It's hard to keep this blog up, when all I want to do is be outside in June. And I have been, mostly, outside.But then it poured rain all day yesterday and still I didn't get to this. Instead, Elijah and I went to Barnes and Noble, then to one of St. Cloud's two game shops for another fancy yo-yo he bought with allowance money (I'm trying to get him to let me videotape him doing yo-yo tricks for the blog--the kid is amazing!--but also a bit shy), then to the library real quick. Then I had a headache so all afternoon I laid in bed reading one of my new library books (Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge--a surprisingly good book about the desires of a woman's heart, surprising because it has a Christian viewpoint which mostly turns me off these days, but it is an open-minded Christian perspective in which they even quote Bob Dylan and refer often to Jane Austen novels!).
But here it is today. The sun is shining and the temp. is about 72 degrees F. It doesn't get better than that. The kids have friends over and they're outside but I'm mostly inside. I've decided that Thursday is my baking day. I've got a bread "sponge" started (avove), which is all the ingredients of the two loaves except 1/2 the flour, you let it soak for 2 or more hours to get the gluten and yeast really active. It helps make whole wheat bread lighter. I also made 3 dozen of my "Amish Chocolate Chip Cookies" and there are 6 left. That's what five kids (and shh! one cookie-loving mom will do).
the last few cookies...
and the cookie-eating culprits (minus a couple of us/I mean them)...
I also decanted my latest kombucha batch into bottles. This batch fermented a bit long and as you can see below my "mother" is about 1/2 an inch thick. 1/8 inch or so is the goal. Still, it tastes good. George compares the taste to hard cider and thinks his dad would really love making this. Maybe we'll have to bring him a "mother" when we next go to Virginia, possibly in October.
Kombucha is fermented black or green tea and sugar. By the time fermentation is done, in 10 days to 2 weeks, the tea and sugar have been eaten up by the "mother" culture and you're left with a tasty and very healthy beverage. Hard to believe, but it's very good. Here's a good Wikipedia article on it...You can google "kombucha" and find all sorts of good info. on it, along with wildly varied health claims. I drink it because it settles my stomach and makes me feel good. I like making my own because it sells for $3.79/16 oz. bottle at the co-op, and we can hardly keep it in stock. Thanks to Jessica and her dad *so much* for getting me started with a "mother" and directions!
I'm also including today this photo of the woodstove we've got tucked away in the shed. It came with the house. Yesterday we googled it after uncovering it in the shed and finding that it's an Ashley Automatic. We found it's a pretty common brand and that it's a pretty effiicient little stove. We're hoping to drag it out of the shed, clean off the rust and apply stove polish and someday get it working. Amazingly, we found no evidence of mice or other animal nesting which is probably due to the fact that there are still ashes in it. We're excited to have this. I've always wanted a fireplace to sit by, maybe this is it for us.So that's what's been going on here. Just a sort of rambling post. Now I'm off to the chiropractor!
Comments
Can you post the whole recipe for the bread sponge? I'm trying my hardest but can't seem to figure out the bread thing. (A cookie recipe would be good to share too. ;)
Good luck polishing up the oven! Lemon juice and salt work wel, as does vinegar!
Fascinating, about the kombucha - I had never heard of it. Leads me to want to try making my own vinegar, too. I wonder what the caffeine content is in the kombucha. I'd try it, but both DH and I worked hard to decaffeinate for assorted health reasons. I cheat with green or white tea sometimes, but I'd hate to become re-addicted by some tasty new beverage. :-)
I wonder if you could clean the stove like an old cast iron skillet - wire brush, scrub with soap and water, heat it dry, oil it, and heat it again.
As far as I know, when kombucha is done fermenting all the tea and caffeine and sugar has been "eaten" by the culture. There is a recipe in Sally Fallon's _Nourishing Traditions_ where she tells you more about that. I believe the fermentation process makes an acid called glucoronic acid (kind of like lactic acid) which is very good for you. I know it also contains good bacteria like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, etc. which is what helps the digestion.
You can google for more info.!
Lisa
Lisa