Lemon Verbena

So, not sure if you were up on that Kombucha Challenge I somehow roped myself & Anais (from Urban Homestead, Pasadena) into a couple weeks ago... it was quite comical. She had pans to make a Lemon Verbena Flavored Kombucha, and since I had vague plans to go to their monthly potluck/movie screening a couple weeks later, I suggested a friendly competition... The comical part is that I couldn't find Lemon Verbena ANYWHERE in my county. Anais kept offering some of hers, but Pasadena is about 40 minutes away & I just felt that was not an eco-responsible thing to do... (I had already done a special trip down there for figs recently...)

Surely it would turn up somewhere...I kept looking....

But my window of opportunity finally ran out, so I sheepishly told Anais that I had not been able to locate the LV... and she graciously let me off the hook, saying to come down anyway & bring whatever Kombucha I had on hand & we'd just taste them... no big deal.

So, I went to the screening & during dinner, Anais found me & we tasted, and shared with other folks at the table & talked Kombucha until the movie started. It really surprises me that so few people really know about it.

Anyhoo, after the movie, I bought some figs & Anais clipped some fresh lemon Verbena sprigs off the enormous bush in the front yard. The scent filled my car, making the car smell wonderful! I WISH smell-a-vision was a real thing because unless you've sniffed this gift of GOD, you cannot truly grasp what a wonder it is! It's herby & lemony & fresh. (wow, great description!) Words simply cannot describe it. Gonna hafta get some for yourself!

Go. Now. DO IT! GO!

So, what does a person do with it?, you might be asking.... well, it was past my bedtime already, so I did the obvious and dried it. Then I crushed it (the smell was intense!) and found a jar to keep it in. Every now & then, I just open the jar & sniff. **guilty look** What?! It's cheap therapy!

Today I decided to make simple syrup from it to flavor a future batch of Kombucha or ice cream or (fill in the blank).... It's pretty simple:

1 cup filtered water

1 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 cup dried Lemon Verbena leaves

Bring to a boil, lower heat & simmer for 10 minutes. Cool. Strain into a jar & store in fridge for up to 2 months. I am looking at this site to find some more ideas..

Kombucha 4

YUM!  Joe liked the plain better, but I am LOVING the Craisin version!  I had Kanan taste it (my almost 13 year old who likes my homemade bread, but shuns many of my other 'healthy' creations), I told him it was like a fizzy apple juice.  

He tried it & I asked him what he thought it was...(at this point I told him it was called "Kombucha" and that it was a tea drink) he said it reminded him a little of pickles!  (YES!  My child is brilliant!)  I said that was SO right, "vinegary" is an oft-ascribed attribute of Kombucha. 

I bottled batch #2 tonight & got 3 bottles this time, so I did a Plain, a Craisin & a Ginger - I originally bought the bottles to make ginger beer (which I have yet to do!) so, if my ginger laced Kombucha turns out nicely, I may never have to...

Kombucha 3

Ok, so I drained most of my brew out via the spigot, trying to not disturb the baby SCOBY forming at the top of the liquid (see it there? looks like a layer of pond scum!)

I tasted it & it was good, so I went ahead & bottled it.  (SO EXCITED!!)

I kept one plain & I flavored one with a couple of Craisins...yum, right?

I'll let you know... 

Kombucha 2

Kombucha might not be a failure after all, I found out after my last panick induced post!  My new BFF, Michael (aka, Bacteria Pimp) told me it was jsut doing it's thing & to let it go a few more days & post more pictures & to taste it for goodness' sake!

Kombucha 1

Well folks, I think I did it again.  FAILED, that is.  Any ideas?  This doesn't look like normal mold...?  Is there anything that looks like this that is OK?  I'm so loathe to chuck my first batch!   So sad! I was sooo excited...

A day to brag about!

Well, I had originally taken today off to hang with my boys since they were already off for MLK Jr Day... but Joe got a call to go help a buddy with a house project, and Kanan opted to go with so he could play with Rambo (our friend's baby chihuahua).  So I ended up with a bonus Kitchen day!! Wahoo!

So after brunch (I had thawed a batch of Kelly's Cinnamon rolls & baked them up - they were great hot out of the oven, but both the boys were like "where's the icing??" so I made a quick small batch made with butter, powdered sugar & maple syrup- I wasn't sure the maple & butter alone would do it..), the boys left me all alone....

Yogurt:

I started by finally tackling Yogurt - I've been a bit scared to try it, but I found an easy crock-pot recipe that I felt I could handle... It's incubating (is that the right term??? Eww!) right now! Can't wait!  I'll probably leave half plain & sweeten the rest with Maple Syrup - Trader Joe's has their own brand of Granola, one of the flavors has crystallized ginger in it - I'm seriously in love!! Anyone have any idea how to duplicate that??  Anyhoo, I love to add a scoop to my oatmeal or yogurt, or sometimes I combine all three!  I take oatmeal packets to work currently, but one day I hope to figure out how to make my own & make it easily portable...

