Morphine - errr... cheese, anyone?

I love cheese. I could live off cheese. I know people who love cheese as much as I do (well, close - no one could love cheese as much as I do). Arguably, this isn't health for you (me). Arguably, cheese contains a lot of fat. Not arguable. At all. Cheese DOES. I don't have to tell you that... the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in cheese is actually unnerving! I blame this on my cows being fed processed foods.

After researching cheese addiction, I found that there are MANY folk among us that have my very same problem! Have you ever heard of Casomorphins? Me, either.. However, when cheese is digested, this is basically the byproduct. Dating back to the 1980s, cheese contained traces of morphine - this opiate is apparently also in cow milk! APPARENTLY.


Now, if you are interested in all the scientific details, Care2 has more information for you!


As we all know, opiates have a high addiction rate. With that being said, I have a dairy-crack addiction. That's right. My name is Michelle, and I'm addicted to Cheese. There - I said it! Subconciously, it makes me feel goooooood. And I am in love. I exercise so this counteracts the heart-attack-diet I currently have.. maybe.... So, my addiction to cheese is similar to my addiction to chocolate - both release your "feel good" hormones in your brain so you would literally have to ween yourself off just like a drug. This actually makes me laugh because drugs are illegal :)

Ok - so the based purpose of me even researching this was because a friend of mine came over to my house on Sunday. To watch football. Then accused me of having a cheese-drawer. I DO not. I have an extra drawer in my fridge that holds all the little "extra" food items that don't need to be floating all around the shelves. I don't like clutter. Now... if most of these items just happen to be cheese at the moment, that's OK. My drawer is used for more than cheese. I it also has sandwich 'stuff' in it.

See? Don't judge me.

Kombucha SCOBY - what IS it?

First and foremost, this has been an interesting experience and I have only been in possession of my "mother" for 12 whole days..

Secondly, I will say my sister thinks this is absolutely disgusting! LOL!

I was browsing the "free " section on Craigslist and someone posted "Free Kombucha Scoby". I thought to myself, what on EARTH is that...

So I googled it! What I found was intriguing and sort of turned my stomach, all at the same time..

What IS Kombucha, though... really.. So, straight from Wikipedia, here it is:

The kombucha culture is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, comprising Acetobacter (a genus of acetic acid bacteria) and one or more yeasts. In Chinese, this microbial culture is called haomo, or jiaomu in Mandarin, (Chinese: 酵母; literally meaning "yeast").

A kombucha culture may contain one or more of the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Candida stellata, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Torulaspora delbrueckii, and Zygosaccharomyces bailii. Alcohol production by the yeast(s) contributes to the production of acetic acid by the bacteria. Alcohol concentration also plays a role in triggering cellulose production by the bacterial symbionts.

Although the bacterial component of a kombucha culture comprises several species, it almost always includes Gluconacetobacter xylinus (formerly Acetobacter xylinum), which ferments the alcohols produced by the yeast(s) into acetic acid. This increases the acidity while limiting the alcoholic content of kombucha. G. xylinum is responsible for most or all of the physical structure of a kombucha mother, and has been shown to produce microbial cellulose.[1] This is likely due to artificial selection by brewers over time, selecting for firmer and more robust cultures.

The acidity and mild alcoholic element of kombucha resists contamination by most airborne molds or bacterial spores. As a result, kombucha is relatively easy to maintain as a culture outside of sterile conditions. The bacteria and yeasts in kombucha may also produce antimicrobial defense molecules.

What does all of this mean? It means Kombucha is fermented sweet tea that grows bacteria and yeast - then you drink it. (gag)

Seriously, gag. I'm on day 8 of my brew and I think it looked worse on the first few days than it does now - but STILL doesn't look appetizing... enough... to drink....

Here are my "mothers" I picked up on 9/28/12 from the nice lady who gave them away for free on Craigslist:

They were very healthy! I divided one in half and threw the other half in the jar with the other because I only wanted to kill one at a time.. Seriously..

Apparently, Kombucha orginated in East Asia... they and Russians believed Kombucha tea to have healing ailments. It appears this is quite popular among people with HIV and the elderly because of claims it can boost immunity and slow aging. Nowadays, though it appears to be more of a natural probiotic, from what I have read. Now, whether or not I can 'stomach' this probiotic (no pun intended) is questionable... we'll see!

One very important thing to note in regards to this new milestone in life: THERE ARE SIDE EFFECT. Ohhhhh LAWD, sweet baby jesus, in a manger! I AM the side effect... always... if it's going to happen, it happens to this girl!

So, www.cancer.org has an article about Kombucha! The USDA warns caution when making and drinking this tea. From the article, two women were diagnosed with high lactic acid levels when admitted to the hospital. Looks like I'm Ok though because the cancer warning on this is for the dummies who brew in ceramic, lead or painted canisters. SMH..

This is what I pulled from WebMD though:

KOMBUCHA TEA Side Effects & Safety

Kombucha tea may be UNSAFE for most adults. It can cause side effects including stomach problems, yeast infections, allergic reactions, yellow skin (jaundice), nausea, vomiting, head and neck pain, and death.

