Homemade Kefir

Mmmm … Milk Kefir

I tried my hand at making yogurt and was happy with the tasty result, but I’ve discovered that homemade kefir is superior in not only nutrition but also in ease of preparation and maintenance — with a few easy steps and guidelines you can produce a steady supply of this nutrient-dense real superfood.

But, wait. How does it taste? When I told my co-workers that I was making kefir at home and would soon have kefir grains to share they were skeptical. Like any fermented food, kefir is a bit outside the typical flavor range of most Americans’ daily diet. 

Homemade kefir has the consistency of thin yogurt and is tangy, sour (you can control the level of sourness through fermentation time), sometimes a bit yeasty, effervescent and tongue-coating. 
Homemade kefir has, in my experience, a much more robust flavor than store-bought kefir. I prefer to refrigerate my kefir before serving and enjoy it plain or with fresh berries.
Go with the Grain

Kefir grains (milk kefir grains as opposed to water kefir grains) are masses of bacteria and yeasts, on average containing more than 30 health-promoting strains, that are white to yellow and resemble tiny heads of cauliflower or large, bumpy, lumpy curds. The grains are said to have originated in the Caucasus Mountain region many, many centuries ago. I obtained my grains from my mother in Virginia. 

I was visiting and she graciously volunteered some grains in a little milk in a tiny air-tight container. I took the grains home via plane to Texas (TSA didn’t bat an eye as it was a small container, but I suppose they might at some airports). 
I’ve done some reading into buying kefir grains or kefir starter online, but the general consensus seems to be that locally-sourced grains (from a friend/neighbor/relative nearby) are best. 

Amazingly, the grains will, in theory, multiple and grow batch after batch indefinitely. With homemade yogurt the culture eventually weakens and dies after several batches and you typically need to obtain new starter. 

Making Kefir

Now that you have some kefir grains the rest is easy! The recommended ratio of grains to milk is roughly around 1:20. I started with a little less than a tablespoon of grains to a half cup of milk and expanded from there as the grains adjusted to their new environment. Now, I generally culture about a tablespoon of grains per cup of milk. 

Place the grains into a clean glass container (canning jars work well) and add cow, goat or sheep’s milk and agitate the grains in the milk. It’s best to use organic milk (non-homogenized, low-temperature pasteurized is excellent) but any organic milk will do — use whole or 2%. I haven’t tried to use 1% or fat-free milk as it is not recommended from what I have read. 
You may also be successful with non-animal milks such as coconut, almond or rice but the grains will not multiply and may not flourish (I may do some experimentation with these and update this in the future).

Put cloth or a coffee filter over the top of the jar and secure with a rubber band or twine. Place the jar out of direct light for 12-48 hours depending on the temperature of your home and check on the consistency and or taste of the kefir after about 12 hours and go from there. 

My home ranges from 76 degrees to 72 degrees this time of year, and the kefir cultures to my liking in a little over 24 hours. It’s OK if your kefir separates into multiple layers.

Filter the grains out of the kefir by pouring the kefir mixture through a non-metal strainer into a clean glass container for storage in the refrigerator (mesh works best and a wooden or plastic utensil can be used to help gently push the kefir through the strainer). 
The grains will be collected in the strainer and you are ready to start a new batch!

There is no need to rinse the grains between batches (may actually be harmful to the grains) and you may use the same glass container without rinsing in between batches within reason. You can “cure” your kefir by allowing additional fermentation at room temperature for up to 48 additional hours to help eliminate as much lactose from the kefir as possible, or place directly into refrigeration to slow/stop fermentation. 

The kefir will keep in the refrigerator for several months or more, but it never lasts very long in my house as we consume it almost daily. 

Share the Love

Due to homemade kefir’s very high nutritional value it may take a little while for your system to adjust to the kefir — start with a tablespoon or two and work up from there to avoid any rapid detoxification side effects.

As your grains multiply and you find you have more than you need you may eat the grains (haven’t tried this yet), dehydrate some for an emergency backup supply, experiment with making fermented juices or share the wealth!

The crude truth

When I perused the most recent news and photos on the Gulf oil catastrophe, I nearly cried. Helpless wildlife encrusted with thick, disgusting brown sludge is not acceptable and neither is the petty political and corporate squabbling and non-co-operation in getting the issue resolved and effective clean-up under way.

In one commentary on the spill, a writer argues in favor of a rescue effort of the creatures impacted by the oil. There is indeed a faction of people that believe the rescue of said animals is futile and too expensive. I have to assume those are the same individuals that think nothing of tossing their fast-food trash out of their moving vehicle (every time I see this, I want to commit a highway homicide).

If you can look into the eyes of a Pelican peeking out behind globs of sticky oil, and not feel any compassion or a twinge of responsibility (because I'm sure you fill your car/truck/suv/van/etc. with gasoline on a regular basis, perhaps you are one of the 4 percent of the population that does not have a conscience (which is a statistic I stumbled upon the other day that scared the crap out of me because it translates into the fact that 1-in-25 individuals has no conscience whatsoever to speak of).

The question in my mind is, why the hell can a corporation, nay an entire industry, exist and perform with such potential enormously negative repercussions from daily operations, with no proven emergency plan in place (let alone a protocol for the exact same situation the industry encountered a few decades earlier).

Maybe in the end, the disaster will bring beneficial change in the form of new, stricter regulations and a push toward FINALLY having the country get serious about investing in renewable energy production. However, given the history of our nation and its bowing to lobbyists, special interest and big business, that may be a futile and naive wish.

