My experience with home made kombucha.

Well, kombucha. I'd only ever drunk the stuff you buy in bottles in the shops before and liked it. I never really even thought about making my own, until a coworker brought it up and offere to bring in some 'mother'.

The slimy jellyfish like lump in this jar is the 'mother'.

You need the mother first...I don't know how to make the mother from scratch, coworker just chopped a bit off hers to bring in. It is a fungus. It looks just disgusting.

Put 2 black teabags and 3/4 cup of sugar in a container and brew with 1L of freshly boiled water. Let steep until cool. Pour into a ceramic or glass bowl and tip in the mother and liquid it's stored in (some kombucha from previous batch).

Leave for at least 4 days covered with a tea towel in a dark place.

This is what will happen. I could have left it an additional day but got lazy. It goes a bit fizzy and grows a nice thick layer on top (which is the new mother).

Scoop out the new mother (I believe it's called a scooby?) and throw out the old mother. Put new mother in a jar with a little bit of the kombucha.

Strain kombucha into a glass or ceramic container and flavour as desired...I just put some lemon slices in. Store in fridge.

Start again!

The entire process is quite disgusting but interesting. The fungus feeds on the caffiene and sugar. It's probiotic. I wouldn't drink it on an empty stomach because of the probiotics...

Anyway, there you go. Kombucha. I've currently got my second batch in the pantry, and will leave it a little longer this time. =D

Vegan pub food?

Bring it on.

Now I am aware that the last time I updated this it was December, and now it is May. I might be able to remember what we id in Melbourne last year but I won't hold my breath. I do have the photos of the food though so it'll hopefully jog my memory =D

There was beer. This was the Cornish Arms I believe. Walking distance from our friend's place. Score.

What's that? Vegan chicken parmagiana!? Ahahaha, it was pretty good. I can't compare it to a nonvegan parma because I've never had one.

Vegan steak and bacon sandwich. And more beer.

There's a vegan burrito as big as my head behind the vegan steak and bacon sandwich. It came with vegan sour cream and guacamole and it was pretty damn good. It had the usual bean chili filling but also chunks of gluteny fake meat goodness.

I remember a vegan chicken burger thing too but my photo is mighty blurry, and it was essentially the parma in a burger bun.

So much gluten. So much fake meat products. I feel the need to mention I don't usually eat faux meat products like this, partly because they are made of gluten and partly because they are expensive. And also, I don't feel the need to constantly recreate the meat I used to eat in the vegetables I eat now. Every now and then it's fun but it can get a little creepy. Like the vegan burger I tried to eat in Spain...it was too real. However while I prefer to eat naturally vegan foods like vegetables and beans and tofu, it's also excellent fun to go down to that place in the Valley and eat ALL the faux meat things!