Fig Jam

Problem: A friend of mine has a fig tree but decided she didn't like figs.
Solution: Go pick all of her ripe figs and make fig jam!

I've never made fig jam but after spending only 2 hours from start to finish (aka the kitchen was completely cleaned up), I decided that so far it is the easiest thing to can.  Why? It only took me 5 minutes to prepare the fruit! I followed this blog for instructions.

Clean figs and cut off stems.  If the skins are soft (which they should be
since that means they are ripe), they do not need to be removed. 
I ended up with 2lbs of White Figs, which turned out to be 7 jars (8oz each).

Cut the figs into quarters (you'll blend them later so it doesn't need to be perfect).

Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 3 TBS No Sugar/Low Sugar Pectin
Note: Regular pectin can be used. However, the using pectin that requires less sugar turns out better, you can taste the fruit more, and its not overly sweet

Put the figs in a pot with the sugar/pectin blend, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water.
Cook until the fruit is boiling.

Add 4 1/4 cups sugar.  Using an immersion blender, blend figs until it is all one consistency.
Note: Blending at this time helps smooth out the sugar lumps as well.
Cook until it become a vigorous boil and then boil 1 minute. 

In the meantime, you should be sanitizing your jars.  I use a big pot of water, put in all my clean jars and lids, and let it boil.  By the time I'm done making the jam, I not only have sanitized jars, but also a pot of boiling water ready to give my jam a water bath. 
Using a jar gripper take out jars, fill them with jam to 1/4 inch from the top,
put on lids, and screw on rings. 
Once all the jars are filled, put them back into the pot of water
(the water should cover the jars by a couple of inches).
Boil jars for 5 minutes if you are at sea level.  I did mine for 7 minutes (most pectin boxes have specific instructions).
Using the jar gripper again, remove jam from water and allow to cool. 
Note: you can smile to yourself every time you hear a POP! because that means you've succeeded!

I plan on enjoying my fig jam as an appetizer with my homemade bread, a slice of Romano Cheese, a bit of fig jam, and a glass of wine for a ladies' night!

Finally...Homemade Bread!

Its the little things in life that make me happy.  Today I finally succeeded in making some bread.  What most of you don't see is all the times that I fail.  I usually just post about the perfection of something that I've made.  Well, now I'm going to be honest with you. 
I've been trying to make bread for a really long time and have never really quite succeeded.  Yes, I know, my husband and other taste-testers have said that they like the bread, but I know them well enough that I can read right through them.  I also know what good bread is supposed to taste like, and I can tell you that mine barely reached edible.  And when i mean edible, I mean that when it comes out of the oven I eat a slice and then can't handle the taste anymore that I give the rest to my chickens.  When i talk about bread making, I'm not talking about white bread that anyone could make in their sleep, I'm talking grinding the wheat berries and making bread. 
Finally, after much research, I did this (inspiration from here):
2 Cups-Whole Wheat Flour
8oz-Whey (from my homemade yogurt)
5oz-water
1/2 tsp. yeast
Warm up the water and whey so its slightly above room temp.  Mix flour, whey, water, and yeast while cleaning up dinner dishes (because it needs to sit around on your counter for about 12 hours)
The next morning, while you're drinking your coffee, add:
1 1/4 Cups-White Bread Flour (I know, I'm cheating a little...but it feels sooo good)
2 1/2 tsp.-Salt
Knead in your kitchen-aid for 5 minutes (I seriously set a timer because I was afraid of developing the gluten too much).  After the 5 minutes, I kneaded it by hand until I felt that the gluten was developed enough (try stretching it out and if it breaks before you can see light through the stretched out part, then you need to knead it some more).
Let it rise for 4-6 hours (I let mine only rise 4 hours).  At this point, I divided it into two.  Gently fold each piece into thirds (like a letter you are folding to put into an envelope).  You'll only need to do this twice (because you don't want to damage the precious gluten).  That's the shape I left it and let it rise for another hour.  At the end of the hour, I started pre-heating my oven with a stone and a pan of water under (to create steam).  So really the final rise was about 1 1/2 hours.  Just before I put it in the oven, I sprayed it with water and cut the top.  I let it cook about 3 minutes at 520F then dropped the temperature to 350F and let it finish for another 25 minutes.  I also transferred it so that the bread cooked on a piece of parchment which was on the stone.  Once it was cooked, I took it out and let it cook on a wire rack. 
This bread was incredible.  It had fluff, flavor, and a fresh taste. It also was amazing with a glass of Sauvignon Blac.

