Kefir, a homegrown probiotic

If you've ever taken antibiotics, had stomach flu, or food poisoning, then you could greatly benefit from drinking kefir everyday. More and more studies are showing how important healthy flora is in the intestinal track. Unfortunately, unhealthy diets and overuse of antibiotics can contribute to a low intestinal flora count, causing IBS, low immune function, gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, even depression.

There are many over the counter probiotic liquids, capsules and pills you can buy. However, affordable probiotics are not much good, if any at all, and the expensive preparations are... Expensive. There is an easy and affordable way to get healthy, active, live, probiotics into your diet. The answer is kefir. Kefir is colonies of probiotics that cluster together. These clusters are called grains.

Kefir grains consist of dozens of different strains of bacteria and yeast. The bacteria and yeast play an important role in digestion, absorption of nutrients and immune function. When you have a healthy balance of flora in your intestines, it can help prevent overgrowth of any one bacteria or yeast, such as those like candida, those that cause diarrhea or those that cause food poisoning.

The healthy bacteria crowd out the unhealthy bacterial that cause infections and have a tendency to overgrow and infect tissues.

To learn more about how kefir is cultured, recipes for cultured kefir and to learn how it can help with depression, IBS, chronic fatigue, low immunity and other health problems you can join us in a class discussion. Here is a link for details. Kefir Class

Pace Family, TV Stand Revival Done!

This project was fun. Even though I had to replace the top AND add shelves it only took me about 4 days to finish.  Most of the time was spent waiting for paint to dry.  Hope you enjoyed this revival with me. If you have any questions about techniques, crafting, cooking, refinishing, fitness or anything, I am here to help!

6 Minute Egg with Soft Yolk

I love a good fried egg but they can be tricky to get them just right. I do not like any part of my whites brown or chewy, and I don't like it runny either, but I prefer my yolks slightly runny, but not watery and never hard. If you agree with me, then what you are looking for is not a fried egg, but a six minute boiled egg.  

 Start a pot of boiling water with about 1 teaspoon of salt. Once it begins to rapidly boil, carefully place the eggs in the pot.  Immediately set your timer for 6 minutes and walk away.  As soon as the timer goes off, place your pot under cold running water and allow it to overflow into the sink until the water is all cool.

 Then you can break and peel your eggs. If you did it just right it will peel easily and will not break the whites.

 When you cut into your egg it will be creamy and just right.

 Not too runny or too hard. All of the whites will be cooked firm but not rubbery.

 MM, delicious! Put it on top of toast, or a biscuit and enjoy!

Low Sugar Chocolate Milk

Who doesn't love a glass of ice cold chocolate milk? I don't because it's usually so full of sugar (high fructose corn syrup) and other weird ingredients like carrageenan and "artificial flavors" and "spice",  What is spice? Generally MSG.  I can't prove it, but most of the time that is what "spice" in an ingredient list means. I don't know why they would want to put that in chocolate milk though. 

Chocolate milk lovers, with a health conscious mind, have no fear. I am here to save the day. 

 The ingredient list is simple.
1/2 gallon of milk. I like raw, but that is your preference, and may be hard to find
1/3 cup scant of cocoa powder
1 Table spoon Truvia (all natural herbal sweetener from the Stevia plant)
2 Table spoons honey.  You can use raw or not, your personal preference

I just dump all of the ingredients into my 1/2 gallon jar and use a stick blender to combine it well. I used a regular blender once, and ended up with a much too frothy drink.  The stick blender is best because it doesn't incorporate too much air in to the milk, but is fast enough to get that dry cocoa powder mixed in.

There you have it! Easy, healthy alternative to commercially prepared chocolate milk.
There are 8 cups of milk in half a gallon, and two tablespoons of honey in this recipe, that comes to 1/4 of a tablespoon or 3/4 of a teaspoon of honey per serving.  That is less than 5 grams of sugar and with the milk sugar, is 17 grams of sugars. Compare this to one cup of the popular brand with 13 grams of sugar plus the milk sugars, comes to a total of 31.71 grams of sugar.  (Which is 7.5 teaspoons of sugar in one cup!)

You can compare the sugar in my recipe for chocolate milk to eating a large apple, which has a close glycemic index to milk sugars.
    

Classic Style Fried Chicken

I'm no southern lady, (unless being from Southern California counts) but boy do I know how to fry up a delicious piece of chicken.  It's one of those things in life I just couldn't live without.  I think we all agree that chocolate is number one, and for me, fried chicken runs a close second.

Here is my recipe:
Begin to heat coconut oil in a pan or deep fryer.  You need enough to cover the chicken but not too much that it will bubble over when you put the chicken in.

