For the Love of Carbonation I: Water Kefir (What Works for Me)

I have an addiction.  To soda.

But not for much longer! I have been able to cut my soda intake waaay down.  And to be quite honest, the number one reason for that is having the will power not to buy it.  Simple, right? (Not.) Anyone that gets a severe craving (don't we all from time to time?) knows will power sometimes needs a little help.

So I'm going to share a three-part series of posts detailing what I have been able to use in place of soda to combat my cravings.  I've titled the series For the Love of Carbonation because that is one of the top things I miss when trying to replace soda with another beverage.  The other is sugar, but that can be a whole other dragon to slay.  The replacements I'm going to share, however, do all have sweeteners.  They are just of the natural variety.

First up, is water kefir.  Don't worry, you are not about to endure a lengthy dissertation on this beneficial beverage.  I'll leave that to others who are far more intelligent than I on the subject.  Basically, water kefir is a symbiotic colony (or culture) of bacteria and yeast that ferment a certain liquid (usually sugar water).  The scoby is in the form of "grains," the word used for describing the look of the culture.  Ingesting this fermentation adds to the good bacteria in your body (it's probiotic).

And that's all I have to say about that.

Oh! One more thing.  I think the proper pronunciation is keh-FEER, but I always say KEE-fur.  So if you ever hear me do that, feel free to laugh.

Water kefir is real easy to get started, but I'm going to try not to take up too much space (we'll see) with the process.  Just a quick rundown with a few added things I learned along the way.

When you first get water kefir grains, they will likely need to be rehydrated.  Soak them in water for 3-5 days.  After that's done, get the ball rolling by adding 1/4 cup organic cane sugar to a quart size mason jar, or similar vessel.  (I've read that plastic might be ok, but glass is usually recommended.) Add enough warm water to cover the sugar and stir to dissolve.  Fill up the jar the rest of the way with cool water.  (I use filtered water.) Add your rehydrated kefir grains, and top it off with half a lemon.  Loosely cover the top of the jar so air can get in, but bugs can't.  I use a coffee filter held down with a rubber band.

About that lemon.  I honestly don't know if it's "necessary" or not.  From what I've read, the lemon helps with the pH balance.  It took a while for my grains to get started even after the rehydration period.  I'll bet I brewed at least four batches before I could tell things were really happening, and I initially began with nothing more than sugar water.  In my opinion, the lemon seemed to help.  Now that things are established, I don't need the lemon.  Or the warm water.  I dissolve the sugar in water from the previous single fermented batch.  Take that experience for whatever it's worth.

The average time advised for the first ferment is 48 hours.  Temperature plays a role in that, though.  Warmer = quicker.  I learned to tell when mine was done (in addition to a "cloudy" appearance) by noticing whether or not all the sugar was gone.  If I strained out my grains too soon, I would see a bit of residue left in the bottom of the jar.  Waiting just one extra day would "clean up" the rest of that sugar.  But remember! No sugar means no food for your grains.  Leave them too long like that, and they will starve.  With a bit of practice, you'll learn what's best for your taste.  I know I'm going to reintroduce sugar in the second ferment, so I try to let the grains eat it all in the first cycle.

Finally.  The second ferment.  For the love of carbonation.  This was the hardest thing for me to get down.  Now that I'm doing it, I don't know why it was so hard.  Here's my experience.

A lot of recipes I found for the second ferment said to simply add a 1/4 cup of fruit juice to the strained (grains removed) water kefir and place it into an air-tight bottle / container for an additional 24-48 hours.  But that didn't work for me.

I tried it first in a standard lidded mason jar, even though it is not truly air tight.  I'm pretty cheap frugal, and didn't want to spend money on flip-top bottles when I have a load of mason jars all around me.  But I got little to no carbonation, so I broke down and bought a couple of those bottles.  That helped a bit, but not enough to my liking.

Then I tried fresh fruit.  BINGO! It works fantastically.  I get serious bubble action, folks.  Highly effervescent, slightly stingy carbonation.

And with the fresh fruit, I returned to the mason jar.  After a day or two, I strain the "finished" kefir and pour it into the flip-top bottles to store in the refrigerator, where the process continues at a slower pace.  This has turned into my best practice.  (I now consider the flip-top bottles worth the purchase.  I have two - I think 24 oz. each - bottles in rotation.)

