Tutu Fun

In last few weeks several people have mentioned tutus to me, this last time I finally decided to see if I could make a tutu that we could afford. The last display of tutus I saw were really, really expensive, in the $100 range. I found some great blogs talking about no sew ones, so I figured I would try that first.
Tulle is not as expensive as I thought it would be considering how much tutus even at a big box store cost.  I got 9 yards of tulle in 3 colors, 5 yards of lavender, 2 yards of dark green, and 2 yards of fuchsia, for $13.  I only needed 6, but I got extra for mistakes. I repurposed two stretchy toddler short waistbands. The shorts were stained or had holes and were just waiting to be made into rags. With all that I made a short tutu and long tutu. It took me less than 3 hours with toddler interruptions.  They are super cute, so I will have to cut down on my complaints that I never get to buy cute stuff for my kiddo. They are also reversible, so will make great play clothes for my beginning dresser.

Simple Chicken Broth

When it comes to cooking, I think the simplest things are the hardest to make because there is no way to fix a true mistake. I've always had a hard time with simple recipes because you can't hide behind the spices.

It is only in the last month that I finally figured out how to make chicken broth the way I like it, simple. This is the flavor I remember from childhood. Most of the recipes I've come across seem to require celery, carrots, and whole hell of a lot of other things and they never seem to come out the way I remember chicken and rice soup tasting from childhood.  The quality of food isn't as good so maybe we use all these extra ingredients to hide the lack of flavor or maybe most taste buds have been adulterated so much most people can't taste simple recipes. My other speculation is that maybe everyone assumes that everyone else knows the simple recipes...

Recently in my quest to understand meat, I finally found a few recipes that talked about the simplest ways to cook meat.

So chicken broth. Start with a roasted chicken. Apparently roasting really brings out the flavor of the bones. I prefer my roast chicken very, very plain.

Cook a whole chicken for 2-2 1/2 hrs at 325.  Remove the skin and most of the meat. I leave a little meat on the bones because it is a pain to remove it all and it adds to the flavor. I leave the wings  alone also to add fat and flavor. Make sure to get out the lungs and other random innards that tend to be left.

Throw the wings and bones in a pot full of filtered water (turns out boiling concentrates fluoride and other not so great things in the water).

Add

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (helps to melt the gelatin and other minerals into the broth)
1 piece of ginger (at least a 1 inch hunk pealed)
Salt
Onion

Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 3 to 4 hours. I think this timing tastes best and the soup will gel when cooled. Cooked too long you get more minerals, no gelling and  I like the flavor less. Granted, I'm really sensitive to minerals.

During the last hour I add...
a dash of oregano (great for colds and sore throats)
black pepper
rosemary
and more salt to taste.

I tend to just remove the bones rather than do a full straining of the broth for clarity.

For different flavors or more health benefits...
I add cut carrots occasionally. My kid loves carrots boiled to almost mush in chicken soup.
Daikon
Cayenne (great for illness like oregano is great for the throat)

Sardine Patties

Last year, I bought a lot of canned sardines, but I no longer like to eat them plain nor have I been able to find a mayo that doesn't upset my stomach. My favorite way to eat sardines was with capers, fresh diced onion, mayo, and a dab of mustard.

I tried making sardine patties tonight.

1/4 cup almond meal
1 tbsp mustard
1 egg
dried basil
black pepper
12 oz of sardines

Coconut oil for Frying.

Make sure the oil & pan are hot.  3 to 4 minutes each side. Flatten after the first side is cooked.

They came out pretty good, but they still needed something. So I ate one with ketchup. Will have to work on the seasoning. Tarter sauce would have been fab. Arg, still want mayo with my canned fish.

Truffle Fudge

I just made this truffle textured fudge from random ingredients in my pantry and fridge...

1 1/2 cups cocoa
1 cup coconut oil (liquified, but not warm)
1 stick of pastured butter
1 cup organic evaporated cane juice sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp high vitamin butter oil
3 dashes of celtic sea salt
Pinch of cinnamon

2 tbsp cream

2 tbsp sour cream

Put all the ingredients in a food processor except cream & sour cream. Process until smooth. Add cream & sour cream and process. It should be the consistency of  frosting. Put in a pan covered in wax paper, cover and cool several hours. 

My perfect carrier.

