Beet Borscht Soup

Ingredients

Add to slow cooker on low setting overnight

1 32 oz container of turkey stock (can use any stock)
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup carrots sliced
4 small potatoes cubed
2 6oz cans of organic tomato paste
3 beets peeled and chopped
1/8 cup olive oil
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried parsley, basil, oregano
garnish fresh sour cream and chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Dairy and Grain Free Brownies

Please note, that I started off wanting to make these brownies from Elana's Pantry Website which look amazing.  http://www.elanaspantry.com/double-chocolate-walnut-brownies/

  I didn't have all of the ingredients so I improvised.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut flour

2 Tbsns Dark Dutch Cocoa Powder

1/2 tspn salt

1/2 tspn baking soda

2 eggs

1/2 cup Honey

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup dark dairy free chocolate chips

This is how it went...........

I mixed the dry coconut flour, baking soda, salt in a separate bowl.  Then I creamed the wet ingredients into a food processor and it's dough blade attachment.  The wet ingredients were 2 eggs, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup coconut oil, and added in the cocoa powder.  When that was finished, I added the dry ingredients into the food processor slowly.  I then folded in my walnuts and chocolate chips and poured into a greased pyrex glass loaf pan.  If you double the ingredients, you can use a larger pyrex dish and have more brownies.  Win/win!

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes but of course individual oven times may vary.

Let them choose the books

Dear Parents,

I found myself needing a reminder today!  Motivation most often happens intrinsically(from the inside).

When you are creating a lifelong reader in your child............ Let them choose the bedtime story.  You will not be sorry when you see their excitement.  Also, if they are easily excitable (like mine sometimes is) let them read to themselves at the end of the day.  Choose your own book that you like to read so they see you enjoying reading too.  Sit with them and read together.

Here is a great article from a teacher with great reasons to create child-centered learning in your home.

http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/top-5-reasons-to-let-kids-choose-their-own-books-2/

Happy Reading!

Monkey Nut Ice Cream

What equipment you will need:

Your Food Processor or Blender
Ice Cream Maker or Attachment for your Kitchen Aid

If you do not eat eggs for any reason, you may make a flax egg substitute for this recipe.  Here is a link to that:

http://www.food.com/recipe/flax-vegan-egg-substitute-104832


Ingredients:
1 can of coconut milk (equals about 1 cup unsweetened)
1 banana
2 eggs
2 Tbs Raw Organic Cane Sugar
2 Tbs Dark Dutch Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sliced Almonds
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (I made my own, see bottom of page)
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract


This recipe is so easy, just stick it all in your blender or food processor, blend it........... Then freeze in your Ice Cream Machine.

Dairy Free Chocolate Chips:

1 cup Dark Dutch Cocoa Powder
1 cup melted coconut oil
1 cup powdered sweetener (you can use raw organic sugar again, I used Xylitol)

Whisk these together and pour into a glass pyrex dish.  Put it in the freezer.  When it freezes just break it into chunks with a butter knife and bag them in a freezer bag.  You will have extra! :)

Sensory Learning Part Deux! Pink Martini and Play Doh

After yesterday's Opera and Garden Exploration, today we had Pink Martini and Play Doh.  I see Pink Martini as kind of the Worlds Fair of Music.  Perfect for Art!  

He started outside with a little of each color and then ended up inside when he was determined to sculpt the fish in our fish tank.  Big fun!  

Sensory Learning in your backyard! :)

This morning with our homemade touch table.  A radio flyer wagon filled with mud, water, sticks, and bath toys.
See activity at bottom of page.

In early childhood development, we time and time again visit the subject of sensory learning and how creating a learning environment that plays to the senses really enhances a child's learning.  They retain more information through their senses than they do through strict direct instruction.

There are multiple articles to reference this theory and I will list them below........... but also your own senses should tell you that it works for you too! Don't you wish employers spent time creating environments for workers the same way we work to create environments for children to learn?  What a life it would be!

Here is the Activity:

You want to make the start of a day big adventure.  Tell your child you are going to listen to some music and play outside.  Talk through what you are playing for them (what kind of music, jazz, rock and roll, classical etc.) and go to the outdoors!  Here is an opportunity to do Music appreciation and science all together.  Having a background in Music, this was an exciting idea for me.  This morning with my son, I told him "We are going to listen to some music, are you ready?" I put in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.  Research shows that Mozart is preferred by the listener because the chord progressions are predictable to the brain, however the only studies to link enrichment learning to classical music and Mozart, have shown a temporary jump in spatial reasoning tests. (See link below) If this is the case, I would think it would be perfect for outdoor sensory learning.  I feel another study coming on.

