Kombucha

Kombucha (comb-boo-cha) is this drink I've heard about for a couple years. I have ignored it until now for a few reasons:

1 - What the heck is it?

2 - It seems like a trendy hipster thing.

3 - I didn't know how wonderful I would feel after drinking it.

Now I know all about this ancient fermented tea. Its benefits are as long as my arm. Probiotics. Enzymes. Amino Acids. Antioxidants. Polyphenols. Antibacterial and antifungal properties. Vitamins B1, 2, 3, 6 and 12. B12 is a big deal to vegans...it doesn't occur naturally in plant foods.

I try it completely by accident at my local health food store (I live in the middle of the country, so "local" means within a 120-mile radius). Thirsty, I weave my way over to the juice cooler. While contemplating the beautiful wrappers and benefits of aloe juice, apple cider, smoothies and the like, a hip thin gal reaches up and grabs her G.T. Dave's Synergy Trilogy Kombucha. She is decisive, intentional; no hesitation. Maybe I want to look like her. You know, really like I know what I want and what is in all these bottles. In truth, a Rosetta Stone would be helpful in my deciphering.

The cashier rings up my kombucha. No reaction from her. Is this drink not as bizarre as it seems to me?

Source

The drive home is long. It is hot outside. Sunshine beating through the windshield makes me sleepy. I crack open my bottle. No, first I shake up the bottle and then read on the label that the contents are under pressure. It sits. Then I crack open my bottle. BAM! Energy! I could dance home. Pangs of pity for my husband as he sips and chews down aloe juice laced with pulp. It looks so chunky.

Back home, about a billion miles from kombucha in any direction, I decide I need more. The next evening the hubs, sensing my desire to explore this awesome drink more, drives me back to the store to stock up.

One problem immediately presents itself. Those bottles are nearly $4.00 each. They're not meal replacements, either. I google kombucha and learn it is fermented with a mother, known as a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). These can be purchased online. They can also be grown from an existing bottle of raw buch (get with the program - call it buch or k-tea).

I did both. Somewhere in the continental U.S. my scoby is flying to me. Complete with starter kombucha and tea for brewing. But I'm a sap for science experiments. I love showing the kids how something grows (like, bacteria!).

Taking a bottle of DT Dave's Organic Raw stuff, I set out to grow my own.

I used a tea bag from each box to create my sweet tea.

Supplies:

1 12-cup coffee carafe, sanitized with boiling water

2 coffee filters and a rubber band

1 black tea bag

1 green tea bag

1 T. organic cane sugar

1 bottle G.T. Dave's Original Kombucha

All my stuff. The kombucha is hanging out in the carafe, sweet tea is cooling to room temp in the corning ware before mixing.

There are some great tutorials out there for making a scoby on YouTube. I used the directions on Food Renegade's blog. My purchased scoby is being shipped from the Happy Herbalist. It comes with dragon pearl tea (Mo Li Long Zhu). It is a blend of green and jasmine tea. That sounds smashing.

I'm officially obsessed with this healthy beverage. More to come as my colony grows.

Vegan Week II

The beginning of this week was pretty tricky. Probably because we fell off the vegan wagon over the weekend (Cheesecake factory without dairy?! Seriously?!). So I picked right back up on Monday, and this week was easier.

I have heard a lot of talk about detoxing, but this wasn't something I was necessarily after just now. I think the detox found me, though. My arms broke out like a teenager, and for about a day and a half I felt something like death warmed over. I pushed through.

On the other side of what I call my accidental detox, I feel much better. My energy level is through the roof. I told a friend this week I felt euphoric. She didn't seem naturally comfortable with that word describing a normal state of being, but it's absolutely accurate to describe this insane amount of energy!

Aloe juice was added to the diet. I think it tastes pretty wonky on its own, so I throw lemon juice into the mix. Not bad. Actually, its bizarrely refreshing.

Speaking of lemon...a cuppa warm water with lemon juice has been setting each day off right. Yum.

Activity wise, I stuck with consistency over pushing myself. A mile and a half every morning on the elliptical and some odd yard work in the afternoon has been the extent of my movement. Next week I hope to double each run, or double the number of 1.5 mile runs. We shall see!