I saw a post on one of my mom lists about soft structured buckle carriers and someone mentioned they were selling a Babies Beyond Borders Mei Favorites Buckle Carrier. The wide straps made me want to try it. I'm happy to report no pain in left shoulder from wearing this carrier at all and it really does put most of the weight on your hips/legs. I got the toddler size that goes up to 50lbs. It fits both Manperson and myself with its 47" waist size. He likes it better too now that he has gotten into using the ergo sport and my one-year old actually brings it to us to carry her in. She fell asleep in it easily unlike the other buckle carriers we've used. I think because this one really supports her with it's extra long body, and when she is awake the fabric and style allow her to get her arms out.

This carrier has the multi-adjustable straps like the Boba, but they are wider and more comfortable. They are super lightly padded so it is not a pain to put other things on my shoulders over the carrier straps which was a problem with Ergo and Boba with their heavy padding and the wideness of the straps as well as the super wide waist pad distributes weight even better which means I really am mostly using my legs. It comes with an adjustable chest strap, but I don't really it need all that often which is a first with this type of carrier. The wide straps seem to keep it from sliding off my shoulders. It also comes with a small pouch. You can roll the body of the carrier and snap it to your waist when not in use. This is a feature I didn't mention with the beco butterfly that I loved. This carrier has arms straps with the ability to be crossed for greater support and size adjustment. Since I got mine used, I didn't get a mesh bag or instruction booklet that a new one would come with. Even better of all the carriers I've tired this one cost the least new.  If I had gotten mine new, I would have totally gotten a custom design, though their are really great colors to choose from, the most of any of the carriers. If you are going all organic they don't have that option, but these are fair trade and made by a group of women.

Soft Structured Baby Carrier Comparison

I've now had the chance to try several soft structured baby carriers which are a must if you have a kiddo who is over 20lbs. I have shoulder/back issues which includes limited flexibility in my shoulders and am also a big-chested, larger than average woman.  My child is also bigger than average and has a long torso. Her growth recently slowed down enough so that she is actually now on the growth charts. Below is a more indepth comparison of the 3 different styles of ergos and the boba that I wish I could have found online before I went to the trouble of buying and trying all of them. I also tried the Beco Butterfly 2 but due to less padding in the shoulders, a thinner waist strap it does not distribute a toddlers weight well enough for me, though it is great for learning how to back carrier, once you are comfortable with a back carry the Beco becomes rather inconvenient with it's complicated baby pocket. The other soft structured carrier I got the chance to try at my local babywearers meeting was a pikkolo which lacks a chest strap has flimsiest waist belt of all  making it the least ergonomic and for the price just really isn't up to par with the other soft structured carriers.

The ergo classic/organic is not really made for the larger person, so you generally have to buy a waist extension if your waist is over a certain size (43"). My waist size is 44.5" which meant for the ergo classic I bought I had to buy the extender which allowed for another 8", but was kind of cumbersome when one only needs another 2". The ergo performance also worked better for me than the classic and goes up to 48"in the waist, but the shoulder straps are too thin. The performance also kept my kiddo from leaning back as far as in the ergo classic which can 'cause balance issues. I found that of the ergos the ergo sport worked best for me for 4 reasons the shoulder straps were similar to the classic so they really helped you adjust your child's weight to be carried on your hips, the extended waist size, it seems to sit higher on my kiddo so there was less lean back of and the flexibility of the fabric which though the straps became easily twisted allowed for easily moving my kiddo to a back carry without requiring much shoulder flexibility.

I also recently did a side by side comparison for a month between the Boba and the Ergo Sport as well as a week also with the Ergo Classic. I find the Boba to be a superior carrier when you need to position weight more on your hips. The Boba has a better waist strap which adjusts from 28" to 56" it is also wider which provides more support and clasps in the center rather than off to the side like the ergos do. All the straps on the Boba are adjustable from both sides which is super convenient. The Boba is definitely hands down better than the Ergo Classic because of strap adjustability and support since the height of the body keeps your kiddo from effecting your balance two much. Sadly, the ergo sport works better for my body due to the flexibleness & slight stretch in the fabric, the boba fabric is cotton and stiffer though lighter than the ergo classic fabric, and the narrower upper body profile which allows it to sit on my shoulders in the perfect spot.