We went into the yard and filled watering cans to water the Garden, we raked, and we filled his wagon with water to use as an exploration table.  I let him choose what he wanted to put in the wagon.  He chose a couple of plastic toys and some natural world too.  He got some dirt, and some sticks and grass.  Our world is so full of plastic, that it seems a natural comparison for a child to make these days.  He stuck his hands in the muddy water and floated his plastic toys while listening to The entire Opera (which is a really long time).  He also detoured and found a caterpillar in the garden.  This was a beautiful green caterpillar looking for a place to cocoon.  We talked about the Little Einstein's video he has where the caterpillars migrate to Mexico.  Any connections to prior learning you can make are preferable and will enhance their experience.  A bee flew by and was studying the plants, so we talked about how he was looking for flowers to pollinate.

Here are some links:

http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/psychology/rauscher/Mozart%20and%20Mind.pdf


http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=227

http://shamslab.psych.ucla.edu/publications/tics2008-reprint.pdf

Professional development:

online course........   www.ascd.org/pdi/pd.html

Book..........  Multiple Intelligences, By Thomas Armstrong (I read the Second Edition)

Do we have a match?

I have repeatedly watched OPB with my son, and see this game everyday.  He loves it and talks to the TV.

If you haven't seen it, it's just a game on the TV that makes a picture when you complete a match.    I chose letters.  When you flip over two cards, you ask them..... "Do we have a match?"
The child says yes or no, and you confirm if their answer is correct and do it over.  If they make a match, leave it flipped over so they can see it for the next round.  When they flip the next set over, they can see if it meets the same criteria.  Mostly, are the pictures the same?  In my game, the pictures and colors match, and the letters are the same letter, but they are both upper and lower case versions of the letter.


  I started with A's, B's, and C's........

Here are some pictures of the cards used in my game.

I have him put them together when he has made a match.  These games are really fun but can only be done in short stints or your house will be a disaster (trust me).  I got these particular cards at TJMaxx for 3 dollars.  

Red, White, and Blue Pops! Happy Fourth!

Greek Yogurt White and Blue Pops :)

These popsicles were so easy........ 2 cups of plain greek yogurt, 1/2 cup or orange juice, and 1 cup of blueberries..... oh and 1/4 cup of sweetener.  I used Maple Syrup!  Stir and pour into your mold of choice.  I only made a few to test but they were delicious and festive.  My son loved them.

These Firecracker pops took a little longer to layer but they were delicious and simple.   First layer of red was 1 cup of strawberries and a quarter cup of maple syrup blended.    White layer was 1 cup of greek yogurt and 1/4 cup maple syrup with 1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut.  I used Bob's Red Mill coconut.  The last layer was 1 cup of blueberries with 1/4 maple syrup blended.

The consistency of your berries may vary, if you need to, add a little water for your puree if it needs more liquid or if you are using frozen berries.  Enjoy the process of using seasonal produce to fulfill your sweet-tooth and your nutritional needs :)

When removing the pops, I had to persuade them a little by running the outside of the mold under a little hot water to loosen it.  

Morning Oats

Refrigerator Oats:

1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup Rolled Oats

1 Tbsp Flax Seeds

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds 

(I used seeds from Bob's Red Mill)

Raisins

Coconut Milk (I used Vanilla So Delicious brand)

In 1/2 mason jar or any container that holds roughly 1 cup of contents, put in 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt.  Pour in your 1/4 cup of rolled oats on top, then a layer of flax seeds and Chia seeds.  Next layer your raisins on top, enough for roughly two row layers (helps sweeten the mixture a bit).  Then pour in your coconut milk till the jar line and screw on an airtight lid.  I use the regular mouth plastic lids by Ball.  Leave them to soak in the refrigerator overnight until the seeds plump and the oats "cook".  

It looks like the picture below in the morning.  Make sure you stir it well to have an even consistency.  You can sprinkle in some coconut, preserves, or additional dried fruit. 

Enjoy your healthy breakfast!

