Home-brewed gingerberry Kombucha

I surprised a friend the other day after offering him a glass of homemade Kombucha. "Kom...what?" he stuttered, adding that he didn't realize I was the "make your own food kinda gal." I explained that Kombucha, while not studied by the USFDA, has been around thousands of years and that before refrigeration, our ancestors survived on cultured and fermented foods. There are many people who believe that our bodies need these living foods, filled with cultures and bacteria and organisms, to properly digest our food, absorb nutrients and otherwise be healthy. My mom made and drank Kombucha over a decade ago when she cured herself of adult onset asthma.

When she reminded me of it about a year ago, I started buying it at the store. GT's Synergy Kombucha has a story it from the founder that credits the Kombucha with saving his mother from breast cancer and I loved the gingerberry flavor, with ginger and blueberry juices, but it cost $3.50 a bottle. Someone I knew who was making their own gave me a Kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) and I started making gingerberry Kombucha, which is what I offered my friend. He was surprised at first, not used to a fizzy, fermented tea drink but he liked it. He drank it down saying "wow" the whole time. Then he asked how to make it.

Making Kombucha is so easy. I make a one gallon batch each week, yielding 12-16 servings that would cost at least $50 at the store and it costs me about $6. I'm making it for myself and my mom and we both drink a glass every day. I make gingerberry flavor just like Synergy but you can drink it plain or add any fruit juice you want to it when you drink it. If you've never tried it, try the Synergy brand and see if you do. Then, find someone who makes it and get yourself a SCOBY. Every batch yields a new one.

Here's how to do it:
You'll need a one-gallon jar, four mason jars with lids, a fine mesh strainer that fits into a glass, a glass, a spoon and a chopper/food processor.

You'll also need a Kombucha SCOBY, a gallon of filtered water, ten black tea bags (no flavors), one cup of sugar and a glass of Kombucha as the "starter."

The first time, you'll wash the jars, rinse in very hot water and dry. You'll put the Kombucha SCOBY in the gallon jar with the starter. Since you haven't made any yet, will need to add a bottle of GT's organic raw Kombucha to use as starter.

Then, boil the gallon of water in a large pot. Take it off the heat and add ten black tea bags and one cup of sugar and stir. Let it cool to room temperature. When the tea is room temperature, put the jar in the sink and cover the opening with the mesh strainer. Pour the tea in and the strainer will catch the tea bags. Cover the jar with a lint-free towel, securing with a large rubber band and put it in a warm, dark place.

In 7-10 days, take the cloth of of the Kombucha jar and push the SCOBY down with a regular spoon to get a spoonful of Kombucha. Taste it to make sure it is tart. It will smell and taste like a bit like apple cider vinegar. If you're ready to bottle, make another pot of tea like above.

When the tea is cool, put one mason jar in the sink. Get the mouth of the Kombucha jar close to the jar and pour, filling it with Kombucha. Do that with the other three and that should leave you with the Kombucha SCOBY and starter in the large jar.

(Note that with every batch, your SCOBY will grow a new layer that can be peeled off and given to a friend with very clean hands and put into a Ziploc freezer bag with some Kombucha. Or you can just leave it but it will ferment more quickly.)

Then pour the new batch of tea into the Kombucha jar, cover with the linen and rubber band and put it in its dark cupboard for another week. Easy! If I'm going out of town and won't be able to bottle the Kombucha, I put the jar in the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation. You can also, instead of making a new batch, store the SCOBY and the remaining Kombucha in a large Ziploc bag in the refrigerator for several weeks.

OPTIONAL: Once you've bottled the Kombucha, you can add fruit juice. I add blueberry ginger because it was my favorite GT Dave's flavor. To do it, I defrost 3 cups of frozen blueberries the night before. Then I chop them in the food processor, put them in a strainer over a tall glass and press the juice out with the slotted spoon. I peel a 2-3 inch piece of fresh ginger root, cut it into chunks and chop in the food processor. I put the ginger into the blueberry juice and let it sit for a few hours (usually while the tea is cooling). Then strain the ginger and press the juice out so you're left with ginger-infused blueberry juice. Pour a small amount of it into each mason jar of Kombucha.

