A recent America’s Test Kitchen taste test of yogurts might just encourage me to try something other than my tried and true…

I did not grow up eating yogurt. I first learned about it after I left home. I have my favorites but there has been some reluctance to rock the boat, so to speak, when it came to trying other brands. Mostly because when I had done that I wasn’t all that impressed.

When I was researching the Instant Pot, one of the things that caught my attention was the ability to make my own yogurt. While I thought the option might be useful, the reality is that I don’t eat enough to warrant (a) the cost and (b) the time. Granted, if I was in a larger household and more folks consumed yogurt, these things would be different.

There is also the fact that, as I did not grow up eating yogurt, I don’t cook with it, either. One learned skill I have yet to acquire.

All that being said, this taste test was interesting and informative. I have already checked to see what is available in my area…the next grocery order could be a bit different. 😀

Cottage cheese seems to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance. Folks have (re)discovered it and have embraced the tangy tasty cheese in many ways.

I grew up eating in – mostly mixed with fruit, often plain with sugar. I don’t have a preference between large or small curd but I don’t care for low or non fat versions. What is the point? It is also a respectable replacement for ricotta and in many markets less expensive.

Recently Anna over on Cooking The Books prepared 3 different recipes using cottage cheese. Click HERE to go to her channel. The 1970’s Borden Cottage Cheese Cookbook is a great resource if you want to experiment – don’t forget Anna has the full recipes in the description box below the video.

I have to admit I am encouraged by the recipes she chose. What might you try?

Change can be its’ own stress.

I am one of those folks who do better with some structure in my life. Being a retired person, this can occasionally be an issue. Recently I mused that I missed having what has been called appointment TV. The schedule where shows landed on a certain day of the week and I either had to sit down and watch or make effort to record. The recording aspect was an unexpected bonus for my folks. The very idea of recording for later viewing arrived decades later in their lives…

The thing is, I tend to get stuck in my particular moat and don’t always seek out new things to watch. This can be an issue in mid Summer when my regular shows are on hiatus. (There’s a word we don’t hear often these days.) I recently gifted myself a subscription to watch a show I’d been eyeing for a few months. The trouble is, I’ve watched the show and now look at that subscription and realize…there isn’t much else I am interested in. Queue cancelling the subscription.

I do think the streaming model is a better option than cable but…too much is too much just as too little is too little. That being said, I am seeing the same pit falls that cable tripped over happening with streaming. The sad truth is you can’t be everything to everybody.

Anyway…reset time has come and I’ve gone through my watch lists and reading lists, etc. removing things I’d forgotten about or out grown while not quite adding things…yet. The truth is interests change (on both sides) and sometimes we sign on for reasons that no longer apply…

At the moment (95 degree temps with more to come) I’m contemplating pot roasts and casseroles and cozy kitchens where baking (!!!) is being done.

You too? 😀

I don’t think we are actually ‘done’ yet, just getting ready for the next round…

Cheers!