Welcome to another edition of the Real Food Kitchen Tour. This week we’re featuring Jennifer Saleem, author of Hybrid Rasta Mama.
What’s a Real Foodie?
A “real foodie” is someone who cooks “traditional” food. We cook stuff from scratch using real ingredients, like raw milk, grass-fed beef, eggs from chickens that run around outdoors, whole grains, sourdough and yogurt starters, mineral-rich sea salt, and natural sweeteners like honey and real maple syrup.
We don’t use modern foods that are either fake, super-refined, or denatured. This includes modern vegetable oils like Crisco and margarine, soy milk, meat from factory farms, pasteurized milk from cows eating corn and soybeans, refined white flour, factory-made sweeteners like HFCS or even refined white sugar, or commercial yeast.
We believe in eating wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that come from nature. So we shop at farmer’s markets or buy direct from the farmer, or we grow food in our own backyards.
This Week’s Real Food Kitchen Tour: Jennifer Saleem, Hybrid Rasta Mama
This week I’m featuring Jennifer Saleem of the Hybrid Rasta Mama blog.
Jennifer lives in California’s Gold Country, between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. As you can see from the photo below, they are a very attractive family.
Our Family
Blog Name: Hybrid Rasta Mama
Blog Author: Jennifer Saleem
How Long Blogging: I am a newbie. I started my blog in February 2011 but had guest posts published on a variety of other blogs prior to starting my own blog. I write about all things related to natural parenting, traditional eating, and Waldorf-inspired parenting/education. Here is a link to my post on how I got started with a Traditional Diet. Don’t Call Me Betty Crocker
Location: Orangevale, CA
House or Apartment: A house located on a really busy street but we have over 1/3 of an acre and are surrounded by lots and lots of acreage.
Size of Kitchen: About 250 square feet
Things You Love About Your Kitchen: LOTS of counter space, awesome spice drawer, good layout, bright and cheery, inviting, decent storage, easy to keep clean!
Things You Would Change: The dishwasher is a nightmare but I am still coming to terms with needing a new one. I would LOVE a walk in pantry one day! Oh, and the 150 dog who is constantly sprawled out in the middle of the floor. He just loves it there!
Favorite Tools & Gadgets: Food processor, stand mixer, good knives, bread machine (I have a toddler; I need to save time), salad spinner, and Pickl-Its.
Biggest Challenges Cooking Real Food: Finding the time to make most things from scratch. I have a 2-year-old who is either insisting on my attention elsewhere or who wants to help. Help is fine but is does slow me down! I am really good at meal planning and stock up shopping but seem to be a harried mess when it comes to the actual cooking. I get it done though!
Current Family Favorite Meal: Breakfast – Three egg omelet (duck eggs from my neighbor) with capers, wild salmon, and smoked Gouda cheese cooked in tons and tons of grass fed butter. Lunch – Raw milk yogurt or cottage cheese with honey and fresh berries, gluten free sourdough bread with liberal amounts of butter, and a pumpkin, banana, spinach, raw milk smoothie. Dinner – Pan-fried lamb chops with garlic cream and mushrooms served with side dishes of roasted beets, braised fennel, and spaghetti squash with pesto and pine nuts. Snacks – Gluten-free molasses carrot and zucchini muffins; gluten-free peanut butter and whole fruit muffins; and crispy nuts. Dessert – Carrot cake cannellini bean “fudge” made with coconut oil and sucant.
Favorite Cookbooks: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell, The Indian Slow Cooker by Anupy Singla, A Jamaican Pantry (a great little family cookbook I picked up in Jamaica), How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (as a reference).
Here are some photos of Jennifer’s kitchen (with her comments in italics and quotes and mine not in quotes):
Our kitchen
All I can say is how CLEAN is that? It is so neat and there’s no clutter anywhere! I only wish my kitchen could look like that!
Another view of the kitchen
Yet another view of the kitchen
Kitchen helper
“This is the real reason my kitchen stays so clean. Free mopping daily!”
Oh, how cute! I only wish my daughter had a penchant for cleaning.
Oh, and I have the Learning Tower, too (just to the left of Jennifer’s little girl). It’s so fantastic for kids. My daughter uses it all the time to help me cook and wash dishes (or just play in the sink).
Crumb removal service!