I refuse to step on a scale for a month. My goal is a wholesome, complete life wherein food plays a role, but does not dictate happiness and contentment. That feeling of eating for comfort is just so wrong. I don't miss it.

The vegan meals are rejuvenating. I don't finish a meal thinking, "wow, I ate too much" or, "I am so miserable; why did I eat that?" That's a good thing!

Trying Vegan

We are starting day 3 of vegan eating. I really am lactose intolerant, so I have no idea why its been so hard to cut dairy out of my life. Even as a kid I thought cheese was gross (unless it was melted; then I could choke it down). Still, it is hard to cut eggs out of life and still consider baking and casseroles and...well...food.

Benefits:

Immediately the hubs and I noticed our heartburn was gone. No antacids required. This is unusual around here. Also very freeing.

My energy level is seriously ramped up. I love that boundless ecstatic feeling fruit gives me. Or my multivitamin. Or both. Whichever.

Our meals have had lots of variety. I was afraid we'd be stuck in a rut of two or three go-to meals. So far, we've been having fun preparing all those veggies.

The food has kept me full. Last night at dinner it seemed like I was finishing the 96-er from The Great Outdoors for all the chewing and swallowing I was doing. Brown rice is uber filling and takes about a million years to finish. Very satisfying.

Challenges:

Mentally, its hard to switch over to vegan, even if only for a time. I thought being a vegetarian for nearly a year would make it easier to omit eggs and dairy. It is still tricky.

So far the kids really haven't squawked too much about the meals. I have prepared them some mac 'n cheese and other meal add ons. These have been simple augmentations to our meals that haven't worn me out in the kitchen.

Food prep time is increased with all the veggie cutting and peeling and slicing and dicing. At least I have the extra energy to get in the kitchen and get it done!

Inspiration:

I've been reading vegan before & after stories online, and on youtube; anywhere I can get ahold of them. When your friends think you might be extraterrestrial for considering veganism, its helpful to know you're not alone.

Vegan cooking blogs. There are scads of recipes out there. Like most things on the internet, though, this can suck the minutes (hours) of my life. Just browsing!

That's where I'm at. Feeling great; motivated to move more. The benefits way outweigh the challenges.

More updates on this endeavor soon.

Planning My Garden

I love the old Victory Garden war posters and talking with my grandmother (aged 91) about the vegetable gardens they grew as she was growing up.

This year, I am inspired to try my largest home garden yet. In past years we have successfully grown tomatoes, leeks and peppers. Now we'll stretch our veggie vines a bit.

I've ordered or started:

• Bowling Red Okra
• Star of David Okra
• Jaune Obtuse du Doubs Carrots
• Cosmic Purple Carrots
• Green Doctor Cherry Tomatoes
• Titan Sunflowers
• Brightest Brilliant Quinoa
• Scarlet Runner Beans
• Gotte Jaune d'Or Lettuce
• Rouge d'Hiver Lettuce
• Contender Green Beans
• Filius Blue Hot Pepper
• Ashe County Pimiento Sweet Pepper
• Tigger Melon
• Japanese Long Cucumber
• Black Beauty Zucchini
• Moon and Stars Watermelon
• Genovese Basil
• Lime Basil
• Bouquet Dill
• Lavener
• Slo Bolt Cilantro
• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Garlic
• White Onions

This weekend we're constructing four or five raised beds. I hope to either mulch around the beds, or start a ground cover around them. This will ensure a large patch of the backyard won't need mowing!

Potatoes are going in a potato tower like this one. Might we end up with 100 lbs of spuds like so many websites promise?!

Additionally, we're sticking some tobacco and cotton in the ground. The tobacco is purely for the fun and enjoyment of the hubs. This way, maybe I can persuade him to do the watering once in awhile. The cotton should be experimental fun for the kids. I want them to see how the main product of our clothing grows. It is the "fabric of our lives," is it not?

I'm also planning a row of grape vines. In the last couple years, I've explored making my own wines. This year maybe some of the grapes will come from our own vines. A girl can dream, at least.

I can't wait to get out there and till up some dirt...stir up some compost...make garden markers with the kiddos. See you in the sunshine!

Moving

All of my sewing is stashed away into 4 large totes, 2 long under-the-bed style totes, 5 medium packing boxes, and my new notions box (thanks to my sis for that awesome Christmas present).