Turkey Nuggets

Here is what you need for Turkey Nuggets:

Organic Ground Turkey Meat

1 cup Rice Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

2tsp Italian Spices

Salt and Pepper

1 cup Olive Oil or egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsn water)

Preheat oven to broil on 375 degrees.  I put the rice flour in a shallow dish mixed with the Italian Spices.  Also put the Olive Oil in a shallow dish to prep for the breading on the nuggets. Take a small ball of turkey meat, then roll it first in the Olive Oil (I have had a little more crispiness with an egg wash), and then in the Rice Flour mixture.  Place the balls of turkey on the pan, and press down on them with a flat surface like a spatula.  Place nuggets in the oven for 15 minutes.  Test them at 15, and if not quite browned on the outside (they should be slightly crisp) then check every few minutes until they are done.  Make sure they have sauce!  I used some ranch dressing and a honey mustard.  Let your creativity kick in on this one.  

The Ninja Warrior

I call this smoothie "The Ninja Warrior"

The boys in my household love that show.  My son says "Climb!"  On days like today when he just can't stop eating......... I decided to feed him this:

Makes two smoothies

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup orange juice

2 Tbs whey powder or liquid whey

2 Tbs unsweetened shredded coconut flakes

1 Tbs Flax Seed Meal

Homemade Peppermint Extract

Homemade Peppermint Extract:

For all of those peppermint baking creations, toothpaste remedies, and I read bug repellent this morning.  :)  We are growing a ton of mint in our Garden ad this is one of the uses I have found.

Take 1/3 cup of chopped mint and put it in a half pint mason jar.
Pour 2/3 cup vodka (can be bottom shelf)  I went local Hood River Distillery ..........

You leave it sitting like this, shaking it a little once a week for about eight weeks.  The longer you leave it, the stronger the flavor.  The alcohol has to be at least 35% because it extracts the oils from the leaves.  

You can also use rum!  Enjoy your creations.  Could be a Holiday gift for loved ones if you put it in a pretty jar, or just find a great label for this jar.

Custard French Toast

I whisk the ingredients below, sprinkle them with cinnamon and nutmeg, and pour it over my bread in a pyrex dish.  I leave them to soak overnight, and then when I wake up they are ready to brown in a pan.  They are very dense, so they may same like they will take a while to cook even though they are already done.  Check the consistency all the way through, that is how you will know to eat it!

4 farm fresh eggs
1 cup milk
4 Tbspns Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt
Juice of 2 Lemons
Cinnamon and Nutmeg
Ends of Homemade bread or any french bread (4 large pieces or 8 small)

Today I harvested my first greens from the garden....... While my son played with his new digger toys in the yard from his #2 birthday, and my daughter rolled over for the first time ever. I was working in the Garden to get us some Kale, Swiss Chard, Collard Greens, Romaine, Chives, and Mint.  I made Orange and Chocolate Mint Kefir Water and I bagged up our goodies for the week.  I feel so blessed that our yard produced such healthy veggies for our nourishment.  Can't wait to enjoy our handwork!

Dinner in a hurry......

In my house there are no real food labels.  We are not gluten, or dairy free, we are not on the paleo plan, and we are not really vegetarians.  We eat healthy, wholesome food, and are learning and progressing with the rest of the population.  We get new information that is available all of the time.  We have researched Genotype eating, paleo, practice wholesome whole food eating, and ferment.  Cross-Cultured (no pun intended) I say.

Tonight I was in a hurry, I had a baby in one arm and a toddler at my feet and it was dinner time!
I had to think fast.  I googled traditional Mac and Cheese to please the toddler and ran with it.  I put about a 1/4 cup of coconut oil in the pan to melt on medium heat and start my sauce, and went to the pantry to find a thickening agent.  Because we are not perfect and transitioning our grains we still had all-purpose flour.  "Use it up!" I thought.  It is not very frugal minded to waste because you are moving on.  I whisked in 1/3 cup of flour into my coconut oil to thicken for the base of my cheese sauce.  I haven't experimented with coconut milk sauces yet, so I stuck with the whole(pasteurized not ultra-pasteurized) organic milk that we use for yogurt and my husband's occasional glass with dessert.  Three cups of milk whisked in slowly. I then grated one clove of garlic in the warm milk. OK here's where I added two cups of cubed very sharp cheddar Tillamook cheese.  When it melted, salt and pepper, chili powder, done.  I poured it over a pot of cooked organic penne with some frozen organic peas.  Didn't have breadcrumbs so I crushed some stale garlic croutons.  Being frugal here.  Voila!  Then slice some garden beets, Farmer's Market strawberries and plate it all.  Everyone happy!  :)

There is no such thing as teaching!