“And in addition to mopping, there is “crumb removal service” as well.”
Gadget area
“One of my kitchen gadget areas. This one has the blender, stand mixer, and bread machine.”
How do you like the Cuisinart bread machine, Jennifer?
Spice drawer
“My spice drawer. LOVE THIS!”
Water kefir, ginger carrots, gluten free sourdough starter
“A few of my “pets.” Water kefir, ginger carrots, gluten free sourdough starter (aka Mr. Googly) and fermented lemons.”
View from the kitchen window
“The view out of the kitchen window. Ugly, busy street. “
I love the figurines! Where did they come from?
My little sous chef, “Tiny.”
“My little sous chef, “Tiny.” She has her own kitchen but why play there when there is real food to cook! If butter or coconut oil is involved (which it always is, Tiny is RIGHT there waiting to eat it by the spoonful.”
She is so precious!
Cabinet of gadgets
“My cabinet of gadgets galore! The food processor, canning jars, Pickl-Its, steamer, cast iron skillet, muffin tins, Dutch oven, and 2 of 3 crock pots live here.”
You have inspired me to go hide some of the appliances and junk on my counters. I’m going to go empty out a junky cupboard and stash them away.
My herb garden
“My herb garden. It is a little light right now as I just cut and used a ton of my herbs. I have many varieties of oregano, sage, thyme, basil, and mint, along with lemon balm, dill, bee balm, and savory summer herb. My favorite herb is sage! Love sage-infused butter. Pineapple mint infused water kefir is also pretty amazing!”
I love my herbs, too. They make a huge difference in how food tastes. Last night, at a restaurant, we had real mint chocolate chip ice cream made with fresh mint. It blew our minds!
Fall garden
“One of my garden areas. This will be the fall garden. My summer garden is not worth taking a photo of right now. It is in need of a little love.”
Wow, how exciting! I love the raised beds.
Backyard patio
“Our favorite place to eat as a family! Nothing like a wonderful backyard patio area with copious amounts of shade!”
Check Out the Previous Real Food Kitchen Tour Posts
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Granola Mom 4 God
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Real Food Devotee
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Real Food Forager
Real Food Kitchen Tour: The Leftover Queen
Real Food Kitchen Tour: Health Home & Happiness
Let Us Tour Your Kitchen
Are you a real foodie? Do you have a kitchen that you’d like to see featured on CHEESESLAVE?
Please email me at annmarie AT realfoodmedia dot com. Either send me a link to a Flickr set or email me your photos (minimum of 5, but more is better). Note: Please send me LARGE photos. Minimum 610 width. If they’re too small, I can’t use them.
Oh, and please send the answers to the above questions (at the very top of this post).
As much as I’d love to include all the photos I receive, I can’t guarantee that I will use your photos in the series. I’m looking for creative, good quality photos.
Some ideas for photos:
- Show us what’s in your fridge or what’s fermenting on your counter
- Take some snaps of some of your favorite kitchen gadgets, or show us how you organize your spices
- Got backyard chickens? Send some pics!
- How about a lovely herb garden?
- Kids or pets are always cute!
- Try to include at least one photo of yourself, ideally in your kitchen
And no, you don’t have to have a blog to be included in the tour.
Photo credit: A warm welcome Project365(3) Day 10 by Keith Williamson, on Flickr and photos by Jennifer Saleem.
Disclosure: cmp.ly/4 and cmp.ly/5
{ 129 comments… read them below or add one }
oh just gorgeous !!!!!!!!! I sooo love this series, I look forward to it every week.
Your daughter is just beautiful, that hair is so pretty…my daughter liked her jammies in the picture of her on the counter by the stove
Almost forgot to mention that I can’t even imagine having such a large kitchen… my kitchen is about 12×3 ft pretty darn small…but we manage.
Thanks again Ann Marie for such a great series !
Thanks so much Bethany!!! Honestly, the kitchen is the ONLY reason I agreed to live on such a busy street. I always had closet sized kitchens so this was a dream come true. My daughter LOOOOVES those Pjs. Can’t get her out of them!
must be a girl thing!~ I’ve got a 2 year old daughter- she feels the same way about one of her pj outfits (it looks very similar- only pink with horses)
My kids would wear PJs all day if I would let them. (And some days we do. lol)
I am new to this blog, but I can see this will be a weekly favorite for me, too.
