The Cultured Club

I’m experimenting with soaked flour baking hoping to make the goods more nutritious and digestible.
Whole grain flours have phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. When adding a soaking step to a recipe, a good amount of phytic acid is neutralized. The baking deactivates the most of the enzyme inhibitors. 👍
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With this batch of muffins, I soaked whole wheat flour with sourdough starter discard, and organic whole milk overnight on the counter. I added eggs, vanilla extract, butter, sugar, unsweetened shaved coconut, golden raisins, chopped pecans. Baked at 350° for 25 minutes.
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Happy with the way these came out. I’m thinking about going savory next batch with some garden kale, tomato, and cheddar. 😋
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Curious to know. What are you all baking these days?

Tepache is Mexico’s lightly fizzy pineapple fermented beverage. It’s wonderful and refreshing! Made from the fruit’s peel and core - reducing kitchen waste. It ferments quickly and in warm weather only takes a couple days to make.

Well, hello fermenty friends! I hope you’re doing well and that you’re not spending too much time contemplating the upside down of the world. If so, maybe you need a distraction - and I might have just the thing.

I’m doing a Beginner’s Kombucha demo and tasting at Camel’s Hump Farm & Nature Center in Bethlehem. PA on Sunday, April 19.
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It’s a conservative $25 fee for an hour and a half of fun and an opportunity to learn a rewarding skill.
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Hope to see you, and bring a friend - It’s so nice to meet people in real life instead of on a screen! …

It’s kombucha brew day here! Put a record on while I wait for my green tea concentrate to cool down and admiring the new tea I got for my birthday. Strawberry and Elderflower with hibiscus, rosehip, and licorice root. 🍓Sounds delicious, but did you know for SCOBY’s optimal health only plain, unflavored tea from the Camellia Sinesis plant should be used? Black, green, pu erh, white, yellow, or oolong. So, I decided to make a simple syrup with it to add for flavoring my kombucha in second fermentation. That’s gonna be goood! …

Control your own ingredients, improve your gut-health, and save $$ on your grocery bill. 👍
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Join me on Sunday, April 19th from 2-3:30p at in Bethlehem, PA for Kombucha 101: Brewing Basics
($25 + $10 for SCOBY starter culture)
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Fermenting on your own can feel overwhelming at first, but I got you friend. You’ll learn how to easily make delicious kombucha at home in less than 30 minutes a week. I’ll demonstrate the brew process step-by-step and answer your questions, giving you the confidence needed to make your own gut-healthy kombucha.
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Looking to improve your gut-health, reduce stress & anxiety, or save $$ on your grocery bill?
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Join me on Sunday, March 29th from 2-3:30p at in Bethlehem, PA for Kombucha 101: Brewing Basics
($25 + $10 for SCOBY starter culture)
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Fermenting on your own can feel overwhelming at first, but I got you friend. You’ll learn how to easily make delicious kombucha at home in less than 30 minutes a week. I’ll demonstrate the brew process step-by-step and answer your questions, giving you the confidence needed to make your own gut-healthy kombucha.
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It’s hard to believe this weekend marks two months post surgery. In late January, the day after MLK, Jr. Day, our youngest started complaining of a belly ache and didn’t want to go to school. My oldest felt fine, until I picked her up from rehearsal that evening. She skipped dinner and went right to her room where she vomited off-and-on throughout the night. Honestly, our family thought it was the norovirus and I too felt queasy all Tuesday night. Hubs and I juggled child care with work that week, but by Friday we decided to take both girls to Patient First before “Snowmaggedon” that weekend. Both girls came up negative for Strep, Covid, and Influenza. The doctor advised us to take Olivia to the ER right after our visit that day because she suspected there might be trouble with her appendix. We checked into the ER and turns out her appendix had likely burst Tuesday night. She was transferred to LV Reilly Children’s Hospital to the Pediatric ER for an emergency appendectomy that evening. I was a nervous wreck since the procedure took two hours longer than usual to clean up the mess created by her perforated appendix. It took a month of no

Although I wrangle bacteria daily, I’ve been thinking about the gut microbiome at lot more these past couple of months. Olivia had been put on antibiotics post surgery and then again after returning to the hospital a few days after being discharged. A virulent strain of e. coli bacteria was detected and another round of antiobiotics, stronger this time, was recommended by the infectious disease specialist. Our poor girl’s gut has been wiped out and I’m here to help it back in shape. She’s been on a regimine of kombucha, kefir milk, and her favorite fermented veggie - garlic dill carrots, Kimchi, and curtido.

It’s definitely nice to have a few ferments around with all the festive excess. Something acidic or pickled helps give contrast to all of the rich foods that are typically eaten during the holiday season. The benefit of making something fermented is that it also helps with digestion, adding to the diversity of bacteria in your gut. Join me at and learn how to make delicious ferments that also make beautiful gifts.

It was exciting to see students from my 101 class and meet new brewers to talk all things second fermentation at Kombucha 102: Beyond Basics . We discussed bottle + cap options and explored flavoring ideas to maximize taste and fizz. Cracked open some of my apple cinnamon, clementine basil, carrot apple, and strawberry for a little taste of summer. We also got to taste delicious orange blossom and tart cherry homebrew my student made. 😋And I got a pressie. I needed this tote bag. 😊 Looking forward to sharing FESTIVE FERMENTS that you can make for your holiday table or for gifts. Join me Wednesday, Dec 3 from 6-6:45p. Register for FREE at . libraryclass

Looking for a unique Girls Night or Couples’ Date Night? My private at-home Kombucha workshops are a great time! Invite your besties over for a cozy night-in enjoying your favorite snacks while you sample delicious kombucha home brews. Learn how to make kombucha confidently at home as I take you step-by-step - I’ll guide you through the basics of brewing and the benefits. Message me for booking info.