a kombucha experiment - growing a scoby, part 2

daily status, in pictures

Last week, I blogged about my experience with kombucha. Every morning for the past 9 days, I excitedly checked on my little experiment and have watched my jar of tea rapidly produce a healthy SCOBY.

If you look really closely, you can see a small whitish spot in the center of the jar. That is the start of my SCOBY! I was so excited when I lifted up the towel and found it had actually started to grow.

By day 4, there was a very noticeable film across the entire surface of the tea.

By day 9, I thought my SCOBY was thick enough to transfer to a new batch of tea and start my very first brew! I'm a few days into it now and anxiously waiting for the 5th day so I can bottle it with fruit juice and begin my double fermentation.

vegan chocolate + chile shake

an exquisite creation

My craving for sweet food begins when I wake up and has been known to last all day long.  I want to reduce the refined sugar in my diet because these empty calories don't do my body any favors, and it is swimsuit season, after all.  GT's Kombucha has been helping me curb my cravings, and I recently came across a new weapon against my mental desire for sweets: shakes made with frozen bananas.

Frozen bananas behave like ice cream when added to shakes, providing a creamy texture and natural sweetness. While we don't care for this thick consistency in our fruit smoothies, my husband and I agree that bananas are excellent for emulating milkshakes.  Of course, along with the texture attributes, bananas also contribute their characteristic flavor, but it complements a wide array of fruits, nut butters, and spices.  Adding cocoa powder plus a few dates produces a toothsome snack without refined sugar.  This version is a nod to the popular combination of chocolate and chile, particularly to the trend-setting Vosges chocolate bar.  A little dose of capsicum adds heat and complexity to the mellow cocoa flavor, and the warm spice of cinnamon completes the exotic blend.

The recipe below yields a subtle heat that should be approachable to most people, and you may find yourself increasing the amount of chile in future batches.  Ancho is poblano pepper in its dried form, and its flavor is on the mild, sweet side of the chile pepper spectrum.  It is requently included in mole sauce, and whole anchos are easily found with Mexican groceries.  Cayenne powder introduces a warm heat that dissipates quickly, instantly tamed by the sugar of the banana.  While I like to have this shake for breakfast, others might find it a more appropriate later in the day, and it is decadent enough for serving as dessert.


When I start the day with some version of a chocolate banana shake, I feel satisfied for hours.  Amazingly, I'm able to skip second breakfast, and can even dismiss sweets that might present themselves later in the day.  This is accomplished with no refined sugar and very little fat!  If unsweetened almond milk is used, I estimate that this recipe contains less than 400 calories and 20 grams of sugar.  Let's compare this to the chocolate shake from Sonic that I would have eaten in my pre-vegan days: 568 calories, 25.6 g fat (17.9 g saturated fat), 49 g sugar!  And absolutely no fiber, which may explain why it was less satisfying than this shake, with about 12 grams of fiber.

I feel really good about the "milk"shakes in my life, and I hope that you indulge in something equally pleasurable.

Vegan Chocolate + Chile Shake
makes one 12-ounce shake


1 1/2 banana, peeled, cut into chunks, and frozen
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 medjool dates
5 ice cubes
4 oz non-dairy milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (if using plain non-dairy milk)
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chile
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Add all ingredients to blender.  Blend until smooth according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Pour into a glass and enjoy!

a kombucha experiment - growing a scoby

in the beginning

We found out that my maternal grandmother had cancer in 1994. At that time, Kombucha's popularity in America was rapidly growing, so much so that it was considered by many to be the living "pet rock of the 90's." Kombucha, a fermented tea, has been touted as a miracle cure for everything from indigestion to cancer, which brings me back to my grandmother.

When my mom's friend, Uncle Rohn, found out about my grandmother, he insisted on giving my mom a "baby" SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) so that she could start brewing the tea to give to my grandmother. Unfortunately, my grandmother wasn't interested in drinking it.

Intrigued by the long list of the benefits attributed to kombucha, my parents decided to drink it themselves. Of course, they let me and my siblings try it but none of us could stand the vinegary taste. My mom successfully brewed it for a few months, the sour smell permeating throughout our house, but then reports of two women dying from kombucha hit the news and she decided the risk* wasn't worth the potential benefits. I'm not too worried because I found this report by the CDC  stating that investigators never established a link between the two women's illnesses/deaths and their consumption of kombucha.

Fast forward 16 years to a couple of weeks ago when Danielle called me to tell me how excited she was about a bottle of Synergy Kombucha she recently tried. The next time I was over at her house, she offered to share some with me. My distant childhood memory had me feeling apprehensive so I was pleasantly surprised when it tasted nothing like what I remembered it to be. Some of this may be due to my changed taste buds but some of it may also be attributed to the 5% juice they added to the tea. Whatever it was, I was instantly hooked, however, at $3.50 per 16 oz bottle, a daily addiction would be rather expensive so I knew I'd have to start making my own.


I didn't know anyone who was currently making kombucha so that meant I would need to grow my own SCOBY...in other words, the gelatinous blob that sits on the surface of the tea.

