Your Custom Homestead, Review and Giveaway

I am thoroughly enjoying this book.  So much so, I plan on reading it twice.  The first time to get the gist of it and the second time to implement a plan.  The great part is, it’s only 79 pages long but packed with so much usable information.  You’ll be on your way to your custom homestead in just 21 days (if you follow the plan).

Do you need some inspiration or encouragement to get started on your homesteading dream?  What stands between you and your dreams of homesteading?

Do you live in an apartment?
Do you live in a house in the suburbs?
Do you have a few acres in the country?
Do you dream of having 100 acres and being ‘off the grid’ and self-sufficient?

It’ll be a different kind of homesteading than if you owned 40 acres with multiple outbuildings and a tractor but it can still be possible.  It’s all about doing what you can in the situation you are in.  Jill gives many idea for implementing homesteading principles in most any situation.

Now for the giveaway!  

We are giving away a free copy of Your Custom Homestead.  Leave a comment below telling me about your homesteading situation.  Winner will be announced this Friday at 12pm.

Me?  I have 15 acres, lucky me!  32 chickens and 2 kitties.  I also have a hereford cow and a pregant dairy goat spending the winter at my friend’s farm.  They’ll come live with me once the snow melts.  I’m hoping to get a garden going this year.  4 years in a row my garden has bombed but I’m stubborn.  Maybe this year will be the one!  I do have 4 apple trees and various berry bushes.  I haven’t killed those yet.

We have been contemplating trading in our little hobby farm for life in town.  I’ve been nervous about the idea of giving up my homesteading dream but Jill is showing me it’s still possible, I’ll just have to adjust my expectations.  I might not be able to have chickens, goats and a cow where we plan to move but I can still have a garden and an extensive pantry. Hmm, I wonder if they have rules against clothes lines…

Cinnamon Milk Kefir

I can’t thank Donna at Cultured Food Life enough for reintroducing me to a second fermentation for milk kefir.  I went from not caring for milk kefir to loving it.  I’ve been experimenting with different flavorings for the second ferment and all have been winners but this one is my favorite and worthy of it’s own blog post.  Cinnamon, that’s it.

To do a second ferment, first make your milk kefir as you normally would (instructions here).  Strain out the kefir grains.  Pour the kefir into a wide mouth jar (you’ll see why in a bit), just add a cinnamon stick and set on the counter for another 12 hrs or so.  At this point, my kefir is usually separated and doesn’t look too appetizing.  To fix that, remove the cinnamon stick and set aside.  Now using a stick blender, blend the kefir.  You can do this in a blender as well.  Put cinnamon stick back in and refrigerate.  The flavors will continue to infuse while in the fridge.  I usually sweeten mine with a bit of stevia but use whatever sweetener you prefer.

Don’t forget to check out my giveaway from yesterday.  Winner will be announce next Tuesday.
Lacto-Fermentation E-Course Giveaway.

Lacto-Fermentation E-Course Review and Giveaway!

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.  I’m a newbie at fermenting. I didn’t know Iwas a newbie until recently.  Don’t getme wrong, I’ve been fermenting for years starting with yogurt 9 years ago whenI put my son on the SCD (specific carbohydrate diet).  As the years have gone by, I’ve added moreand more to my repertoire but the more I learn, the more I find out how much Idon’t know.  Even since I started blogginglast October, you can see my method for fermenting has changed as I’ve learned newtechniques.

Recently I befriended Wardeh of GNOWFGLINS ( I love sayingthat, g-NOWF-glins).  It stands for “God’s natural,Organic, Whole Foods, Grown, Locally, In Season”.  She is amazing.  Simply amazing.  There is so much I am learning since Istarted taking her e-course on lacto-fermentation.  I didn’t even know I had this much to learn.  Her e-courses are excellent.  She includes videos that demonstrate thetopic of the day and includes PDF files with recipes to try out your new foundknowledge.  You can work at your ownpace, as fast or as slow as you want, when you want.  I don’t know about you but with 4 kids andhomeschooling, I need classes that are flexible.  I think it’s good for the kids to see Mommydoing school as well.

I’ve wanted to start teaching classes on fermentation and real food cooking for a while now but my and my husband’s schedule just hasn’t allowed me the time to do so.  This is a great option for all my local friends who I keep putting off.

Topics that are covered are the history oflacto-fermentation, why you should do it and how to do it.  No special equipment needed.  You most likely already have everything youneed to get started in your kitchen. You’ll learn how to preserve fruits and vegetables, make delicious fermented beverages,culturing dairy into yogurts and cheese, sourdough (yes, that’s fermentedgrains), beans, condiments and even meats.