My dream carrier would be a Boba with a narrower upper body profile, a little bit more stretch in the fabric, and slightly more padding in the shoulders. Meanwhile, I'm using an ergo sport because it works best for me, though I will be recommending the Boba more.

If you plan on buying any of these carriers, REI is the best place to buy a new Ergo carrier due to a liberal return policy though your color choices will be limited. The Boba on the other hand should be bought directly from the company online as they have a 60 day return policy. The Beco Butterly is best bought at Baby Earth since they also have a nice return policy.

I highly recommend trying the carriers for yourself after trying many different types of  including  several types of Mei Tai's, Moby, Baby K'Tan, and Black Panda Pocket Wrap (similar to the Sleepy Wrap) all of which are more for the under 20lb baby and some are more for small infants,  you will find that different carriers work for better for different body types both your body type and your child's.

Roses...

My friend T is moving into an apartment and doesn't have time for the plants I've been holding onto for her, so she gave them to me and is also going to be giving me her roses. I never thought I would want roses, but I'm looking forward to having some pretty flowers in the yard. Manperson is going to build me a raised bed for them.

Felicia:  Pink to Cream, moderate size

Lafter:  Yellow, Orange, Pink, good hedge

Dame de Coeur: Cherry Red to Crimson

Clotilde Soupert:  creamy white/palest pink, compact growth

Martha Gonzales:  bright scarlet, low hedge, border

Red Cascade:  Blood red, weeping miniature, can be grown up poles.

Knock Out:   Bright Cherry Red, 5 ft shrub

Unknown rose grown as a tree – orangish red blooms

Pictures of my updated Mei Tai...

Here is a picture of my Mei Tai modeled by a friend and her daughter. I made the straps a bit longer so they could be tied under baby's bottom and back for extra support and adjustability. 

Sometimes the Universe is Looking out for you...

I was having a really hard time selling my ergo because of it being pink. I went back to try the ergo sport and compared it to my ergo. The fabric makes a big difference, but after a week of using the beco butterfly doing a back carry in any of them is easy now which was the major reason to buy something else. It is like beco trained me to be able to use the ergo for a back carry. I was having a few problems with the beco butterfly because of my short torso which made it so Babbi could lean out farther and disturb my center of gravity which was horrible for the front carry not so bad for the back carry. The ergo is great for front carry except for the bulky fabric, but I shouldn't be doing front carry anymore since my little one is 26lbs.

I took my ergo and beco to the chiropractor and she told me to get rid of the beco because it would be bad for my shoulders. It pulled them back and down which could lead to problems and nerve damage over time. Luckil, Baby Earth has a great return policy and they are in town. The ergo performance has less padded straps and I'm now wondering if it would be a great 2nd carrier. I also ordered a boba carrier which is geared towards toddlers and is supposed to be highly adjustable and carry much like the ergo, but lighter and better for taller kids since Babbi has a long torso it may work better. We will see. Meanwhile, I am glad I didn't sell my ergo and the pink color has grown on me. I get lots of compliments on it though no one wanted to buy it. 

Fig Tree Planted

I finally planted a fruit tree. My friend T gave me her fig tree from her container garden. The Manperson and I have been talking about how unsafe the sculpture I made in the backyard was for  our little one, so this morning I removed it. Looking at the spot it was in, I thought the fig tree belong there, so I planted it. T also gave me some paving stones which I put around it. I'm contemplating getting paving stone for all the pathways in the backyard now...

Babywearing Devices

I finally figured out how to make a Mei Tai that works. When I made my first one, I'd never used a baby carrier before so my logic was totally off. I needed a more pliable fabric choice for it to be comfortable instead a strong stiff fabric like I originally used. I will post a picture eventually.

I also learned to make a pouch sling which I gave to a friend of mine who couldn't buy one in the stores because she needs a smaller size than can be bought. It looks great on her. Sadly, I forgot to get pictures of her wearing it. It was made of stretch linen and for not measuring her it was the perfect size, though I already have an idea how to make it smaller if she needs it taken in a little since the linen may get bigger as it gets warmer. She said I should make a business out of it. The pouch slings are pretty easy to make.

