Kombucha Recipe!

A Very Basic Kombucha Recipe

Supplies

• 1 SCOBY 
•  1/2 cup starter liquid
• 2 cups purified / unchlorinated water
• 1  cup sugar* 
• 4  tea bags OR if you're using  loose leaf tea, about 1 teaspoon is equal to 1 bag of tea. 
• 1 glass jar, whatever size you'd like.
• breathable cover, like coffee filter, cheese cloth, paper towel
• 1 rubber band large enough to go around the mouth of the jar or a string
• 1 Thermometer 

You'll want to adjust the amounts in the recipe depending on the size of your vessel. If you're using a glass quart jar or a gallon sized jar, just adjust as necessary.

sugar* You have a few different options for the sweeter you'd use. You need to use a real sugar like regular granulated or evaporated cane sugar or turbinado sugar. The bacteria and yeast feed off that sugar and they need it to live. They cannot handle artificial sweeteners well. If you're worried about sugar intake, you can cut the sugar in the recipe.

Steps

1. Boil 2 cups of water in a pot.
2. Add tea bags to pot and let the tea steep from 3-10 minutes, or longer if you prefer a dark tea. 
3. Once steeped to your liking, remove the bags. 
4. Add 1/2 cup sugar and stir till dissolved.
5. Fill jar with 2 cups unchlorinated water then add the hot sweet tea mixture to the jar as well. You should have space 2 to 3 inches at the top of the jar. This allows room for the new SCOBY to grow and breathe. 
6. Wait till temperature of water and sweet tea mixture is the same as the starter liquid. You would use your thermometer for this. Drastic temperature differences could harm the yeast and bacteria.  
7. Once the temps are within a few degrees of each other, add SCOBY and starter liquid.
8. Cover with coffee filter and secure with a rubber band or a string.
9. Set in a warm location out of direct sunlight. 
10. Leave your SCOBY for 7 to 10 days

After the SCOBY is established, and is visible on the top of the tea, slip a straw under the SCOBY and take a small sip. If your tea is too sour, then reduce the time of your brewing cycle.  If the KT (Kombucha Tea) is too sweet, allow to brew for a few more days or cut the sugar of the recipe.  Continue to taste every day or so until you are satisfied with the flavor of your KT. 

Maybe this is how bees see flowers?

Remarkable photos that capture the light that plants emit

Check out these amazing pictures and read more in the article posted above! 

Dandelion Balm is Coming

I feel like its still February, but here we are in March and even with the threat of impending snow (even as far down south as Virginia) there are so many golden buds popping up all over the fields and road sides, that I can't help but think that soon I'm going to be snatching them up to make some healing balm.

Because of my work, both farming and working especially in food service at the moment, I wash my hands all day long, they are in water, and other chemical waters and I find my hands calloused, cracking  and splitting and I really need something heavy duty to keep them soft, even if its just for my peace of mind.

So keep an eye out, I will be doing a blog and YT video on some quick and relatively easy and CHEAP balm to keep your hands soft.

Lazy Day

Today, it is chilly, but sunny, and I am off from my job. What a predicament since I know that I have tons to do, but I am enjoying the quiet and the peace of just sipping some hot coffee and catching up on the YT channels I like to follow and being all around lazy. I am working hard on trying to get motivated to get the house tidy and getting ready to move, even though that is several months away, some unset date in the future.

I think the hardest part about the whole ordeal with waiting to move so we can get a bit closer to our homestead life is being patient. Right now, I work with other homesteaders and get to help them get closer to their goals, but its soooo frustrating because I just want my time to be now. That being said, patience is a homesteading virtue. And while I do not get to go tend to MY chickens, I am bettering myself and constantly educating myself to be better.

Sometimes, I have to make hard choices, what homesteader doesn't? And right now, those choices are about what I will plant in the yard, or won't I plant in he yard. And where will I invest my money and if my investments of time and money are sound ones. But I digress, right now, today, I am going to enjoy my coffee, and get up so that I can make my life a little easier down the road by sorting through my crafting supplies and patching some clothes that have been waiting to be patched.

And one last note, my little sist☆r is coming to visit me, and I couldn't be happier. We are taking a drive down to Florida, where she is currently living, and I'm going to help her get her back yard set up to be a true, permaculture homestead. While she isn't as interested as I am, in maintain a full fledged farm/homestead, having a nice yard that produces food with minimal work is REALLY appealing to her. So that whole journey is probably going to be a YT video

'little' sister and I. Pssst, she's taller than me! 

Stay busy, guys! Summer and warmer days are almost upon us, and I know that you guys are going to be getting ready for the busy and craziest time for most homesteaders, so plan accordingly!

Valentine's Day Mountain Trip!

I've been something of a lazy blogger and a busy body working long hours at my job. Right now, I'm working a lot so we can save up a bit more and afford to put some money down on the property we would like to buy.  

That being said! We took a little trip to the mountains to break up the monotony of our long days!

Just a short little snippet, but we did some other stuff, mainly visited breweries and enjoyed what the mountains had to offer!

Some clips of where we stayed, in a cute little B&B. I loved this so much. They had baby cows in the yard next door which they were adorable. 

 

We stayed just one night for Valentine's day and spent the rest of our day up there, visiting Monticello, and sight seeing! It was awesome.

Some beer stuff here. 

Then there was this horror show. 

The birds looked so bad. 

 

This is just another reason to grow your own food.

I didn't really take too many more pictures.

I was too busy enjoying our time there!