Brewing & Fermenting 
KOMBUCHA, KABOOM!(30)
Last week we had quite a scare. For those of you following the blog, you may know that I’ve been brewing kombucha for many, many years now
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KOMBUCHA
Some folks say the benefits of kombucha are a bunch of hooey and most recently this brew was steeped in controversy. But according the “fermenters bible,” Nourishing Traditions, Kombucha has quite a few important health benefits.
(11) PHEW!
The nettles that Farmer Sergio brought over a few weeks back are a fermenting in rainwater – I took a peek, er, whiff yesterday. Gooey, gagging, goodness. MMMMMM or ACK? When applying the stinky sludge in the garden I would advise wearing old clothes and having some vinegar or lemon juice on hand to take [...]
(17) WEEKLY MEAL WRAP UP
It’s starting to FINALLY feel like FALL! To celebrate the change in season we cut open one of of our first winter squashes (Burgess Buttercup) yum! SATURDAY Breakfast – homemade/homegrown pancakes topped with homegrown strawberries Dinner – homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado and [...]
(0) WEEKLY MEAL WRAP UP
The ash, smoke and heat are finally gone – for now. What a difference a week makes! These last few mornings and evenings have been cool – cool enough for a light sweater in fact. So much more comfortable weather wise and not to mention one is now able to breathe better. Lots of goings [...]
(0) KOMBUCHA!
Like I mentioned in the last post we are reviving our mother, scoby that is and she’s ready to roll. Thing is with these live cultures – they are live and if you neglect them well, then, their toast. So that’s what happened with my previous batch. I had about 25 “mothers” was fermenting up [...]
(7) WEEKLY MEAL WRAP UP
Really eatin’ good in the neighborhood last week from our garden’s bounty. What a blessing to have food that’s grown right in our backyard…. or close by! SATURDAY Breakfast – homemade/homegrown blueberry pancakes with homegrown strawberries Dinner – homemade flour tortillas, homemade spanish rice (homegrown onions, peppers, tomatoes) with homegrown sauteed pepper and local avocado [...]
(3) SHRED SOME HEADS
Wild fermentation is the opposite of homogenization and uniformity –Sandor Ellix Katz On the preservation front Now that I got some beautiful cabbage heads (thanks to a local Freedom Farmer) I made a batch of sauerkraut – using Sally Fallon’s recipe. I did just plan cabbage for one batch and for the other I mixed [...]
(10) FERMENTATION EXPERIMENT
Fermentation crock and cutting up the locally grown cabbage Homegrown carrots (seeds available at FREEDOMSEED.org) Homegrown carrots, daikon radish, green onions and local cabbage Pounding with a wood mortar in whey, salt and spices to release the juices After a few days in the crock, time to put the kimchi in cold storage Last week [...]
(4) OUT & ABOUT
At the Pasadena Smith & Hawkens store on Saturday April 18th over 40 plus people turned out to hear Jules Dervaes talk about composting methods he uses around the urban homestead. He covered about a dozen different types and composting methods that he’s used over the past twenty five years. From simple methods like: [...]
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