I'm considering working on my own baby wearing design for just around the house. Meanwhile, I just got a beco butterfly it is so much easier to do a back carry than with my ergo. I'm actually going to sell my ergo since I was not using it that much because it is a bit too bulky and hurts my shoulders. I'm also planning on getting another one for around the house. I tried an ergo sport at REI and it works so much better for my body. I can also do a back carry with it, but not as easily as with the beco, but the beco doesn't work for front carry well for me because I am short waisted. Luckily, I found one used that selling my ergo will almost cover the price of.

There are so many types of baby carriers, but luckily I have very specific needs or it would be even harder to make choices.

Outfit for my friend's little boy...

I made this outfit for a friend's kiddo who is 2 months older than mine from an adult shirt. He is a real mover and shaker so no pictures of him in them, but she did manage to get some other models...

As well as this great shot of them. Just imagine a blond haired little boy with very big, bright blue eyes in them. He would probably really enjoy being on the fence as well since he is very adventurous for a one-year old.

Cleaning up the Back Yard

More yardwork today. Manperson dispersed the rest of the big load of compost we bought way back when. My friend T and I went through and got rid of all her dead plants and moved the ones that need water closer to the patio. My first hugelkultur bed is almost ready for planting, though maybe should refer to it as a lasagna type bed, just needs to be smoothed out. It is filled with pecan leaves and shells, though, which will limit what I plant.

Manperson and I dug holes of blackberry plants. Sadly just figure out two of them will have to be moved because they are too close to the pecan tree. Pecan trees are part of the black walnut family and produce juglones that will eventually kill the blackberry. I was so excited too to have something that I thought would grow along the fence.

T gave me her Brown Turkey Fig tree which is supposed to form a guild with Blackberries, so maybe it is time to start digging the huge hole I will need for the fig, so I can plant my newly purchased blackberries next to it.

The the list of vegetables /fruit that I might plant that cannot grow near juglones  are

• Cabbage, Brassica oleracea capitata
• Peppers, Capsicum species (some)
• Tomatoes, Lycopersicon esculentum
• Blackberry, Rubus allegheniensis
• Potato, Solanum tuberosum
• double-flowered cole vegetables
Granted, I can't help, but wonder since Privet/Ligustrum supposedly can't grow near juglones and I have two next to the Pecan Tree, granted as the Ligustrum got bigger and closer to the Pecan large sections died and fell. Maybe it just took that long to hit the root zone.
What I will be growing in my new garden bed then is Squashes, Melons, Beans, Carrots. I think I will start with melons and squashes. I'm thinking Babby and I will be off to Natural Gardener tomorrow for seeds and some cutting of plants that I want to get ID on. I guess actually that is now today.

I'm starting to realize that what I thought was mostly ligustrum regrowing is actually chinaberry and hackberry/sugarberry. Hackberry/sugarberry also has juglones that inhibit the growth of certain plants. Joy. Sugarberry trees will do great with the pecan tree. I'm thinking of just letting them grow.

Yay! Yardwork!

I really missed working in the yard. While manperson was working from home today and babby was napping, I went out back and did some maintenance. One of the plants I thought was ligustrum growing back is actually a very nice pomegranate which is blooming today. My leadball tree has it's first yellow leadballs and they are beautiful.

My favorite yellow flower, the calylophus, is blooming as well. I'm falling in love with my yard again in it's new form. I'm now envisioning more of a natural space. I plan on planting blackberries that hopefully will outweed the weeds in the back corner especially the poison oak or at least block it off. Due to the ligustrum and their poisonous ickiness for kiddos, my backyard is not a safe space for babby especially since babby likes to put everything in her mouth and taste it, but eventually once she is past this stage maybe we can have a piece of nature in our backyard with some veggie raised beds. I figured if I can keep the ligustrum berries from forming I can at least safe other natural spaces from the evils of ligustrum.

I have two of the seeds in the veggie garden coming up. No idea which ones, though I'm pretty sure one is a squash.

As I was working back there today, I was daydreaming about putting up lights and having people over hanging out back there, eating, drinking and conversating.

I have this little ball of happiness growing inside again as I think of what I can create back there...

Backyard Update Pictures

If you checkout the backyard label, you can see pictures of the changes in the backyard from bareness of when we first moved in to the emptyness of ligustrum removal to now...

Recipe: Gluten-Free Oatcakes Variation w/Almond Meal & Evoo & Whey

This recipe uses raw milk whey instead of kefir and more oat flour. Mostly because I was out of ingredients...

