Fill Up on Shantaram

Escaping to India after a prison break, Gregory David Roberts shares his true-life story thick with mafia dons, affable slums, and revenge. Like a spicy curry, the pages of this book transport you to steamy Bombay.

Shantaram is a whopping 933 pages, but details of roti breakfasts, black market medications and Bollywood movies make it a true page turner.

Spanning ten years, this book will make a speedy reader feel a bi-polar cocktail of emotions that range from pride to disgust. Though Roberts comes off arrogant, his honesty when sharing shame, fear and weakness is admirable.

Shantaram is the memoir of a recovering heroin addict on the run. It is full of violence, love, death and loyalty. By the end you will feel the weariness and wisdom gained from a trip abroad and have a taste for Indian food resting on your tongue.

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Easy Homemade Yogurt

Yogurt is such a huge part of the Turkish diet that I thought now would be a great time to do a homemade experiment. After two successful batches, I can say that anyone who can boil pasta can make yogurt. Here’s how you can whip up a batch that is cheaper, richer and creamier than most you’ll find in the store.

Begin with a starter, any yogurt with active cultures will do the trick.

Select your milk, keeping in mind that higher milk fat yields a richer product.

Heat your milk to 180-190 degrees- very small bubbles will form around the pot edge.
*Do not stir the milk while heating and do not scrape the sides or your yogurt will be grainy.

Let the milk stand until it drops to 115 degrees, which is cool enough to touch but uncomfortable.
Skim the skin from the top of milk to prevent lumps.
Combine the milk with two tablespoons of starter for every quart of milk.

Put the mixture in a thermos or insulate a covered bowl with some towels. Let the mixture sit warm and undisturbed for about three hours.

The result should look like this.

If you want thicker Greek style yogurt, pour the mixture into a strainer lined with cheesecloth.

Yogurt making is not an exact science Ratios and temperatures do not have to be exact. Just remember that you want the milk hot enough to kill bad germs, then cool enough to make your active cultures comfortable and then warm long enough for your cultures to go to work.

Check out the article that inspired me to ferment by Harold Mcgee.

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