 You will need buttermilk and Season Salt. I would recommend my recipe for it here. I cultured my own buttermilk from raw milk, but you are not expected to go so far.

 Place a few chicken tenders, or pieces of chicken breast cut to that size, in plastic wrap.

 Pound the chicken so that it is all approximately the same thickness, this will promote even cooking and tender juicy chicken.

 Pour your buttermilk in a bowl.

 Toss your chicken in to the buttermilk and coat each piece. Leave it there until you are ready to dredge it in flour.

 Mix one cup of flour with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of season salt.  I highly recommend my recipe or it may be too salty or not seasoned enough.

 Take a buttermilk coated piece of chicken and place it in the bowl.

 Using a fork, I cover the chicken in the flour.

 Then I gently pat it down, flip it over and gently pat the other side.

 Nicely coated and dry.

 The oil bubbles when I throw a little buttermilk and flour in there, it is ready.

 Gently place a piece of chicken in the hot oil.

 It should vigorously bubble and boil.

 My oil was about 325, it was not hot enough.  350 F would have been better.  Don't crowd the pan, it will lower your temperature and make your coating fall off.

 Here are two finished pieces of  golden brown, crispy, melt in your mouth chicken.

 I couldn't even wait until I was done cooking to eat one... or two...  It was so buttery, moist, crispy and had an unbelievable flavor you do not get by frying with eggs and milk.

 TIPS:
-Use fresh not frozen chicken.
-Use a deep fryer or a thick pan like cast iron.  It will keep the temperature better.
-Don't bother using a raw or virgin oil. It will obviously get really hot and then it wont be raw anymore.
-Don't eat this too often if you like your current dress size.
-This same recipe makes amazing buffalo wings.  Just add the hot sauce after.
-If you want it to taste more like chic-fil-a, add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar.
-Don't substitute the coconut oil. It is healthy and more natural, plus it can take the heat better without turning into trans-fat.

Pace Family, TV Stand Revival Part 4

It's nice when a project cooperates and you have to do only minimal touch ups and finishes.  This TV stand has been a very good girl.  Here she is before:

 Nice "plasticy" black.  Not too bad, some cosmetic issues like the top having a seam and wear on it.

 Great hardware. Love the drawer pulls. Real brass too.

   Here is the finished lady:

 Didn't recognize her did ya?!  I think some baskets would look sweet on the new shelves.

 She got several coats of white paint on the main structure, and a creamier darker shade on the door and drawers.  The hardware stayed, and I didn't do a thing to it. I love it the way it is.

She got a sweet new top with a nice stripe of the darker shade to pull it all together.

I can't wait to see how she looks in the Pace's house!  I'll post before and after photo's of her in her home as soon as I get them.   

Pace Family, TV Stand Revival Part 3

I spent the evening sanding and sanding and sanding.  I don't strip pieces that are going to be painted a solid color, unless the paint I'm going to paint over is in seriously bad shape or I want to stain. In the case of this piece, it was not in bad shape at all.  However, it needs to be sanded to create a surface that the new paint can bond too.  The drawers look kinda shabby chic here...

After letting my sanding arm rest for a few hours I started my priming coat.  I just used a latex, interior white, with a primer in it.  I coated the entire piece, plus all the doors and drawers until I ran out of paint.  I really focused a lot on the top, since it is raw wood and would soak up quite a bit of paint.

 Do not forget your interior spaces. It looks very amateur to leave the inside of a piece the original color, especially if it will be seen. Painting inside where the drawers go is really not necessary.  You can see below the paint is less transparent as I do layer upon layer of paint.  I like my paint to be a nice even coat, and I do a lot of them. At least 3 or 4 coats, and even more in high traffic areas like corners, tops and shelf tops.

 The drawers are going to be a creamier shade of white that will accent the bright white of the structure of the piece.  It looks awesome just sitting in my garage next to each other. I can't wait to get that first drawer in there and see how it will come together.

 I had to tip the piece on its back to get to this weird toe kick space on the bottom. Don't overlook any detail that will bother you or someone else once it is in the house and being used.  A few more coats on that toe kick and then a nice coat of a water soluble, non yellowing, poly-acrylic.   This baby will be done by Wednesday and ready to grace the Pace's home by Friday.  You must allow time for all the layers of paint to fully harden and dry. There is nothing more sad, than spending days on a piece and rushing to use it and ruining your finish.  

Before and after:

Sad, laminate top before

Gorgeous, solid wood top after

Black, drawers before

Creamy white drawers after