1/4 cup rolled oats

4 cups oat flour

3 cups Whey

1/4 cup filtered water

3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

4 tsp rapadura sugar

1 cup almond meal

Mix rolled oats, oat flour, kefir, & filtered water together. Let sit at least 7 hours (mine sat out covered for 16 hrs).

Mix in evoo, baking soda, almond meal, sugar & salt. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet. I used EVOO to grease and let it pool just a little so that my end oatcakes and crispy edges.

This variation came out with a slight bitterness. I think it was the whey and more oat flour. It is also more bread like in texture than biscuit crumbly.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or so depending on size of oatcakes. Makes 22-24 oatcakes. 

Keeps for 4 days in air tight container on counter. Best in Frig.

Lumpy Fabric Letters

I was browsing through Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby: 24 Easy Projects for Newborns to Toddlers at the bookstore. I keep meaning to buy it because it has lots of great ideas and a really neat dress pattern for toddlers. It had a fabric alphabet pattern. I used large printer font to make my patterns for the alphabet. I used my kiddo's old flannel receiving blankets for the fabric. Polka dots on one side, yellow on the other. I have 3 different sets of these receiving blankets. I originally planned on making a rag quilt, but I think I will be making more of these not just for my kid, but as gifts. Great for flopping, throwing, and chewing which is what she does now and for later great for word building...

Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive Oil Cake

1½ cups almond meal
1 cup finely shredded coconut
4 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of lemon zest
1 cup olive oil extra virgin
bag of frozen blueberries (stalbush island farms has the best tasting)

1. Preheat oven to moderate, 350F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2" pan. 
2. In a bowl, combine almond meal, sugar and coconut.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, olive oil and lemon zest. 
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring until smooth.
5. Spoon into prepared pan, smoothing the top. Drop in blueberries
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when touched. Let cool in pan
   for 5 min

Making Peace with What is Gardening Style

My fabulous playgroup has started a gardening round robin. I got to be first. They all came over with their 3 to 11 month olds, we set up a little water playground for the kiddos, and then we weeded both my 4x8 raised bed, and my 4x4 raised bed. With that many people it only took an hour and half which was good because that was about the time all the kiddos needed to go home. It was a lot of fun. We are set to go to someone else's house next.

I just planted a bunch of seeds today. Most of which was from my playgroup. Beans, melons, chard, spinach, basil, zuchini, summer squash, cucumbers, and okra. I didn't bother labeling them because I didn't have the time, but did make sure to have a general idea of what I planted where. Only veggies my kiddo and I can eat. I've retired the ollas for now since I just wasn't up to digging holes to bury them again since I removed them so we could weed and break up the dirt and will try my hand at watering. Luckily it is going to rain tomorrow so I don't have to water yet.

The Manperson has been mowing the weed grass (not sure what kind of grass or grasses it is but it grows over everything) and once mowed it doesn't look so bad for a weed. The ligustrum and crepe myrtle that I thought we had destroyed all grew back while I wasn't able to garden. Happily, many of my texas native plants are also growing back among the johnson grass. They are holding their own. I don't have the time to garden like I want to, so I've decided to make peace with those things that I really just don't have the time to work on. I'm going to keep the pathways clear and try not to let the crepe myrtle and ligustrum get really tall again or overtake the plants I like, but beyond that C'est La Vie.

The poison oak has also grown back, but at least it is keeping to its area. I'm contemplating just planting stuff to block off that part of the yard. I'm thinking blackberries which if I remember correctly have thorns.

My backyard looks okay. It isn't quite what I was hoping for, but if I didn't know what some of the plants were, I would be pretty happy. I'm also storing my friends container garden which adds a unique element. I plan on posting pictures soon of the yard now.

Baby Scobies

I haven't had time to do anything with my kombucha experiments until today. GTS finally formed a baby it is half the size of the Buddha's Brew and took twice as long to form. I was planning on pouring them out today, but got curious as to whether or not I could get the pancakes out without breaking them. They slide out with some help more easily than I thought they would. I went ahead and transfered them into wide mouth small mason jars and put them back into the waiting area to see what happens.

I also went by Austin Homebrew and looked at what they had to test PH and Alcohol content, but didn't buy anything.