I spent hours researching it on the internet, gathered up the ingredients, and got to work.

What you'll need:

1. A bottle of raw, organic kombucha (I used Katalyst Kombucha)
2. Black tea
3. Sugar (refined and granulated...the white stuff)
4. A gallon-sized glass jar or bowl (use one with as large an opening as you can find - the more surface area you have, the more oxygen the SCOBY will have access to and the better your fermentation will be)
5. A clean tea towel or paper towel to cover your jar
6. A rubber band to secure the towel and prevent bugs from getting in (if you use an especially large bowl, you may want to also put two pieces of tape, criss-crossed) across the opening of the bowl so the towel doesn't dip down into the tea)

What you do:

1. Sanitize everything that is going to come into contact with the kombucha. It is a living culture and you don't want to risk contaminating it. I put all of my tools/containers into the dishwasher and set it to run the sanitizing cycle. I also ran a super hot iron over my clean tea towel.
2. Boil 1 cup of water in your stainless steel pot.
3. Add 1 tea bag and steep for 15 minutes.
4. Add 1 tablespoon sugar.
5. Cover and let cool down to room temperature.
6. Pour into your glass jar and add the bottle of raw, organic kombucha.
7. Cover with your towel and secure with a rubber band.
8. Put in a warm place (68°F - 85°F / 20° - 29° C), not in direct sunlight, where it won't be disturbed. Moving it at this stage could be detrimental to the growth of your SCOBY.
9. Wait for what seems like an eternity! Approximately 1 1/2 to 3 weeks until the scoby is between 1/4 and 1/3 inch thick.

I'm still waiting and will post an update next week!

Here is my glass jar, covered with a tea towel.

*Home-brewed kombucha tea can become contaminated with mold that can make you sick so if you ever see signs of mold (green, pink or black circles that may also be fuzzy) on your SCOBY throw it (and any tea your scoby came into contact with) out.  Kombucha can also be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria  but I read here that, "Kombucha is unlikely to become contaminated with bacteria if the tea broth has a sufficiently high sucrose content (approximately 10+ percent sugar), making it a naturally inhospitable environment. Furthermore, the tea—with its high acidity, alcohol content and antibiotics—makes bacterial contamination even less probable." As with all food preparation, if you follow sanitary procedures and have hygienic brewing conditions you will significantly minimize any chances of contamination.

vegan milk + cookies

a classic snack, dairy-free

I'm not much of a baker; in fact, I can't remember the last time I baked a cake. I usually go for sweet treats that involve chilling, blending, and otherwise not turning on the oven. But I love cookies, especially chewy, oatmeal cookies with lots of cinnamon and raisins... a portable dose of oatmeal that's ready for spontaneous snacking!  My craving for these goodies was recently awakened, when my mom bought a jumbo cookie at lunch and allowed forced me to finish it.

It was awesome.  And even more awesome was the realization that the ingredient list seemed to correspond very closely to this recipe, which Crystal discovered and shared with me a few weeks ago. I tweaked it a little to achieve the spices and texture of the Alternative Baking masterpiece. This included substituting pumpkin pie spice for their cinnamon, because I love the flavor of nutmeg with raisins. I used instant oats and finely-chopped walnuts to create a smoother texture. The sugars were creamed with the sugars for several minutes in a stand mixer to create lots of little air pockets, which expand when the baking soda and powder are activated by the oven's heat. And I tried to observe the cardinal rule of baking: don't overmix the dry ingredients!

Then, it was on to the next challenge: don't overbake!  I've found this to be the trickiest part of vegan baking, and it's hard for me to resist sliding the sheetpan back into the oven when the cookies look pale and a little too moist.  Go ahead and take them out:  they will continue baking on the pan for a minute, and will firm up on the cooling rack. You don't have to worry about undercooking these egg-less goodies!

I poured a  glass of chilled hazelnut milk alongside these warm cookies.  It was my first time making nut milk, and its freshness is a distinct improvement over nut milk in aseptic packaging.  Plus, hazelnut milk is not as easy to find in shops, and making it at home saves a trip to Whole Foods!

Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
makes 2 dozen large cookies

• 1 cup Earth Balance, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 "eggs" (I used 3 teaspoons of Ener-G egg replacer whisked in 4 tablespoons of water)
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups instant oats
• 1 1/2 cups raisins
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together margarine, brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg replacer eggs and beat until well blended.
4. In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Gradually add dry ingredients to margarine mixture until well blended.
6. Stir in oats, raisins, and nuts (if using).
7. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drop the dough by 1/4 cupfuls and lightly flatten with fingers.
8. Bake for 13 minutes and remove baking sheets from the oven. Let cookies remain on baking sheet for 2 minutes.
9. Transfer to cooling racks to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.