Kombucha tea, especially batches made at home where it’s hard to maintain a germ-free environment, can become contaminated with fungus (Aspergillus) and bacteria (including anthrax). In Iran, 20 people got anthrax infections from taking kombucha tea. This tea is particularly unsafe in people with weakened immune systems, such as people with HIV/AIDS, who are more likely to get infections. Also, lead poisoning has been reported from kombucha tea that was prepared in a lead-glazed ceramic pot.

Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Kombucha tea may be unsafe during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.

Alcoholism: Kombucha tea contains alcohol. Avoid it if you have a drinking problem.

Diarrhea: Kombucha tea contains caffeine. The caffeine in Kombucha tea, especially when taken in large amounts, can worsen diarrhea.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): Kombucha tea contains caffeine. The caffeine in Kombucha tea, especially when taken in large amounts, can worsen diarrhea and might worsen symptoms of IBS.

Weak immune system: Don’t use kombucha tea if you have a weakened immune system due to HIV/AIDS or other causes. Kombucha tea can support the growth of bacteria and fungus that can cause serious infections.

I need to re-think this... my dad was all about drinking this with me to "try it out" until he saw how it looked on day three.... he then said he was just going to watch me to make sure I didn't die.... wonder if he looked this information up before I did...

Mustard & Maple Roasted Chicken

ok... so several things went wrong..

Waaaay wrong....... Turned out beautifully though!

Now, my ingredients are very similar to Rach's, however I improvise, remember? This is supposed to be simplified and easy... and simple.. and easy... so I will go ahead and apologize now..

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter, melted (pop in the microwave after you pre-heat the oven)
2 pounds medium potatoes (about 6), skin-on and cut into wedges
4 crispy apples, quartered and cored then cut into 8 wedges per apple (I have a nifty apple corer-thingie that does this in a snap!)
3 medium yellow onions, peeled, cut into 6 wedges each with root attached (very important)
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped (I chopped about 10-12 sprigs) - you can also use dried thyme, just the same
1 5-pound chicken, quartered OR 5-quarter legs (mine was 5.23 lbs)
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
About 1/2 cup dark amber maple syrup
About 1/3 cup grainy mustard
About 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
About 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
About 1/3 cup chicken stock
3 cloves garlic, grated(i used three - you may use 2)

Serves 4 (or 6 - depends on how we look at this...) If you notice, most of these measurements are "about". This is straight from Rach's website... and I 'eyeball' my ingredients... never claimed to be any kind of baker! With that being said, these are NOT precise. Alter the sauce to taste! I did..


Ok, kids - this is where I went wrong... I used BONE-IN thighs. This is much cheaper (I speant $4.08 on 5.23 lbs!) However, takes much longer to cook! I was not anticipating almost 2 hours for this dinner! Which would lead to my epic FAIL for my very first assignment *sigh*
Also, be sure you wedge your potatoes all the same size! Cut into half, then quarter each section... makes cooking time more evenly.


Onto Preperation!

Pre-heat your oven to 400ºF.

In a deep roasting pan (you want sides at least 2" tall - it was a disaster for me to get this in and out of the oven. Lost lots of yummy juices. The fact I used an aluminum pan doesn't help either. Use a roasting pan, folks... a REAL-LIFE roasting pan....), dress the potatoes, apples and onions with melted butter and season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Roast for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven. While this is roasting, combine the syrup, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, stock and garlic in a small bowl.

Dress the chicken with the EVOO, salt and pepper and arrange over the potatoes and onions. The take your sauce mixture and pour evenly over the chicken and potatoes and roast for 1 hour more (this is with your normal chicken). If you use bone-in,

after an hour, I flipped my chicken to roast both sides (and I didn't want my birds black on one side, pink on the other!). Flip it then pop it back in for another 30 minutes or so. You want to taste your potatoes and make sure they are soft enough. Mine tasted like I had just chopped them up, straight from the bag! Certainly didn't taste like they had been in an oven for an hour.. so, I increased the initial roasting time to 20 minutes.


This is the golden goodness you come up with:

This has wonderful sweet flavors from the apples and carmelized onions - and salty flavors from your potatoes! When you are serving this, remove the onions (unless you prefer to eat them - I do not). This is why you keep them on their roots - makes it MUCH easier to fish out of there!

Now... I have a few notes on this first dive bomb of mine: it's not "short and sweet" but it is simple and a GREAT make ahead meal. I personally have a lot of these ingredients as staples in my pantry. I always have stock on hand for any reason; garlic; onions, EVOO and Worcestershire sauce..

I went to the store and spent about $20 on chicken, a bag of yellow onions, fresh thyme (this, unfortunately isn't one herb in the garden!), grain mustard, maple syrup (you may also substitute Amber Agave here, as well), 4 apples (I love apples but don't eat them often enough to keep on hand), cider vinegar (mine in the cabinet expired) and a 5-lb bag of yellow potatoes.

If you do choose to make ahead, all you have to do is prepare in full, cook, cover and refrigerate. Pop it in the oven on the day you want to serve for about half hour - to heat all the way through. note: cooked chicken can be kept in the fridge for up to five days.

This had great flavor and I was impressed - I have not yet given this over to my sister but I will this evening so I can get the 7 & 4 year old take on this. I believe they will be pleased!

you can find Rachael Ray's original recipe <~~ there!


Let me know if you have any fun improvisions to try out on this recipe! I promise the next one will more thought out and less complicated..