Pictures... I thought about getting closeups of the scobies, but am still undecided as to what I want to do with them. These scobies are well formed, no sign of mold. The Buddha's brew scoby sank then floated in the mason jar. The GT's just sank to the bottom. Not that it matters if they sink or swim...

Best Kombucha to buy for Scoby

After less than a week of sitting out covered in a paper towel, the local Buddha's Brew Kombucha has a nice scoby pancake forming. GT's has a thin film at the top which I suspect will eventually develop a pancake. If I had thought this experiment through I would have poured these kombucha's into wide mouth jars since I really doubt there is a way to extricate gracefully the kombucha scoby that has formed in the Buddha's Brew bottle. On the other hand being someone almost incapable of labeling letting the plain kombucha sit in the original bottles is great for knowing which is which. Next time I make kombucha I am totally making it from a scoby developed from a store bought bottle of raw kombucha.

It has now been over two weeks since I started my kombucha from the mother given to me. I really want to taste it, but I'm resisting. I should probably look into giving it away...

No more Kombucha Experiment for Me

Well, after talking it over with my doctor. I'm sticking to drinking the kombucha from the store since I can be sure of what is in it since they are better able to test the kombucha and is unlikely that some stray microbe/yeast/mold has entered until I am done feeding my kiddo breastmilk. I'm not as worried about the alcohol factor because I participated in a couple of studies with Upspring the group that does the breastmilk alcohol test strips. Pump and dump is basically a myth when it comes to alcohol because everyone is different when it comes to when the milk may have alcohol in it. If the milk does have alcohol in it and it stays in your boob than your body just reabsorbs it so after a particular amount of time depending on how your body deals with chemicals it is no longer in your breastmilk. For extra safety sake, the Mother's Milk Bank says wait 12 hours for donations if you've had alcohol but the milk is also going to preemies and NICU babies. I will definitely try this again once my kiddo is done with breastmilk, though I think I will just do the continuous brewing which seems not only to have more health benefits but is easier and safer. It was fun while it lasted.

Yet another thing thrown by the wayside due to lactation. I'm glad I can feed my child so well, but can I say how much I hate being a food source especially since I get none of the good feedback from my child for it since she cannot breastfeed and we now know she will never breastfeed.

Must find some new easy food experiment to do or something else that doesn't take long that I can do in my very brief spare time. Sadly, sewing takes too long these days, so I can only do it when my husband is taking baby duty especially since I am using kiddo's naptime for pumping now and she is getting less dependable as she gets older about taking naps.

Safety of Kombucha for Lactation & Pregnancy

I am bummed after reading the happy herbalist site regarding the safety of homebrewed kombucha for nursing mom's. Apparently, I was not paying attention in my excitement over brewing my own kombucha.
Now I'm wondering if it is a good idea to make my own homebrew, though I've been tasting it and it hasn't so far affected my kiddo or me. I also somehow also missed that there is kombucha recipe in my Nourishing Traditions cookbook.

I'm wondering if I should give away my brew and kombucha mother and try again later or just go get some test kits from the Austin Homebrew Store...  I'm going to my alterna doctor today, so I'll ask her what she thinks.

the Twelfth day

My kombucha is forming a baby on top and is now tasting more like what my expectation of plain kombucha would taste like. I went out and bought 3 different brands of plain kombucha to try.  High Country Kombucha is supposed to be closest to what homebrewed kombucha tastes like. I didn't really like it at all, the sweetness was brewed out completely. On the other hand, I really like what my homebrewed kombucha tasted like after 10 days in comparison, I suspect though that the sugar content is high at that point and not sure it would be as healthy. Apparently, continuous brewed kombucha is the healthiest, but it doesn't form a baby scoby, though I guess I don't really need a baby scoby.

I've also tried the local Buddha's Brew plain kombucha. I usually only drink their ginger flavor. The plain was okay. They had peach last summer and it was really, really good but they didn't bottle it. You had to buy on tap and I never managed to get more than a little bit. I actually like my homebrew better. Same after trying the GT's plain. I usually drink mostly GT's because they have great flavors, I like the guava, multi-green, gingerade, and mango. I occasionally drink their other flavors, though when I feel the need to drink kombucha everyday I was buying the Buddha's Brew in bulk at the farmer's market because it was cheaper and I like their ginger flavor better than GT's.

