I'm a free "booch" baby

I cant say for certain what she has in that cup, but I have it on good authority that she is enjoying a nice cup of kombucha.  On who's authority you ask?  Well lets just stick to business here, and let me worry about where I get my information.  Hey, if its good for Gaga,.. it is indeed something I am interested in.  Yes, this once-former-80's-metal-head-turned-Miami-Vice-wanna-be-Cure-goth-loving-Grateful-Deadhead-meat-eater-turned-vegan-grande-triple-latte-drinking-evolved-to-oolong-sipping-consumer is brewing da booch.  Let the good times roll.

So booch and I go way back.  I mean waaaaaaaaay back, like we are talking MONTHS!!! Ok, not so way back then.  The first time I ever heard about this was from a small place in Northside call Picnic and Pantry. They told me about something call Fab Ferments.  A local kombucha brew.  Whats that (i ask)? She told me it was a fermented tea that tasted like vinegar (that's what SHE said).  At $4 a bottle, I had no choice but to get one.  So I did.  I brought it home, looked at it in the fridge for a few days.  Then one evening when no one was home, I cracked open the bottle, and drank it down. It was an odd mixture of grape flavor, and fizzy vinegary taste, but it was enjoyable.  Afterwards, I sat back, and waited for it to happen. Wasnt sure what would happen, but I suspected visions, colors, trails, and general euphoria.  After a few hours, I decided this wasnt going to happen, but as odd as it was, I was craving it a week later.

My wife noted that at $4 a bottle, I had better learn how to make my own, as I probably wont be drinking many at that price.  Thats about the time I started twittering around, and came across this unasuming lady.  Meet my new booch mama. Hannah Crum.  She is in no way related to that somewhat famous Bulgarian Quiddich Seeker Viktor Krum.  Well I assume she isn't.  I'll leave that for her to clarify.  They do look awfully cute together though. And you should treat yourself to some of her work, she is a quite an accomplished linguist and actor. 我跳舞的时候你可以照顾我的猫五分钟吗 Hmmm,... but I digress.

To make a long story short (hahaha, I never do) and following my normal mode of operation (act first, inquire later), I started looking around to see what I need to brew my own.  I still didnt know what it was I would be making, but that never stopped me before.  Remember my "going vegan" story? Yeah, I went vegan before I knew what it meant, so this must be easy peasy.

So Hannah hooks our little club up with some scobies and other wares.  Oh, by "club" I mean: @vegangoodthings @slc_vgn @monkandmao @cookinvegan and myself of course.  (we are the fab 5). Oh and by "scoby", I mean a "Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast". Ok, dont ask, I have no clue what that means.  I know it looks like a slimy pancake, and it is what makes your otherwise sweet-tea, kombucha.

I found a nice little martini pitcher to hold my scoby, until I knew what to do.  I searched all over the house for something to brew in, but ended up going to Target to find a nice home for my brew ($20).  And brewing was a snap.  If you can boil water, you can booch.  Although with all of the questions I post on twitter, my tweeps may assume otherwise.


So here is my scoby hanging out in a nice sweet tea, just waiting to be set aside and left alone.  I admit, I have had this overwhelming urge to poke this scoby, but I have been convinced by our club to leave this be.  Its very tough for me to leave it alone.  We have grown quite fond of each other.

So now I resist the urge, I cover it up, and find a nice place to hide it.  Now we havent even gotten to bottling.  I've no idea what to do there, but I'll surely panic, email and tweet the KClub, but before long, I'm sure I will figure that out too.  In the meantime, I leave it in its nice cozy spot.  Stay tuned for bottling updates.  I'm thinking of some flavors for now.  We'll see how it pans out:

• Vegan Reuben Booch
• Potatoe and Leek Booch
• Hooch Booch (Kentucky Bourbon)
• Smart Dog w/ Vegan Chili Booch
• Garlic Hummus Booch

Maybe I better Google,.. or better yet, HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing strange going on here. Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!