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Month: January 2011

Pizza Makes a Party

January 31, 2011 by gracefulfitness 3 Comments

It was hard not gobble up leftover pizza for breakfast but I knew if I did I would regret it come lunch.

And oh was it tasty for lunch! Eaten at the clinic between painting…

Mmmmmm, leftovers.

We had some friends over for homemade pizza last night.  I was the dough maker


Super simple mix of spelt and whole wheat flours, cornmeal, salt, herbs, yeast, and water.

I never made my own pizza dough before last August.  I have participated in many, many a homemade pizza party but being the dough maker is a new position for me, and one that I really like!

We had such an assortment of preferences and dietary restrictions last night that I decided it would be best to each build our own pie.  There was a buffet of toppings and I rolled everyone their own crust.

My pizza was piled high with caramelized onions, green peppers, fresh mushrooms, fresh mozzarela, goat cheese, and smoked salmon.  I am a little sad it’s all gone now 🙁 (but my bellies happy!).

It was a great night and one we hope to repeat very soon!

My painting days are numbered! Thank goodness! One more day and I think I’ll call it good, then I can focus on more fun (and lucrative) things, like getting students! And planning our Grand Opening for February 19th!

I am looking forward to a fun evening at the gym, Ashtanga Yoga Improv and Pilates Reformer!  It’s my last week on my monthlong pass and I plan to take full advantage of all ACAC has to offer.

This January weather is so confusing! Yesterday was downright warm so today I rushed out of the house without a jacket only to realize it was 35* out…whoops.  It’s kind of rough on the body to go back and forth so quickly but I certainly prefer it to a steady cold front.

Gotta roll!

 

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Posted in: cooking, food Tagged: yoga

I Made Soda Pop

January 29, 2011 by gracefulfitness 21 Comments

Kefir Soda!

You can read past posts about this probiotic “soda” here, here, and here.

I received a lot of questions and interest in the process of making Water Kefir Soda so I thought I would take you step by step today.

First thing, you need to get your hands on some Water Kefir Grains.  I was fortunate enough to get mine through a random encounter but they can be purchased at Cultures For Health.

If you purchase grains they will come dehydrated and the first step is to follow the directions to rehydrate them with sugar water.

Once you have nice, fat, hydrated grains it’s time to start brewing!

The chlorine of tap water and the charcoal of filtered water is bad for the (healthy) bacteria in the grains so I start by boiling just under 4 quarts of water (the size of my brewing container).

Boiling water eliminates much of the chlorine.

Add 1/4 cup sugar per quart of water.

mossasses

Add 1 T molasses. The molasses provides minerals to feed the grains so they stay healthy and multiply.

Once the water boils and the sugar dissolves, turn the heat off and leave the pot to cool to room temperature.

A few hours later…

My brewing container

NOTE: Water Kefir Grains do NOT get along with metal and should never come into contact with it.  This is one reason I use a plastic brewing container, although a large glass jar would be even better.  It is very important to use wooden spoons to stir the mixture and to avoid all contact between metal and the grains.

Add the room temperature sugar water solution

Cover the container with a clean dish cloth and fasten with a rubberband

Place in a quiet place away from direct light.  I put mine on the cabinet shelf that is now dedicated to my soda.

Wait…

24-48 hours later, time for the second fermentation and fun with flavors!

I usually wait 48 hours because it results in a less sweet beverage but the health benefits have infused the batch after 24 hours.

Pour into a clean glass or plastic bottle.

I have a motley assortment of bottles in my cabinet but my favorite is to reuse Poland Springs or Crystal Geyser sparkling water bottles.  The important thing is that you choose a bottle with a tight fitting plastic (no metal) lid, you want to trap the fermentation in so it gets fizzy!

I pour slowly and the grains stay on the bottom of the brewing container.  My only strainer is metal so this is the best method for me.  If you have a plastic strainer it might come in handy here.

NOTE: If you bottle in glass you MUST check the carbonation progress regularly because the gas keeps building and could, potentially and eventually, blow the bottle.  I haven’t had this happen but I check them every day or two.

And now for the flavors…

For this bottle I went with ginger-vanilla.

This part is all about improvising and personal preference.  I love both ginger and vanilla and like that they don’t add any more sugar or calories to the final product.

Screw the lid on tight and into the cabinet it goes!  I will check the fizz after 2-3 days.  Our kitchen stays pretty cool so it seems to take about 5 days for a nice amount of fizz to build up.

Once you’ve achieved the fizz of your liking you can move it to the fridge or keep it in the cabinet.  In the cabinet it will continue to ferment and become less sweet and more fizzy, in the fridge it will also continue to ferment but much more slowly.

The grains are immediately ready to go again or you can store them in the fridge covered in a sugar water solution indefinitely.

Recipe

1 quart of water

1/4 cup sugar

1 T molasses

1/4 cup Water Kefir Grains

flavoring (fresh ginger, grape juice, lemon juice, vanilla, apple juice, the imaginations the limit!)

Each cup (8 oz.) 50 calories, more or less depending on your flavor add ins, and is packed with probiotics.

NOTE: This is a fermented beverage and has trace amounts of alcohol, similar to kombucha.  The alcohol level is innocuous, .01% or so but just wanted to let you know it’s there.

There you have it!  For those of you who expressed interest in buying grains, I thought that seeing the whole process may help you decide if you were interested in brewing yourself.

Pilates time!

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Posted in: Fermented Food, recipes Tagged: Kefir Soda
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I am Faith Levine, a movement instructor, home gardener, mountain biker, hiker, pickle maker, closet poet, and best of friend to some of the most amazing women in the world.

I’d love to hear from you,
gracefulfitness@live.com

Header photo: Meredith Coe

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Hi, I'm Faith! New? Check out I Am for my story, I Cook for recipes, and I Move for some motivation to get moving! I'd love to hear from you, e-mail me gracefulfitness@live.com
Header photo: Meredith Coe

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