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After a certain point in life, you start to realize your limits. In my case, it's how many ingredients I will buy to make a weeknight supper. I don't have a set number, but generally, I'm willing to pick up two, maybe three things--4 tops. The rest of the meal usually comes out of the pantry. At the risk of sounding like a complete nut, sometimes the prospect of buying one more ingredient is enough to make me not make a dish. ("And I need to get cream cheese? Forget it.")

Which is why I love when a recipe tells me to thicken a sauce with yogurt. I adore cream cheese and sour cream (which many recipes rely on to make dishes creamy), but they aren't staples in my house. Yogurt is, though, since it's healthy, kid-friendly and something everyone in the family will eat for breakfast, a snack or dessert. And with the cool weather, my weeknight suppers have taken a heartier turn, so now yogurt's popping up on my dinner menu, too. I'm using it in in soups and stews from carrot-ginger to curried lentil; cooling dips, which go well with spicy chicken dishes; and salad dressings accompanying winter greens like endive.

Cooking with yogurt is easy. Here's how to do it.


Unless you're making dessert, use plain yogurt. Greek-style ones are best for cooking; they're closest in consistency to cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream.

Fold, don't whip, the yogurt when you're making a dip. This will keep the consistency thick. (This illustration provides a nice detail.)

Gently incorporate yogurt into a hot dish, and use low-fat (not fat-free) yogurt. A little fat will help the yogurt withstand the heat. If your yogurt is very cold, add a little bit of the warm ingredient (i.e., your curry) to the yogurt; stir them together to warm the yogurt up. Then add the warmed yogurt to your sauce.

Don't use aluminum bowls or spoons when cooking with yogurt. The acidity of yogurt can react negatively with aluminum and spoil the food.

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