Homemade Wheat Bread and Wine fixes a long day!
(P.S. The wine was not from Wiens)

Things that I'm now learning:
-Its more about the technique than the recipe
-Watch YouTube videos on how to knead
-Don't over-knead your dough
-Cheat, no one will judge you (maybe one day I'll have wheat bread that tastes this good that is 100% wheat and no white flour)
-Use less yeast (yes, I know it takes longer, but its totally worth it)
-Use whey (I'm only saying this because I read on several websites that you can use whey to replace water in baking...I did it and it tasted good)
-Serve this bread with grilled basil shrimp (recipe to come)
-Drink wine!

Homemade Yogurt

                           

I'm coming to realize that I'm a slow learner.  My friend Katie has been making her own yogurt for years and has tried to convince me to give it a try.  Then I watched my sister-in-law, Joli, make yogurt and still wasn't convinced that I could do it.  Blog posts I've read seem complicated too.  Finally a friend from church told me how to make yogurt in 4 steps:
Step 1-Heat milk to 180F
Step 2-Cool to around 100F
Step 3-Add a couple of teaspoons of yogurt

Step 4-Keep at 100F until it turns to yogurt

That's all there is to it!

Now I'll explain how I actually accomplished those 4 steps.

Heat 1/2 gallon (8 cups) of whole milk to between 175-185F
Note: I've heard you can use low fat or non fat but I like
the creamy taste of the whole milk

Allow to cool to 100F (This takes about an hour, so go
water your plants and drink some coffee)

In the meantime, measure out a couple of tsp of
fresh, plain yogurt that has live cultures
(the ratio is 4 C. milk to 1 tsp. of yogurt).  After
you've made yogurt once, you can just start saving
a couple of tsp from one batch to make the next.

Once the milk has cooled, add the yogurt and mix well
(I used a whisk)

Put 100F milk into Crockpot and surround it with
100F water (this is my method for keeping it at 100F
for 8-12 hours, other methods include an oven that
can be set at 100F or a yogurt maker)

Cover with a thick towel to keep in the heat.  This
lasts about 3-4 hours.  When the thermometer says
that the water is below 100F, turn on Crockpot for
just a couple of minutes. SET A TIMER.  I almost
forgot about it and almost killed my yogurt.
Let the yogurt bugs do their thing until you wobble
the milk and it looks like jello (8-12 hours).
         You've just made Homemade Yogurt!

Now you can make your own Greek Yogurt!

Use 4 layers of cheesecloth and cover a colander.  Put a bowl under the colander to catch the whey.  This takes several hours so put it in the fridge during this time.  When the yogurt is the consistency to your liking, save whey and put yogurt in an airtight container. Store both in the fridge.   Rinse out the cheesecloth well and save for your next batch of yogurt.

I like my yogurt really thick so I strain it a lot.  For a half gallon of milk, I usually get about 32oz of thick Greek yogurt and almost 32oz of whey.  Save your whey! I'll post ways you can use it.
Waste not, want not!

Robbie's Crocheted Blanket

Hey Everyone!

I'm back.  I know I've been gone longer than what's acceptable but I know you'll forgive me.  I've been busy cooking up a storm, making drapes for my living room, crocheting a blanket for my nephew who will make his appearance into this world on June 4th.  I've also been working in my garden and hope to post some recipes of what I'm going to do or am doing with my bounty, so stay tuned.

For now, I'll just show you the blanket I crocheted.  I've been working on it for several months now and finished it the day before my sister's shower. 

