Making your own Vanilla Sugar is a fast and simple exercise and allows you to always have some in the house to flavour your yogurt, cake and cookies or any kind of pudding. I also always whip some into my whipped cream for a delicious taste...

500g sugar, preferably white or castor sugar

2-3 vanilla pods

a sharpe knife and and airtiight container

Vanilla pods are the fermented seed pods of an orchid plant that grows best in hot and humid areas like the DR Congo. It can also be grown in Western Kenya or along the coast, but needs certain moths to pollinate the flowers for seed pod production. Importing vanilla plants into Kenya is also strictly regulated and needs KEPHIS approval.
You should always buy fresh vanilla pods, which are still soft and pliable. Dry and hard ones are much more difficult to work with and will have lost some of their intense flavour. They are stored in airtight glass or plastic tubes to seal their freshness. Vanilla extract is an alcohol extract of the vanilla pods. It does not give the same pleasant aroma as the fresh vanilla pods steeped in sugar.

Pour the sugar into a bowl. Use a sharp knife to split open the vanilla pods lengthwise.

Inside the vanilla pod you will see a black paste composed of millions of tiny seeds. Use the back of the knife to scrape them out off the pod.

Mix the vanilla seed paste thoroughly with the white sugar.

Mix in also the empty vanilla pods and fill everything in an airtight container.

Homemade Vanilla Sugar can be stored for a long time, the aroma just keeps getting better over time!

Yogurt is very healthy, especially if made with live cultures. It assist in keeping the digestive system healthy, reduces urinary tract infections, increases calcium uptake and stimulates the immune system. Yogurt is an essential part of my daily breakfast. Unfortunately I am one of the increasing number of people who are allergic to cows' milk. I can use goats' milk though and therefore decided to start making my own goats' milk yoghurt. For those who are allergic to any kind of lactose: you should give it a try with coconut milk.

1. Fresh cows', goat or sheep milk.
2. Live yoghurt cultures (100 ml plain yogurt or 1 pack of powdered culture per liter milk)
3. Thermometer that can measure to at least 50*C
4. Clean stainless steel pot with a heavy "sandwich" bottom
5. Whisk
6. Oven or other source of heat that can keep the yogurt warm for several hours
7. Yogurt containers (glass or food quality plastic)
8. Refrigerator

Use only fresh milk to avoid infection with other bacteria. Also don't use longlife milk as it is basically "dead" and will be diffcult to activate.

You need live yogurt culture that can multiply in the milk and turn the milk into yogurt by turning milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid. The lactic acid makes milk products more easible digestible, which is important as the stomach of adults doesn't provide for milk digestion any more (unlike the stomach of an infant). This live culture can be bought as a powder or in form of a live yogurt. I have tried the Togg's plain goatmilk yogurt and it works.

Yogurt cultures are most active at a temperature of 44*C. Therefore the milk must be heated to and kept at this temperature for several hours. Overheating would kill the yogurt culture and lower temperatures would inhibit the process. Normal fever thermometers only measure up to 42*C, therefore it is necessary to obtain a food thermometer. I prefer a digital one as it doesn't break as easily as a glass thermometer and also allows instant temperature readings.

When making yogurt you have to be very hygienic to avoid infection of the milk with foreign bacteria. Always wash your hands and equipment thoroughly. Equipment should always be rinsed with cold water first and then washed with hot water afterwards. Equipment can also be desinfected with a little JIK in the water. Avoid contact of the milk with strong smelling liquids or smoke as that will change the taste of the milk. The pot should have a thick bottom as milk will burn very easily in thin pots/sufurias. If milk burns the protein in the milk crumbles and the texture of the milk becomes unpleasant. It will also take on a burnt taste. 
After the yogurt is cultured (turned sour) it will still be quite liquid. It needs to set first. For this it needs to be cooled for several hours, best overnight. This will also stop the culturing process.

Step 1: Boil the milk

I boil my milk to kill any unwanted bacteria as it comes from some neighbours cow in various containers and I can't be sure it isn't "a little bit dirty". If the milk comes from your own cow and you use it immediately and you are also sure about your hygiene standards, it is also fine to make raw milk joghurt. 