What a clean and organized kitchen, Jennifer! So nice! Like Ann Marie said, I feel like purging all my knick knacks (sp?!) and extra gadgets off my kitchen counters right now. Thanks for the tour! And you are very lucky to have such a cute little assistant!
I have so much wasted space in my cabinets. They are in desperate need of cleaning and organizing! I would love for my counter space to be so clean and gadget free!
Karen, I am a little bit of a neat freak when it comes to the kitchen. I need my workspace free and clear since I am NOT a neat and organized cook. It is mass chaos when I get going so I need some sort of structure to balance it all out!
Thanks for answering the posts! It’s great that you included some of your recipes too.
I just read Jennifer’s Don’t Call Me Betty Crocker link to her blog. Very cool- sounds like me, having to throw out 25 years of thinking low fat was the way to go.
Hard to make that adjustment from low fat to “full” fat! We have really been programmed to believe so much about the way we eat. But in reality, this whole notion of low and non fat has NOT been how human beings have historically eaten which should give us all pause. The power of the marketing is so darn strong! Glad to hear you are on the same journey!
That is so true! It seems like the fact that all of that low fat faux food was bad was right there in front of my face all that time, I can’t believe how long it took me to see it! The internet and all these great blogs like yours and Cheeseslave’s are doing wonders for sharing all this great information.
Yes, marketing is strong. So many people believe that if that box of processed food-like chemicals says “healthy” on it, then it must be healthy. Industry has taken healthy food and turned it into quick, cheap, food look-a-likes. And the government creates its “food pyramid” based on what food companies are lobbying the hardest.
I think part of the problem with eating more fat and protein is that our ancestors were not as sedentary as modern society is.
one of my favorite sayings…. is…. FOLLOW DA MONEY!!
So true! Have you seen the movie “Fathead”?
Oh my goodness! Fathead is one of my ALL TIME favorite movies now. So much valuable information in there!
Fathead should be mandatory viewing for EVERYONE! It would be life changing for so many!
I have not seen that movie. I will have to look into it. I just saw Fresh and it was good.
Fathead is currently available for viewing on both netflix and hulu!
I love Fathead! Great movie! I have to get my parents to see that.
I need to have my mom watch it too since she is still convinced that fat is the villain and not carbs.
Is hulu free? (I am feeling out of touch technology-wise asking this question.)
Hulu has a free membership and a paid version. You should be able to watch Fathead from your computer, with the free version.
Thanks, riceinmay.
No Prob!
Let me know what you think
Food labels are pointless. In fact, my view is that is there is a label at all I should stay away from it. Of course, this is not possible as milk, butter, and oils have labels but you get the idea. There is nothing healthy about health food anymore.
I agree that eating fat and protein can be an issue for many people today. We are ridiculously sedentary despite the one hour workout we “squeeze” in each day. As a society, we have done so many things wrong in an effort to move forward. Don’t get me started. I can preach on forever about this!
ditto. (on the I could rant quite a bit on this topic)
I love your kitchen. I called my husband into the room and said, “I like that and that and that . . . ”
I so want a kitchen remodel. My husband and I both like to cook but our kitchen is too small. We don’t have enough storage space or counter space. The height of our cabinets are too low (too close to the counter) so that small appliances cannot fit on the counter under the cabinets. Of course, my blessings would include that I do not live on a busy street.
Heh heh! I imagine that there might be one or two husbands who are cursing my name!!!!! Although I do love the kitchen I wish that our house was at least at the back of the property. Never could figure out why the house was built so close to the street. Tell your husband to hurry up with the remodel!
Money is the main obstacle for the kitchen remodel.
I hear you on that one!!!!
What is a Pickl-Its?
Pickl-Its are used for fermenting foods. They are quite a bit better than using mason jars but not a total neccessity. I use mason jars for smaller ferments and use the Pickl-Its when I am doing a large batch or fermenting large items. They do an excellent job of keeping mold from growing while your ferments are sitting out on the counter. Mason jars seems to have more mold issues for me.
Is it just a topper for a jar that keeps the air out, or is it the whole thing?
Kandemom – it is the whole jar with a special sealing system. Here is the website for more info. http://www.pickl-it.com/.
I found found them to be a life saver when it comes to fermenting in the heat of texas!!!!
