Saturday, November 1, 2014

In Process

Pasteurizing fresh milk 
         I am learning to make kefir, which is a yoghurt-like milk drink that is high in probiotics.  I need to take probiotics for my digestive health, but it is difficult and expensive to find here.  While at a Women's retreat in Dar last week, a friend gave me some kefir, and explained how to make it. 
                      
                      It begins by pasteurizing fresh milk (since the milk I buy here is UHT or Ultra High Temperature, it tends to not work so well for this).  Thankfully, a milk man comes by every evening to deliver fresh milk in our neighborhood.  He brings it in 1 liter water bottles. 

                        The first thing I had to do was figure out how to pasteurize milk.  When I looked it up, it takes bringing milk to almost a boil, and then cooling it quickly, by placing the pan in ice water. 

           The first batch didn't turn out since I accidently left out the milk over night, but this time it seems to have worked.

            Next, you add the "kefir" grains to the milk and leave it on the counter for 24 hours.  After it has "thickened up", you then can drink it or add it to smoothies or other food.

          This is quite a long process with many steps that I have never tried before.
 
And that is how I am feeling about our life right now.
 
 
          Since moving to a new location in Tanzania, I have felt that there are many things that I am trying to figure out about being here.  I am still trying to develop relationships and friendships.  Just learning where to shop for food was a process.
                      
                   So, even though we are still in the same country, I feel that we are in a state of transition... a state of process. 
                                                           
 
And, hopefully we will come out of it with something beautiful.

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