Induction Cookers & Yogurt Making

Thought I'd show you'alls my induction cookers. They are wonderful, especially when your stove goes out and you still have electricity! They are also great in summer when you don't want added heat in your house! This is the white one, it has a lip at the edge of the plate, the black one doesn't. They're very easy to use, the children are starting to learn. Since our stove is fixed, but so old and inefficient, that I am using the induction cookers for everything that would be stove top. I still make bread in the oven and things like meatloaf, but that's all.



The principle is on magnetism therefore, if a magnet doesn't stick to your pan, you won't be able to use it, the cooker will automatically shut off. Also, if you take your pan off the plate, the connection is broken and it will beep a few times and then shut off. I love this for teaching the children to cook, the plate does not get hot except for the retained heat from the pan. The concept is brilliant!!

Right now I'm making yogurt-thought I'd take pictures to show you!

This is the black one, I must use for this huge pan (no lip on the plate). So, by tonight sometime, we will have 2 gallons of yogurt! (and meatloaf I made last night.)

That's all that's going on here besides the children have moved to doing 2 Math lessons per day-they are absolutely excelling!! :) We will finish the first work book in no time and move to the second. We need to start Multiplication and Division now that they are good at Addition and Subtraction. Then Algebra is next, Geometry will be interspersed so that Trigonometry will flow easily as well!! I will be checking their placement and skip a few books, since in elementary the main processes are learned and then repeated until the upper grades. Their reading is doing quite well and I hope to get out these books I got from Rod & Staff:

Thrilling Escapes by Night
The Man in Bearskin
Evangelist in Chains

I have more, and I think these are great true stories and truly real life based. I think I'll be selling my Laura Ingalls books...I'd not read them before now and found that I don't want to know the inner thoughts of Laura or the disobedient things that Almonzo did. Don't children have enough bad examples that we would have to introduce more?! We want them to emmulate Christ-like characters and will be looking for more whether taken from scripture or biographies.

Well, that's all for now. Need to go get another meal/snack out! Have a blessings of a day!

"...But the Fire's So Delightful"

We are staying very warm!! My dear hubby finished installing a wood stove. It is such a blessing!! This is our very first real fire-place.

We've or rather my hubby again (I was watching a little)has made yogurt. The first time it came out perfect and the second time it was just about the same.

Here's what we did:

Raw milk in 1/2 gal jars

Put jars in large double-bottom pot (16qt) in lukewarm/cool water

Add starter (dannon plain yogurt) to milk approx. 1/4 cup per 1/2 gal of milk

Warm slowly to 108-112 degrees Fahrenheit, no less-will take a long time to set, no more-will kill the starter.

Leave for approx. 5 hours (it started to separate, which means it "cooked" for too long)

Put jars in refrig. and eat when cold.

*The 2nd time we heated the milk (to supposedly kill the "bad" stuff that fights the yogurt culture) added the started and let "cook" for about as long. It came out tart and a little less set!

So that's what we've been doing. And it did snow for Thanksgiving. Just flurries, but it was gone as fast as it came.