I did a tiramisu stitch (or what I think is a tiramisu stitch).  It looks fancy and sounds fancy, but is soooo simple.  Then I bordered it with a bobble stitch and threw on a name.  I made my pretty big for a blanket so I used 5 skeins of yarn (but bought 6 since I was alternating colors).  Next time I'll try to make it a little smaller and only use 4.

Basic instructions:
Chain an even number to the length you want it.
For the first row: Skip the first loop, then SC in the next, DC in the next and repeat until the first row is done (you should be ending on a SC)
For the rest of the blanket: Chain one. Skip the first loop (the SC loop from the previous row), then SC and then DC in the next loop (the DC loop of the previous row).  Skip the next loop and then SC and DC in the next one.

If you give yourself enough time, I bet you could do something like this too!

Thai Coconut Soup

I hosted a Girl's Night at my house the other day.  It was a lot of fun.  There was food, movies, nail polish, games, and drinks all ready (ok, mostly ready) when the ladies arrived.  However, the only thing we did was eat the food, drink water (most of the ladies were pregnant) and talk until midnight.  Next time, I won't have anything else planned but just good food as we all ate a lot.
Here is what my sister made for the evening (as I was busy making Cheesy Potato Soup and Dinner Rolls):

Thai Coconut Soup (also known as Tom Ka Gai)
Warning: I've never measured anything in this recipe and my sister and I make it slightly differently.  Use the recipe as a guideline only.
1/2 onion-chopped
1 garlic clove-chopped
1-2 carrots (depending on the size)  
1/2 cup-red bell pepper-chopped
1/2 of an anaheim chili-chopped  
1 chicken breast
some tofu if you'd like extra protein (don't worry, it won't taste like tofu, it will taste like soup)
2-3 cups chicken stock (or just 2-3 cups of water and 3 t. chicken Better than Bouillon )
1 can coconut milk
dime size bunch of rice noodles
some: salt, pepper, lime juice, white sugar or palm sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and red pepper flakes if you want it spicier
1/4 bunch of cilantro-chopped


Saute the onions, then add the garlic and chicken (maybe with some salt and pepper).  Cook until the chicken is cooked and then remove the chicken breast and chop it .  Add the carrots, red bell pepper, anaheim chili, and chicken stock. Cooked covered until carrots are semi soft (they'll continue cooking as you finish up the soup so be careful not to overcook them).  In the meantime, use another pot to cook the rice noodles according to package directions (you could also use rice if you didn't have rice noodles).  When the carrots are soft, add the tofu, chopped chicken, coconut milk, and noodles.  Now comes the fun part.  Get a tasting spoon ready and taste often during the seasoning of the soup.  Squeeze some lime, 1 T. sugar, 1 t. soy sauce, 1/8 t. ginger, and red pepper flakes if you dare...taste it.  Oh, and don't forget to throw in the cilantro.  Now, maybe it needs some more lime, maybe some sugar, try a little more soy sauce.  Maybe you need some salt or for a richer taste, throw in a little more chicken better than bouillon.  Taste again! Be creative! Throw some more of whatever is your go-to seasoning for fixing soup.  Taste again.  Eventually it will be just the way you like it and you'll eat the whole pot of soup. That's ok; this soup is pretty healthy.
P.S. This is a gluten free recipe and can easily be made into a vegetarian dish as well.

Kombucha Troubleshooting

Its exciting to see other people have fun with microorganisms.  It makes them change their opinion on how weird I might be sometimes with my own bug fun.  However, whenever starting a new hobby there are always questions that need answering.  There is by no mean quantifiable evidence to support these answers but they work for me and hopefully they will work for you too!

Does Kombucha tea have alcohol in it?
-Sorta.  It usually has under 0.5% so it can be considered "non-alcoholic."  If you brew your kombucha tea at home and cover it with a cloth verses an air tight seal, you should have less than 0.5% of alcohol in your tea.  The SCOBY does produce alcohol, but it then changes that alcohol to a healthy acid.  A while ago, there an issue with some commercial bottles exceeding 0.5% and had to be taken off the shelf. 

