Little notes that made my day

Here's one of them....

My elder one loves to scribble. I would find small notes in her bag or pencil case. I let her pack her own bag normally, but occasionally, I'll do spot check. And there's where I found many post-it notes sizes of notes, drawings, scribblings, etc.

Recently, I also saw a sorry-note from her to Daddy on her desk, for being naughty. I believe Hubby's heart melt too after seeing it, especially after he's given her a good scolding. It's amazing how kids her age are so creative and innocent. I really love this child of mine, she can melt my heart and make my days much brighter.

The Amazing Wonders of Kefir

I was first introduced to Kefir (pronouced as in keh, in kettle, and fear) by a dear friend, who not only shared with me the ways of making it, but also gave me a bottle with fresh kefir grains inside as the starter. This special friend has a way with home-made stuffs, and I can't stop feeling grateful for all the wonderful tips she has shared with me.


I don't plan to list down all the benefits of kefir here, or it'll fill up my whole post. You can easily google about it, and I can safely sum it up as - it has everything to make a person healthy. Its main players are the probiotics, which are five times more than yoghurt, so this beverage is certainly a good candidate to clean the intestines and boost the immune system. Apart from that, it is also claimed that kefir helps to relieve skin disorders and sinus problem. I was probably more intrigued with its ability to treat gastritis, ADHD, and those recovering from a serious illness like cancer, AIDS or being treated with antibiotics. And the best thing of all is that it's suitable for all ages.


What's more amazing is that, despite it being made with milk, it's also suitable for those who are lactose intolerant. Surprised? Yes, due to the fermentation process, it is already predigested, that's why.


Kefir has a pH of about 4.0 and due to its acidic nature, it tends to react with various metal, so try not to use metal or stainless steel products to strain, stir or store Kefir.


Making Kefir is really easy and does not require any machine whatsoever. Here is the Kefir kick start instruction provided by PS to me:


What is needed? 
- Glass bottles (1 bottle for brewing and 1 for storing the strained Kefir)
- Nylon or plastic strainer
- Plastic or wooden chopstick (for stirring)
- Handkerchief or cloth to cover the bottle, and a rubber band to secure the cloth
- Fresh milk and Kefir Grains (1 Tbs of milk kefir grains (which look like cauliflowers) is enough to brew 1 cup (0.25L) of fresh milk)


Brewing Instructions 
- Add the right amount of Kefir grains and fresh milk into a clean bottle.
- Cover with cloth or hanky and secure with rubber band to keep out the crawlies.
- Let the mixture sit on the counter top, away from the sunlight.
- After 24 hours or less (~15-18 hours), the milk will turn sour with curd and whey (clear yellowish liquid), indicating that it is ready for harvest.
- Stir to mix the curd and whey before straining. Strain the ready Kefir with the nylon strainer into a glass bottle and store in the fridge.
- It is ready for consumption.
- Measure the strained Kefir Grains to get the right amount and put it back into the glass bottle with fresh milk to make a new batch and keep repeating the process.


If you did not get curd and whey after 24 hours (meaning it is still water sour milk) strain it anyway, and throw away the milk and repeat the above process for another 24 hours or less until you get curd and whey. 


Caution: Kefir brewed less than 12 hours is known to have a milk laxative effect and kefir brewed more than 48 hours may cause constipation. 

My Kefir bottles - ready for consumption!

Initially, I noticed that after taking the Kefir for a few days, I experienced not-so-smooth bowel movement. Maybe I brewed it too long, so I shorten it to a 12-hour cycle (before this was normally 24-hours). Well, it didn't really improved, so I stopped for a few days, and even weeks. I recently started consuming it again, and I didn't have such problem anymore. Not too sure why myself :)


One good thing about this Kefir-making is that when we're bored, we can take a break. However, we still need to feed the Kefir grains, if we plan to make them again next time. I personally like the Kefir grains better than the liquid itself. The texture is rather nice to chew on, springy a little.



Taking a Break (Storage) 
To take a break from brewing, store the grains in the fridge as follows: 


Milk grains - cover grains with milk (50:50 ratio) and store in a glass bottle with lid. They can be kept in this manner for a week, then take them out for milk change. 
Brew as normal on counter top. You may drink the strained kefir. 


Please note that for prolonged cold storage of grains may weaken your grains eventually. So, be diligent and brew regularly if not daily. Brew only to the amount you need daily. That way, your grains get the food daily. 


For more information on Kefir, here are some good websites for your reading pleasure: 

http://www.kefir.org/kefir_manual.htm
http://www.helladelicious.com/our-food/2011/01/the-amazing-health-benefits-of-kefir/
http://www.yourkefirsource.com
http://mykefirworld.com/#/kefir-health-benefits/4542665251

The Struggle Within

There are times when I felt like giving up, especially when I kept stumbling and no help came. There were also times when I couldn't help questioning Him, why do I have to go thru all these. Well, this morning, I got my answers.

"There's a fire, and the father, mother, child and servant quickly evacuate the house. However, the child got frantic and suddenly ran up the stairs. He was too scared until he lost his mind, and didn't know what to do. Right then, his father asked him to jump down the window. He told him, "Dad, I can't see you. How can I jump?" His father answered him, "Child, you can't see me, but I can see you. Just jump, and I'll catch you."

That's how our new priest started the Mass today, and even though I didn't really understand the 'whys',  at least I didn't feel so rotten inside now. He ended his sermon with this inspirational video, which I would like to share here. Hopefully it'll serve as a reminder to myself, that no matter how painful the experience is, I'll never quit but finish the race. With Him, all things are possible.

I'm starting to get the hang of it!

Not long after I blogged about my bread story, I made it! I followed PS's advice and viola! It's crunchy instead of hard, and the texture inside was nice to chew too. Both my girls gave their thumbs up, and kept getting several helpings at one go. 

What did I do this time? Well, it's based on the 2nd batch of dough that I made, but this time I expedited the 2nd part and prevented the flour from getting into the filling or inside of the dough, as advised by PS. Thanks a lot, pal! :)

The only downside to this was that it would not be as cruncy or nice to chew the following day. Baking it for 10 minutes solved the problem, but still it couldn't last very long. So I still couldn't bring to office for my breakfast. Maybe I should get the bread machine after all....

My first few attempts at breads

Nay, I'm not sharing any success stories here. But it's still a fun past time and I'll definitely try again.

I've been diligently collecting points to redeem a breadmaker for years. Then PS shared with me a quick and easy way to make Artisan Bread, so I decided to give it a try. What intrigued me the most is that it doesn't require any kneading at all, unlike those traditional home-made bread. 

My first batch turned out rather saltish. I guess I used the wrong type of salt, which was the coarsest that I could find.  

The 2nd attempt, I used normal salt and reduced it to less than 1 Tbs. It turned out rather mild, but because I wrapped some meat floss in it, its taste was rather nice. Still, I was not satisfied with the texture. Not as soft as I imagined, and the crust was a little too hard.

Hopefully I will have better bread result next round...