Kombucha:

I've had a Kombucha SCOBY for months in my fridge for a few months (I ambitiously bought one when I found Kefir Grains on eBay from the nicest man who goes by the alias of 'Bacteria Pimp' - cute eh?)   Anyhoo, I started making Kefir as soon as my package arrived & my grains seem healthy despite my many attempt to kill them lol...I just didn't ever get around to researching the art of Kombucha & have the time (or so I thought!)  So today I decide that was IT - no more excuses - just DO it!!   It was easy.  I ended up following the recipe in NT, I had some lovely Organic Pastures "Living Tea" - which is my favorite store bought...so I hope mine will come out like theirs!  One thing I am not sure of:  I did not have any organic tea.  And I didn't have access to a car to run to the store... so I used what I had & just hope it's ok... next time!

Dairy:

I had some Raw Cream on hand that was starting to go, so I started a bowl of Sour Cream!  We love this & use it as regularly as I can keep it stocked!  I was inspired by Ann Marie to try the Kefir again.  I don't know where I got this, but I've been using my soured milk to make Kefir... does that make sense to anyone?  I honestly cannot remember if someone told me to, or if I just decided it was a logical thing because you let the milk sit out & 'sour' to an extent anyway...???  Anyone?  One that subject, does anyone have any uses for sour milk?  

Grains:

On Friday night I had started a bunch of grains to soak, so today they were sprouted enough to start drying.  Thankfully, my oven is gas & goes as low as 100 degrees, so it's not hard to let my grains dry overnight or all day while I'm at work.  I tried the 100% Sprouted Wheat Bread recipe from Marilyn Moll last week & we loved it!  It's my favorite so far.  I made a double batch (in the Kitchen Aid, as it was WAY too full for the bread machine) because Joe's boss has offered t buy it from me she liked it a lot!   I added sesame & sunflower seeds for some extra texture & appeal.... it looks gorgeous & tastes pretty good...I think I'll try a bit more next time, but I think I also need to up the liquid a tiny bit...

I also soaked a cup of Almonds on Sat morning, so today I threw them into the VitaMix to make Almond Milk.  I always try to use the left over pulp in a soaked grain muffin recipe, so I have that (about 1 cup) with about 2 cups mixed whole grains soaking to make muffins tomorrow evening....or maybe Wed morning (although it's awfully ambitious of me to think I'll get up early & make them!  But I bought some fresh berries, so it sure would be nice to use them in a muffin.  We'll see...

Meat:

Saturday morning I went for Raw Milk again, as I was short on Milk.  I bought enough this time to (hopefully!) last a month.  I also ran to Costco to stock up of stupid things I like best there like TP & Cat litter...I ran a bunch of other errands & made bread.  On Saturday night I had roasted a chicken.  (Thanks for the inspiration, Erica!  I bought the Coleman's organic ones at Costco for about $12 each!  I'm going to shoot for 1 every other week!) On Saturday we'd eaten an extremely gourmet bowl of cereal early on, so when the chicken was done, we just wanted a snack, so I cut up one of the breast & we just nibbled on that - it was SO yum!  I roasted it breast side down so the white meat would be super moist!

So then the rest went right into the fridge & today I stripped all the meat off & started stock.  It was even easier than usual because I'd been keeping a freezer bag of veg scraps for the last couple weeks...I can't wait to see how this batch turns out!  There were mushrooms, bell peppers, leeks, onion, broccoli bottoms, you name it, it was in there!  It's been smelling so good all day!  Ok, so with the meat I stripped off, I chunked all the dark meat & made Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with them for tonight's dinner.  The remaining breast got cubed & I made a small bowl of Chicken Salad for sandwiches this week.  I added mayo, mustard, cayenne, craisins, chopped celery & chopped pecans - YUM!  I would have added apples too, but I don't have any at the moment...

Freezer Meals:

I ran across a nice easy recipe here for Egg Cups, so I made those, wrapped up 3 for the fridge & the rest are freezing as I type for future To-Go Breakfasts... Yum!

Meal Plan

I keep reading every one's Meal Plans & it seriously seems like such a good idea!  I just haven't felt 'ready' to begin.  Yet.  I think I'm almost there...I have a partial list, but I'm really having some challenges because I already know that we will be out of the house Tues & Thurs nights for Book Clubs at friend's houses.  So I'm trying to think of quick dinners for those nights (don't forget that we've taken on the oh-so-important challenge of "No Eating Out" this month, and normally that would be my solution...  I'm working on it, but I think I'll see how it goes before attempting to join the official "Meal Plan Monday"... 

Well, the boys got home at 6-ish, we had dinner & now I'm all caught up!  Must go strain my stock, now - g'night!