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.