Of the bottled plain, I think the Buddha's brew tastes best, then GT's, and for me the High Country just wasn't drinkable at all. I also got a flavored high county the Wild Root which is suppose to taste similar to root beer. I haven't cracked it open yet. As I've been tasting these kombucha's I've been rubber banding a paper towel on top to see if I can make my own scoby from the leftover kombucha. I'm really curious if I can brew kombucha using those leftovers. I need to get the materials to try it. I feel bad about wasting the pickles so I can have cheap brewing jar.

I was positive I was going to flavor my homebrewed kombucha because I didn't think I would like it plain, but now I'm thinking I should go ahead and bottle mine and drink it as is. I don't know what will happen if I disturb it at this point and I wanted it to be less sweet before I tried to flavor it. I wonder if part of the flavor difference is that I used white tea and I suspect that the plain kombucha I've tried so far uses black and the other part is the sweetness. I think the flavored kombucha's are just sweeter.

I'm also not sure how I'm going to get it from the big pickle jar to the smaller bottles. Since brewing my own is super cheap and unexpectedly is turning out to taste better, I'm planning on getting materials to do a continuous brew basically something with a spout at the bottom like a stainless steel or ceramic water bottle holder which will also make it easier to bottle.

This process reminds me how much I love experimenting with food and recipes. So much fun!

10 days of Brewing

Tasted my kombucha this morning. It is more fizzy, less sweet, and smells like apple cider vinegar.  In the back of my mind even though I know a kombucha coming out of dormancy does not form a baby, I was still wondering if I did it right. The changing sweetness level is very reassuring.

Since I am planning on adding flavor when I bottle it, I want most of the sweetness to go away. I think kombucha is one of those things that disproves that smell and taste go together all the time. I am not fond of the smell of vinegar, but really like kombucha.

I'm thinking for the next batch, I will use less sugar as outlined in the blog Kombucha Fuel. I also like the idea of in the blog of using jam to flavor in the secondary bottling process. I already have couple of jams to try once the main brewing is done.  I've been saving my GT's Mystic Mango bottles to use for the secondary bottling.

I'm really surprised at how easy this has been so far. It will also save me a lot of money. I can't wait to try the continuous brewing method which is supposed to be even easier and more nutritious.

Tasting my first Kombucha Brew

So I tasted my kombucha today. No baby scoby formed though. I found out from this cool blog that when you use a refrigerated mother that it takes a couple of brewings for it to come out of dormancy and form a baby. My brew is still too sweet, but it does taste like kombucha. I'm going to leave it for another few days and taste it again. I need to buy a bottle of plain kombucha since I don't think I have ever had any plain kombucha or if I had it has been so long ago I don't remember to do a taste comparison.

Making your own Kombucha

I got a scoby (also known as the great kombucha mother shroom) from a Mama off my local attachment parenting list. I followed the instructions off this website, but the measurements did not quite fit into the 1 gallon pickle jar I bought so I hope it turns out okay since at the end I had to pour some liquid off to fit the scoby in the jar. The happy-herbalist also has some tech talk on making kombucha since they sell kits. If this works out I may buy some type of receptacle with a spigot so I can do a continuous brew of kombucha.

In my search for info about kombucha making I ran across this forum where someone posted how to make kombucha from a bottle bought from the store.

Here is the recipe adjusted based on the herbalist brewing guide and another kombucha making guide recipe. The mad scientist in me plans on trying this... Apparently it does not matter if the store bought bottle of kombucha is flavored or not based on another blog/thread I read.

Making kombucha is apparently best done at temps between 68 to 84 degrees F.  Optimum temp per my reading is 78 degrees F. We keep our house around 72 to 75 degrees F because that seems to be the optimum temp for keeping breast milk out on the table for 6 to 12 hours which gives our kiddo plenty of time to eat it all.

On to the recipe that I plan on trying based on three other recipes... I will post my results eventually stay tuned.

Needs
1 gallon clear class container. In a basic grocery store check out the pickle jars. I got a Best Maid Pickle jar for $4.78 and my husband actually likes their pickles so he plans on eating them, so I don't have to feel guilty about put the pickles in the compost pile.