That was why I tried them! It gets really hot here in the summer and mold was a big issue for me no matter what I did.
I looked at the Pickl-It website. I wouldn’t know which size to get. Perhaps I should just try fermenting in regular canning jars first. I have made kombucha in the past in a big 4 qt bowl and I have made sauerkraut in a quart canning jar. That is my extent of fermenting.
Yeah- nothing wrong with mason jars
If it’s any help- I use a 1 Liter, and 1/2 liter the most.
I am curious. . .what is that floating at the top of your water kefir? I just started water kefir a few weeks ago when Cultures for Health had the grains on sale and all I’ve done is put ‘em out for 48 hours and make lemonade. Yours looks much darker than mine, which is essentially clear all the time. Any “insider kefir” tips would be most welcome!
PS I dig the spice drawer too!
I LOOOOOVE my “recipe” for water kefir. Here is what I do:
1 organic lemon cut in half (if not organic just peel it first)
2 unsulfured dried figs or prunes
1 good chunk of ginger, peeled
2 teaspoons of unsulfured molasses
1/3 cup of cane sugar (I prefer succanat or Trader Joe’s Torbinado sugar)
A quart or so of water.
Mix all of that together then add your grains. I ferment for 48 hours then squeeze the lemons into the kefir and strain out the grains and other little floaties. The taste is wonderful. Molasses is optional but keeps the grains healthier and growing. That is the dark color you are seeing. You can also use limes in place of or in addition to lemons. Give it and try and let me know how you like it!
Mmmmm…that’s sounds tasty! I’ve made “soda” a couple of times using ginger to ferment the starter, but I need to order some water kefir grains.
Ooohh, I will have to try this recipe! I have not been able to get my water kefir to where I like the taste. Will definitely be trying this and I have all that I need at home right now!! Thanks for sharing!
I have made kefir with milk before. Can the same kefir grains be used for milk kefir and water kefir? How does water kefir differ from milk kefir (other than the obvious = milk)?
FarmerKimberly – no, you cannot use the same kefir grains to make milk and water kefir. I have read that technically, there is a way to convert water kefir grains into milk kefir grains but it is a lot of trouble. You cannot convert milk kefir grains to water kefir grains.
Cheeseslave actually answered the water vs. milk kefir question before. Here is the link to that post. http://www.cheeseslave.com/2011/03/27/q-a-march-27-2011/. In addition, here is a good chart for comparison. http://www.culturesforhealth.com/compare-milk-versus-kefir-water-kefir AND
Thank you for the link — checking it out now.
delicious sounding recipe. thank you so much. I am going to have to get this going this weekend.
how much kefir grains are you putting into the recipe above?
I use about 1/3 of a cup of kefir grains.
i make water kefir very much like you do. i don’t add the molasses. and i let mine sit for an additional 12 hours after straining out the grains.
Nice recipe!
Beautiful kitchen. I adore your floor. Where did you get your gluten free sourdough starter? Do you have a recipe for GF sourdough that you could share? I was pretty good at gluten-full sourdough before I discovered that it was causing my pains. If I made gluten-free now, my family would saint me.
Thanks Paisley! The floor is great at hiding all of my cooking adventures!
I actually created this starter recipe basing it after something I found online. It takes a little work up front but once you have the starter, it is easy! I am happy to share the recipe.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast granules
1 cup lukewarm potato water (water from boiling potatoes – any variety)
1 teaspoon sugar (or honey)
1 cup rice flour. Do not substitute with another flour. Tastes awful!
Directions:
In a 1-quart glass jar, dissolve the yeast in the potato water.
Stir in the sugar and rice flour.
Cover and let the mixture sit out until fermented (1-3) days depending on temperature, stirring every few hours at first. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FEED IT! The mixture will bubble up, ferment, then die down with a skim of liquid on the top. Stir well before using.
Replenish after use by feeding the remaining starter with 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 3/4 cup rice flour.
Personally, when I make a new starter I make it threee days in advance of making bread to allow for enough fermenting time. I store it in a glass jar on the kitchen counter or in the refrigerator if I am not going to be making a lot of bread that week. If refrigerated, take it out at least 10 hours before baking.
yes, thank you for sharing! i’ve been trying to come up with one myself. made one with raw buckwheat that turned out pretty well but definitely has a distinct flavor. i will give this a try.