What do I do if my Kombucha grows mold?
-THROW IT OUT! I'm sorry. I know that is not what you wanted to hear; the truth hurts.

How do I prevent mold?
-Clean everything with distilled white vinegar (not the dishwasher).  Ferment kombucha tea between 70-85 degrees F.  Add a little extra distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to your batch (I do about a 1/2 cup for 4 gallon batch).

Stay tuned on how to flavor your Kombucha tea!

Its Time for SEEDS!!!!

 Its about 2 months until the frost season finishes at my house and I'm determined to start all my own plants from seeds this year for my garden.  The last several attempts have not been quite so successful.  Apparently even if it is really warm outside (like the middle of summer), small seeds don't like it.  They either get too cold at night or get too hot during the day or get too dried out.  Seeds also like the best soil that you have to ofter them (I'm talking top of the line stuff, not the dirt that's out in your yard).  They are fragile little things and get stubborn when they don't get enough nutrients.  This year I will succeed (and I did)!
Note: Seeds have absolutely no problem sown directly in my garden.  However, by the time the frost season ends and I plant the seeds it is two late.

First of all, I actually bought some organic potting soil.  Potting soil is good for when you actually have potted plants since it has more nutrients than garden soil and will keep your plants nice and happy.
Secondly, I've allowed my seeds to take up residence in the house (along with the beer, kombucha, sour dough, and water kefir).  I found the perfect spot for them by a window that gets sun for at least 6 hours every day.
Thirdly, I have a spray bottle of water right next to the tray of plants, which makes it very convenient to keep the seeds well hydrated.

Things you'll need to start your own plants:
-organic potting soil
-spray bottle (for water)
-plastic cups (the cheapest is the best)
-tray
-seeds
-plastic wrap

Fill a tray with plastic cups, cut a couple of slits in the bottom, and label with a permanent marker.

Organic potting soil ready for use

Fill cups with potting soil and lightly pat down the soil

Follow the directions on the seed packets for how deep to plant the seeds

Spray with water (morning and evening) and keep covered with plastic until the seeds sprout

Yay! Nice and moist. 

The seeds are just starting to sprout, so remove the plastic

Continue giving your plants water, a nice warm place to stay, and love and this is what you'll get after about 3 weeks

Currently I have red winter kale, spinach, sage, romaine lettuce, oregano, and butterhead lettuce ready to go in the ground.  I just planted the seeds for parsley, thyme, dill, lavender, basil, roma tomato, mortgage lifter tomato, cherokee purple tomato, orange sun sweet pepper, and greek pepperoncini.  I have rosemary, lemon verbena, thyme, sage, and mint still alive and beautiful in the garden.  This is a good start but I still have many plants to go, such as: more tomato plants, cucumber, more kinds of bell pepper, serrano chili, and anaheim chili (all of which I'll start as seeds), and zucchini, peas, green beans, sugar pie pumpkins, butternut squash, and maybe some strawberries (which I'll plant directly into the ground).

Whoa! I'll be busy this summer with planting and gardening.  Stay tuned for more tips on Liz's bits about plants!

Cheddar Cheese Sour Dough Bread

Forgive me for not having posted anything about sour dough before.  You probably already know that I'm obsessed with it.  I feed it every day and experiment with it often.  I'm still working on it though.  However, I have to share this recipe because it was soooo delicious.

I followed this recipe:
Night before (or 12 hours prior to the next step):
1 1/4 C. unbleached white flour
1 tsp salt (I like kosher salt)
1/2 C. cool water
1 C. sour dough starter (that has been well fed 8-12 hours prior to making bread)
Mix everything together until it is a stiff glob.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area for 12 hours.

In the morning (or after 12 hours), add:
1 1/4 C. warm water
3 1/2 C. unbleached white flour
Knead the dough until it become a nice ball.  If it needs a little more flour to prevent it from sticking to your hands, do so.  Be careful not to use too much flour as your dough will become stiff.  I tend to add a little bit of flour and the switch to oiling my hands so I can work the dough with ease.  Once the dough is kneaded and in a nice ball, place in oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.