Organic sugar

Organic green, white, or black tea (I've read black tea is best, but I used white)

1 bottle of kombucha with stuff floating in it or any bottle of kombucha that you leave out at room temp that develops stuff on the top. (I got a dormant mother scobie and had no kombucha in my first brew attempt so ended up using 4 tbsp of distilled vinegar)

Distilled white vinegar for cleaning of pickle jar, pots, and utensils (apparently other cleaners can potential 'cause brewing problems)

Bring to a Boil 1 quart of distilled/filtered water. Add in 1.5 cups white sugar and 5-6 tea bags (white, black, or green organic tea, organic apparently is important for scoby health). Do not boil the sugar more than 5 minutes 'cause it may cararmelize. I basically turn off the boil and add tea & sugar, then stir until sugar is dissolved.

Let the tea bags steep in the water for 15 minutes. (The Manperson is really into white tea and apparently there is an optimum temperature for steeping that is not boiling, I'm using the white tea that he feels he can no longer tolerate now that he has developed a more refined organic white tea palate.) 

Put 2 quarts of water into the pickle jar. Pour your tea into it. Take a temp reading with a food thermometer. It should be around 73 degrees F with this method.

Then add unflavored and raw kombucha with scoby to it (I added the mother scoby and put 4 tbsp of distilled vinegar on top for my first brew), gently stir with wooden spoon. Cover your glass container with clean cloth, cheesecloth, coffee filter, and rubber band it (used cheesecloth and one of the ubiquitous rubber bands I end up with from Whole Foods). If you have flavored kombucha, apparently you let it sit out until scoby forms across top. I would put it in a wide mouth glass and cover with cloth, paper towel etc until the scoby forms. Take out the scoby and add it to the pickle jar just don't add the flavored kombucha. You can then add 4 tbsp of distilled vinegar instead of regular kombucha or if you have plain kombucha sitting around add 1 1/2 cups.

Leave it somewhere it won't be disturbed until you notice a thin (though hopefully thick if you got a good one) SCOBY has formed on the surface of your tea. It should be kinda creamy tan with not too many 'holes", if it is a nice and healthy SCOBY. This can take anywhere form 7 to 20 days. Make sure it is not somewhere it will be hit by direct sunlight and it has fresh air occasionally circulating. (If you used a great mother shroom, then you can just taste it because it may not form a baby under certain circumstances.)

The first brew from your new scoby is drinkable, but not as tasty as it could be if you used a great mother shroom so you may just want to take the mother scoby you made and make another brew.

Pattern Adjustment for the 2nd Pair of Trainers

I adjusted the wool soaker pattern for this 2nd set of trainers. I cut the pattern so that the leg opening was the medium size, but the bottom coverage was x-large.  When I did the green set of trainers I used the largest pattern size and just skipped adding the leg bands and made the waistband a third the size of the original wool soaker pattern. Here are some pictures showing what is inside the trainers, how they compare to the wool soaker, and how they fit my kiddo. I cut the top off these trainers made them one size smaller and sewed them back on as a waistband after seeing how far up my kiddo's back they went and how they gaped in the back.  I don't yet have a picture of the newest adjustment to these. I will put the final purple trainers in the next post  about sewing trainers along with my attempt at doing a picture step by step...

New Outfits

I made these two outfits for my kiddo from a pair of adult pants and a skirt that a friend of mine was getting rid of...

Wool Soaker Shorts & Cloth Trainers

I found this great pattern for wool soaker shorts. I bought some 100% wool sweaters from Thrift town and felted them. I just made one so I could get the sizing right because no matter how I measure it never works out, so I need to make one and put it on my kiddo. These grey ones look super cute on her. I also adjusted the wool soaker pattern to make this pair of light green trainers, basically underwear with extra wet protection. The fabric is from an old t-shirt that a friend of mine no longer wanted. I cut the pattern out twice and sewed the wrong sides together leaving a space to turn it back inside out. I also sewed onto the wrong side of one extra wetzone protection. I used an old prefold that I cut up. The trainer I made worked better than the little beetle learner  I bought from Mamawise. I planning on adjusting the next one I make to fit even better because I felt the green trainer was just a little bit bulky. 

Fabric Blocks

I just learned to make fabric blocks, though next time I will put more stuffing in and hopefully remember to wash the blocks without the stuffing first...