Marinating the meat doesn't always yield a tender dish. Try this next time!

A little yogurt can elevate ho-hum marinated chicken to new levels of deliciousness.

Farmers' market. Photo: NatalieMaynor, Flickr

• Just what sort of a price difference will there be at the farmers' market versus a grocery store?
• Chilean Carménère is a red vino ripe for matching with grilled foods.
• We taste-test different yogurt styles.
• Pickled eggs can offer a new realm of flavor, whether beet-tinged, golden, or hot and spicy.
• Pietopia contest asks: "What flavor of pie describes your life, and why?"
• The Oregonian investigates whether grilling the Argentine way will result in the perfect steak.
• Indian simmer sauce can give meatballs a totally new kick.
• Stone fruit pits can proffer tasty almond-like flavor to dishes, but be cautious to avoid cyanide issues!
• Recipes: Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam With Ginger and Cardamom, Fresh Fruit Custard Tart, Garlicky Grilled Chicken and Cabbage With White Barbecue Sauce, Pasta Neapolitan
  

Oh, man. So this squirrel was caught on film with its head stuck inside a Yoplait yogurt container.

The squirrel attempts to do all of its usual running, jumping, and generally squirrelish activities against the majestic backdrop of a white, elegant gazebo at South Carolina's Furman University -- all while wearing the container on its head. Apparently the videographer, a WYFF photographer, helped the squirrel remove his cap after filming this footage.

Click and come back to tell us:



[CNN via Serious Eats]

We reported a few weeks back about how Yoplait was going growth-hormone free. Well now Dannon's following suit, reports Civil Eats. Dannon, which controls around one third of the country's dairy market, cites consumer demand as the reason behind the change. The company says it will go rbGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone)-free by the end of the year.

There are various health and animal rights issues surrounding the use of rbGH on dairy cows. The hormones have been linked to increased rates of infections in cattle, necessitating greater antibiotic use. And some studies have shown that rbGH raises levels of a hormone in cow's milk; higher than normal levels of IGF-1 in humans may raise the risk of breast cancer. Others say no significant difference has been shown between milk from rBST-treated and milk from non-rBST-treated cows.

Find out how to use yogurt as a healthy alternative to high fat ingredients when baking.

I'm often surprised to realize that many of the groceries I buy can be simply made at home. I tend to presume that cottage cheese just grows on supermarket shelves, for example, or that making vanilla requires complex machinery. So while it may be more convenient to throw these items into your cart than to cultivate them in your own kitchen, try making any of these eight treats at home the next time you're feeling bold.

1. Homemade cottage cheese from Serious Eats
2. Homemade vanilla extract from Simply Recipes
3. Homemade peanut butter cups from Baking Bites
4. Homemade girl scout cookies, also from Baking Bites
5. Homemade yogurt from 101 Cookbooks
6. Homemade soy milk from Just Hungry
7. Homemade butter from The Wednesday Chef
8. Homemade soda from Mother Earth News

Make something special at home? Share the recipe!

Parfaits are truly the anytime dish -- breakfast, lunch, snack, dessert. Dinner? Maybe even that. Here are some ideas for both usual and unusual (and hopefully, unusually delicious) takes on this yummy yogurt-based delight.

1. Apple and Walnut parfait with maple syrup
2. Greek yogurt parfait with mangoes and honey
3. Classic fresh raspberry parfait with granola
4. Parfait with yogurt, granola, and cooked cherries
5. Trail mix parfait with yogurt, mixed nuts, and dried fruit
6. Cereal parfait with yogurt, dried cereal, and fresh strawberries
7. Frozen yogurt parfait with frozen or fresh berries
8. Pina Colada parfait with dried pineapple, dried coconut, and vanilla yogurt

Anyone have favorite combos for beautiful layered parfaits? Share!

Ever since I returned from Dubai, I've become fascinated by Middle Eastern cuisine. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Sahadi's in Brooklyn, and I discovered Labne. Labne is a dense yoghurt eaten in Syria and Lebanon. It's not as tangy as many of the Greek yoghurts I've tried in the past, but it has the same thick texture. You can flavor it with crushed mint and olive oil. Also, it doesn't have nearly as many carbs as most yoghurts. Labne from Karoun Dairies in California has just two grams of carbohydrates in a two tablespoon serving size .

For those of you on a low-carb diet, like the Atkin's, Labne is a great find. You can use it as a dip for hamburger meat. It can be a substitute for sour cream. It also tenderizes meat in a stew and adds a great creamy tang to a soup. For those of you not on a strict low carb regimen, I urge you to try it over bread with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, olive oil and maras pepper. When entertaining, Labne can serve as dip for bread. This month, the New York Times Magazine featured a recipe for labne-and-ricotta cheesecakes with rice, nut and raspberry relish.