After it has risen, flatten dough ball and add:
8oz grated sharp cheddar cheese (the sharpness of the cheese is the perfect match for the sourdough)
a little garlic oil (optional)-I just used a little bit of my favorite garlic garni seasoning 
Roll up dough and shape the way you'd like.  Place on parchment paper or silpat and allow to rise another 1-2 hours.

Here is my loaf ready to bake with a little garlic garni sprinkled on top.

Bake bread in a 425 degree F oven (preheated) for 30-45 min. or until it is golden in color and sounds hollow when thumped.  Recipe yields: 2 loaves (I halved the recipe and made only one).
Enjoy sliced with butter or like I did with jalapeno jelly, muenster cheese, and sliced turkey! YUM!

Time Snapshot:
12 hours
+2 hours for first rise
+2 hours for second rise 
+30-40min bake time
=approx 17 hours (but only about 5 min to prepare each step)

Note: This bread was really good right out of the oven.  However, it became more dense the more it cooled so I'll have to make this again to try and fix that glitch.

Roasted Chickpeas

I've decided that I'm a slow learner.  I have to be introduced to something or told about something many times before I actually adventure out and do it.  Recently, I've been hearing/reading/seeing different posts, recipes, etc about roasted chickpeas.  I think they are going to solve my problem of needing healthy snacks for when I work.  So, I'm finally going to try it and see what happens. 

Here are a couple of blogs I'm going to get my inspiration from:
-Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
-Sweet 'n' Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas

Hope someone else get inspired and makes these!

Beyond your wildest dreams!

No, this is not what you think.  Those are not raisins with white chocolate chips, but rather dried BLUEBERRIES with white chocolate chips.  It all came to me when I open up my pantry and there staring me in the face were both the white chocolate chips (I had bought to make another batch of peppermint bark) and dried blueberries (to throw into homemade granola but never did that either).  In an instant I decided that I had to make cookies. There were no other options.  These cookies almost beat out chocolate chip cookies for me, but for my sister, they won her over and she never looked back.  She even ate one before dinner, so watch out!

White Chocolate Blueberry Cookies

Mix together and set aside for a few minutes so the sugar can dissolve:
1 cup butter (melted)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Add (all at once and in this order):
1 tsp. vanilla
1 whole egg plus 1 egg yoke (if you like more cake-like cookies, go ahead and do 2 whole eggs)
2 1/4 cups white flour (sometimes I'll add an extra 1/4 cup, but no more than that)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
a bunch of dried blueberries and white chocolate (to your liking)

Stir until just mixed.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you haven't eaten all the cookie dough yet, place small mounds of dough on cookie sheet and bake for about 8-12 min (I'm just guessing since I never actually time my cookies).

P.S. I never use more than one bowl and one spoon to make my cookies to save on dishes.  Do likewise and you'll never regret it.

A Marriage of Flavors: Beef Burgundy and American Strong Ale

I'm reading this book called "The Brewmaster's Table."  It is a complete guide on how to pair real food with real beer.  I've only read 100 of the 350 pages but I applied what I've learned so far to a dinner I made the other night: Beef Bourguinnonne (also known as Beef Burgundy).
Recipe as follows:
6 strips of bacon
3 lbs of beef rump or chuck (cut into small cubes)
1 lg carrot sliced
1 onion sliced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
10oz can condensed beef broth (or 10oz of water and 1 1/2 tsp of Beef Better than Bouillon
1 1/2 C red or burgundy wine
1 T. tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
1/2-1 tsp. whole thyme
1 whole bay leaf (I don't have bay leaves so I omitted it and it was fine)
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 lb fresh mushrooms
3 T. flour
Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp.  Remove and drain.  Add beef cubes and brown well.  Place browned beef cubes in crock-pot.  Brown carrots and one chopped onion. Season with 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.  Add broth, mix well and add to crock-pot.  Add cooked bacon, wine, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf and half a chopped onion.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Saute mushrooms in 2 T. butter and add to crock-pot about an hour before serving.
To thicken: Turn crock-pot to high. Cream 5 T. flour and half cup of water.  Pour into crockpot, bring to a boil and allow to thicken.
Serve a top noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice.