Going through these lessons has given me so many new ideasfor ferments that I can’t wait to share with you!

And the best part about the e-courses is how affordable they are. For as little as $8 a month, you can have access to all of GNOWFGLINS e-courses where you can learn at your own pace.

Now for the giveaway!  Who doesn’t love a giveaway!  How about a free month membership to GNOWFGLINS e-courses?  This includes not only the lacto-fermentation course but all of her e-courses (fundamentals, cheese making, sourdough).  To enter, simply comment below.
We’ll make things fun by giving you a few different ways to enter.  One entry per comment.  I’ll pick an entry at random next Tuesday.

1. Like Pickle Me Too on Facebook.  I love getting to know people through Facebook. If you already like me, that counts too!
2. Like GNOWFGLINS on Facebook.  If you already do, that counts.
3. Make one of my ferments and tell me about it (you can tell me about one you’ve already done).

Next I’ll be starting her Cultured Dairy and Basic Cheese E-course.  She also has a book on lacto-fermentation coming out very very soon.  I’m so excited!

**ETA:  Don’t forget to post a separate comment for each entry!**

Kombucha Continuous Brewing System

Used with permission from The Liberated Kitchen’s Real Food Ryan Gosling page.

Does brewing kombucha seem overwhelming to you?  Do you envision mason jars scattered all over your kitchen?  Do you not have time to deal with it all?  But do you still want to drink kombucha regularly without having to shell out $3-4 a bottle?  I know I say things are simple a lot but this actually really truly is simple. Once you find the pieces, it takes a short time to get set up and running with very little maintenance.  Can you boil water?  You can make kombucha.

This is how I set up my Continuous Brewing System.

Equipment needed:

• Glass beverage dispenser, the kind with a plastic spigot at the bottom.  You don’t want any metal in contact with the tea as it can damage the SCOBY.  It should hold 1-5 gallons.  Mine holds 1.5 gallons.
• Tea ball (if using loose leaf tea).
• 1 gallon jug to store sweetened tea.

**Or if you don’t want to locate all this on your own, Kombucha Kamp has it all put together for you!**

Ingredients for 1 gallon of tea:

• 1 cup of sugar (1/4 cup per quart of water)
• 8 tea bags* (2 bags per quart of water)
• 4 quarts filtered water divided (or amount needed)
• 2 cups Kombucha starter tea (1/2 cup per quart of water)
• Kombucha mother

This makes enough tea for a 1 gallon container.  Adjust the amount as needed to fill your container.

Add water, sugar and tea to a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.  Remove from heat and let steep for about 15 min.  Remove tea bags. Add remaining 3 quarts of cold filtered water

Once tea is cool, pour into your system and add starter tea and kombucha mother.  Let set in a warm place for about a week.  Taste test at this time. If it’s too sweet, let set a little longer.  You might need to find a warmer place.  I keep mine near my crock pot which is always running making bone broth.  Kombucha can culture for up to 6 weeks.

*Black tea is best for the health of the SCOBY.  Green tea works well too.  If you want to use white tea, red tea or an herbal tea, use it in combination with black tea.  My favorite is a 50/50 blend of English Breakfast tea with green tea.  Avoid flavored teas (like Earl Grey) since they can damage the SCOBY.  Add flavor during the second ferment.

Harvesting Kombucha

Once Kombucha is to your liking, drain off as much as you would like to drink for a few days and replace with more sweetened tea, prepared with the above ratios.  When adding new tea, you don’t need to add more kombucha starter since it’s already in the container. Just make sure to always leave about 20% of the tea in the container.

I remove and replace about a quart at a time.  Doing a small switch like this makes the kombucha culture faster.  Culturing a ratio of 1 part sweet tea to 4-5 parts kombucha tea, as opposed to 1 gallon to 2 cups, goes faster and is usually done in a matter of just a couple days.

**Time saving tip:  I keep a gallon jug of sweetened tea in my fridge so I don’t have to make it every time I drain of kombucha**

You can drink the tea as is or do a second fermentation with juice, fruit and/or spices to add some fizz and yumminess.  See my recipe suggestion page: http://www.picklemetoo.com/p/kombucha.html

That’s all there is to it!  Just gently add sweetened tea as you drain off your kombucha.  Your SCOBY will grow, covering the entire top of your brewing system.  If it gets too large, you can always gently remove it and with plastic utensils, cut off portions to share with friends.

Part of Friday Food Flicks, Freaky Friday, Fight Back Friday, Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday