Fridge full of fermentation
Hi bloggies 😀 How are ya???
We did SO MUCH in school today… the theme: fermentation
I was especially stoked about this subject because this is something I’m not too familiar with. You could say I’m not exactly a pro at rotting things before eating them 😉
Our first project was making sauerkraut, which is something I’d wanted to make ever since I found out that the lovely Kristen makes her own raw sauerkraut.
We got all of our veggies out…
including one I’d never seen before: kohlrabi
We mixed in the salt and spices, weighed the mixture down so that liquid can continue to be pressed out, and put the sauerkraut in the fridge to ferment until next week
Next, we got working on some raw tofu
Which will be ready for munching tomorrow
And some green olive dressing—it came out tangy and garlicky, just how I like it 😀
Then we got ready for lonchi…
Today’s lunch was by far my favorite:
Salad beast!!!!!!
Here’s the crazy list of stuff that went into mine: spinach, arugula, cilantro, red pepper, yellow and red grape tomatoes, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, dulse, basil, green olive dressing, 1/2 avocado and lemon juice.
Along with some of the kale chips we made yesterday:
They were perfect. Cheesy, crunchy, foodgasmic goodness. I can’t wait to play with some flavor combos when I get back to Valdizzy 😀
When we came back in from lunch, we got started on a fun and stinky project…
MAKING OUR OWN KOMBUCHA!!! (Here is some info for those who have not yet been acquainted with this pungent health beverage)
We dissolved maple sugar into hot water and then brewed tea of our choice (I rolled with tropical green tea)
Set them against the wall to come to room temperature:
And when they had cooled –we made some other goodies in the meantime- it was time to add the “mother”
Mother is a stringy, mucilaginous substance consisting of various bacteria, esp. Mycoderma aceti, that forms on the surface of a fermenting liquid and causes fermentation when added to other liquids, as in changing wine or cider to vinegar
The mother slid into her new home in my green tea jar
See her floating in there?? Already emitting strands of bacteria and ready to ferment away for the next 5-7 days
The crazy thing is that once you have a mother, it will give birth (so to speak) to little bacteria babies which you can scrape off the top of the liquid and make more kombucha from that bacteria. In other words, I could show up on a friend’s doorstep with a baggie of “mother” bacteria for them to make their own kombucha. What a gift, eh? 😉
In 100% honesty, I don’t even like kombucha as of right now. It tastes like death and costs $5 a bottle.
The pilot on the other hand, is a fan and chugs it gleefully:
I can drink anything if you tell me it’s healthy, but can’t justify paying that much for something I don’t really enjoy. However, if I can make it myself our casa could potentially turn into a kombucha breeding farm.
We got out our biscotti abomination I told ya about:
It crumbled like mad and I found a much better use for it instead of the traditional biscotti manner…
Crumbled into a bowl and topped with almond milk:
Much better.
Time to get ready for work!
Enjoy the rest of your day <3
G$
Something to do: Head on over to the Foodbuzz Blog Awards nominations to nominate your favorite blogs in each category! I’d probably be categorized in the healthy living category, just to uh, let you know 😉 The categories are very unique (who you’d like to see on Iron chef, make you a cocktail, like to see their blog turned into a movie, etc.) and I think it should be a lot of fun to see what the final nomination results are 😀
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I adore your salad beast! Monstrous salads are really the most enjoyable 🙂
Sarah
That’s so cool that you’re learning to make kombucha! It’s SOOO overpriced!
It looks like you are having such an amazing time at 105 degrees. Your posts are making me drool!
Your lunch looks amazing! I didn’t know that there had to be a “mother” for the Kombucha…really interesting!
That definitely IS a salad beast! I’ve been wanting to try to make Kale Chips–I don’t have a dehydrator though! Hmm the whole Kombucha process is pretty interesting…
Wooot look at all those goodies!
I make my own kombucha and it doesn’t taste anything like synergy. but i love both! anyway, if you add just a bit of juice (which i know you love ;D) it will taste even better, and more similar to synergy.
good luck with your mother! I named mine bill, lol. And he gave birth to eric. So far, I haven’t separated any more because I’ve been too busy.
keep writing!
-muffy
haha I am NOT a fan of Kombucha at all- I don’t think hearing the process of how it’s made will convert me any time soon ;D But that is sooo cool and science-y that you are learning all of that stuff! Seriously stand outside WF with a little booth ha you’ll make a killing!
food looks great as always and i already voted for you!!
jenna
Wow! I’ve always wanted to try kombucha, but could never find a ‘mother’. Lucky you!!
I love Kombucha! Its the only thing that helps my stomach when I have acid tummy troubles!! I wish I could make my own!!
xo
K
Glad to know I’m not the only one who does not care for kombucha!! The almost beer smell freaks me out and just makes me want a beer…not so good for the health benefits! Have a great rest of the day!
I had never heard of kohlrabi until I got it in my CSA delivery last year. I remember thinking what the hell am I supposed to do with this thing? I ended up really liking it, and hope you did too. 🙂
Let us know how you like the homemade kombucha! Maybe you’ll think of a way to flavor it that you like better.
I’ve always wondered how people can drink kombucha, the first time I tried it I thought the drink had gone bad! Maybe if I experimented with it I would like it, but I’m not too sure.
Isn’t kohlrabi fun? I hadn’t heard of it either until I went to the farmers market this summer. I love trying new veggies, and this one was definitely unique!