This meal pairs very well with a Brown Ale, an Old Ale, or an American Strong Ale.  The Brown Ale has a maltiness that pairs very well with the thick beef stew like flavor of the Beef Burgundy.  The Old Ale also does well since the malt flavors and fruity aroma easily handles the delicate balance of flavor that is present in the Beef Burgundy.  My favorite, however, is our home brewed American Strong Ale.  The more muscular malt flavor from the beer brings out the more muscular beef characteristics of the Beef Burgundy and pairs well with the thyme.  However, the hops will cut the fat and cleanse the palate making your mouth beg for the next bite.  The slight sweetness will then marry the malt and hops making the food dance in unison as you partake of the divine meal.  


Enjoy!

Pom Pom Necklace

I love pinterest...actually, to put it more accurately, I love following people on pinterest.  The ideas that I see gets me excited to start new projects.  Unfortunately, time does not always permit to make everything that I want to make.  However, after much determination, I decided to make my first pinterest inspired project.  I invited a friend over just to make it happen and it did.
Here is the tutorial for the necklace

The project went pretty fast (1 1/2 hours).  The longest part was cutting all the circles for making the pom pom flowers.  I also ended up adding more bunches of fabric to finish hiding the felt that is underneath.

Here is another tutorial that I followed, but I forgot to take a picture of it and I already gave it away as a Christmas present.

Happy Crafting!

How to grow your own Kombucha Mushroom

There are many places online to buy kombucha mushrooms, but where is all the fun in that.  Here is how you can grow your own kombucha mushroom from a commercial bottle of Kombucha:

What you will need:
-Glass bowl or container (I used a quart sized jar)
-towel big enough to cover container and rubber band to secure it (I used a coffee filter)
-1 bottle of raw, unflavored kombucha tea
-1 cup of filtered water
-1 tea bag (black, green, or oolong)
-2 TBSP of white sugar
-time and patience

Heat water up to 190 degrees F.  Add tea bag and stir in sugar until dissolved.  Allow to cool to room temp.  Meanwhile take commercial bottle of kombucha out of fridge and allow to warm up to room temp.  Pour commercial kombucha and sweet tea into glass jar.  Cover with cloth and secure with rubber band.  In a couple of days you should start to see a thin film over the top.  That's the start of a baby mushroom!  In a couple of weeks it should be about 1/4"-1/2" thick.  Now you can make a one gallon batch of kombucha tea!

Commercial kombucha tea, a tea bag, and sugar

Tea and sugar

Can you see the small scoby on the surface of the tea?

Now the waiting game begins!

How to make Kombucha Tea

Making kombucha is fairly simple and is one of the easier "bugs" I have around my house and care for.  Due to the popularity of it in my circle of friends, I make a 4 gallon batch.  However, I will post a recipe for a smaller batch as well.

What you will need for a 1 gallon batch of kombucha tea:
-1 gallon glass container (food grade plastic is also ok, however it will need to be replaced every now and then)
-cloth (I use a kitchen towel)
-rubberband to secure cloth
-plastic or wooden spoon
-4 tea bags (black, white, green, or oolong tea)
-kombucha mushroom
-either 4 TBSP apple cider vinegar or 1 cup of kombucha tea from the previous batch
-1 cup of white sugar (organic is also ok, however, stay away from other forms of sweetener)

How to make a 1 gallon batch of Kombucha:
-Heat 1 gallon of filtered water to 190 degrees F (or tea temperature)
-Add 1 cup of white sugar and 4 tea bags
-Allow the tea bags to steep for 5-10 minutes and stir to dissolve sugar
-Cover with plastic wrap and cool to room temperature (no higher than 90 degrees)
-Once cooled, pour into glass container and add: kombucha mushroom and either 1 cup of kombucha tea from previous batch or 4 TBSP of apple cider vinegar.
-Cover with cloth and secure with rubber band
-Leave undisturbed for 7 days.  After 7 days try a little of the tea.  If it is still really sweet, leave it for a few more days.  If it is really sour, brew it for fewer days the next time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What you will need for a 4 gallon batch of kombucha tea:
-5 gallon glass container or a 5 gallon food grade plastic bucket
-For easy pouring, attach a spout on the bottom of the bucket (you can find them at almost any homebrew store)
-cloth (I use a kitchen towel)
-rubberband to secure cloth
-plastic or wooden spoon
-16 tea bags (black, white, green, or oolong tea)
-kombucha mushroom
-4 cups of kombucha tea from the previous batch
-4 cups of white sugar (organic is also ok, however, stay away from other forms of sweetener)


How to make 4 gallons of Kombucha: 
-Heat 1 1/2 gallons of filtered water to 190 degrees F.
-Add 16 tea bags (lately I've been doing 8 green tea and 8 black tea)
-Add 4 cups of white sugar and stir to dissolve sugar
-After letting the tea bags steep, remove the tea bags
-Add 2 1/2 gallons of filtered water (this should cool it down to below 85 degrees, if not wait until it is completely cool before moving on to the next step)
-Add tea to food grade bucket along with kombucha mushroom and leftover tea
Note: I use a food grade bucket I got from Home Depot.  
-Cover with a towel and secure with a rubberband
-Leave undisturbed for 7 days.  After 7 days try a little of the tea.  If it is still really sweet, leave it for a few more days.  If it is really sour, brew it for fewer days the next time.
Note: My kitchen is a little cool so my tea usually takes 14 days.  Ideally I'd like to keep my kombucha around 75-85 degrees and ferment for 7-10 days.

If your water isn't clean, you can boil it.   However, don't add the tea bags until it is around 190 degrees F.

My kombucha mushroom and some tea from the previous batch

My tea is now ready to ferment.  The kombucha mother will create a "baby" every time you brew and another batch.

Things to remember:
-Sanitize all pieces of equipment with white distilled vinegar and water
-Never place kombucha in hot tea. It will kill it.
-Don't use herbal tea (it doesn't have the necessary nutrients for the mushroom)
-Don't use tap water, the chlorine will kill the kombucha mushroom

Stay tuned on how to grow your own kombucha mushroom from a commercial bottle!

Kombucha

Kombucha (it normally is brown in color but I added raspberries to this batch)

Here is the long awaited post about Kombucha:

Disclaimer:I did not start brewing kombucha to cure myself if anything. I did not start kombucha because I wanted to join the new fad. I don't drink it for really any particular reason. I started it because it sounded like a fun experiment.  I mean who wouldn't want to figure out how to grow little tiny live bugs, eat them (or in this case drink them), and see what happens.  Anything I do in my kitchen or garden is not because I believe that by doing so I can live to be 100. I do not drink kombucha to escape death (as in Japan since kombucha was considered the tea of immortality).  There are so many things outside of our control and thankfully I believe in a sovereign God.  Sometimes our body needs something and maybe Kombucha has it, and maybe it doesn't. 

Now, what is Kombucha?  In a nutshell, it is tea that has been fermented with a kombucha culture, thus making the tea alive with yeasts and bacteria.

If I haven't lost you yet, continue reading:
A kombucha culture, also called a kombucha mushroom or SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts) is a cream colored, pancake looking disk that is used to ferment tea.  The kombucha tea has been drank for thousands of years, starting in China and spreading to Russia, Japan, and now other parts of the world.  It was quite popular until World War I when tea and sugar were rationed.