Packing this stuff gets tedious, and I'm constantly on nerve thinking of two impartial movers sloughing my stuff haphazardly into the back of their truck. But really, I can't write FRAGILE on all of my boxes, can I?

image: mycottagedownunder.blogspot.com

My serger and vintage Singer machines both have their own cases, and I feel pretty confident they'll arrive in working pieces. I have a White machine out on loan to my sister; it will come back in one piece, too.

I fear my case-less Brother won't be so lucky.

So I packed 6 yards of fleece around it before lovingly tucking it into it's already-padded box. This may actually be the best use I've ever found for any fleece.

image: artfire.com

On a side note, I'm enjoying some herbal coffee today. I said adieu to caffeine about a year ago, and decaf coffees leave me feeling apathetic to their genre at large. Usually I sip herbal tea. While picking up my boxes of Tazo at the store yesterday, I saw this chicory/almond faux coffee concoction. I think it's delish. Teechino, where have you been all my life?!

image: arizona-coffee.com - originally a Maxwell House ad

They do so love their veg

Our family has hit the 6 month mark of our foray into vegetarian living. In the kitchen, we have experienced some wonderful surprises. We have also experienced some horrible surprises. I thought I would take this morning and recount a few of my most notable lessons.

First: Why did we quit eating meat? I think this was due to education, really. I scoured books, watched documentaries and looked at the facts. Over time, the change just made sense for us. One Friday I looked at the hubbo and said, "why don't we just try it for the weekend?" After that, we just never really went back.

It is a standing caveat at our house we are both allowed to pick 2 times a year when we plan to enjoy a good old meaty meal. That said, we made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas without the traditional turkey or ham. I'm still unsure about St. Patrick's day; I do love me a reuben.

So here's what worked: This sounds silly, but we really embraced the fruit and veg. I know we're all supposed to be eating something like 5 of those a day anyway, but that wasn't happening in our house. As a bonus, we got to know our local farmers. They were generous this summer in measuring our pounds and pints and quarts; the freezer is still full of ziplocked portions.

Whole grains became our BFFs. Lentils and beans, too. My favorites are germinated brown rice, quinoa, French green lentils and Ezekiel bread (it's chock full of grainy, bird-food looking stuff). We discovered cool foods like seitan (aka wheat meat), tempeh, tofu, brown rice syrup and umeboshi plums. My kids still think Gardein's seven-grain "chicken" fingers are better than McDonald's, and Boca Burger's Vegan Burger night is always a hit.

Ok, I still haven't made it to vegan status, although in the future I wouldn't mind being that disciplined. Some vegan products are slowly working their way into my kitchen, and nobody seems any the wiser. I love almond milk (but I never enjoyed lactose much before anyway). The whole family thinks Veganaise tastes even better than our old favorite mayo. I use flax oil in place of butter to finish off couscous dishes. Last week I finally picked up some vegan butter...this was the hardest change for me. Few things in the kitchen are as tasty and versatile as a stick of pure, fresh creamy butter. I've never liked cheese much, but everyone else in this house could be mice for their love of it. And baking is just hard without eggs. Not impossible, but difficult for sure.

A short list of loves:

• open faced marinated artichoke heart sandwiches with garlic & veganaise
• tofu fried brown rice with veggies, soy sauce and ume vinegar
• French onion soup made with vegetable broth
• veggie burgers
• country fried (or baked) seitan with vegan gravy
• sliced oranges in mint marinade
• Italian tortellini skewers (I still eat some cheese, people!)
• snacks of pickles, sauerkraut, carrots or celery
• any vegetable with garlic
• Panera's Sierra Turkey sandwich without turkey
• veggie wraps made in whole wheat tortillas

A concise list of yucks:

• Tofurkey hot dogs & brats (that texture...ugh)
• millet bread
• cheese-less pizza (I mean, what is the point??)
• daikon
• quinoa flakes "oatmeal"
• rice nog
• red lentils (mushy, mushy)

And now you know why we so love our veg!

Obviously, none of these companies paid me to endorse or criticize their brands. This is just a bonus little list from me to you!

A French Breakfast

Simple, classic & comforting.

I used up the over-toasted edges and gave the children the softer centers. After dipping wonderful sourdough into coffee, I had a satisfying feast! I think my favorite White Castle mug really classed things up.