Kombucha

Kombucha. Yeah, I had to look it up... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha. Kombucha is a culture that is made into a tea or elixir and seems to pretty much cure anything from the common cold to underarm odor.

I try to buy the weird stuff at my local grocery store so they continue to stock off-beat stuff. So today I opted to try the GT's Organic Raw Kombucha Gingerade and Multi-green drinks. I have to say, they are pretty good. Only 60-70 calories in the whole bottle despite tasting sweet like soda. They're fizzy, too.

If you're not into buying experimental groceries...Tracy at Strawberry Hedgehog has an easy recipe for gingerade on her site. She also makes and sells AWESOME handmade vegan soaps.


I also made some 17 bean soup. Trader Joe's has a 17 bean dried soup mix that has a recipe on it, but you can usually find many bean soup mixes with the dried beans. Just remember that more than 239 beans and you'll be too-farty. Get it? It sounds funnier with an Irish accent...

Uh, the beans seem to have fallen to the bottom, but I assure you this is a hearty bean soup photo.

Many Bean Soup

2 cups mixed dried beans with similar cooking times, soaked
1 onion
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
2 small or one large potato (peeled or not, your call)
4 garlic cloves
1 can chopped tomatoes (big or small depending on how tomatoey you want your soup
1-2 Tbs thyme or Italian seasoning
1-3 tsp salt to taste
Olive oil for sauteing

Chop vegetables and saute in a little olive oil. Add beans, tomatoes, and seasoning and cover with 10 cups of water or broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer with lid partially covered on for about 1 and 1/2 hours. Test beans for doneness and adjust seasonings. You can puree part or all of the soup for a less brothy soup. I added a few dashes of Tabasco sauce before serving.

Today's cooking soundtrack is the Myths of the Near Future by the Klaxons. I saw them at Madison Square Garden in 2007 with Santogold when they opened for Bjork.