Thank you for this recipe too. I can’t wait to try it. I have to make bread also soon. WHich reminds me right now, I better get some flour soaking for bread. Hubby will be home tomorrow.
And here is the actual bread recipe. I adapted it from this recipe which you may want to look at: http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2010/10/sourdough-bread-boule-gluten-free
Ingredients (measurements are in weight ounces, not fluid ounces)
15 oz (about 3 C) flour (I use a combo of equal parts quoina, brown rice, and tapioca)
30 oz (a bit less than 4 C) sourdough starter
approximately 6 oz (3/4 C) water
2 tsp salt
2 tsp xanthan gum
2 TBL granulated sugar
Directions:
You will need a stand mixer or a bread machine with the mixing options. It also helps to have a kitchen scale.
Place the mixing bowl from your stand mixer on the scale and set it to zero. Add 5 oz (about 1 cup) each of your 3 flours. Add your salt, xanthan gum, and granulated sugar. With a spoon, mix well.
Add your starter. Place bowl on mixer and fit with paddle attachment. Set the speed to low and mix for a few seconds–just until the dough comes together as a blob. The dough will now be extremely stiff and still fairly dry.
Add your water, a bit at a time (about 1/4 C at a time), mixing for a several seconds after each addition. The dough should gradually become like a stiff cake batter.
You need to run the mixer for several seconds after each addition to be able to judge how the water is being absorbed. Your area and conditions may need more or less water. You don’t want the dough to be too thin or soupy (like pancake batter), but you also don’t want it to be so stiff that it’s like Play Doh. Once you have added all of the water, beat on high for about 3 minutes. At the end of this time, your dough should be smooth.
Find a suitable bowl in which the dough can rise. Line your rising bowl with a good-sized piece of parchment paper. It will be a bit wrinkly–do your best to smooth it down and fully cover the interior of the bowl. There should be some parchment paper hanging over the edges–you will use these edges later–don’t cut them off right now.
Carefully scrape your dough into the lined bowl. Smooth top. If you want to, cut a few slashes in the top of the dough with a very sharp knife.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap (I usually use a rubber band to keep it on the bowl) and place it in a warm-ish, draft-free place. Your oven with the light turned on in it is a nice place. Or, if you’re baking other things, on the top of the stove is great–so your dough can take advantage of the warmth to encourage rising.
Let the dough rise for 4-6 hours. If you leave it longer, that is ok too. The dough should approximately double in bulk. That is your sign that it is ready.
When you are ready to bake your bread, pre heat your oven to 425 degrees. I suggest using a dutch oven or similiar lidded baking dish. Place your Dutch oven, with lid, into your oven and keep it in there for about 1/2 hour–so it gets nice and hot. When you’re ready, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid. Remember: it will be extremely hot!
Remove the plastic wrap from your rising dough. Grasp the edges of the parchment paper with your hands, making sure that you have got a firm hold on it, and carefully and gently transfer your dough to the Dutch oven–your dough will be risen and is in a fairly fragile state. Be very careful–it is easy to burn yourself at this step. At this point, you can cut the parchment paper edges so there is not so much extra hanging over the sides. Spray the top with a few sprays of water–this will help to create the crisp and chewy crust. Place (hot) lid back onto your Dutch oven, and return to the oven.
Bake for 45 minutes at 425 degrees. Then remove lid and bake another 15 minutes uncovered to further brown the top crust. Remove from oven and check internal temperature of the bread with an instant-read thermometer if you have one. It should read at least 195-200+ degrees F. This indicates that the bread is thoroughly baked. Let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, grasp the parchment paper again and transfer your bread to a cooling rack. You may remove the parchment paper now so the bread can cool. Please note that the bread is still setting up at this point–try to let it cool completely before you slice it. It’s hard to wait, but you will be happy you did!
This bread stores best on the counter (not in the fridge). Do not wrap it in foil or plastic wrap–it will make the crust gummy.
I know that this sounds like a ton of work but once you get the hang of it, it is really simple!!!!
Enjoy!
Some of the best GF sourdough bread i’ve ever had used gelatin! Might be something to try. I’d like to avoid the gums whenever possible.
