dehydration.

My first step was to wash and scrub each one thoroughly.

I used a new pot scrubber to do so...

and it will be my vegetable scrubber from now on.

Most dedicated vegetable scrub brushes simply cannot scrub veggies well enough.

I keep the skin on all fruits and veggies as that is where much of the vitamins are...

but as most veggies and tubers had been sprayed with insecticides and herbicides 

during their growth...

and some with fungicides to keep them from spoiling during shipment and storage...

and/or sprouting inhibitors...

it is necessary to scrub each one carefully.

After washing each tuber...

I then wrapped them in foil in preparation for baking them.

After I had completed this...

I put the first batch into the oven at 380 F for approximately two hours.

I had these set aside for the second batch of baking.

In the meantime...

it was time to test my first successful batch of L Reuteri yogurt.

I first tested it plain.

It was light and fluffy...

and not too sour.

It was just like some of the store bought unsweetened yogurt I had tried.

I then tried it with frozen blueberries.

Wow...

what a winning combination.

I kept adding blueberries as they ran low in the container...

assuring I always had one or two blueberries in every bite.

It had the fresh taste of the fruit without being overly sweet.

I had already bought different frozen fruit varieties...

and I will try each in turn over the coming months.

I may try to make my own yogurt drinks as well...

but that will be later.

After a while...

I tested the doneness of the sweet potatoes by inserting a hashi (chopstick)

into the middle of a sweet potato.

There should be no resistance...

which indicates it being done.

I set out the baked sweet potatoes to cool...

and I then went down to my dehydrator in the garage

and got out the first half of the dehydrated Enoki mushrooms.

I then began packing them into individual quart size bags...

for later use in ramen and udon.

The dehydrated Enoki had the consistency of dried straw...

but oh...

the flavor.

I love the taste of mushrooms...

especially Shiitake and Enoki.

I could just eat the Enoki dry...

as the flavor is concentrated...

and very flavorful.

What a delectable treat!

However...

I will use them in my noodle dishes after rehydration only.

I should have over a year's worth of dehydrated mushrooms

in this one dehydrated batch...

perhaps even two.

After bagging up the first half...

I went down to retrieve the last of the dehydrated Enoki...

and bagged them up as well.

I ended up with 7 quart bags of thoroughly dehydrated Enoki.

I have a special cabinet for dehydrated foods.

This way I can retrieve them for particular dishes.

After the first batch of Japanese Sweet Potatoes had sufficiently cooled...

I then put them into the freezer to partially harden them in preparation 

for the next step...

slicing them so they may be dehydrated.

This way I may have delicious and nutritious dehydrated treats over the following months.

------------------------

As it is taking longer for the sweet potatoes to cool enough to slice...

far longer than I had anticipated...

I will just put them into the fridge to gently cool enough to slice tomorrow.

Today's little projects had turned out to be quite a success.

I think I will make myself a simple meal tonight.

I will just make some rice...

and then have some Unagi and Natto...

with some Sauerkraut on the side.

For tomorrow...

I have a little project in mind...

besides slicing and dehydrating the sweet potatoes.

However...

it will depend on how I feel at that moment.

After my supper tonight...

I think I will just relax in bed as I watch a movie...

or a rerun of a favorite show.

I have earned a night of relaxation.