Open your fridge, now. Scan the shelves and tell me: how many plastic yogurt containers are in there? If your house is anything like mine, plastic yogurt tubs--the 32-ouncers from Nancy's, Wallaby, or Straus--are your default tupperware, to the point where it can take a few minutes of fridge-shelf lid-popping to find the one that's actually still filled with yogurt and not last week's curried coconut-lentil soup or last night's leftover pad thai.

Which makes me a little guilty about the amount of plastic I'm bringing home from Good Life Grocery week after week in support of my fermented-dairy habit. On one hand: calcium, probiotics and lactobacillus, good. On the other: a bobbing stream full of plastic tubs, flowing right to my doorstep. Yes, they're recyclable, but still, the process of plastic from creation to breakdown is not a pretty one.

Happily, though, there's an easy way to both save money and keep away from the tubs. You make your own.

For a long time, I put this off, until I finally found a yogurt maker for $5 at a garage sale. A yogurt maker does nothing but provide a mild, steady heat source that keeps your milk at optimal fermentation temperature, about 10 or 15 degrees above your own 98.6 F. Whatever the brand, it's just a heating pad for your jars, and while it's convenient, it can also seem like just one gadget too many.

After my own machine disappeared during my last move from Brooklyn back to San Francisco, I couldn't quite see adding yet another appliance to an already space-challenged kitchen. And why, when yogurt has been made for ages using absolutely no technology at all?

We give very little thought to the luxury (and relatively new phenomenon) of chilling milk straight from the cow, keeping it cold and fresh for a week or more at a time. Yogurt, like other ferments, makes this protein- and calcium-rich food last a lot longer, while at the same time making it easier to digest. Nomadic Mongolians fermented mare's milk in skin bags kept warm next to the saddle. All over the Mediterranean and the Middle East, yogurt was made from goat, sheep and (to a lesser extent) cow's milk. It could be made thin and tangy for use in marinades and drinks, richer and thicker for dips and sauces. In India, cooling yogurt-based lassi drinks could be salty or sweet, perfumed with aromatic spices or sweetened with pureed ripe mango.

It takes nearly no effort to make yogurt. What you need is milk (cow, goat, even sheep, depending on your preference), a little already prepared yogurt to act as a culture, a clean jar, and time.

A candy-type thermometer is useful, although not absolutely crucial. A quart of milk is a good amount to start with, along with 2 tablespoons of plain, unflavored yogurt made with live cultures (and preferably without pectin, gelatin, or other thickeners). Heat your milk up to 160 degrees, or until you can hold your (clean) fingertip in for about 10 seconds. Pour the milk into your clean jar and place the jar in a bowl of ice water to cool it down. Stir the milk frequently. When it's between 110-115F degrees, or when it feels just mildly warm to the touch, pour a little out into a small bowl. Whisk in the yogurt, then pour the mixture back into the jar. Whisk to mix, then cover the jar.

You're almost done. The last step is keeping the mixture at a more-or-less steady 110F to 115F for six to eight hours. Putting the jar into a large covered pot of 110-degree water that comes half-way up will work, as long as you periodically re-warm the water. Many people swaddle their jar in a thick towel and put it on top of the fridge or at the back of the stove, anywhere that stays reasonably toasty. That same half-filled pot of warm water could work very nicely stashed in a picnic cooler or styrofoam tub.

As the milk sits, the colonies of beneficial bacteria from the initial dose of yogurt will be digesting the lactose in the milk like crazy, kicking off a mad binge of reproduction. After some 6 to 8 hours, the once-fluid milk will be transformed into solid yogurt and a quantity of loose whey. Without stirring, put the jar into the fridge for several hours, so it can cool down and continue to set. Once the yogurt is thoroughly cold, pour off any excess whey, then stir thoroughly.

Try as you might, homemade yogurt is, in my experience, pretty runny. (So is commercial yogurt, if made from only milk, without added gelatin or pectin.) The more consistent your heat source, the better your chance for a more solid yogurt. Full-fat milk makes dreamy-rich yogurt, although I'm perfectly content using 2% milk for everyday use.

Once your yogurt is made, you can dress it up in many ways. Spooning it into a colander lined with cheesecloth, a clean tea towel, or several layers of paper towels, then letting it drain overnight in the refrigerator, will give you a fresh yogurt cheese similar to extra-thick Greek yogurt. You can sprinkle your yogurt cheese with herbs and sea salt, or drizzle it with honey and top it with toasted walnuts and oozing-ripe apricots.

