My favorite Kefir Smoothie

1 cup frozen blueberries

2-3 frozen strawberries

1/2 ripe banana

Kefir just to cover fruit

1-2 scoops homemade vanilla ice cream

Blend up and enjoy with a straw. If you didn't add too much kefir it will be very frosty thick! Yum! You can leave out the ice cream and just the frozen fruit will make it very frosty thick if you don't get too much liquid in there. I also often use just yogurt or kefir and yogurt or all three....you get the idea.

Healthy additions include:

freshly ground flaxseeds

melted coconut oil

nutritional yeast powder

other powders you need to ingest that day you may be able to add.

How to make Kefir (fermented milk)

Suggested equipment:

1 pint jar with lid (wide mouth works better)

Small strainer with plastic mesh (optional)
Plastic spoon ( I use a spoon-shaped baby fork.)
(It’s important not to use metal since it reacts with the grains and kefir.)

1. Wash your hands.
2. Strain the grains you received. Do not rinse them. Put them into a quart jar and add about 1 cup of milk. Cover loosely with lid. Raw whole milk is best, pasteurized milk will work. Ultra-pasteurized milk may not work. I would not recommend it. (Most organic milk in the store is ultra-pasteurized.)
3. Let it sit out on the counter for 12-24 hours. Room temperature should be between 63-70 degrees F. The first batch or two after receiving the grains may not be good-tasting yet. The bacteria and yeasts need to get into balance again after sitting in milk and the fridge for a while. So you might need to toss the first one or two batches. It depends on how fresh the grains are.
4. After one or two milk changes the kefir grains should be happy and balanced again. About 1-2 Tbsp of kefir grains are a good amount of grains for 2 cups of milk. If you added your milk in the evening check on the kefir the next evening. Does it smell slightly sour? Is it thickening? At this point you could strain the grains out or just give it a little shake to increase activity of the grains. If you let them go, check them again in the morning. My favorite length of time is about 18-24 hours.
5. The kefir will thicken slightly and may be slightly chunky. If you are using raw milk the cream will rise and there may be pockets of whey. I used to strain the grains out, but they are usually in one clump so I just fish them out with my baby fork and then put the jar in the fridge. You could use ta strainer if you want. It has to have fairly big holes to let the kefir through.
6. Put the grains into a fresh pint jar. Pour 2 cups fresh milk (it can be cold from the fridge) into  jar and loosely cover. Set out on counter. 
7. After a few batches your grains have probaby grown and you may want to take out some grains and/or add more milk than before. Experiment until you find the taste and results you like. Kefir is also great for adding to soaking water for grains and legumes. So its great to have on hand. Can also be used in place of buttermilk in recipes. As your grains grow you can make more batches or larger batches. Keep it on hand for all your buttermilk needs. 
8. Sometimes making one batch after another is too much. So after you have made 2 or 3 jars you might want to take a break for a few days. You just put your grains in a small jar and cover them with milk and keep them in the fridge for a few days. I would not let them sit longer than a week or they will get out of balance. I usually use them every 4 or 5 days.

This may seem complicated, but just like other things once you understand the process and do it often it becomes second nature. Don't fret just practice a little. It will come easy then.

Making Kombucha

Recipe:
A Kombucha "Mother" plus about 1 cup starter Kombucha from a friend
3 Quarts non-chlorinated water
5 Organic black or green tea bags (caffeinated)
1 cup white sugar

Equipment:

A large glass gallon jar, I use a lemonade jar with spout, but other jars would work too
Coffee filter and rubber band or similar
Canning jars and lids or bottles
A strainer with plastic mesh (optional)



Pour the water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the tea bags and cover. Set timer for 15 minutes. Remove tea bags when timer beeps and let tea cool. You don't want to kill your "mother"! When tea is cool pour it into the jar and gently add the starter Kombucha and the "mother" so she floats on top. Cover with coffee filter and secure with rubber band. Set into a warm spot 70-80 degrees for 5-7 days. You can taste it after 5 days and see if the sweetness is right for you. The sooner you drink it the sweeter it will be. If you want more sugar to be fermented out of it, you can wait a little longer.







After 5-7 days you will see little bubbles and smell vinegar. The kombucha should be ready. Take out the mother with very clean hands or a plastic spoon. (Never use metal with live cultures) Put the mother and about a cup of Kombucha in a quart jar and set aside. You are now ready to bottle your Kombucha. Canning jars work well for me and I fill them as full as possible to retain some fizz. The kombucha is actually naturally effervescent. It just amazes me! Refrigerate when done. Pour into wine glass to enjoy!! I start the new batch right away and while it ferments we consume the jars I bottled up. It works nice for our family. There are other methods, such as continuous kombucha and secondary fermentation. Search the web for more information on those methods.
Good luck! Prost!




Note: you may want to strain some of the fuzzies out of there. I strain some and otherwise just fish out stuff when I open the jars. Your preference. In either case it won't hurt you any if you don't remove them. Do not use a metal mesh strainer since metal reacts with live cultures. It is somewhat difficult to find plastic mesh strainers. I found some on the "Cultures for health" website, but the mesh is not very fine and won't strain out much.