Sunday, February 17, 2013

Kombucha making...

My Kombucha Scoby (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria & Yeast) is mature and large enough to start my first batch of Kombucha. So here we go!!

The Scoby nursery
My ipad recipe book
Brewing tea and Raw organic cane Sugar
Everything added to the new Kombucha bottle
The Scoby sitting on the bottom, just as it should.
My Panasonic Lumix reflection.

Thursday, February 07, 2013

Look at what I found in the cupboard above the fridge, or...Ode to a pack rat.


Look at what I found in the cupboard above the fridge. The three bowls on the right were nested in the cupboard. I needed to make room for a canning jar of Kombucha.

First the backstory. I used to have a set of Gripstand bowls. They were accidentally given away during a move, oh about 34 years ago. Gripstand bowls were made by a company called TG Green. I LOVED them. My mom had one and I just loved using it. I learned to cook using that bowl. I grew up, bought two for myself and you know what happened to them. See above.

I bought myself another one about the size of my mother's about 30 years ago. My husband accidentally dropped something into it and broke it. At that time I just couldn't afford another. So I bought a knockoff. It developed a lot of fine cracks so it needed replaced. So after last thanksgiving I went on the hunt. Turns out, sadly, they aren't made anymore. ARGGGGHHHHH. I went online and looked for TG Green Gripstand bowls. There are some on eBay, but OMG they're crazy. One in mint condition is about 100.00. I looked everywhere for a knockoff...there just aren't any. So I started researching. I read about Mason Cash bowls. Amazing bowls but they don't have my beloved gripstand feature. So I went to my favorite kitchen store in the world!! Muffet and Louisa in Sidney BC. I bought myself two Mason Cash bowls. One large, one smaller.
That brings us to today. I had to make room in the cupboard above the fridge for the Kombucha. I opened the door. I actually let out an OH MY GOD, so loud my husband asked if I was okay. There were three very neatly nested gripstand bowls. The smallest is an actual TG Green. The other two are Cloverleaf. I've done a bit of research and I think Cloverleaf is the same company as TG Green. I'm in nirvana.

So I have one TG Green, two Mason Cash and two Cloverleaf Pottery/TG Green. Okay, confession time. I also have two vintage Pyrex bowls. A yellow and a green from the 50's, and of course my 35 year old Tupperware mixing bowls. Can you say 'overkill'?

Well, as I said to my husband tonight. I definitely have enough bowls to last me the rest of my life.

As people who follow my blog know, I am suddenly on a decluttering and de-pack-ratting my house. I am spending hours a day doing it. I cannot believe what a gift these bowls are. I wonder how many other little treasures have been squirreled away that I have no memory of.

Kombucha scoby forming.

With all the glare coming off the glass, it is really hard to see the forming Scoby. I will try to get a better picture in the daylight. It is in the little cupboard above the fridge and hard to get at.
There is a layer of milky scobyness happening there on the top surface. I am beyond excited. Stay tuned.