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8/25/2016

Making Kefir

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I got into kefir about a year ago when my husband was looking into alternative and natural types of workout supplements. At first I was pretty skeptical, but thought it could be a fun project for us. Steele ordered the kefir "grains" from a natural foods website and I made sure we were fully stocked on whole milk and the experiment began. It took several days and a lot of milk before the kefir grains activated, but we were finally in business. Steele, who firmly hates yogurt, took one taste of the kefir and said he would never drink it again. Even though Steele isn't a fan, I have kept our fridge loaded with kefir and the whole milk we need to make it for over a year now, and the only thing better than fresh coffee every morning is my kefir smoothie.

Getting Started

To make kefir, you will need to either start your own grains, or have a culture given to you by a friend.
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You will need to have a jar. As you can see, Steele and I use a 1.5 qt Ball mason jar that is blue, which isn't necessary. The size of your jar should reflect how much kefir you plan to go through. If you're just using a small amount per day, you will be fine with a quart or even a pint jar. If you use more kefir, a larger jar will be better. With the 1.5 quart jar, I could fill it up completely with milk and have a supply of kefir that would last several days. These are just things to think about. You can always change your jar size once you get a better idea of how much kefir you'll be going through.

Step 1. Put your kefir culture in the bottom of the clean jar. Our culture is large since we've had it for over a year. The culture will grow over time. Yours will start off small, unless you get a larger clump from a friend.






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Step 3. You don't want to use a normal canning jar lid for your kefir. Cheesecloth works best, but you can use a coffee filter just as easily. Secure it with your jar ring.

Step 4. Your milk and culture need to sit at room temperature in order to convert the milk into kefir. Depending on the amount of milk in our jar, it normally takes about 24 to 36 hours for ours to reach the consistency I like. It may take longer if you have a new or small culture. For consistency, you will want the kefir to be about the consistency of yogurt, if not a little thinner.
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Step 5. Straining. This is my setup. It's very important that you use a plastic, not metal, strainer. If you live in the middle of nowhere like I do, Dollar General carries these. It isn't the world's best strainer but it does the trick.




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The kefir will pass through the strainer, leaving your culture behind.
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Step 6. Pour your kefir into a jar for storage. At this point it needs to be refrigerated. Kefir also tastes much better when it's cold, so I don't often use freshly strained kefir unless I've had it stored in the fridge.

For storage jars, we use old pickle jars (after we get the pickle smell out of them). You can also use regular ball jars with canning lids. It's ok to use a metal lid at this point, as long as the kefir isn't coming into contact with it.
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Step 2. Fill the jar with as much milk as you'd like to use. This is a little less than I normally pour, but it was the last of our milk and now I need to go grocery shopping.

Milk. It is important what kind of milk you use. The best type of milk to use is goats milk, but cows milk works just as well and to many people, including myself, tastes better. After you decide what animal your milk comes from, here's what you need to consider:
Pasturization. Raw milk is the best. Low-heat pasturized is the next best. Unfortunately, unless you have access to raw or live close to an Amish community or dairy, most of what you find at the grocery will be ultra-pasturized. That's ok.
Fat Percentage.
You need to use whole milk.
Organic vs. Non-Organic. It's your preference on whether to use organic or regular milk. As you can see, I normally buy the Kroger whole milk, but County Market carries Organic Prairie Farms at some locations. Always try to choose a brand that supports local farmers. For Central Illinois, that would be Prairie Farms.
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This is what your kefir will look like when it's finished. You can see that it has thickened enough that the culture has moved to the top of the jar.

At this point, if I'm not ready or don't have time to strain the kefir, I will put the jar in the fridge. Putting the kefir and culture in the refrigerator will slow the process so that the kefir is not continuing to thicken.




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You will also need a bowl that's large enough to hold all your kefir, plus have a little space so your strainer doesn't end up sitting in it. This pitcher works perfectly for us. Trust me, you will want something that is spouted for when you pour the kefir. Again, don't use metal.

After you pour your kefir through the strainer, take some time to really wash your jar.

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Rinse your kefir culture of with some cold water. You can do this while it's still in the strainer, then move it to your clean jar.

And we're back at Step 1!





How to Use Kefir & Tips

Vacations. You may be processing your kefir every couple days or maybe even every day. If you're going to be out of town, don't worry. You can put your milk & kefir culture jar in the fridge at any point during the process to keep it from thickening into kefir. Once you get home, just move the jar back to the counter top at room temperature and you're back in business!
Uses. I use kefir for all the same uses as yogurt... it's just a lot healthier for you! I love using kefir in breakfast smoothies, as a yogurt substitute on granola or cereal, and I even mix it with my dehydrated face masks!
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Breakfast smoothie:
Kefir
Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Peaches
Frozen Blueberries
Local honey
Flax grains
Oatmeal
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Tip: Take advantage of the season's bounty. While local fruit is in season, individually freeze it on a cookie sheet. Amount of time needed in the freezer varies by size and fruit. Once it's completely frozen, move the fruit into a freezer Ziplock. Now you have local, flavor-packed fruit all year round and it's so easy to grab just a few berries or handful for your morning smoothies!

