Kefir and Crumpets

Look how seriously I'm taking my 2012 goals! I really don't enjoy cooking or preparing food.  I prefer my kitchen to stay clean and tidy. Cooking causes far too much mess for my liking. I like to eat though, and I'm conscious of making good food choices. Unfortunately though, that means eating foods that need to be prepared at home from scratch!

My sister brought a jar of live Kefir grains to Norfolk when she came for Christmas.  I've been eager to try my hand at making water-based Kefir for a while now, but no-one I knew had any live grains. Not long after hopping off the plane, Lou popped the funny looking grains into my fridge, where I left them for almost a fortnight for fear if I touched the jar I'd somehow kill them.  Lou returned home before I got a chance to quiz her on the procedure. After a few 'please explain' phone calls, she emailed me a link to this video. It explains the steps beautifully and gave me the confidence to try this (what I now know to be) simple process.  And it tastes pretty good.  Even Harry and Till are drinking this unusual fermented beverage (Ben isn't as keen - but we're working on him). I've been adding crystallized ginger to the final stage and then serving the Kefir mixed with mineral water.  It tastes a bit like ginger beer, except it's sugar-free and VERY healthy. The grains seem to be multiplying at an incredible rate, which I hope is normal.  They appear to almost double over night.  Soon I'll be handing out jars of live grains to everyone I know!


Now if you are impressed with my enthusiasm for making Kefir...check out this photo below.  I actually had a go at making home-made crumpets.  Baking!!!!!!!! Something I rarely experience any success with. I found the recipe here on this fabulous blog. Tania's look SO much better than mine but seeing as I'm a beginner I'm cutting myself some slack. I used up the left over flour in our cupboard - half wholemeal and half spelt.  Next time I make these I'm going to try plain white flour as my crumpets were VERY heavy. Yes, I really will make these again.  It might be a while though as I bought the last box of yeast in the supermarket here yesterday......now we'll have to wait for the next ship.  Ah, such is life on Norfolk. Like I said earlier, making things from scratch takes time.



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