Hazelnut Milk
makes 6 cups

• 3/4 cup raw hazelnuts
• 6 cups drinking water
• maple syrup, up to 1/4 cup

1. Add hazelnuts to bowl of water. Cover and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
2. Remove bowl from refrigerator and pour soaked nuts and liquid into Vita-Mix or similar, powerful blender. Blend according to manufacturer's instructions, up to two minutes.
3. Pour nut milk through a fine sieve or two layers of cheesecloth, into a clean bowl.
4. Add maple syrup by the tablespoon to achieve desired sweetness.
5. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

the best coffee ever

spiked with spices

I weaned myself off of a caffeine addiction many years ago so now I mostly drink decaf. I know, most people ask, "why bother," but this way I can still enjoy the taste of a delicious cup of coffee. Plus, I love holding a warm coffee cup in my hands and smelling the earthy aroma.

Taking a cue from Trader Joe's Wintery Blend Coffee, I started spiking my own decaf coffee with different spices. I never measure anything so each day is a surprise. After I dump in my coffee grounds, I add a generous amount of cinnamon, followed by a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, cardamom and allspice (with the occasional grind of black peppercorns). Give it a quick stir and start brewing.

It makes for a really wonderful treat the morning and I encourage you to give it a try.

vegan green slushie

refreshing and nourishing

Did you have a Snoopy Sno-Cone  Maker when you were growing up? Did you add super-syrupy blends of Kool-Aid to the chunky ice?  I did. There were also a lot of cola Icees, purple Slush Puppies, and orange snow balls in my childhood. Now, I haven't succumbed to a filling-station freezie for some time, but I have been known to brake for a "fresh fruit" slush during Sonic's happy hour. Though these drinks technically are vegan, they may contain artificial colors and flavors, copious amounts of corn syrup, and no nutritional value. And they usually come in Styrofoam cups, which I try to avoid.

Possessing a kitchen equipped with a blender, an ice-maker, and a well-stocked produce drawer, I decided that my next frosty beverage would be a DIY job. The sweet-and-sour flavor components would be fresh pineapple, agave nectar and fresh lime juice. Mint's already up in the backyard, thanks to our balmy spell of June-like heat, so that goes into the mix. And because you can never have enough greens, in goes a handful of watercress, as well.


Wait a second... how did watercress sneak into my sweet treat? Well, it turns out that the blended bevvie is a delicious way to mitigate the bitterness and toughness of raw greens, making it easer to include more of them in your daily intake (or your family's).  Start with a handful and see if anyone notices a difference in flavor (if they wonder about the hue, tell them it's from kiwifruit).  If you've never tried adding greens to your smoothies, you may be shocked at how easy it is to add a nutritional bonus to your diet.

Since I don't have (nor want) a dedicated home slushie machine, I chucked it all into my blender with a lot of ice and a splash of water.  The goal was a drinkable, icy consistency rather than a thick smoothie, so the bananas stayed in the freezer.  Puréed for a few moments and voilà: a zippy green drink that's capable of giving you a brainfreeze.  And, if you add alcohol, a hangover.  I recommend sipping this slush through a fat straw, such as the bubble tea straws found at Asian grocery stores or the borosilicate straws that have taken blogosphere by storm.  Google it.

Call it a slushie, a mocktail, or a frozen libation, I prefer to think of it as the beginning.  Other combinations in my head include lemon-strawberry-basil, lime-mango-cilantro, and lemon-blueberry-thyme.  So grab your blender and chill.

Green Slushie
makes 32 ounces

• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup squeezed lime juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 handful watercress with stems
• 6 mint leaves
• 2 cups ice
• 6 ounces cold water
• mint sprigs to garnish

Special equipment

• blender with ice-crushing ability
• fat drinking straws

1. Add all ingredients to blender. Process according to manufacturer's directions.
2. Divide among two large glasses or four small ones.  Garnish with mint sprigs and serve with fat drinking straws.

authentic yogi tea

my favorite version

Perhaps you've seen or tried the Yogi brand of tea that is sold commercially. Did you know that it was inspired by a simple tea that is brewed from five whole spices? This original "Yogi Tea" was popularized by Yogi Bhajan, who also introduced Kundalini Yoga to the US in 1969.

The Ayurvedic blend of spices is said to stimulate the immune system, to aid digestion, and to increase vitality. I find yogi tea to be warming and invigorating. I often make a half-gallon batch and finish it within a few hours, but it can also be kept in the refrigerator for several days.

The recipe below is the adaptation that I prefer. I love using complexly-flavored grains of paradise in place of the traditional black peppercorns. I usually drink this tea hot, with no additions; however, it is also delicious with the addition of nut milk and sweetener (the result is similar to chai latté). I also found the delicious-sounding suggestion of serving crushed, frozen cubes of yogi tea with a splash of ginger beer.

Authentic Yogi Tea
makes 6 servings

• 2 quarts filtered water
• 12 whole cloves
• 15 grains of paradise or black peppercorns
• 3" cinnamon sticks
• 15 green cardamom pods (or 3 teaspoons of cardamom seeds)
• 2" ginger root, peeled, sliced thinly
• 1/2 teaspoon black tea (or 1 black tea bag)

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan.
2. Add all spices and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for one hour.
3. Remove the pot from heat and add the tea. Cover and allow to sit for one hour.
4. Strain the spices and tea leaves by pouring the tea through a strainer into a bowl.
5. Enjoy the hot tea immediately, or keep in the refrigerator for several days and reheat by the cup.