I received an email from my mom the other day.  She always sends me tidbits that she finds interesting and inspiring to read.  I love reading them because they spark lots of good conversation between the two of us.  She sent me this email, and what a risk to send to someone in the teaching profession without knowing their own philosophies on teaching.  :)  My mom knows me well, and was willing to take the risk.  Education is such a controversial topic these days and to think that there is no such thing as teaching could go right to the top of every one's "don't spend any more money on education list".  Here is the catch.......


My University where I received my Teaching Education was right in line with these thoughts and beliefs of "There is no such thing as teaching".  There are teachers, and there are students but no perfect method or one size all approach to being a conduit of information.  The Student learns the information through personal inquiry and through books and experimentation.  I was taught to create a learning environment.  There are many different methods of instruction to help construct that learning environment for every student.  The Teacher must have all of their goals and objectives for learning and methods for teaching in place.  They scout different learning styles of leaners so that they may gear instruction to those learners.  If the teacher is doing all of those things, here is the bald-face truth in life.  The old adage, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink"; applies here.   No matter how much work you put in, we are all creating learning and interest for children, and they are in charge of the results.  If we create these environments well and get them excited about learning, hopefully we have created lifelong learners.  Once they leave the classroom, they have to be excited about learning in the outside world.  There is no environmental control outside of the classroom.  So poke and prod and demean education, but also think: They have home and school to create these opportunities to love learning.  Extend and enrich their environment as much as you can, but they are in charge of their own learning.  


Here is what the subscribed for newsletter she received said:




"'There Is No Such Thing As Teaching'… I ran across the title quotation in a story told by Monty Roberts, the famous "horse whisperer," in which he recounts something he learned from his best teacher that he later applied to his work with horses. It's a rather shocking assertion to say that there is 'no such thing as teaching'… especially to those of us who have given our lives to the profession. Here is the full quotation in context…

Sister Agnes Patricia was the most influential teacher I ever knew. What I will always remember about her is her statement that there is no such thing as teaching — only learning. She believed that no teacher could ever teach anyone anything. Her task as a teacher was to create an environment in which the student can learn. Knowledge, she told us, standing very straight in her long black habit, her face framed by her white wimple, pointed at the top like the spire of a cathedral, needs to be pulled into the brain by the student, not pushed into it by the teacher. Knowledge is not to be forced on anyone. The brain has to be receptive, malleable, and most important, hungry for that knowledge.

"How closely related that is to some of the 'eternal verities' that guide Golden Apple's Inquiry Science Institute: 'Teaching and learning are not synonymous.' 'We can teach, and teach well, without having students learn.' 'Knowledge is seldom transferred intact from the mind of the teacher to the mind of the student.' 'Knowledge is CONSTRUCTED in the mind of the learner.'

"If these assertions are true, what's a teacher to do, particularly in the current high stakes test environment? One of the most difficult lessons for us to learn as teachers is to step back from being the asker of all questions and the font of all answers, and to let students explore, question, design, ponder, and grow in their own way and in their own time. To an extent, some of this is beyond our control, given the rigid testing schedules and prescribed curricula most teachers must follow. But there is always a significant portion of the classroom experience that is within our control, and that's where our professional responsibility kicks in. Because the struggle is more often with our own need to control and direct the learning process than with external directives. But when we can challenge that need in ourselves for the benefit of our students, something wonderful happens…

"A counter point is that everyone is a 'teacher' by how they live and what they communicate but it doesn't stop there for it must be converted to learning by hard thinking." – Paid-up subscriber JA

Strawberry Butter

Recipe:

1 pint strawberries
3 tbspns honey
2 tspns Orange Juice
3/4 cup Coconut Oil (melted)

Makes 2 half pint or 1 pint jar of Strawberry Butter.

I placed all ingredients into a container and used the handstick blender to incorporate them.  They blended nicely.  The coconut oil does set up in the fridge where you should store this but if you leave it out for a short amount of time it spreads nicely on warm homemade toast.  Enjoy!

