Kombucha

My latest excitement in the food world: kombucha. I have been wanting to try my hand at kombucha for quite some time now, but have either been limited by time or without a mother culture. For those of you unfamiliar with kombucha, let me just say that I think it is quite a treat! However, because it is quite pricey at the grocery store, it is not the top on my list of consumption. A while back (say, 2 years or so) my dear friend Garrett started making his own. He even shared with me a lovely illustrated guide on how to make your own batch. After talking to him, I realized how simple it is to make your own, and it is very, very, very affordable! In fact, all you need is some tea of your choice, a little sugar, water and a mother culture (also known as a scoby). More recently, my dearest friend Liza has been making her own too, which she then combines with fruit juice from overripe fruits she gets at the market. The end result: a super tasty treat, to be enjoyed by all!

A little while ago, my new friend David shared with me a mother culture from his home brewed kombucha. Since I am finally settled in at my new place, and have my very own scoobie, it is time to begin the kombucha adventure. Now, I am no expert but I am trying my hand at a batch, and thought it worth while to share with you, my new fermenting adventure!

Really, like I said before, it is simple. My prior notion that I needed time to make kombucha is practically irrelevant, because it really only takes 10 minutes and a little patience. I have included Garrett's illustrated instructions, for your viewing pleasure.

(Click the photo for a larger view!)

For my first batch, I definitely didn't let it sit long enough. However, it seems that my second batch was much more matured; after waiting one week.

Kombucha itself, is quite vinegar-y in taste. Personally, I love this aspect of it, but it is not for everyone. If you are not so keen on the taste of your first batch, try changing the type of tea you are brewing. While herbal teas that have more oils are not, such a great option, as they tend to lead to contamination; there are many varieties of teas that will work great. I urge you (once your scoby has multiplied!) to experiment, experiment, experiment! My current favorite is equal parts of green and black tea, with ginger added to taste. Simple, yet tasty!

Happy fermenting!

Oh, the times they are a changing

Dear friends,

So many things are constantly shifting. Today, I am writing to you from a different room than normal, as Jill, Kelsey and I have moved out of the garden unit and are now living in new locations! A strange feeling, indeed. However, this does not mean that I will stop writing about food and adventures. In fact, I think it is quite nice to have this silly little blog as an outlet for my thoughts and recipes. I sure hope you enjoy reading!

The garden unit in its prime

An update:
While Jill and Kelsey are continuing graduate school, I have moved down the street for a while, to live with some of my dearest friends. Jill and Kelsey are both doing well, with wonderful new roommates, and I am loving living in community with six inspiring and energizing individuals.

Though the physical walls of the garden unit have remained stationary, and no longer shelter Kelsey, Jill and me, the spirit of the garden unit (corny, I know, but it's true!) will surely live on in all of us! Jill will be baking bread till the day she dies, no doubt in my mind. And Kelsey, who went from hating nearly all vegetables, will be enjoying green beans long into the future I am sure. I plan to continue eating homemade foods, and not eating packaged foods (August 22nd will be Jill and my one-year anniversary of not buying packaged foods!).

A bittersweet farewell, to the home we had created.

More soon (including recipes... which I haven't shared in quite some time now!),
Until then, happy eating, crafting and living,
Ali

Jill, Kelsey and I; the garden unit girls! 

The art of gathering

Lately, Jill and I have been ravishing in the beauty that is Kinfolk magazine. Incase you haven't yet discovered this magazine, you can see all that it is, on the Kinfolk website!

Pages 138-139 of the Kinfolk magazine; beautiful!

Kinfolk shares similar values as Jill and I, and all of our dear friends, in the importance of small gatherings. I have nothing more to add at this point, because instead of reading me talk about it, I do hope that you just check it out yourself!

We hope you love these pages as much as we do.

Stoop kids

While I tend talk very highly of the garden unit (as there are many things to speak highly of), there also exists some limitations. For instance, while the alternative apartments in our building have balconies and sky view windows, we are balcony free and look out to the street. However, if you look at our unique situation from a slightly different angle, it becomes clear that such "limitations" are not limitations at all, but rather have lent us to situations that are great reward. For instance, our street view windows allow us to look out to lovely flowers and plants landscaped along our building. We can often see as friends and roommates approach, and thus can greet them with great joy! Similarly, our lack of balcony has lent us to another great reward; the discovery of our front stoop.

Lately, myself and the other current garden unit residents, Jill, Bridget and Alex, have been spending much time on the front stoop outside of our humble abode. Decorated with potted plants that we have added, the stoop has become our summer hangout.

Over the past couple of days, I have filled some of my free time reading Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac (for the third or fourth time, might I add!). In it, Leopold beautifully records his observations of the patterns of nature, that he observes from his farm in Wisconsin. Through many years of observing, Leopold and his family comes to expect the bloom of certain wild flowers and the arrival of various birds and animals throughout the year. As I read through the months of his record, I began again, to feel limited by my urban home. Though I love the city so much, I was feeling a bit sad that I was so removed from the natural cycles of nature.

As I sat on the stoop this afternoon, however, I realized how silly my longing for natural cycles were. While sitting on the stoop, I had several conversations with walker-bys, none of which I knew personally; and all of which would not have happened if I were in the country or even perched on a second story balcony. Then, as I sat longer, I watched as a pair of friends walked by. I realized that I see them every day, from the stoop, walking and talking together just as they had for the past who-knows-how-long. Alex came home and left, my neighbor Jordan came and left, a passerby asked me for directions. All the while, I sat on the stoop, enjoying the nice weather and the company of the cycles surrounding me!

It seems that the cycles of life, that Leopold writes about, exist all around us. How silly of me to be blind to them. I hope that you too have not been blinded by the hustle bustle of the city, to dismiss the beauty that exists within the urban cycles.

Thank goodness for stoops!

Happy National Culinary Month!

Who knew! My dear friend Alex just informed me that it is National Culinary Month, and what better way to celebrate than by cooking?! Alex also just shared with me a wonderful resource for historic recipes, that is filed at the Milwaukee Public Library. Stored in an online database, you can search and prepare many different recipes that are unique to the different cultures of Milwaukee from over the last 50 years. A neat compilation of recipes, I am quite excited to explore the database more, over the next month.

A picture from last year, with my dear friend Glynnis, 

at Strawberry Festival in Cedarburg

Going with strawberry season, which is quickly coming to a close, I have selected a few strawberry recipes that I hope to try within the near future: 

Recipes courtesy of Milwaukee Public LIbrary;

Click the photos to jump to the site! 

Happy National Culinary Month!