Jen Mayer

April is here. Hooray!

I grew up on an alfalfa sprout and vegetable farm in upstate NY. Every spring signaled for my father and I to spend a few weekends in the basement sowing seeds into plastic “6-pack” trays. We worked on a deteriorating work bench which was stained by oil, grease and silver paint from many generations of use. The basement felt humid in contrast to the dry dehydrated potting soil we mixed with water to nurture tiny seeds. We stacked these plastic flats covered with opaque coverings on top of one another to germinate. Eventually with time and water these trays would house small plant sprouts. We then transported these new plants from the basement across the lawn and driveway to our large greenhouse where they would continue to grow in the warm protected environment. Eventually these plants became large enough to transplant into my garden. I would tend to sunflowers, zinnias and various vegetables through the summer. But every year, it all begins now. In April!

What now?

Today I live in Colorado, and I am fortunate to have lots of space to construct a garden. This is my fourth summer at 101 Pearl (wow, really?). Every year the neighbors and I plant a vegetable garden in our front yard, and every year this garden has grown bigger and bigger. This year we have become very ambitious, as we begin to connect our various gardens together. I recently placed my seed order, which will be it’s own post. Pictures soon… I wonder how much FOOD we can GROW this year.

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KOMBUCHA!
It really is a great word. Kom-bu-cha. I just started brewing another batch today. Last fall my neighbor gave me a SCOBY and I was brewing a new batch every other week. Then I took a break over the holidays by ending all the batches I had going. Now I am back, thank you craigslist.org. Within 24 hours of posting a WANTED: kombucha scoby I had two in my hands.

BTW: a SCOBY is a “symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast” and it is what ferments the sweetened tea to make kombucha

How to Make Kombucha- simplified

1. use a glass container 1/2 to 2 gallons large
2. wash hands with hot soap and water, clean workspace
3. clean glass container well
4. boil water to make enough tea to fill your container
5. add sugar, 1 cup per every 3 quarts
6. use only pure green or black tea with caffeine and brew tea
7. allow sweet tea to cool to room temperature (70 °)
8. add SCOBY and cover with a lint-free cloth (dishtowel) and secure with rubber band
9. allow to brew undisturbed
10. check on kombucha brew. it could take 7-14 days to ferment

A good link with more intensive directions and a video can be found here: Wikihow page on making kombucha

I’ll let you know how these new batches turn out!

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Thanks for all the support at Ignite Boulder 3 last night! I had a great time presenting.

For those of you who are interested in making yogurt, detailed instructions are below.

Yogurt

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 qt. whole, lowfat, or nonfat milk
2. 1 1/2 tbsp preservative-free, all-natural yogurt with live cultures. live cultures is the important part

MATERIALS

1. A heavy bottom stainless steel pot
2. Food/candy thermometer
3. Large bath towel
4. Oven
5. Glass quart jar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 200º
2. Bring milk to 180º, just before boiling over medium to low heat
3. Remove milk from heat and let cool to 110º
4. When milk is cooled to 110º add the 1 1/2 tbsp of yogurt
5. Turn off oven
6. Place a lid or plastic wrap over the pot, wrap in the bath towel and set in the warmed oven
7. It will take between 6-14 hrs for the yogurt to set
8. The yogurt is done once it gels, and looks like yogurt!
9. Place in glass quart and refrigerate

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