Devonviolet Acres

[CntryBoy777]

That's quite a few peppers to find scrounging along the roadside....ya just never know what ya might find or come home with in doing such....
Hopefully ya will be able to fill those jars a few more times before ya taper Ruby and Falina off.....

 

[Bruce]

Sounds like a WHOLE lot of positive there @Devonviolet

 

[Devonviolet]

I had some kefir grains stored in the fridge for some months now. I recently got them back out and going again.

I got my initial kefir grains from Cultures for Health. Silly me, I did realize they were dehydrated. Years ago, I had read that dehydrated Kefir Grains didn't work as well as fresh. Since I had them, I decided to follow the instructions. It took a week, starting with the grains in one cup of milk, straining the grains, changing the milk daily, increasing to 2 cups and the 1 quart.
One time I called Cultures for Health, and asked about the grains, as they didn't seem to be increasing fast enough. It turns out this variety doesn't increase as fast as some.

She suggested that I dry some of the grains, in the event the grains fail, for some reason. As I notice that the kefir separates, I take a teaspoon, of the grains, spread them on some seran wrap (stretched across a plate)& cover with a paper towel. In a couple days they are dry. I wrap them in sedan wrap & put them in a zip lock bag.

I used some in a muffin recipe that called for buttermilk on Saturday and they were delish. I had a little kefir toddy before bed last night too. Absolutely LOVE it!

I've used it for nice fluffy pancakes. But, you really have me curious about your kefir toddy. Do share your recipe, won't you???

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh, that was just my silly way of saying I had a little sip of kefir before bed....no alcohol added.

But, now you've got me curious...hmmmm. I made milk liquor one time and it was ok...not great...but ok. I have a sneaky suspicion it might actually go well in kefir, lol!

 

[Devonviolet]

Hmmmmm! Ill have to give that a try. Although, I have tried a bit of Brandy in milk (alá Brandy Alexander), and the milk curdled. It tasted fine, but wasn't smooth, the way I like it. Maybe I'll have to pour an ounce of my precious cream over ice, with a shot of Brandy.

 

[CntryBoy777]

There's a white russian or a dirty mutha too....kaluha and cream make a dirty mutha....

 

[Devonviolet]

Mmm. Sounds good. But too much sugar for me these days. I really do love just a shot of Brandy in cream. YUM!

 

[Baymule]

You could always make eggnog!
I use my Great Grandmother's recipe!

I have a very friendly wether that rubs his head on me, nudges me and nibbles my fingers. He does not have a name..... I know what you mean @Mike CHS

 

[Bruce]

They started selling eggnog early this year for some reason (obviously no one would want it other than between Thanksgiving and New Years, right? ) so it is now "rumnog" season. At least for DW and me, the girls aren't interested in alcohol which is just fine. DW and I don't drink much but we did have rumnog twice this week, and wine with dinner out on Thursday and beer with dinner out a week the prior Saturday. Guess we are turning into lushes! Of course those 2 dinners out without the girls were the first in, well I don't think I can count that high.

 

[Devonviolet]

@frustratedearthmother, I just checked the skim milk, with Kefir in it, on the counter. It reminds me a lot of the thinner yogurt, that I used to make (back in the day - before "Greek Yogurt"), that had chunks of yogurt floating in whey, more gelatinous, than creamy.

I'm not sure where the "kefir yogurt" ends & the whey starts near the bottom. But I'm 99% certain that there IS a layer if pure whey down there.

At first, I thought to stir the solids & whey together. But then I decided to put some in a glass. Mmmmm! That is really good! We will just scoop out the kefir/yogurt & pour the whey on the compost. Its too bad we don't have a feeder pig to give it to.
**********
After I wrote the above comment, DH & I started talking about scooping out the kefir yogurt, to put in the fridge to eat. We have a 2-1/2 gallon glass drink dispenser, with a spigot ( to drain out the whey on the bottom).

So, I did a final wash, and started scooping. This was my first scoop!

I filled the jar about 1/2 full, from the 3 gallons in the canning kettle. I wasn't getting nice clumps any more, so decided to put the rest in my flour sack dish towel (that I use to strain cheese), and am now draining it into a stainless steel bucket, so it will turn into kefir cheese, which we can put in the freezer, for this winter.

I couldn't get it in the picture, but the chain that the bag is hanging from is hooked to an eyebolt in a 2x4, that goes diagonally, over the sink, from the top of one cupboard to another.