Kombucha 101

I've jumped on the kombucha bandwagon, and I love it! Kombucha is fermented tea that is rich in probiotics and has numerous other health benefits. You can use black or green tea, flavored or unflavored, and you can add just about any other kind of flavoring to it. Kombucha cultures are very hardy. Unless you freeze them or toss them in boiling water, it's unlikely that you'll kill them, and contamination is uncommon. That being said, if you see any black discoloration on your culture at any time, it's become contaminated and needs to be thrown out.

Kombucha cultures Breed Like Rabbits, so you will always have plenty to give away! Your culture will produce faster than you can find homes for all the babies, so you'll have to throw some of them away. I know, that's depressing, but it comes with the territory. Oh, one other thing to be aware of: kombucha cultures look a lot like giant boogers. I'm just going to call that one like I see it.

Most people make kombucha in a half-gallon jar, but I don't have the counter space for that, so I've invented a recipe that you can do in a quart jar. The thing to keep in mind if you use a quart jar is that the fermenting time is basically going to be cut in half, so you'll need to keep an eye on it and make sure it's not getting too sour for your taste.

How to brew kombucha in a quart jar:

You will need:

-kombucha culture and ½ cup starter tea (get online or from someone who brews kombucha)

-1 pint of boiling hot water (half a quart)

-1/3 cup sugar

-2 bags of green or black tea, or generous handful of loose-leaf tea

-1 bag of other tea or small handful of loose-leaf tea for flavoring (optional)

-paper towel

-canning jar band and lid

-dry erase marker (for writing dates on jars)

Place the tea bags or loose herbs in a clean quart jar and fill up halfway with boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes. Remove tea bags and add 1/3 cup of sugar. Stir until dissolved. Put jar in fridge or freezer to chill to luke warm. (Mason jars can go in the freezer).

Add filtered water until the quart jar is filled up about ¾ of the way, and then add the starter tea and culture. Screw the band over the paper towel and let it ferment until it tastes right. My quart jars generally take about two days for the first ferment.  It'll depend on your kitchen's temperature and humidity level.

After the first ferment, it's time to add any additional flavoring. You can add fruit, cinnamon sticks, or fresh or dried herbs. Screw on a lid and band tight, and it's ready for the second fermentation. If you don't add anything to it, it will start to form cultures on the top of the liquid. Open it and dispose of these at least once a day. These baby cultures will make it too sour if you leave them in there. When I put fruit in for the second ferment, I don't have issues with baby cultures forming.

Once your kombucha is done, it can be stored in the fridge. I try to drink one or two 8 oz glasses a day, 3 if I'm coming down with something. I try to use it up within a week.

You can easily do this recipe in a half-gallon jar.  Just double all the ingredients. 

Natural Homemade Shampoo and Conditioner

I'm trying to get more intentional about sharing the recipes I've found/invented for natural health care and household products.  In this post, I'll share the recipes I use for homemade shampoo and conditioner.

Before I started covering my hair full time, other women were constantly asking me how I got my hair to be so soft.  I always want to laugh when people ask me that, because I know that my answer will horrify them:  I don't wash my hair every day, and when I do, I don't use commercial shampoo.  In the summer I wash my hair about every 2-3 days.  In the winter, I wash it about every 3-4 days.  (My hair is extremely dry, so I can get away with washing it a little less often than a person with oily hair.)  I don't use styling products.  I don't use a blow-dryer; I just let my hair dry naturally.  If I happen to take a shower at night, I just braid my hair and leave it braided until it dries.  

Here are my recipes for shampoo and conditioner.  They work best if you use spray bottles.  These recipes can easily be doubled or tripled to fit larger spray bottles.

Shampoo:
-3/4 cup almond or coconut milk
-1/2 cup natural baby shampoo (I use Burt's Bees, but you can use any brand you want.  Just don't use straight-up castile soap if you live in a city with hard water.  The minerals in the water will react with the soap and make your hair all gunky and gross.  Learned that one the hard way.)

Pour milk and baby shampoo into a spray bottle and shake well.  I have always stored my shampoo right in the shower and I've never had any problems with mold developing.  If your bottle develops mold, throw the shampoo out, start over, and keep it in the fridge.  But it should hold up just fine.

Conditioner:
 -1 cup water
-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Shake well.  Spritz all over your hair in the shower and comb with a wide-tooth comb.  Rinse thoroughly.

For a deep conditioner, I use coconut oil.  I use it instead of body lotion.  After I've put it on, while my hands still have some oil on them, I run my fingers through my hair, and that's plenty.  With coconut oil, less is more.  It can easily get to be too much and too greasy if you try to add more. 

A reader pointed out that I'd forgotten to include where to buy the ingredients.  Thanks, E!  All of them can be purchased online.  Coconut oil is available at whole food stores.  I think some Trader Joe's locations carry it.  Burts Bees baby shampoo and (pasteurized) apple cider vinegar are both available at most grocery stores.  I haven't used raw ACV before, but I think you can find it online or at whole food stores.  Coconut and almond milk are both available at most grocery stores, but almond milk is usually easier to find.

Italian Meatballs

I had posted on Facebook that the hubby and I have instituted a new tradition: Crockpot Sunday!  It's pretty simple:  We throw dinner in the crockpot on Sunday morning before church.  By the time we get home from church, the kitchen smells absolutely fantastic!

I've been falling in love with cooking, and I very rarely leave recipes the way I find them.  I usually add or tweak at least one minor thing, and most of the time it still turns out great.

Here is the Italian meatball recipe we tried yesterday.  Enjoy!

(Adapted from "Betty Crocker Money Saving Meals)

Italian Meatballs with Marinara Sauce
 3/4 lb ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork (we actually used 1 1/2 lbs of beef and it worked just fine)
1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 jar (28 oz marinara sauce)

If you yell "ta-da!" like Meryl Streep in "Julie and Julia" when you finish chopping the onion, I'll totally be your friend :D.

Heat oven to 375.  Line 9 by 13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.   In large bowl, mix all ingredients except marinara sauce, basil, and oregano.  Shape mixture into 1 1/2 in. balls.  Place in pan.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until no longer pink in center.

Place meatballs in 3 1/2 to 4-quart slow cooker.  Poor marinara sauce over meatballs.  Add basil and oregano and stir gently.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 6 to 7 hours to blend and develop flavors.

Time saving trick: If you're trying to get the meatballs in the crockpot before going to church like we did, chop up the onion and garlic ahead of time.  I probably could have made it even quicker by cooking the meatballs the day before.

Make your own shower and glass cleaner!

I've been wanting to share my product recipes on here for awhile, and I'm finally getting around to it!  

The first recipe I'm going to share is the homemade shower cleaner we've been using for several months.  It also works on mirrors!  I have yet to try it on windows, but I'm sure that would work too.

Supplies:
-spray bottle
-white vinegar
-small amount of scented organic detergent or soap (we use Dr. Bronner's; Target has started carrying it, can also find at whole food stores and online)

And yes, that's really all you need!

What you do:
1.)   Fill up spray bottle no more than about 1/4 of the way with vinegar (too much vinegar can soften the grout between the tiles

2.)  Fill it up the rest of the way with water.

3.)  Add a splash of soap or detergent to kill the smell.

4.)  Shake the daylights out of it!  (Dr. Bronner's soap clumps up a bit when you first mix it up; it's just the reaction between the soap and the vinegar.  It evens out over time.)

And yes, that's really all you do! :)