The most important thing to remember is that the Kombucha SCOBY is a living culture and must be treated in a sanitary way. Always wash your hands and use clean utensils and jars. Also, Kombucha has a reaction with metal and will turn it black so it should only be stored in glass. And don't forget that the only thing that should ever be in your Kombucha brewing jar is black tea, Kombucha and the SCOBY. The fruit juice is only added in the bottling. I recommend drinking Kombucha on a empty stomach rather than right after a meal. It does have a small amount of caffeine in it (from the tea) and is slightly alcoholic so it makes your tummy buzz when you drink it. Enjoy and let me know if you notice any health benefits!

The possibility for miracles

It was September when I moved into the little apartment upstairs at my mother's house. Her husband is a quiet and reserved guy, an electrical engineer who builds circuit boards by day and reads electrical engineering magazines at night. We share an intellectual curiosity and can talk about things that my mother is not interested in. He pores over my National Geographic magazines and we swap podcasts and talk about the latest scientific discoveries.

The election was really heating up in September as Palin has just been thrown into the ring. Every night at dinner, my mom and I would compare notes on what stupid thing Palin had said that day or what incredible thing was going on in the Obama campaign. Her husband reacted to our conversations but didn't comment, which is not unlike him. I wasn't sure that he was on our side and got the sense that my mother even, didn't know who he had voted for. An early voter, he'd already sent in his ballot but as a registered Republican our mailbox continued to receive propaganda from McCain campaign and the NRA (even though there are no guns in our house). It went on like this for months.

After the election, in a casual conversation about Obama, my mom's husband finally broke the silence and remarked on something my mother said about Obama being so smart and precise with his words. "That's why I voted for him," he said, "because he's a nerd and it's about time we had a nerd in the White House." It's not just that he's intelligent, although that by itself is a major coup for intelligent people everywhere. It isn't only that he's incredibly well spoken, weaving together powerful imagery and wise quotes from leaders past with inspiration and ideas that will rebuild our country. What makes Obama stand out is that he is intellectually curious. He doesn't make decisions based on a personal feeling, religion or party politics. As President of the United States, he will pursue the ideals that our country was founded on with the zeal of a scientist on the verge of discovery. He'll consult experts, examine all the facts and surround himself with the best and the brightest to make the decisions that will shape our future.

During the process of appointing his cabinet, I rejoiced in each nomination reacting with "yes" "right on" and "of course." The assault on reason (at least in the White House) has finally subsided. Many nominees are more qualified than their predecessor and in some case more qualified than all of their predecessors. Many are people who are leaders in their field and are already running labs or schools districts or organizations in that capacity like Dr. Steven Chu for Energy Secretary, Eric Shinseki for Veteran Affairs Secretary, James L. Jones for National Security Advisor, Arne Duncan for Education Secretary and Tom Daschle for Health and Human Services Secretary.

My father, an insufferable sexist, had infuriated me after the election by positing that Obama won because he's "young and handsome" just like Kennedy and that's what "the women" want. I reminded him that women alone didn't get Obama into office and his theory didn't explain Eisenhower, Reagan or Bush Sr. Months before, my dad he said that Obama was capable of doing as much for this country as FDR, but now his inner cynic was trying to tell him that he was just a hot guy who duped the ladies.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with one of the couples living next door, a four-tour-Afghanistan Army Ranger veteran and his 8-month pregnant wife. They had been out shopping for a couch and remarked on how difficult it was to get help anywhere. No one working at the shops cares about the customer, they said. I agreed, having just been to Radio Shack where I waited patiently for my receipt while the boy at the counter watched a TV show on a screen behind me. I said these people were lucky to have jobs and maybe Obama will inspire people to get to work. The vet said he was a pretty political person but had voted "the other way" and was still in the 12-step grieving process. He said people whom he's met said they voted for Obama because he's black and they wanted to make history and he thought that was ridiculous. True, I said, "but these are the same people who voted for Bush because they thought he'd be fun to have a beer with." Ha, ha, the Vet laughed, "That guy IS a partier!"

But when I told him about how Obama had revamped the White House site with a blog and weekly video address to the nation, that he's going to post all legislation that he signs five days in advance to allow for comments from us, and that he wants to hear what we want him to do in office -- opening up forums on topics like health care -- I got his attention. I then told him that Michelle Obama plans to focus on helping veteran's transition back into their lives after returning from war, a cause she has already devoted years to. "I didn't know that," he said, "wow, I'll have to check that out."

