Breakfast With "Culture"

Wow, I slept soundly for 9 hours!!

With the work schedule hours changing weekly from nights to days and then back again, I have NO Circadian rhythms going on...arggghhh. That makes it really difficult for me to sleep more than 3 or 4 hours before my body wakes up because daylight is streaming through the cracks in the miniblinds, birds are singing, or in the dark waking up wondering if I missed setting my alarm clock...ha! I NEEDED that sleep :)

Both R and J worked late nights/early morning, so I'm the only one up.

This was the first day I had enough homemade Kefir to try making a smoothie.

Some folks have asked me where I got my starter cultures, so here's the link to http://www.happyherbalist.com/

We found them on a web search, and they've been very helpful to us via their 800 number as we got things started here with their cultures. We'll be using them again when we venture into the world of Kombucha, unless someone has a better personal recommendation.

Back to breakfast... I got out the stick blender, fished a few frozen black cherries from a bag in the freezer, added a drizzle of honey, and blended the whole thing up for an easy breakfast. I was wondering what the consistency would be, since I haven't tried it before with the homemade stuff, only with the storebought. Ah, just me and the alien fermenty yeasty living milky culture thingies. I still think fermentation is mad science of the best sort. That's why I didn't brush my hair yet before making it...to get that whole Einstein scary hair vibe working.

It was light and very pleasant...(the smoothie, not the scary hair)




But then...



Awwww...

Ok, it was delicious. Let's hear it for the fer-men-tay-shee-yone!


And yeah, I did try the same little number with the Caspian Sea Yogurt...you know, the yogurt that requires NOTHING but starter plus milk, all in a covered glass jar, set out overnight and then it's ready? Remember, J has been eating/drinking that stuff like there's no tomorrow.

My still-fickle taste sensibilities have not yet fully adjusted to some of the fermentation-ish textures, and the Caspian Sea Yogurt, unadorned, has something about its texture (very slick) that makes its "mouth feel" strange to me as is.

SOOOOO, I did the little fruit and honey number, and blended up some. I still didnt get it right, though. I think the batch I pulled from the fridge got a little snazzy with the fermentation and was a bit over-fermented...the only difference being that ideally it should have a mild flavor, and this had a slightly yeasty flavor. But it was drinkable. The texture was MUCH improved by blending!

So, lesson to self with the CSY, make sure it's not over-fermented, and experiment using it in more blended things, such as making some homemade Ranch dressing (no chemicals), or a blended vanilla "sauce" to pour over fruit. I'm still trying to get the hang of it, while my husband chugs the stuff like a Mongol and declares it the elixir of the steppes...lol!

Biggest Plus with the Caspian Sea Yogurt: Health improvement is VERY noticeable, and it's EASY to make, and it's EASY to make large quantities after the first week of getting the starter going.

Well, as much as I'd love to continue writing about yeasty fermenty things, my attempts to CLAP and summon my dishwashing genie have failed, so I'd better get to it!