Ah, the diverse ways you can add labne into your diet! Next time you have zaatar bread, dip it into labne and taste the gastronomic effects of this unique low-carb treat.

Marisa wrote about yogurt making about a month ago. I would like to re-visit the subject from an extremely frugal angle. With wild fruits coming into season (like mulberries), yogurt is a great way to serve nature's sweet bounty.

I can remember trying yogurt for the first time as a kid. Most of the brands had a distinctive sour taste, and fruit on the bottom. They came in 8-ounce containers, and sold for anywhere from 25 to 50 cents a cup. Now, with prices double that or more, and the cups shrinking to 6 or even 4 ounces (who can eat 4 ounces of yogurt and call it a satisfying experience?), I decided to re-visit the old fashioned way of getting yogurt. MAKING IT YOURSELF!

This isn't just for frugality. I really enjoy making things at home that most people buy prepared. Some of the things we purchase without questioning whether or not they could be created right in our kitchens are actually quite easy to make. Yogurt is one of them, and requires very little in the way of equipment.

There are yogurt makers that you can purchase. I have to tell you though that they are really not necessary. The only piece of equipment you might need to buy is a kitchen thermometer. You will need a thermometer that can read as high as 100 degrees Celsius (212 Fahrenheit) and as low as 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit). For your first batch only, you need starter. A tablespoon of good plain yogurt works fine as long as it has active cultures (check the label). After your first batch you just need to conserve some yogurt each time to use as starter for your next batch.

I grew up with a Salton, five-cup yogurt maker. As far back as I can remember, it was always tucked into the back of one of the kitchen cabinets. However, it never got much use during my childhood, as it was more of a relic from my mom's earlier, pre-children, hippie days than an active appliance. When I was 9 or 10 years old, at a moment when we were in need of drinking glasses, she cannibalized the yogurt maker, and pressed the milk glass cups into service around the dinner table. We continued to use them that way for years (I think that my mom even picked up a second yogurt maker at a thrift store at one point, just for the glasses).

Three or four years ago, I happened across a similar yogurt maker at a thrift store. I bought it, despite the fact that I had no active interest in making my own yogurt and my kitchen was already woefully overstocked. I tucked it up on top of my kitchen cabinets and didn't touch it again until last week.

One of the best things about living half a mile from Trader Joe's is access to cheap Greek yogurt. Thick and tart, Greek yogurt gets its rich texture from straining, not from stabilizers, and lacks that sometimes slimy feel of many commercial American brands. Full-fat Greek yogurt mixed with honey and nuts makes for the most hearty, luxurious breakfast; it's also terrific doctored up with lemon juice, salt and paprika and used as sauce for cold chicken or lamb.

Gena, over at Big City, Little Kitchen, has found another great use for Greek yogurt: cupcakes. She simply used full-fat Fage (pronounced fah-yeh) as a substitute for sour cream in a Gourmet golden cake recipe. Though the yogurt is dense, the cupcakes came out as light and fluffy as if she'd beaten in egg whites. Mixed with sugar, butter, and lemon juice, it made a tart, cream cheese-like frosting. As a lover of sweet-sour yogurt gelato, I say mmmmm!

Check out the color on that chicken. Those legs and thighs spent some good time in their yogurt and spice marinade before getting to a very hot grill. Yumm-y! The picture belongs to Flickr user my amii and you can find the recipe here.

I'm still taking suggestions on different foods to feature in this space. Shout out your ideas in the comments section and I will do my best to respond.

This Week's Food Safety Terror Alert has gone a depressing shade of blue (which isn't even on the meter) for a voluntary recall by Stonyfield Farm of their 6-ounce cups of Stonyfield Organic Fat Free Blueberry Yogurt based on reports that customers have found plastic or glass fragments in the products.

The affected yogurts have codes printed along the cup bottom that start with the following dates:

• Apr 13 08
• Apr 14 08
• Apr 15 08
• April 25 08
• Apr 26 08

If you have questions, you are advised to contact Stonyfield Farm Consumer Relations at 1-800-PRO-COWS or email crelations@Stonyfield.com.

There are several standard ways I use up leftovers: an omelet the next morning, fried rice, and of course, just re-heating whatever it was, and eating it as is.

Another thing to do is make a sandwich, and if you have leftover lamb and asparagus from Easter Sunday, throwing them together with a little bit of yogurt-turned-tzatziki makes a great pita-bread-based sandwich. Of course, in my house, we didn't actually have lamb (we didn't have a traditional ham either), and asparagus on the table gets eaten before the salad is served.

Without the leftovers to make the pitas, the only other thing to do is -- gasp! -- actually cook the meal! The California Asparagus Commission has put together a recipe (after the jump), along with a whole list of recipes for asparagus on their website.