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8/18/2016

2016 Winter Squash & Pumpkins

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    We have been incredibly lucky this year to have such a tremendous harvest of winter squash and cooking pumpkins. We face our fair share of challenges by growing with organic practices. Certain pests and diseases remain a problem year after year, but we continue to mature as a farm each season to try and combat these issues, one at a time.
    This season the bulk of our cucumber, summer squash, zucchini, winter (fall) squash and cooking pumpkins were located at our satellite garden, just 3 miles from the main farm. This garden has a wonderful build-up of organic matter, and has been managed organically by the family who owns the farm.  Nestled between several large barns and machine sheds, and protected by a meandering creek with towering trees, this small garden continues to out-perform our main farm, in terms of square feet. All these factors, combined with a long-term crop rotation plan, allowed our winter squash to mature past their most vulnerable growth stage before cucumber beetles and squash bugs blew into the garden and started doing damage.
    So folks, without further ado, here is our lineup of winter squash and cooking pumpkin varieties for the 2016 season.

Winter Squash

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Variety: Delicata
Serving Size: 1-2
Best Use: Delicata is the only winter squash that can be eaten with the skin on. Also known as sweet potato squash, because the flesh is so sweet!

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Variety: Zucchino Rampicante, Heirloom
Serving Size: 4-10 (size varies)
Best Use: We love this squash because the young fruit can be used as a wonderfully flavored zucchini, and the mature fruit tastes just as great as a winter squash. The Italians use this squash for stuffing in gnocchi and ravioli, but it works just as well in soups or baking.
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Type: Acorn
Variety: Sweet REBA
Serving Size: 1-2
Best Use: Like most other fall squash, this mild-flavored squash is great when baked with some butter and brown sugar.

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Type: Hubbard
Variety: Baby Blue Hubbard
Serving Size: 8
Best Use: This variety is both ugly and beautiful, with it's bumpy, odd shape and gorgeous blue-grey coloration. The flesh is orange and sweet tasting, great for baking and soups. Can be cut into wedges for easier baking and serving.


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Variety: Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash, Heirloom
Serving Size: 4-6
Best Use: This winter squash resembles a butternut squash with a long neck, thus the nickname "neck pumpkin". It is a favorite in Amish communities for use in pies and desserts.
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Type: Butternut
Variety: Honeynut, miniature
Serving Size: 1-2
Best Use: A yellowish-tan when ripe, butternut squash has a unique orange flesh. This variety is miniature and and be prepared like an acorn squash.
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Variety: Spaghetti
Serving Size: 2-6 (size varies)
Best Use: Unlike other winter squash, the flesh of this variety is stringy when cooked, with the strings being the size and consistency of spaghetti. You can use it as a substitute for pasta, or make a more winter-squash type dish with the cooked noodles.


Cooking Pumpkins

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Type: Pie
Variety: New England Pie, Heirloom
Best Use: Nearly stringless flesh gives a great thick consistency for pies. Sweet flesh.


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Type: Pie
Variety: Long Pie, Heirloom
Best Use: Considered the best pie pumpkin for cooking by our supplier, High Mowing Organic Seeds. Stringless flesh, with a green exterior that will ripen to orange in storage. Also known as Nantucket Pie.

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8/1/2016

2016 Cherry Tomatoes

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With so many different varieties of tomatoes, it can sometimes be difficult to keep them all straight. This year we have 4 varieties of cherry tomatoes. Here's an easy guide to help you remember your favorite...
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Variety: Gold Nugget
Type: Heirloom Orange Cherry
Description: Not to be confused with Esterina, Gold Nugget is more pear-shaped and has a lower acid content. We have been growing Gold Nugget since 2014, but this variety may be on the chopping block for 2017.
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Variety: Black Cherry
Type: Heirloom Black Cherry
Description: These almost grape-sized cherry tomatoes have wonderful flavor and are a favorite among our CSA members and customers alike.
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Variety: Esterina F1
Type: Orange Cherry
Description: A delicious orange cherry hybrid with wonderful acid and flavor. A great producer for us!



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Variety: Bing
Type: Red Cherry
Description: Frustrations at the beginning of the season with splitting gave way to obsession as these wonderful small red cherries really started producing. Great flavor!

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    About the Farmer

    Andrea is a 5th generation Illinois farmer and owner/operator of August Creek Farm.

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