How to make your own Yogurt

I make my own yogurt and save a ton of money.  Not only can I make batches of vanilla and add fruit or preserves, but I make refrigerator oats, yogurt cheese to spread on crackers, and I save the whey in ice cube trays for my son's smoothies.  In the future I hope to use this whey for the lacto-fermentation of garden vegetables.

I will reveal my own method that has been successful in making yogurt and accompany with some pictures.  I culture my yogurt in my crockpot that has a warm setting.  Withe the lid off and a couple inches of water the temperature stays pretty consistent at 110 degrees.

In a stainless steel pan I cook 3 cups of whole organic milk on medium.  Make sure your milk is non ultra-pasteurized.  You want to keep the beneficial properties of the milk in tact.  You are going to heat tis milk to 160 degrees to get it ready for your culture.

The milk will bubble at 160 degrees.

I use three half pint size mason jars.  Here I poured boiling water in them to sterilize them.

Add captionI use ball plastic lids for my mason jars when I make yogurt.  You can find them on Amazon and at www.culturesforhealth.com  I stick them in the water in my ceramic crockpot dish to sterilize and keep them clean before putting them on my jars.

You need a starter culture for your yogurt.  Lately I have been using a store bought one and getting a whole lot for my money when I make so many batches out of it.  I have been making greek yogurt.  If you want to know how to culture other varieties of yogurt, please visit the education section of cultures for health's website and watch their videos.  You can order starter cultures through cultures for health as well.

Your milk needs to cool from 160 to 110 before it is ready for your culture.  Once it gets to 115, I usually add 1/2 cup of powdered milk to keep the yogurt creamier.   Then I pour the milk halfway into each half-pint jar.  I add two tspns of yogurt from the starter container.  Then I pour the rest of the milk in each jar to fill it.  I usually leave an inch headspace.  If I want vanilla flavored yogurt I add two tsp's maple syrup and one tspn vanilla to each jar and stir very lightly to incorporate.  Then I dry the lids off and screw them onto the jars tightly to incubate.  I place the jars in the water in the crockpot like the picture below. 

I use a dymo brand label maker to place the date on my lids, so I know when the yogurt was made.

I hope you enjoy making your own yogurt.  It gets used so quickly in my household because we make refrigerator oats for breakfast.  I will post some really yummy refrigerator oats soon! :)

Coconut Lemon-butter Sea Scallops

I love this one-pot meal.  It is simple and quick for those night when you are scratching your head when they ask "What's for dinner?'  The best part is it still a delicate and delicious flavor that feels like a special occasion.

What you will need:

1 stainless steel pan
Sea Scallops (I used frozen Raw Sea Scallops)
Spinach
4 Tbsp Coconut Oil (I get mine at Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com) 
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Rosemary
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
I used stir fry noodles here, but I have also used organic semolina pasta before.

In the pan on Medium heat melt the 4 Tbsp of Coconut oil, add water and lemon juice.  Once they are incorporation place as many scallops are desired inside the sauce to cook.  I had to wait for my scallops to thaw a little and I started by sprinkling thyme over them lightly.

At this point I filled the pan up with Spinach to cook down.  You want the scallops to brown, so while they are simmering you can boil your pasta with a teeny bit of oil.  I used coconut oil.  This way it doesn't get sticky.  When you are done strain it and set it aside.

The spinach will create excess water in the pan as it simmers down.  I dumped a little out because the water evaporates but not at a rate that will help the oil brown your scallops.  Once your scallops have browned nicely, pour this mixture over your noodles and stir.  I sprinkled the finished product with some rosemary.  I liked the light herb mixture with the lemon and it didn't overpower the flavor of the oil and scallops, which both have a little sweetness to them.

Bon Apetit!

Spotlight on Dr Seuss

I thought I would take the time to highlight the very important Children's Author Dr Seuss.  It is true that I am two classes post graduate from a an endorsement in Reading, and that I find many reasons that his books build early reading skills in phonics, building vocabulary, and much more.   I am writing this post as a parent however and thought I would pay tribute to what it has done for my son to introduce him the the beginning readers before the age of two.  Lets review the imagination of Dr Seuss.