I have heard of gelatin as a substitute for gums and have been curious about that. Real gelatin has some GREAT nutritional value to it too. Hmmm…I might have to play around with that a little. We’ll see what my sous chef has to say about it!
Beautiful kitchen and beautiful family!
Thank you so much!
Love the spice cabinet! I am sooo wishing I had something like that, I’m always dropping jars of spice onto my feet from the top cupboard. Off to look for that white bean dessert recipe!
I am posting two different bean fudge recipes on my blog next week so stay tuned for those!!!! I created them both and LOVE them to no end!
I can’t wait to give bean fudge a try! We’ve been trying to eat more beans since they are so healthy and cheap! A change of pace using them will be nice!
I cannot wait to see your bean fudge recipe. I am learning so much on this blog. It is so wonderful to find a group of people who share a common food interest. I am used to most people simply thinking I am weird or overboard.
I wil be sure to post the link here but my recipes should post next Thursday if all goes well. I am actually in the process of creating a third recipe. Yikes!
that is a nice spice cabinet. my mom has one like that.
Interesting, I love to look at what gadgets other peeps own. I am a gadget collector..
You and me both! I noticed your moniker of coconutfreek! I just finished up a series on my blog about coconut oil. You might have a look!
You have inspired me to begin working on the clutter in my kitchen. Thanks!
It’s the least I can do!
Umm….I think we need ALL those recipes! Esp. gluten free sourdough, I’m on GAPS now and thats the first thing I want to try!!
I posted the sourdough recipe above and will be posting my bean fudge recipes on my blog next week. Happy to share the others. Just shoot me your email!
I want a learning tower! My daughter loves to help out in the kitchen, but our stools are either to short or too tall for me to feel like she is safe. Hhhmmmmm…that might be something to think about for Christmas!
Try craigslist for the Learning Tower. I found ours on there for about half the price.
I wish I had a learning tower when my kids were younger. A friend has one and it is great for little hands who want to help out.
what a great idea! I’ll have to start looking. I’ve been wanting one for a while- but haven’t gotten the courage to pluck down that much money
The spice drawer is awesome! My spice arrangement is rather inefficient at the moment
I have even bought jars thinking I didn’t have any only to find it at the back of the shelf where I couldn’t see it. I would love to have something like that to pull out and see both sides.
The spice drawer is so handy and my daughter loves pulling everything out. Today, she figured out how to unscrew the caps. Oh boy!
I finally put all my spices in a deep silverware drawer. I put a sticker label on the top of the lid of each spice, so I can open the drawer, look down and see what it is. I even put the spices in alphabetically to help locating them faster.
that’s a fantastic idea. i have all mine in all kinds of jars, labeled and some are step stacked,but still have to pull a bunch out sometimes when I am looking for 1 spice.
That is a really good idea!!!
I love the photos of your beautifully clean kitchen, Jennifer! Love the photos of your family as well. I love seeing your pet cultures!!!
Thank you for those kind words!
*Chiming in on the bread maker*
I have that! I got it for making gluten-free bread and I really liked it. I think it’s in the bottom of my dad’s pantry currently, which is ok, since GAPS does not allow any grains for me right now…but it reminds me that I must get it here at some point!
Really cool post. I enjoy these kitchen tours immensely, even if they just make me jealous.
I love the bread maker, especially since I can make one “regular” batch of bread for my husband while making my GF sourdough in the oven. It does make decent GF bread though. The Bob’s Red Mill mixes are decent.
If you use one of the Bob’s red mill mixes- do you soak it? How do you make the adjustment?
When I use the Bob’s Red Mill mix it is usually because I need bread fast! So no, I do not soak it.
I keep one or two mixes on hand for last minute dinner company and the like. I don’t make a habit of using mixes.
Gotcha! I understand the need to have a back-up “quick” go to item. I just was hoping you knew some trick I didn’t
Thanks for answering!
Great view of someone elses real food life. Love it! Thanks for sharing.
What a gorgeous kitchen! Love the spice drawer and the counter space!!
You have a beautiful family!
and your daughter is just adorable!!
Love the kitchen!
Beautiful kitchen and family! I can only dream of having a kitchen that clean one day!!! I love your raised beds too!
The wood from my 5 year old raised beds are deteriorating, so I need to redo them for next year. I was thinking of trying cider blocks. I read somewhere that they make a good wall/frame and will last longer.
