Like everyone else, I am sheltering at home – and like many colleagues in the wedding industry, all my projects are on hold. Never one to sit still and twiddle my thumbs, I had to come up with something to do: something constructive. Stranded without my regular work and without any crafts supplies, I found my creative outlet in my kitchen!

One of my motivations – the shortage of our fresh grocery supply, something we used to take for granted… Now suddenly it’s NOT a given to get everything I want in the one grocery trip I’m doing every two weeks. Yoghurt, for example. Here’s our favorite:

Comes in pretty little glass jars, too – and I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away anyways, darn cute as they are. So I now have a whole collection of them… why not refill them with my own concoction?!

So, bear with me. Half a gallon milk and two tablespoons of probiotic yoghurt as a starter, and six hours (of Instantpot incubation) later…

… my milk had thickened – but not enough yet. Still too runny. Next step: drain through a cheesecloth for a good 2 hours!

That worked! The result was very much like creamy yoghurt – which I enriched with a little heavy cream. However… the yield was only about half my original volume. The rest was just liquid.

Time to fill my little glass pots. Bottom layer: two heaping teaspoons of our favorite jams (Bonne Maman Black Cherry and Smucker’s Sweet Orange), topped with my precious yoghurt.

That’s all I got from half a gallon of milk to start with – so that better be good… off to the fridge, and after chilling overnight, we’ll have the “moment of truth” tomorrow morning. (This is my third time – it IS good!!)

Oh, BTW: if you try it yourself, don’t discard the yoghurt liquid. It’s perfect for my Irish Soda Bread recipe which I’ll share in a day or two. Put your whey liquid in the fridge until then!