Or you make your yogurt even runnier by turning it into a soup, like this chilled cucumber soup, drinkable even on the hottest East Bay days. It's also a way to redeem even the biggest, wateriest, seed-strewn cucumbers out of your garden, since the gelatinous seeds are scooped out and tossed, leaving only the cool flesh to be buzzed into a refreshingly frothy, herb-strewn puree.

Cool as a Cucumber Soup
The herbs in here are up to you. I think dill goes exceptionally well with cucumber, but basil, mint, or cilantro would all work very nicely, too.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
3 cups plain yogurt
1/2 cup thick, drained yogurt, Greek style yogurt, or sour cream
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped chives or scallions
3 large cucumbers, peeled in alternating strips, halved, seeds scooped out
a generous handful of fresh dill, basil, cilantro or mint
a few sprigs flat-leaf parsley, optional
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Combine yogurt, garlic, 2 cucumbers, and herbs in a blender. Puree until fairly smooth. You may have to do this in batches to avoid overloading your blender.

2. Pour soup mixture into a large pitcher and set aside. Grate or finely dice remaining cucumber and stir in for texture. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

3. Chill well. Serve very cold, topped with a little extra herbs and chives.

Cooking becomes problematic for me when the weather climbs above 85 degrees. Although I still want a delightful meal at the end of the day, I really don’t want to turn on my stove. So, what do you do when the Bay Area is going through yet another scorching week? Make gazpacho!

Until recently (uh… this week, actually) I'd never made gazpacho. I was inspired to concoct this cool Spanish soup, however, after tasting some at Cesar's Piedmont Avenue restaurant a couple of weeks ago. Unlike most red tomato gazpachos, the one at Cesar's that evening was a lovely lemony green and was made with cucumbers. It also had a bright summer flavor and was simple yet elegant.

Although I love most soups, I usually don’t go in for the cold ones. Give me a steaming hot vegetable, lentil, chicken, bean or broth soup and I’m quite happy. Cold soups, particularly the fruity variety, just don’t do it for me as they seem like the remnants of a smoothie left out on the counter. Cesar’s cucumber gazpacho, however, was in a class all its own. Smooth and cucumbery, with hints of lemon and vinegar, it was both refreshing and satisfying. My friend Ann and I liked it so much we wiped the plate clean with our bread.

The manager at Cesar's, Kathleen Ventura, was nice enough to give me a copy of the recipe, created by Chef Maggie Pond, when I asked for one. She also said she didn’t mind if I shared it here (thank you, Kathleen). The proportions are on the large side (as with any restaurant recipe), so I cut it down for home use.

When I made the gazpacho this week, I couldn’t believe how easy it was to prepare. I left off the fried croutons and pepper relish, and garnished with some simple cucumber slices instead. I also used Persian cucumbers instead of English cucumbers, simply because they were available at the store where I was shopping. I would think either English or Persian would be fine, or another variety without too many seeds, which can be bitter.

Following is the Cesar’s recipe, trailed by the home version I made that has smaller proportions. If you’re in the mood for a soup that takes less than five minutes to make, is cool and refreshing, and looks pretty in a bowl than I highly recommend it.

Cesar's English Cucumber Gazpacho

Serves: over 12

Ingredients:
8 English Cucumbers
1 1/4 cup Olive oil
1 cup Ice cold water
1 clove Garlic
1/2 cup White wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice
2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Cayenne

Preparation:
1. Peel cucumbers and rough chop. Place all the ingredients in a large bow.
2. In small batches puree mixture in a blender.
3. Serve with fried croutons, a spoonful of pepper relish and a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Note: For the best results, this should be made in a high speed blender. If you use a food processor you must remove the seeds from the cucumbers.

Home Recipe for Cucumber Gazpacho

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
2-3 English Cucumbers or 10 small Persian cucumbers (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup Olive oil
1/4 cup Ice cold water
1/2 small clove Garlic
1 Tbsp White wine vinegar
2 tsp Fresh lemon juice
dash of Salt
dash of Black pepper
a minute sprinkle of Cayenne

Preparation:
1. Peel cucumbers and rough chop. Place all the ingredients in a large bow.
2. In small batches puree mixture in a blender.
3. Garnish with cucumber and a smattering of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
4. Serve with a fresh baguette.