While many people have been writing off Obama's popularity as a fan reaction to a novel candidate, other people were quietly rooting for the guy with the big brain to make it to the White House. On Marketplace yesterday a critic of Obama, David Frum author of "Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again," said he thought his stimulus plan is bad but acknowledged that the problem Obama brings up is real and no one on his side of the fence has offered a solution. "We said the Bush economy was the greatest story never told. We dismissed those who disagreed as 'whiners.'" But in reality, wages are stagnant and health care costs are rising to "devour potential wage increases." To me, that is what makes Obama so exceptional. Like a scientist, he talks about issues plainly and factually. He wants to fix what's broken and is willing to consider the best solution. He knows the power of collaboration and utilizes the latest technology to open up his administration to anyone with a good idea. You disagree with his ideas? Fine, let's hear yours.

And so it begins, the most exciting presidency in fifty years. Obama is awakening the American public from our cynical slumber, imploring us to believe once again that we can do anything. Not by saying that he'll be a better president than those who came before him but by asking us to believe in ourselves, instead of a politician. Yesterday, I watched a video about the Youth Ball where a young woman said, "I hope he doesn't disappoint us and not turn out to be this god." But our disillusionment comes from a misplaced belief that once we vote in our leaders, our job is done. A feeling that we are entitled to be taken care of by our government that is, like a parent, in charge of our well-being and has no right to be questioned. This is not a parent-child relationship; this is a government of the people, by the people.

Obama said yesterday in a statement, "On this Inauguration Day, we are reminded that we are heirs to over two centuries of American democracy, and that this legacy is not simply a birthright -- it is a glorious burden. Now it falls to us to come together as a people to carry it forward once more." It's a stroke of genius. It's not a matter of whether he'll disappoint us; it's a matter of whether we'll disappoint each other. Obama is already, every day, making miracles. He makes it easy for me to reach out to my neighbor, a person I'm friendly with but have opposing political views from, and invite him to participate in his government.

I vividly remember watching Obama's nomination speech. I drank down every word like the thirstiest person in the world. For the first time in eight years, someone that the world was listening to was speaking the truth about the challenges that our country and our generation face. I nodded and said "that's right" out loud like I was in a Baptist church. My inner skeptic tried, a few times, to caution me against too much enthusiasm but it didn't work. He has returned the presidency to what it is meant to be, a leadership position and we are the people he's leading. We are the people that are going to perform the miracles. He is the leader that will inspire a generation to think differently about its government and its role in the world than any before. There's a photo gallery of the people that will work in the White House and I'm struck by how youthful the group is and how few are career politicians. I feel that these people are as enthused as I am about the future and also believe in the possibility for miracles.

The book is better

I recently went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button after hearing, as I'm sure you have, that it was really good. Oscar season is difficult for me because I have such high expectations. These are supposed to be the best movies of the year coming out between Thanksgiving and Christmas and yet most of them are disappointing. Ben Button was beautifully shot, looked expensive and had two big stars in it but I thought it was a bit of a bore. The whole time I was thinking I couldn't wait to read the book. I wanted to luxuriate in the story a bit more but the movie just kept trucking through time periods and costumes and CGI'd ages.

There was very little humor even though the whole situation is fraught with potential hilarity. And somehow the characters end up being devoid of likeability, I wasn't moved at all by their situations. I found it to be too long and slightly depressing. The next day, I was at the bookstore and found the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald of the same name and read it. It was completely different from the movie. A different time period, different location, without any of the main plot points, and, it was silly. It couldn't have provided any ideas for the film. Harrumph, I thought, I was so looking forward to the book!

Then a few days later, quite by accident, I picked up a book in the same bookstore called "The Confessions of Max Tivoli." It's a novel about a man who ages backwards, has an epic love story and takes place in turn-of the-century San Francisco. How wonderful, the story I was looking for and it takes place in my beloved San Francisco! I read it in a few days and loved it. It has much more similarity to the movie's story than the F. Scott Fitzgerald short. In fact, the author Andrew Sean Greer said that he didn't even know of the short when he wrote the book but was relieved to discover how different they were. He says on his website that the production company tried to buy rights to the book in 2004 but he didn't want it to be made into a film. It makes me wonder if the writer, then, modeled his script after the book but with just the number of changes required to avoid a lawsuit.

What really boggles me, though, is why Greer didn't sell the rights to the book? His name and the book have come up in hundreds of mentions of the film anyway, with many people saying the book is better – a common remark about books turned into movies. So why not take their money and let them give us a better movie? He could have insisted it have a different title and could even opt out of the credits but still pocket the cash. In any regard if you liked the movie but though it would be a better read, I recommend "The Confessions of Max Tivoli."