Kombucha Experiment, Vegan Planet, and New Culinary Experiences

I’ve had a few firsts in the last few weeks.

My first pizza crust.

Followed shortly by my first homemade vegan pizza.

The crust was lumpy. I need more practice.

This wasn’t the first time I toasted pecans, but it was the first time I toasted them so thoroughly. I swear I was following the directions to the letter, but something went wrong. Obviously.

And my first vegan French toast. Messy to cook but not bad to eat. Papa Miao enjoyed it.

I’ve been making a lot of recipes from Vegan Planet. It was the first cookbook I ever bought. I got it when I first started grad school and lived in an apartment with my own kitchen. I had grand plans for cooking delicious vegan feasts but really all I ate was oatmeal, bread from the Italian grocery on the corner, and fruit. And Clif bars. And chocolate. And… My cookbook sat sadly neglected for years, until I finally dusted it off a couple months ago and discovered that it is full of easy and delicious recipes. I have been working through the breakfast recipes for Papa Miao on the weekends, but the soups are proving delightful too.

I also started my Kombucha Experiment today. I really can’t imagine it failing, but I suppose I ought to prepare for the worst. I am growing my own mushroom from store-bought kombucha. I started it like any regular batch of kombucha (black tea sugar water), and then I added four cups of my favorite brand of original, unflavored kombucha. There were nice strands of culture in both bottles and I am hoping that they gorge themselves on the sugar and tea and grow very plump. Since the jar I used is rather large (a gallon) I am expecting it may take a while for a full mushroom to grow. Once the water level is significantly lower, I will add more sugar/tea brew to feed it. Then I will compare my two strains of kombucha. It will require quite a bit more kitchen space to maintain two separate kombucha families. If my kombucha experiment is successful, I will call it Kombucha Ex Machina and it will save the world.

So that’s my plan. My other plan is to set up my light box and take food photos.