 Just a few of the books introduced before age 2......

and some good internet games at:
www.seussville.com

Dr. Seuss ABC's.........  I love that they mix upper case and lower case to help children identify uppercase and lowercase together.  I love the buzzy words that make the Alphabet fun.  My toddler says the letters on each page with me.  Some of them are hard, like X, and H, and W, but it's fun when we do it together.

      
The pictures are silly, and create character to the letters.  I like that they form complete sentences that start with each letter instead of one word.  Each sentence is vocabulary rich and doesn't give the child a memory of A is for Apple.  Well....."What else starts with A?" Names and people do too.

This book is so silly and thoughtful.  My son says "Think"!  It sounds like he's saying "Sink!"  The point of the book has however been reached.  There are so many Word families.  He got the -ink part.  There is also -eft, -op, -ink, -ight. 

When we get to this page, he says "Daddy!"  and points to the tall snuvs, and then he points to the little snuvs and says his own name.  What an imagination!

When we get to this page with the Rink Rinker Fink, he yells "Doggy!"

Then there are the sneaky vocabulary lessons placed in each book.  This one has taught him some household words.

He is not only learning the word family and sound for -amp, but also since reading the book,  he says "lamp!"

When we got to the Zlock, he learned the word "Clock!"

There are so many reasons why this collection of books introduced my child to a love for early reading, building new skills, and foster a vivid imagination!  I pay tribute to Dr. Seuss!

My Water Kefir

Water Kefir is a delicious way to get some of that good bacteria into your diet.  I have been brewing some water kefir throughout this spring from dehydrated grains.  So far I have gotten wonderful results.  There are many ways I would like to progress in the art of making kefir moving forward.  I have started with a basic method that I will share and with some tasty flavors that have been tested by myself and my husband. So far he doesn't mind.

This morning I awoke and had to change my batch to new sugar water.  I posted some videos of how to start from the beginning with dehydrated grains on my page, but here I will walk you through my own process with pictures.  The videos were made by a great company called Cultures for Health.  This is where I ordered my dehydrated grains:  www.culturesforhealth.com

This is what my beautiful kefir grain water looked like this morning.  The grains were in the bottom, and they had eaten all the sugar after 48 hours.  Time for a new batch!  Let me show you how it's done in my house.

We need supplies first.  I collected two extra quart mason jars and a strainer.  Make sure you sterilize your jars with some hot water.  You want to start with fresh sterilized jars when you are working with cultures. I got two because I need one for my water kefir that I am going to flavor and one for my new batch of sugar water to feed my kefir grains.

First I strain the sugar water batch that has fermented for 48 hours,.  I have the fermented sugar water in the jar to be flavored and the grains are in a strainer.  I have a stainless steel strainer pictured here.  The preferred strainer for kefir grains would actually be cloth mesh and they have them for sale at Cultures for health.

Here are the beautiful grains, they have been called many things in other cultures and the only one I seem to remember is Japanese Water Crystals.  They do look like water crystals.
I should add that the foreign object that is in there is in fact an eggshell.  After some research there are a few things I do to my water to make the mineral content high for the grains to eat.   There are other methods to getting this desired result once you get your feet wet.

Next I am picking a flavor for my batch that has finished its process.  I picked lemon and fig.  Mmmmm new recipe.   I am using 1/4 cup lemon juice and a handful of dried figs cut in half.  If you were doing lemon on it's own (which is delicious), you could use a full half cup of lemon juice.  I have tried a few I liked.  Lemon, Huckleberry, and dried pineapple (all separately) have been my favorite flavors.

Here are the lemon juice and the dried figs.

This is how it looks once in the jar, just put them in whole.

Lid on and give it a tip to incorporate your new flavor into your batch. This is going to sit for 24 hours to flavor.

I skipped a few pictures, but I will give the directions for your new sugar water.  You want 1/4 cup of high quality sugar with high mineral content.  I used this raw organic sugar, found at Costco.  You could also use or rapadura or molasses.  I boil my tap water to get rid of the chlorine content.  I use the warm water to dissolve the sugar and then fill the rest of the quart jar with cool water with about a 2 inch head space.  I then put in my grains, and secure the top with a coffee filter and a rubber band.  Set in a space out of direct sunlight and away from all other forming cultures at room temp for 24-48 hours.

This is what the color of my lemon and fig batch is after giving it another tip.  Happy brewing!  Feel free to contact me with any questions.