I've used strawberries, blueberries, apples, lemons, and pineapples.  I started adding dried spearmint on a whim, and now won't be without it.  I discovered that I'm not fond of the blueberries as flavoring by themselves, or in any mixture (though I adore them fresh and in baked goods).  And my favorite combination thus far is pineapple mint.

I have no strict recipes for the second ferment.  I just add whatever fruit I have on hand and mint.  I slice the strawberries, halve the lemons, and chunk apple or pineapple.  There are no rules.

Just remember to "burp" your concoctions at least once a day.  I haven't had an explosion, thankfully, but I have had overflows upon opening the flip-top bottles.  And I've had oozes using mason jars.

I know this wasn't a traditional how-to, but I hope it provides you with some tips and ideas for getting your second ferment of water kefir to a taste of your liking.  And maybe, if you're like me, it will help to cut down your intake of bad-for-you soda without having to give up the love of carbonation.

Stay tuned for parts two and three (they might be a bit shorter).  Sign up now to be notified of each new post by email.  You can also find and follow me on facebook and feedly. From my mountaintop to yours!

Shared at The Art of Homemaking Mondays, Monday of Many Blessings, Thank Goodness It's Monday, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Chain Linky Climb, From the Farm, Happiness is Homemade.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click a link and buy something. This helps pay for the RV, supports our mountain homestead dream of owning land, as well as my blogging activities, and makes the dogs happy.  Hopefully, the purchase benefits you, too!  The price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! Thanks for reading, following, and supporting Stephlin's Mountain.

5 Ways to Use Ready to Eat (Now!) Bananas

Ever find yourself with more bananas than you can eat before they start to brown? Ever wanted to take advantage of a good sale on bananas, but weren't sure how you'd use them all? Here are 5+ ideas for those ready-to-eat (now!) bananas.

1. Banana Bread

The recipe I used combined all-purpose and whole wheat flour.  I didn't think it was sweet enough (for me) at first, but the more I munched the more I liked what I was munching.  It was a good platform for blueberry-lemon-honey fruit spread, too.  Here's the super easy recipe:

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, at room temp.
  
• 3/4 cup sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1 cup whole wheat flour*
  
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
  
• 1 tsp vanilla (how I make it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease 9x5x3" bread pan.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (I used a KitchenAid Classic stand mixer).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and whole wheat flour to cream mixture, mixing a bit after each addition.  Mix well.  Fold in bananas and vanilla.  Pour mixture into pan, bake 50 to 60 min. or until cake tester comes out clean - cool in pan 10 minutes, on rack.  Makes one loaf.

*I mill my wheat flour using a WonderMill.  In this recipe I used what I had on hand, which was flour from organic hard white wheat berries.

 

2.  Banana Jam

I had never heard of banana jam before reading this post at Confessions of an Overworked Mom.  It sounded delicious, and it's something that may be preserved with water bath canning.  I gave it a go and was not disappointed.  It's swe-eet, though.  I might lower the sugar amount next time, cuz there will be a next time.  Here's the recipe (adapted from Ellen's, linked above):

• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4-5)
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Put all ingredients in a pan (I used a 12-inch nonstick skillet) and simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until bananas are broken down to your liking. I like some texture, but still want it to spread easily.  Know what I mean?

Now let the jam roll at a full boil 5-6 minutes.  Everything will reduce and thicken.  Ladle jam into jar or jars.  I got a bit over 12 oz.

3.  Chocolate, Peanut Butter, & Banana Smoothie

I've been making this off and on for more than a year.  It's got enough good for you stuff to be a nice breakfast or snack.  Yet it's got enough chocolate flavor that I had it for dessert just last night!

Click here for the Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie recipe!

4.  Blueberry Banana Cake Donuts

These came about when I planned to make some blueberry donuts and at the last minute decided to throw in an overripe banana.  Good stuff happened there – moist, tender, blueberry freshness, with a hint of banana.

Click here for the Blueberry Banana Cake Donuts recipe!