Step 2: Let the milk cool down to 44*C

Use a thermometer to ensure you introduce the culture at the right temperature. If you are using yogurt instead of powdered culture add it to the milk at a slightly higher temperature as it will cool the milk down.

Step 3: Add the culture

Use a whisk to stir in the powdered culture or the plain live yogurt.

Step 4: Pour the cultured yogurt into glass or plastic containers

The yogurt sets better if left to set in small containers than in one big bowl. I use small food-quality plastic containers with a screw lid. But you can use even used and washed yogurt pots or drinking glasses.

Step 5: Close the containers and place them in a dish with warm water

The containers with the yoghurt should have a lid to avoid infection with bacteria and smells. The containers are then placed in a shallow dish holding warm water. It should be just enough water to reach up to where the yogurt is filed in the containers. This will help to keep the temperature stable and avoid burning.

Step 6: Keep the yogurt warm

Leave the yogurt in the oven for 1 - 4 hours at about 50*C until it is well cultured and has reached the taste you like. It will still be a bit too liquid at this state. It only sets properly after a few hours in the refrigerator.

If you don't have an oven wrap the yogurt container in some thick towles or keep it inside a styroform container or even a small cooler box (add warm water). This will maintain the temperature for long enough to culture the yogurt.

Step 7: Cool the yogurt overnight

For the yogurt to properly set (get thick and stiff) it needs to be cooled. This will also stop the culturing process so that the yogurt does not continue to get more and more sour. For this a refrigerator is needed.

Step 8: Flavouring the yogurt

To add flavour you can stir in vanilla sugar (to make vanilla yogurt) or any fruit concentrate, like the passionfruit concentrate (check out my older posts). You can also use a tablespoon of your favourite jam or even honey. I personally just eat the plain yogurt with some fresh fruits.

Greek yogurt is mild, extra thick and creamy yogurt made from ewes' milk. Ewes' milk is richer than cows' milk and gives Greek yogurt it's wonderful texture. To make a yogurt similar to Greek yogurt you can let the yogurt culture at 44*C for a few more hours, but this will produce not only a thicker but also more sour yogurt. To make a thick and mild yogurt you have to add powdered milk to the fresh milk before boiling it. For 1 liter of milk you should add about 250g of powdered milk. Stir it in well so it dissolves completely, then continue as usual.
 

Amaratnthus tricolor is the typical leafy vegetable Amaranth used for spinach. Leaves should be harvested young for consumption.

Grain Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) is a dual purpose crop. Its leaves are used for spinach while the seeds can be harvested as very healthy grains. The seeds are boiled as porridge or popped and milled as flour. It appears in a white and a purple form, often both together from the same seed source.

Several different indeginous Amaranthus varieties exist in East Africa. They often regarded as weeds, but actually are very healthy traditional vegetables. In Kenya they are collectively called Terere but consist of Amaranthus blitum, Amarathus blitum ssp. polygonoides, Amaranthus dubius, Amaranthus graecizans and probably several hybrids.
Every region has its own variety, some growing in wetter others in more arid areas. It is advisable to collect seeds from varieties growing in your area for propagation. Most varieties grow in full sun only A. graecizans will prefer some shade.

Seeds can be mixed with sands for uniform distribution of seeds. Sow broadcast in situ, lightly raking in the seeds. Needs full sunlight. Water in dry season.

Pull up plants before they self-seed!

Year-round. Succession sowing every 3 weeks. Seeds take 10-15 days to germinate.

Broadcast

Leaf harvest starts 3 weeks after sowing and continues for 12 weeks. Seeds are usually ready for harvest as grains after about 3 months. Rub the seed heads between your hands. If the seeds fall out freely they are ready to be harvested.

Leaves and young shoots, cooked. Seeds.

African mole-cricket, cutworm, Spoladea recurvalis caterpillar, root-knot nematode, stem borer, variegated locust. Damping off, leaf spot, powdery mildew.