What is IN Kombucha?
Depending on how the kombucha tea is brewed, it will have some if not all of the following:
-Lactic Acid: It detoxifies the body, helps blood circulation, and helps prevent bowel decay and constipation
-Acetic Acid: It inhibits harmful bacteria from growing and aids in detoxifying the body
-Usnic Acid: It is a natural antibiotic and helps fight many viruses
-Oxalic Acid: Encourages the cellular production of energy and is a natural preservative
-Malic Acid: Used in the body's detoxifying process
-Gluconic Acid: It helps break down glucose in the body.  Also it is said to be effective against many yeast infections
-Butyric Acid: It works with gluconic acid and helps combat yeast infections
-Carbonic Acid: It is present in blood cells and aids in CO2 release and regulation of blood PH levels
-Folic Acid: This is a B-vitamin and works with B12 to reduce homocysteine (a risk factor in heart disease)
-Vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, and Vitamin C.

Stay tuned on how to make your own kombucha at home!


Please do not completely rely on my posts about kombucha, but do your own research as well.

Beer Makin' Fun

I brewed our sixth batch of Pirate's Breakfast (Imperial Oatmeal Stout) with my nephews the other day.  It was a lot of fun.  I'm actually thinking of brewing with them more often.  Jamie was quite the helper and Charlie kept the day fun.  Curtis got home at the end to say that he used his new mash paddle and help me cool down the beer.
Here are a couple of pictures of our fun!

Charlie helping with sanitizing

Jamie stirring the mash

The new MASH PADDLE

Jamie climbing a tree

 

               

FabulizPancakes

These are my all time favorite pancakes.  They are full of protein and can be made with any kind of flour, which means that they can be made gluten free.  Unfortunately these are the kind of pancakes that get judged before they are even tried.  Needless to say, they are super easy and super delicious.

Fabuliz Pancakes (a.k.a-Cottage Cheese Pancakes)-makes approx. 7-9 pancakes:
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup flour (any kind will do: white flour, oat flour, buckwheat flour, wheat flour, etc.)
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
a little milk (or water) to thin out the batter
Mix all together.  Add enough milk to make the batter a little thicker than regular pancake batter.  Make into pancakes and enjoy!
Note: I've also made the leftover pancakes into peanut and jelly sandwiches or frozen them for a quick breakfast.

Slow Cooking

I've been searching for good, slow-cooker recipes lately.  Most of the ones that are easy to find are "throw in a can of that, a package of this, and cook."  That's not my style.  I don't like packaged, processed foods. Period. End of story.  Anyways, today I found a blog of delicious looking, healthy crockpot recipes: http://stephanieodea.com/  I'll let you know which ones I've tried and how delicious they are.

Grandma's German Chocolate Cake

On the 12th day of Christmas my kitchen gave to me, German Chocolate Cake!

Note: This post is NOT a recipe for German Chocolate Cake, but actually a recipe on how to keep Christ in Christmas. 
My Grandma started this around 25 years ago (maybe more...I don't know) and the tradition has carried on through her grand-children and now her great-grandchildren.  Basically she makes a German Chocolate Cake with the coconut frosting to make it look like straw.   When we all gather for Christmas, she takes all the little kids and they help her tell the story of Jesus' birth using nativity scene pieces for the characters in the story and the cake as the stable.  After the cake is fully decorated, we light a BIG candle (because Jesus is the Light of the world) and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus!
Merry Christmas Everyone!

Caramelized Almonds

On the 11th day of Christmas my kitchen gave to me, Caramelized Almonds!

I was always under the impression that caramelizing nuts was always done in five star restaurants.  I now stand corrected.  I made these several days before Christmas, stored them in a jar and served them over a salad.  Everyone thought they were at a five star restaurant!
1/8 cup-butter
1 cup-sliced almonds
1/2 cup sugar (I went crazy and did 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup maple syrup; note: the maple syrup makes it take longer to cook)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add sliced almonds, then add sugar and salt.  Stir over low heat until they have "dried out," being careful to not let the sugar burn.  Usually take 10min or approx. 20 if using maple syrup.  To check if they are done, take a piece out of pan, allow to cool and eat.  If it is still chewy then it is not done.  If they crunch, then it is done.  Allow to cool and enjoy!