March | 2019 | Greenzonelife

Storing Water Kefir and Ginger Beer Plant

29 Mar 2019 Leave a comment

After consuming for a while water kefir and ginger beer, I decided to take a short break. So I put them in glass jars in their regular sugary water (500 ml water and one tablespoon of sugar (15 g) per 20 g of Water Kefir Grains / 500 ml water, 50 g of sugar and half a teaspoon of acidifier – I use lemon juice – for GBP) and place them in the fridge. They stood there for 25 days without any disturbance.

I decided to start to consume them again and I took them out of the fridge. They both look really good. I was worried that they did not make it, but they did.

Water Kefir Grains

Ginger Beer Plant (GBP)

To revive them a bit I made a more concentrated sugary water (250 ml water and one tablespoon of sugar (15 g) per 20 g of Water Kefir Grains / 250 ml water, two tablespoons of sugar (30 g) and half a teaspoon acidifier for GBP) and let them sit in it for 48 hours. After 48 hours I discarded the water and start the regular feeding.

From now on I know not to worry when I need to take a break form consuming them 🙂

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

27 Mar 2019 4 Comments

by greenzonelife in Mancare

Using the same foam (fat) from the milk

I made some chocolate ice cream.

Beat the foam until it looks like cream, it will not be that fluffy but still got a lot of air into it

Melt some dark chocolate

until fully melt, if needed add a bit of milk

And for extra darkness add some cocoa

Stir well and add the foam one spoon at a time, mixing well every time

When all the foam is mixed with the melted chocolate

Put it into ice cream molds and freeze it for few hours

Flavored coffee spread

26 Mar 2019 1 Comment

by greenzonelife in Mancare

After boiling the milk I put it in glass bottles in the fridge, but before putting it in the bottles I collect all the foam (fat) that has formed on top of the milk while cooling.

I use this to either make butter or different types of sweet spreads.

This time I made flavored coffee spread. I put the collected foam in a pan, added some sugar, not much, and few teaspoons of Irish Cream flavored instant coffee.

Give them all a short boil, it will quickly thicken. Put it while hot in a clean jar, let it cool and than store the spread in the fridge.

Use to flavor your coffee instead the usual coffee creamer, spread on pancakes or biscuits near your morning coffee, or just eat it with a spoon straight from the jar 🙂

We do not give up

18 Mar 2019 Leave a comment

by greenzonelife in Despre gaini si alte pasari

Our first experiment of hatching chicks has failed. Most certainly the eggs were not kept in proper conditions before we got them. They were not stored for becoming hatching eggs.

But we don’t give up. We search this time to find what kind of chicken is the most friendly of all and we found out that silkies are the ones for us. So we went to see some and to get some eggs.

They truly are the most friendly, docile and calm chickens I have ever seen, so they make a perfect pet – especially for children. They like human interaction, unlike other chickens. They love to sit in your lap, snuggling up close and piping quietly like trying to tell you a story.

They come in all colors, hope we got eggs from each of them 🙂

One stood in my lap for more than half an hour, just napping and piping, loving to to be pet. When I put her down she went straight to the coop, laid an egg and then came back for more love 🙂

They are so fluffy 🙂

Hopefully this time we will be more lucky.

Electrolytes for Chickens

14 Mar 2019 Leave a comment

by greenzonelife in Despre gaini si alte pasari

A good chicken health is what we want. To keep them healthy, some time our chickens need a bit of help. In special cases, like: weak chicks, dehydration, diarrhea, heat exhaustion, shipping or traveling stress or stress caused by a predator attack or injury, they need a special drink called electrolyte drink. Electrolytes are used to replace the lost of sodium, potassium and minerals in the body. They are also used to re-hydrate and re-balance the body’s pH levels.

It is easy to make it at home using ingredients from your kitchen, this way is always available when you need it. For the dry mixture you will need:

8 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon potassium chloride (salt without sodium)

Mix all the ingredients and store in an airtight container.

When it comes to use it, just dissolve 1,5 teaspoon to a liter of water and offer the drink to your chicks or adult chickens instead of water for few hours and then give them plain water again for few hours. Repeat the process until symptoms disappear.

In extreme cases you can dissolve 2 teaspoons of the electrolyte dry mixture into a cup of water and give to the affected chick or adult chicken by eyedropper a few drops at a time. Only use in cases of emergency and discard any unused drink solution. Always make a new drink every time you need it.