My friend has a cinderblock garden area and it works very well. She made it last year but my guess is that it will withstand the elements better than the wood boxes.
they do work great/last longer. My mom has some made out of cinder blocks. But the downside is they really aren’t nearly as beautiful as a wood raised bed.
The other downside will be hauling cinder blocks in my minivan. I am sure the minivan can handle only so much weight at a time.
I am glad to hear that someone has tried it and it is working.
Please- do tell how you made the mint infused kefir water!~
It is ridiculously simple. Make your water kefir as usual. After it ferments, strain out the grains and then add a cup of fresh mint to the water. I just rub it together in my hand to release the flavor a little then drop it in. I let the kefir sit on the counter for another 12-24 hours then I remove the mint leaves and refridgerate it. Super refreshing. If you can get your hands on some pineapple mint you will LOVE the results!!!! Orange mint and lemon mint taste great too.
Well, once I learn to make basic water kefir, I will have to keep this in mind.
excellent!!!!! I bet it would work for “mint lemonade” or “thyme lemonade” also. Hmmm- I have TONS of lemon balm- maybe I’ll try that. Thanks again!
hey there… don’t you need to separate your “pets”? they may begin to fight with each other… seriously… i have all my different “pets” in separate rooms or at least 4 feet apart.. so they don’t “cross”.
I think keeping them separate is only important of you are using cheesecloth- or something breathable. With solid lids it’s not as big a deal.
Does it need to breathe? Should cheesecloth be used instead of solid lids?
all of my cultured stuff has breathable lids… i do water kefir, milk kefir, kombucha… all in separate rooms of the house
I make water kefir, kombucha, milk kefir, and lacto-fermented products. They are all in the same room. They all have tight lids- except for the kombucha.
interesting.. i quit making water kefir w/a tight lid after i experienced an “explosion”! tee hee hee!
My swingtop bottles would certainly explode if left out (and have….before I learned my lesson). They are truly tight. But my mason jars (which are what I use for kefir) don’t get tight enough to truly build pressure. They do hiss (or as my husband says- sound like dynamite about to blow)- but that’s the pressure seeping out.
One time when I opened a particularly explosive bottle of Kombucha, the entire lid assembly on my swingtop bottle flew off like a champagne cork and dented my ceiling. Of course the Kombucha sprayed out everywhere leaving a sticky mess.
Haha! Glad to hear I’m not the only one that has happened too!!!! I had an entire 1 liter bottle empty before I could stop it. I have a dent in the roof, and ended up with grape kefir on all 4 kitchen walls!
oh wow! I just realized you said Kombucha!!!! I’ve never had my kombucha get that explosive!!! Maybe we drink it too fast???
Yep, I had explosive Kombucha. LOL. But that grape kefir sounds yummy. When I get around to trying to make water kefir, I will hit you up for that recipe.
Yeah- grape kefir is really good. It’s the perfect variation to convert non-real-foodies over to a fermented drink.
And so the controversy continues. . . .
Lids left on loosely are my preferred method. Too tight and BOOM! Cheesecloth is not a good idea in my house due to a curious cat!
I have kefir soda pop on my ceiling too!
I think having kefir on the ceiling is a badge of honor
For the sake of the picture I put my pets together. Typically they are in the same room but separated from each other. I keep the kefirs on the counter (and out of the sun) and I hide my veggie fermets and chutneys in cabinets. I have fermented things next to each other before and nothing happened but it is risky. I agree that if you have lids on top versus cheesecloth that your pets are safe from cross pollination.
I LOVE the clean kitchen- you’ve inspired me to clean mine! (again)
My kitchen is too small and cluttered. Hard to get it to look good enough for a photograph.
I hear ya! Even when dishes are done, it still looks messy cause there are so many different things brewing on the counters, or appliances taking up space, ect ect. I DO NOT have very much counter space.
or maybe it is just that I don’t know how to utilize it properly???
By the way, I love ^that^ picture — is it you and your child?
Thanks! It’s me and my son about 2.5 years ago – when I was pregnant with my second.
As promised, here is the link to my blog post with FOUR Bean Fudge Recipes! Enjoy! http://hybridrastamama.blogspot.com/2011/07/bean-fudge-gone-wild-4-delicious-and.html
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