I'm back in business! Well, the smoothie-making business. ;)
I had been drinking kefir smoothies every morning, but when I was expecting Ruth, "morning sickness" took over and suddenly even just the thought of another kefir smoothie made me sick!
[0]So, I decided to try dehydrating my kefir grains, so that I could save them for later. I rinsed the grains, laid them on a clean paper towel, and laid another paper towel lightly on top (to keep dust off). I put them (covered as described) on top of the fridge (for extra warmth, but not too much warmth). In a few days, they were small and hard and yellow. I put the dried grains in a small container, covered them with powdered milk, and snapped the lid on tight. I put the container in a dark cupboard.
A few weeks ago, I got out my dried grains. I first put them in a jar of room-temperature water for a couple of days. Then I drained them and started putting them in milk. I only used a small amount of milk (1/4 cup) at first, changing it once a day.
After about 2 weeks, the grains were making kefir again. Now those same grains have been re-hydrated for about 3 weeks, and I am using 2 cups of milk for them each day, which makes a nice thick kefir.
The children love smoothies, and we have been having fun trying different varieties with our kefir. :) Our favorite one is really just a simple strawberry banana kefir smoothie [0]. We like to drink our smoothies from these wine glasses, just for fun. We may as well enjoy our fancy glasses, right? ;) I do have to be careful to keep the glasses away from little fingers when we are washing dishes, though... :)
My grains seem to be thriving! I'm making about 2 cups of kefir each day, which is plenty for smoothies, fluffy kefir pancakes [0], and any other recipe that calls for buttermilk. ;)
I'd love to hear if any of my blog readers are making their own kefir! :) How much to you make each day, and what are your favorite uses for it? :)
If you're still wondering what kefir is, go here [0]. :) You can also read my instructions for making homemade kefir [0].