Riffday: just a bit not good

1. The post title-- because I'm hooked. Dangit. I only like to have one TV show I'm addicted to at a time-- it was Big Bang Theory until we got caught up (which took awhile, there were six seasons to watch)(and now suddenly I'm a little tired of it), and now it's Downton Abbey. We just started that after Christmas, so we still have a few episodes to watch of season two, and season three is happening right now, I think. But suddenly there's Sherlock, too. I'm not sure I can do two TV shows at the same time, but I will do my best to bear up under the strain. Both British for some reason.

2. Yogurt. I've made three batches now, each one better than the last. The one I made yesterday I didn't even scald the milk first, and it turned out to be the best so far. The secret is to add half a cup of nonfat dry milk--which I know, we all think is horrible, but it turns out that it is a great addition to homemade yogurt. Heat two cups of 1% milk just till lukewarm, then stir in the yogurt starter, a tablespoon of vanilla, four tablespoons of maple syrup, and half a cup of the nonfat dry milk. Then stir that into 3 more cups 1% milk. Pour into the little jars, set them in the machine, and set it for 10 hours. When it's done you can stir in fruit or flavoring if you want. It's great. The only problem is that although it is way better than Yoplait or Tillamook, it's still not as good as our favorite, Nancy's Honey yogurt (made in Eugene, OR! *waves*). Dean is addicted to Nancy's, so I suspect we will still be buying the big tubs of Nancy's, but at least we are free of all the little single serving size ones. And the big tubs get re-used, so I think we're good with this.

3. And on the never ending topic of using up eggs: custard. I'd never made custard before, so I started reading. There are lots of variations. Last night I made chocolate custard that you pour over bread crumbs and then bake, so it comes out somewhere between pudding and a brownie. Yum. And since the eggs keep coming (don't those silly chickens know they're not supposed to lay eggs in the winter?), I suspect more custard experiments are coming.

4. I tried the no shampoo experiment. If you don't know about this, just google "no shampoo." The proponents of "no-poo" think that shampoo strips your hair of its natural oils, thus creating a need for hair products that you wouldn't need if you didn't shampoo in the first place. I went nine days without washing my hair, although I did shower every day because my hair is so fine and thin that overnight it turns into a mass of cowlicks and wonkiness that must at least be wetted down daily. All I can say is that the people who are able to make this work must already have good hair, because other than color (and even that is fake these days), mine is hateful. After about six or seven days, it had reverted to the way I remembered it from when I was a kid--flyaway, static-y, and completely unalterably straight--it just lies there on my scalp. I did find out that I can go considerably longer than I realized without shampooing (3-4 days), but I am happy to be back using hair products again. I think it must work better for people with thick hair, or maybe the key is having dry hair.

5. I was a volunteer judge in a high school speech and debate tournament today. They are so talented. It restores your faith in the Youth of America.

6. This post is an experiment. I'm having an internet-free weekend, so I thought I would try posting by email. Supposedly I can e-mail a post to blogger and it will automatically appear. So if you're reading this, it worked. :-) Have a great weekend!