C'est la vie.

A spring in my step

With the arrival of spring's deliciously warm weather and bountiful blooming foliage I feel renewed.

Perhaps because I have a new job lined up, I am also appreciative of the few remaining free weeks before work begins. I have been spending as much time outside as possible and soaking up the freedom of lazy days spent observing life anew and the little pleasures of April.

I have been filling much of my time reading. Currently, I'm engrossed in Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris, Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes and The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara Pease.

So many people I've met rarely pick up a book, and it saddens me to know that the art of reading is slowly dying as young people's attention spans continue to wan and they follow less intellectually rewarding pursuits.

C'est la vie.

Time flies when you're in Texas

I've been in Texas since Tuesday, and it feels like just the blink of an eye.

I'm staying in Pflugerville with my gracious aunt and uncle who are willing to put up with my shenanigans for an entire week. So far, I've been to the Austin Museum of Art at Lugana-Gloria (housed in a beautiful Italian villa overlooking Lake Austin with 12 acres of amazing gardens and sculptures) and walked around Lake Pflugerville. I went shopping at Barton Creek, ate at the Iron Cactus and Opal Divine's (margaritas, yes please) and saw the Texas Stars in action in Round Rock (they won).

Yesterday I traveled to San Antonio to tour the Alamo and the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk was AMAZING. Because the landscape of Texas can be a bit desolate compared to say, Virginia, (but still very beautiful) the riverwalk is like an urban oasis with winding paths, lush landscaping, sparkling green waters and spontaenous Mariachi bands. I also toured the Witte Museum, which had their dinosaur exhibit in full-tilt (always fun to see children screaming and crying when a giant animatronic T-Rex roars).

I've still got a lot of activities on my to-do list including shopping in SoCo, Mexican Martinis at Trudy's, a scenic train ride and more, but even if I just sat on the patio for the rest of the trip and soaked in the 70+ temperatures and beautiful blue skies, I would consider it time well spent.

Desert blues

I am gearing up for a trip to Austin in a week, and I am super excited. I fully intend to drive west from Austin at some point while I'm there to take in the desert landscape.

I've been up and down the East Coast, hiked in the Pacific Northwest, toured Canada and swam in the Gulf Coast. I had a ball in Bermuda and went 4-wheeling in Michigan, but I've never seen the desert. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my expectations aren't too inflated like they were for Niagara Falls.

For some reason (I'm not sure why) before going to Niagara Falls (the Canadian side), I had a romantic image of it in my mind, but what I discovered there was basically a Myrtle Beach-like tourist trap, complete with a wax museum of famous criminals and a roller coaster. Not to mention, the nightly lighting of the falls with garish colored lights turning black and blue roiling water into an orange/purple/green nightmare. To me, it was akin to decking out the majestic California redwoods with blinking Christmas lights.

Here's hoping the desert doesn't disappoint!

You ARE going to hell!

No, that's not my place to say, but A LOT of "conservative" asses think they are in a place to judge others based on their own narrow-minded prejudices and fears.

If you are so afraid of gay people that you have to protest against their right to wed, or you think the dinosaurs were fashioned out of other various animal bones, or you think you have the viable, justifiable right to decide what a woman does with her own body, you need to wake up and smell the hypocrisy.

As I once heard John Waters say, if people stand so staunchly by the assertion that marriage is a "sacred institution," let's make divorce illegal and see how many straight people jump on that bandwagon. I'm thinking suddenly the right-wing conservatives would be shockingly silent.

How about those crazy teabaggers? First of all, naming your "political" movement after slang for a sexual act clearly means you are so out of touch that you should probably just stay home and read your Bible.

The teabaggers are ignorant racists gone wild. There, I said it. It's easy to pretend to have a cause to hide and rally behind, but no one is really fooling anyone with that hot mess. I'm surprised no one is handing out hoods at the get-togethers.

Still, I am glad to live in a country where ANYONE can protest, ANYONE can voice their opinion (no matter how divisive and at times hateful) and ANYONE (namely Sarah Palin) can apparently succeed in the political realm despite a total lack of experience, morals, intellect or common sense. That said, if the aforementioned person ever makes it into the White House, I'd be happy to call Canada "home."

C'est la vie.

Borlympics

In case you missed it, the Winter Olympics are under way in Vancouver.

Crickets, crickets ...

There's only one thing worse than the Summer Olympics; the Winter Olympics.

I happened upon the cross-country skiing event on TV and, boy, was that exciting. Everyone started at different times and raced the roughly six-mile course on their own. The great thing was the athletes were quoted as saying that the course was "for tourists," and "ridiculously easy." Even the announcer really didn't try to be enthusiastic, and I frankly can't blame him.

On the plus side, the temperature was cool enough to keep the snow from melting which has been a problem during several events ... global warming? What global warming.

My favorite story from the games so far is the Russian skating team who previously performed in costumes that mimicked Aboriginal skin art and attire. Apparently the routine's music included a "didgeridoo riff" and people aren't happy.

Awesome. I wonder if any figure skaters have ever donned headdresses and tackled a rain dance. I love how there is so little going on at the winter Olympics, besides the luger who met an untimely end, that this incident is big news. So now the question is will Oksana and Maksim perform that same routine or try their hand at something a little less offensive, like say a Japanese fan dance.

C'est la vie.