Goal! Getter! Gurl!: Karaoke for Hunger Review!

Saturday night I got together with some friends asking them to make a contribution to the food shelf, Neighbors, Inc., that I work at for Minnesota Food Share Month. We went to the VFW for karaoke night in Uptown and it was a great time! I did say I was going to get pictures, but hmmm...yeah. I really need to get better at taking pictures. Also, I realized that in a bar I need a camera phone with a flash...which I don't have. A recap of the night: my girlfriends and I got up and sang "Cecilia" by Simon and Garfunkel while our friend James cheered us on. Then James and I were going to do our rendition of "Mustang Sally." James was going to be the lead and I was super pumped because I was going to be the backup singer. However, it was an epic fail as I think the old dude controlling the tickets lost our ticket! Booo! I told James that we would rain check Mustang Sally for another time. I really wish I had gotten a video now! I vow to get better at pictures! However, I did get this one blurry shot of the VFW as my friend Kenna was driving away. She didn't have time to wait for my slow camera on my phone. ENJOY! ;)

And there it is! VFW entrance as Kenna flew away! ;)'

While at the VFW, I used the last of my $25 budget, purchasing a $3.75 Vodka Collins. James later took pity on me treating me to a Crispin Cider! Thanks JAMES! I owe him one!! PS. If you are into art, check out my friend James' blog here.

I made my 3rd bath of Greek yogurt this weekend and the 3rd time was the CHARM! I was super excited to end up with some very thick, creamy and non-sour Greek yogurt! I added blueberries and honey to it today and it was DELICIOUS! I think I've determined where my flaw was in my prior batch. I don't think the pilot light in my oven kept it warm enough to incubate. My oven has a setting below the 200 degree mark that says, "Warm." This time I utilized that setting and it turned out perfect! This is the recipe that I utilize.

After draining out whey.

Mixing to make nice and creamy!

Leftover whey.

Contraption I designed in my kitchen to drain whey. I know...but I had to so it would work! :)

After making the Greek yogurt and inspired by my success, I went on to try and make homemade ricotta cheese with the whey. That was NOT so successful. What I ended up with was a teaspoon of curds that I wasn't even sure were ricotta or not! I will try again in my next batch of yogurt. :) I'd love to be able to make something out of that rather than throw it down the drain! I know you can use it for protein in many other things like bread, shakes, etc. but I'd really like to make ricotta. I will continue trying!