Kefir

Last week I mentioned my new found love of Mason jars and that I store my kefir in a mason jar.  Well this prompted the question: "what is kefir?"  The short answer is kefir is a pro-biotic.  It is a fermented milk product that is similar to yogurt.  You can find commercial kefir smoothies next to the yogurt at the grocery store.  Kefir uses a different type of culture to ferment the milk than yogurt does.  Yogurt uses only bacteria (primarily lactobacillus) while kefir uses bacteria and yeast.   You are probably familiar with the texture of yogurt, whereas kefir is more of a thick liquid vs. the gel-like consistency of yogurt.
There are many health benefits of probiotics including kefir.  To read more about the health benefits of milk kefir, click here.
You can purchase commercial kefir smoothies, but they are not cheap.  Making your own kefir is cheap and easy- especially if someone gives you the kefir grains to start with.  (If you are in the Atlanta area and want some I would be happy to share.)  You could also purchase a kefir culture starter.
I received my kefir grains from a friend.  Here are what the grains look like.

I make milk kefir with raw milk, but you could also use pasteurized milk or make water kefir.
The process is simple.  Place your grains in a mason jar and cover with milk.  I cover my jar with a coffee filter and rubber band to allow it to "breath" (ferment would be the technical term) and allow the CO2 gas to escape.  

I culture mine every 24 hours (every evening), which means that every evening I strain (using a nylon strainer) the kefir into a second mason jar that is stored in the fridge.  You could culture it longer, but the longer you leave it the more sour the taste.

Kefir does have a bit more of a sour taste than yogurt.  Although I'm sure some people drink it straight, I find that gross.  I mainly use my kefir to make smoothies although I do soak some of my grains with a little bit of kefir as well.  
Kefir Smoothies: 1/2 cup kefir 1/2 cup frozen berries 1/2 banana 1 Tbls coconut oil (must be melted)

I love my magic bullet

Toss everything into a blender and enjoy!!
I admit that kefir is a pretty new endeavor here in the Team Bowen household.  I've just been doing it for a few months.  If you make kefir as well, I would love to hear from you and hear about any ways you use your kefir!
 
 

Santa Pictures

The big question in our house this year was what do we do about Santa pictures?  Not to sound like a grinch, but quite honestly I had no desire to take Phoebe to get pictures with Santa.  I'm not anti-Santa; frankly I just didn't want to pay for it.  Second of all, I didn't want to go to the mall and deal with the hassle and lines.  Third of all, we did get a Santa picture last year, so I was afraid that if I got one this year I would set a precedent of yearly Santa photos. I didn't want to feel obligated to shell out the cash and stand in line EVERY year to get pictures with Santa.  Is that bad?

Well every year our RUF group has a tacky Christmas sweater party.  This year was no exception.  However, this year one of the students dressed up as Santa AND he looked amazing.  Really, I think he looked better than the Santa we paid to get a picture with last year.  Another student dressed up as Mrs. Claus, and then a third student who is a photography major set-up a photo booth to take pictures with Mr. & Mrs. Claus!  Jackpot!

I was thrilled.  Phoebe, however, did not share in my excitement.  When we first got to the party, Phoebe had a pretty significant breakdown when she saw Santa.  I have never seen her so upset and clingy.  Poor girl was petrified.  At first she wouldn't even look at Santa but then when she finally did she wouldn't take her eyes off of him just to make sure he wasn't coming too close.  Even when Santa was out of the room it took her about 20 minutes to venture one step away from me.  Throughout the evening I kept trying to introduce her to Santa and have her wave or give him a high five while I was still holding her.  She wouldn't have anything to do with him.

So at that point I did what any loving and compassionate mother would do: I threw my petrified child into Santa's arms.  What?  You wouldn't have done the same thing?  Well you can judge me later.

I admit that I think these pictures are pretty hilarious.  Totally worth the trauma and the counseling we will have to pay for later in life.

I tried again one more time before we left...  The final picture was a little bit more successful.

