Let’s toast the new year with bubbly milk

Dawn points, and another day
Prepares for heat and silence. Out at sea the dawn wind
Wrinkles and slides. I am here
Or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning.
T.S. Eliot

I don’t remember ever being so glad to say goodbye to a year. Let 2009 be over, and let the bells ring in a brave new year. Last year at this time, we had just postponed our flight back home to Italy, our possessions had been in storage for nearly a year, we were moving into yet another furnished condo, and our business was weeks away from failure. I guess anyone but I could have seen disaster in the wings.

Now we are comfortably settled and moved in, we have a huge yard and chickens and goats, Tony has a real job, and I’m finally getting better.

To celebrate the new year, we finally got kefir again. Kefir. It’s origins are shrouded in the mystery of the far-distant past. When my brother Benjamin tasted it, he pronounced it identical to the fermented mare’s milk he’d had in Mongolia. The grains that produce it are small white gelatinous cauliflower-looking things. Some claim they were a gift from God to Muhammad. Others say that kefir grains are the manna of the Bible. Whatever they are, when left in milk (preferably fresh, raw milk) they produce a sour, slightly fizzy thickened drink. It goes nicely in smoothies, makes a fine substitute for buttermilk, and can even be used to make cheese and sourdough bread. Yummy.

One thought on “Let’s toast the new year with bubbly milk

  • January 6, 2010 at 12:29 pm
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    Isn't life great. Though difficult at times what really remains is our faith and love for our Heavenly Father, family, and just life. Love to you all Aunt Debra

    Reply

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