5.  Strawberry Banana Soup

Ok.  I know "soup" is a poor choice for this often made traditional dessert.  You could think of it as a sauce.  If you want to make an angel food cake a little more special, add this strawberry banana mixture.  It wouldn't hurt to top your ice cream with it, either.

All you do is slice up a bunch of strawberries and bananas.  Toss them in a bowl with some sugar and fruit juice.  Just enough of each to bring out the natural juice of the strawberries.  It really is yummy all by itself.

There you have it! 5 ways to use some ready-to-eat (now!) bananas…But I did type 5 plus in the opening paragraph, didn't I? Well, don't forget banana pudding.  The best way is to go all out and make the custard from scratch, of course, but I was short on time the first night we procured the bananas.  So semi-homemade it was.

Get some banana (or vanilla) pudding mix and whip it up.  Get a bowl and layer the following:  vanilla wafers, pudding, and sliced bananas.  Then repeat until the bowl is full or your ingredients are gone.  You have a pretty nice trifle style dessert.

And last, but by no means least, I really enjoy sliced bananas in my breakfast cereal.  Sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times I forget to take this simple step to enrich my morning when I'm in a hurry.

Now the next time you see those marked down several pounds bag of bananas in the produce department, have no fear.  You have at least 5 (or 7) ways to use them!

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Simple & Sweet Fridays, Freedom Fridays, The Homemaking Party, Tuesdays Rubies, Happiness is Homemade, and Tuesdays with a Twist.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click a link and buy something. This helps support my mountain homestead dream as well as my blogging activities, and the price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! Thanks for reading, following, and supporting Stephlin's Mountain.

From my mountaintop to yours!

I saw this recipe for a Chocolate and Peanut Butter smoothie on two other blogs -- 4 Sons 'R' Us and Sallys Baking Addiction -- and had to try it for myself.  I believe the former got it from the latter.

While I will never shy away from the chocolate and peanut butter combination -- good for me or not -- this is thankfully one of those rare, good for me occasions. This smoothie packs a protein punch, and is sweetened with a banana and honey. I'm thinking it would be great for breakfast on the go.

The way I prepared it resulted in 20 grams of protein power.  If you use Greek yogurt instead of regular, bump that number even higher.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

Adapted from Sally's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie here.

Get ready for lots of protein ahead!

Ingredients

• 1 large banana, peeled, sliced, and frozen
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 oz vanilla yogurt (use Greek for even more protein)
• 3/4 cup whole milk (or your preference)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp natural peanut butter

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to your blender, in the order given. Blend until smooth and creamy. It will be a little thick, but not so much as to require a spoon.

Yield: 1 tall glass, filled to the rim

Shared at Heritage Homesteaders Hop, Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Simple Life Sunday, and some of these fine hops.

Homemade Orange Julius (Make Your Own!)

I knew it was a winner before I took the first sip. Orange and vanilla combined for an intoxicating scent. I'm not kidding. This simple -- frugal even -- drink is that good. If you love (even like a little!) Orange Julius, then you should give this a try.

I got the recipe from Tawra Kellam's book Dining on a Dime. If you don't own a copy, you might want to consider it. Her drink recipes alone are worth it to me. I'm also fond of her mocha frappuccino recipe. (That's what I call it -- from her "master" smoothies list.) Tawra also has a website, Living on a Dime. I searched it for the "Creamy Orange Shake" recipe, and she has it posted here.

Frozen orange juice concentrate, milk, sugar, water, and pure vanilla (this is how I make my own) are all it takes.  Blend all together with a few ice cubes to get some wonderful frothy action.  Please don't leave them out -- the froth is simply divine.

Homemade Orange Julius

- Slightly adapted from Tawra Kellam's "Creamy Orange Shake" recipe in Dining on a Dime.

- Ingredients

• heaping 1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 5 ice cubes

- Instructions

• Combine in blender (on a high speed) til smooth and frothy!

Yield: 1 tall glass, filled to the rim

Shared at The HomeAcre Hop, Thriving Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, All Things Thursday, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop, and Show Me What Ya Got.

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click the link and buy something. This helps support my mountain homestead dream as well as my blogging activities, and the price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! :-) Thanks for reading and following Stephlin's Mountain.