Follow Up on my Kombucha Making

I've seen some recent furver lately on how expensive store bought kombucha is. (Kombucha is a fermented tea  originated in Russia, known for rejuvinating properties, healthy probiotics and various positive things) I started brewing my own Kombucha a few months ago and have found it to be a great experience. Though the SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) can be a little terrifying at times, the tea i brew is delicious and healthful.

The jar i brew in cost me around $20 dollars. Distilled water costs about .99 a jug (Austin's water is treated with chloramines that could harm the good bacterias and cannot be dissolved from the water) Tea ranges in price and i use about 8 bags per gallon of water. Sugar is pretty cheap - I should get organic, but i'm pretty cheap too. So all in all it was an initial investment but has paid off.

I use the continuous brewing method so i can siphon off as much or little as i want each day and add more sweetened tea to continue the process. I like to bottle my KT with some flavorings: dried cherries, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger, fruit juice - whatever youlike and keep it in the fridge until i'm ready to drink it, or until one of my lovelly friends and co-op members stop by to purchase some.  My little co-op is a great way for me to offer fresh Kombucha to locals at a cost much less than in the stores ($2.50 per 16 oz or just $2 if you bring me a jar to fill or in exchange). They get great tea and i get help purchasing the supplies to make it.

I recommend Kombucha to anyone looking for a healthful tasty beverage who has a little bit of time and a warm spot in the corner. I'll even send you a SCOBY of your own in some starter tea if you compensate the shipping and handling.

Herbed Oil and Vinegar

Ah, Christmas. Sometimes my favorite time of year. At the very least it's a great time to find excuses to craft, bake, and create things you might otherwise not find time to do. This post is tardy as i obviously didn't want to spoil any surprises!

Herbed oils and vinegars are easy to do, and especially special when they're made entirely with homegrown herbs and veggies.  This year I'm giving each set of parents (i have three) their own oil and vinegar sets. I have to ship the ones to my Dads and Moms in Oregon, so i am rigorously crossing my fingers that they don't explode on the way there.
Flavors and herb choices are entirely up to you or up to what your garden is providing. If it was summer i would have put in a lot more fresh basil, and if my lemon thyme plant hadn't died in this summer's drought i would have been able to put a lot more of that in there: same goes for my lemongrass. You simply want to choose "a theme" and try to stick to it. I put together what i had on hand:

Herbed Oil - Italian Herbs with Garlic

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• fresh and roasted garlic - mashed + whole for garnish
• fresh rosemary and sage - diced + whole sprigs for garnish
• fresh oregano - diced
• peppercorns and dried hot peppers for garnish

Flavored oils are so easy: Simply dice up all the herbs and garlic and put in a mortar and pestle with a drizzle of oil. Mash until you can't stand it then scoop it all into a mixing bowl. Pour the rest of your oil into the bowl and mix well - be sure to get all the goodness off the pestle.  Once well mixed pour the oil mixture into some well sealed jars and be sure to shake them up daily. Marinate the mixture for at least 2 weeks. (i had to skimp the Rommels due to time i'm afraid, theirs only got marinated for about a week, sorry!) When you are ready to bottle simply stuff the fresh herbs and peppercorns/garlic into some pretty bottles: feel free to recycle old oil bottles for this. Using a strainer and funnel one over the other carefully pour the oil into your bottles. The strainer will catch the gook and the funnel will direct the oil into the bottle instead of all over your counter. Be sure to leave some room on the top.
Try and store the oil in a dark, coolish place. The fresh herbs contribute to ease of going rancid so you want to use this oil within 6 months and keep it from getting too warm and friendly to bacteria.

Herbed Vinegar with Citrus

• White Wine Vinegar
• Fresh Meyer Lemon Zest for marinating and garnish
• Garlic - diced + whole for garnish
• Fresh Dill - diced + whole sprig for garnish
  
• Fresh Parsley - diced + whole for garnish
• Garlic Chives - diced
• Lemon Thyme - diced
• Peppercorns and Dried Hot Pepper for garnish
• (wanted to include fresh lemongrass, but it died in the first frost)
  

Pour vinegar into a non reactive pot and heat to just boiling. Meanwhile dice all the herbs and mash in a mortar and pestle. Place herbs in a mixing bowl and pour hot vinegar over them when it is ready. Cover and let cool. Once cooled off a bit pour the vinegar mixture into well sealable jars and store in a dark place, shaking daily, for at least 2 weeks.  When you're ready repeat the same process as with the oils and pour through a sieve and funnel into pretty bottles - i reused the original vinegar bottles.

Presentation:

Is totally up to you, of course. But i wanted these to look pretty and special and "me." I scraped off the original labels with a flat exacto blade, any sticky residue can be removed with WD40. If i had had labels, i may have stuck something to the side of the bottles, but since i didn't i used black hemp twine and recycled Artagain Paper (the same that i use with my illustrations). I hand wrote (redoing several times as my handwriting is NOT good) the ingredients and suggested uses and storage instructions on the paper and strung it to the bottles with the twine. I think the black hemp looks nice on the naked bottles filled with pretty and scrumptios stuff.

COMING SOON: New Mini Co-op to Purchase Goods from the Austin Homestead

Hi folks!
I'm happy to announce that my entrepreneurial spirit is in full swing. As loyal readers, you know that i am the happy mother of 4 beautiful hens, and an experimenter and succeeder in the brewing of Kombucha Tea (KT). Since I live alone with my husband and animals - we simply have more KT and eggs (in theory, they're not quite laying YET) than we can consume in a hasty fashion. I don't, however, make enough of any of these consumables to warrant a full scale advertising corporate identity or even farm stand, nor guarantee availability at all times.

That being said: I would love to form a small scale, local co-op to partake in purchasing and consuming of my wares - for your benefit and for mine. You will help me pay for the things that make my life more fulfilling and healthy, and bring something healthful into your own home while buying as "local" as it gets.

Wares I will have available for purchase will vary with the season, but will rotate around these assorted items: Kombucha Tea, flavored and unflavored, bottled by me or bottled into your bottle at a discount (you can bring bottles as a deposit towards next time, or have me fill it on sight), Yard Fresh Eggs, by the dozen, half dozen, or even by the egg if you don't mind skipping the fancy egg carton, freshly made pasta and pesto, seasonal produce, maybe even cheese! I also crochet beverage cozies that are great for personal use or as gifts, among other silly and useful crafty things.

I will create a google document that you can simply open up online and place your order. The spreadsheet will tally your totals and orders will be filled upon availability. I will do my best to keep the spreadsheet current by week, and if something is unavailable when you want it, you will be sure to get first dibs the following week.   This document will also be an easy way to 'tell your friends' and they can request participation in the co-op as well.  As we go along I'll have a better idea of exactly how much KT i can really bottle in a week - and luckily it keeps in the fridge so i can bottle as it comes and save it up for the weekend.  I'm still working out the kinks - but I will either set up a set time to meet co-op members at an established locale, or set up  'open hours' Saturday afternoons to coincide with the farmers market schedules.

I am open to comment and suggestion, so please let me know your interests, needs, and preferences, and feel free to give me any ideas about facilitating local goodnesses.

Would this be something you'd be interested in? Do you have friends that are looking for a local source for KT or even scobies to purchase for their own homebrew? Would you buy local, yard eggs for about $3 a dozen? Let me know!