Gina – LOVIN’ your posts via 105 degrees school. Honestly – so awesome! Looks like so much fun, and yummy! Thanks for the extra tidbits on new (to some us) ingredients like, oh, kohlrabi. Learning more about raw food each day. 🙂
Those kale chips had me practically drooling on my keyboard!! Will you ever be able to grace us all with its recipe???
I’ve never tried Kombucha. Looks interesting. 🙂 Now, the kale chips looked really good!!!
Raw tofu? Sounds very interesting…I couldn’t do that kombucha stuff though. Bleh! Little strands of bacteria coming from the momma bacteria. Gross.
Those chips though…I’ll take a case 😉
oh my gosh, just the fact that you described your future drink as a mother giving birth to live bacteria is what would repel me from ever buying the K-bomb.
but…hopefully it grows correctly!
Those Kale chips look AMAZING! How did you make them look so darn tasty?
I am scared to death to try Kombucha because I hear so many people bash the taste. Okay, I lied, I’m not really scared to death, but rather more intrigued. Once I muster up enough courage, I will try one someday.
Hope you are having a great week!
So much fun! Amazing how much you’ve learned already (I’m so glad you’re sharing your adventures too!)The kale chips do look incredible and I love your use of the biscotti
The sourkraut looks yummy, and I don’t even like non-raw saurkraut! Loving these raw food pics!! 🙂
That new veggie that you are working with TOTALLY looks like a green monster from outer space 🙂 Lol.
I love all of the things you are getting to do. You are going to be so full of knowledge after this schooling. I love it!
Have a wonderful evening dear!
love me some kombucha! especially the synergy “trilogy” flavor which has raspberry, lemon and ginger. i need to get a mother culture one of these days, as GT is robbing me 🙂
you are learning so much cool stuff I am super jealous 🙂
Kombucha just hurts my feelings. The only way I got through a bottle is by my husband encouraging me to “chug it”.
Great food pictures! Your experience there is so amazing. Thank you for sharing it with everyone!
The Kombucha is kinda scarin’ me a bit too – not gonna lie – perhaps it’s an acquired taste? Either way – the rest of your pics are amazing, as I have come to expect missy! 🙂
hahahaha – The Pilot is so cute/funny – I bet you get alot of giggles outta that guy!
GREAT POST GINA!!! Sorry to shout but I’m excited to see fermentation 101 so to speak. I already play around with making my own countertop coconut milk & coconut water (so dairy free and vegan) Kefir and blogged about it step by step (3 whole steps) last week. But yeah, making sauerkraut and komboucha are a bit foreign to me and although I wanna read Wild Fermentation which is like the bible of fermenting your own foods, I havent gotten around to it, nor will I probably for awhile…so your cliff’s notes are awesome!
I can’t wait til you can play around w/ the kale chips and flava combos in V Town, either. Those look really good and really so many possibilities….
take care :))
averie
Yeah for Kohlrabi- its one of my favorite veggies and is the best when eaten raw!
LOVE Kombucha! They are $1.85 here in Indy 😀
I think the Kale looks awesome too!
Kombucha at home, eh? I guess I’ll be making my “K-face” a lot 😉 Love you
First, thank you for the bean dip recipe – it has quickly become one of my faves too!
Second, my father had an ENORMOUS kombucha operation going on in our kitchen for years and year – each week, it made a new baby, and he used that to make the next week’s batch. While very healthy and kinda’ cool, it certainly DID stink!
You must be having a “blasty” at school 😉 Keep enjoying!
The kale chips look so yummy! Look so much better than the ones I make in the oven!
Someone I work with makes her own kombucha and has offered to gift me with a “mother” but I haven’t taken her up on the offer yet. I don’t like the pricey kind, but maybe homemade will be better!
Your biscotti cereal looks delicious! I won’t lie, the whole kombucha making process kind of freaks me out. It was interesting learning about it though!! Thanks for the 411 🙂
I’m enjoying your posts from 105 degrees and this one was so timely! I have been thinking about making my own kombucha and just made cheesy kale chips last week. There are a lot of sites out there about kombucha, so it was great to see the website where you got your “mother” and I ordered a starter kit from there. Can’t wait to try it! After trying the kale chips from WF ($7 a bag?!) I found the recipe for cheesy kale chips online and made them in the oven. I think I may have to get a dehydrator just for these, because the oven doesn’t work too well. The cheesy sauce is great though, and I made another batch and have been eating it with steamed broccoli all week. Yum 🙂
Any chance you can put up the green olive dressing recipe??
hey allyson,
i can’t post any school recipes because they’re not available online or published and they’re not my own. try this recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/Garlic-Green-Olive-Salad-Dressing-24562 and add 3/4 cup soaked cashews instead of the mayo- i think it will turn out lovely 😀
or does anyone know a recipe for Green Olive Dressing?
You’re awesome Gina, thanks so much!! 🙂
Hey Gina! Is there any health risks to fermenting products especially Kombucha? Thank you! 🙂
hey girl! yes, the kombucha can mold… just keep an eye on it and rely on your senses (smell, sight) and your intuition will tell you if you should eat/drink it or not
hey gina!
I just went to a raw/vegan resturant yesterday for the first time! it was delicious. the food is so creative and beatifully plated…I love reading about your cooking journey at the academy! I had this pizza that i still am baffled how they made the ‘crust’ it was delicous! and the ‘cheese’ was made with cashews and brazil nuts it was topped with portabello mushrooms! Check out my blog I have pics there!!
LOVE your blog : )