She did a little better for pictures with Mama.

(please ignore the double chin)

Oh yeah, did I mention I dressed up as an elf?  I was feeling a little lame for not dressing up at the Halloween party.

You might not know this, Santa and the Mrs. don't like to talk about it a lot, but they have been struggling to have a baby for years.  I graciously agreed to surrogate a child for them.  Don't they look thrilled?


Did you get Santa pictures as a child?  If so, do you go back and look at them or have them all up somewhere?  If you have children do you take them to get take their picture with Santa every year?

fridays letters

Dear Week, I am so glad you are almost over.  You have been incredibly busy- today and tomorrow aren't looking much better.  Sunday please come soon so I can rest!
Dear Matt and Courtney, Y'all are awesome!  Thanks so much for everything!  We really appreciate it.
Dear Chris, I'm proud of you.  It was fun to see you in your element.  Oh, and thanks for being so thoughtful and remembering that I had wanted to see Hope Springs several months ago.  Even though it was not at all what I was expecting (it's no It's Complicated) I appreciate you picking it up from the RedBox for me.
Dear Elf for Health Challenge, I started off doing pretty well this week, but admit that I have failed the challenges the last couple days. Hoping to get out with some friends to "hike"the mountain today.
Dear Bed, I miss you.  We have not spent nearly enough time together this week.  Hoping we can make up for lost time soon.
Dear everyone who decided to have their baby on 12/12/12, Congrats.  I'm glad I was off on Wednesday.  Yes, that was a conscious decision.

Mason Jars

I have been mildly obsessed with mason jars lately.  

No, I do not do any canning or pickling.  (Although I would if I ever could grow a successful garden.)  I simply like to use them for storage.  I've started buying a lot of my nuts and seeds in bulk at the DeKalb Farmer's Market, which is a great cost-effective option.  However, you bring them home in these little tie-top bags that are not great for long-term storage or keeping things fresh.  Well pop those nuts, oatmeal, flour etc. into a mason jar with a and your pantry look more organized and you won't be digging through baggies to find what you are looking for.  It is fabulous.

I also store my kefir in a mason jar in the fridge and sucant and real salt in a mason jar, which we buy in bulk with several other families.

I had never really used mason jars for much of anything before this past summer.  My in-laws were in the process of cleaning out Chris' great-grandmother's house in order to settle the estate.  Apparently she (as well as the most recent resident) was a bit of a pack-rat.  In addition to years and years of old newspapers, she had tons (and I mean tons) of old mason jars.   I took several with the thought that I could use them for flowers or other decorations/centerpieces for showers/parties etc.  Well I soon found more practical storage uses for them around the house and was going back for more! In addition to food storage, I have used them for flower arrangements.  Oh, and I love the idea of putting fresh cranberries in your flowers as a festive way to add color to the vase.

Last fall at one of the artist markets at the outdoor farmer's market I saw Mason jar soap pumps that I loved!  I had been wanting a new soap pump for our powder room to replace the .99 disposable one that we have been re-filling for years and immediately knew that was what I wanted.  My handy-dandy (and apparently crafty) husband refused to pay for one but agreed to make one for me.  Fabulous, another use for our growing mason jar collection.  I would have needed pinterest or some DIY blog to give me the step by step instruction, but it was actually pretty simple and Chris figured out how to make them on his own.

The first several turned out great!  I have one in our powder room, one housing my dish soap by the kitchen sink, and one that will be filled up with soap in our bathroom shortly.

Since then we've (yes, this is so simple that even I can make them) made several as gifts.  I happen to like the plain and simple mason jar look, but there are plenty of ways to dress up your mason jar soap dispenser if you are looking for some flair.
And my new favorite idea for mason jars comes from Lauren at Choosing Joy.  She posted last week about a DIY Anthropologie Winter Snow Globe that is AMAZING!  Seriously, I am so excited to go try this one out!  They are adorable...AND its in a mason jar!!!
What other great uses have you found for mason jars?