Homemade Jun, Aloe Gone Wild, Sea Turtle Spotting, and Masoor Dal


Homesteading activities are moving indoors as we close in on October. We ate a lot of great food over the weekend. I made an amazing Punjabi-style sabut masoor dal with fresh lime and topped with crushed kasuri methi one night, Jamaican rice and peas another, and red quinoa with the last of our garden tomatoes and garden lemongrass another. Finally, I made us a rich lentil soup with lots of veggies and a little garam masala. I’ve been feeling like dallying in the kitchen and making high-prana food.

At the fermentation station, I started a Jun scoby using green tea and raw honey as a substrate. Jun is called ‘the champagne of kombucha’, and I’m eager to try it. Lighter than black tea kombucha, it’s said to have a heavenly honey flavor and lots of bacteria-happy bubbles, like champagne.


Our two new kombucha scobys matured too. They’re a little thinner than I like, so I put them in a glass bowl with some fresh booch and placed them in the fridge. They should grow a bit in there, and when they’re used to make kombucha, they’ll definitely get bigger. Patience.

I’ve been turning my attention to our indoor gardens. The indoor plants see some neglect in summer. All our focus is on the food and flower gardens, and the indoor life kind of hangs on until now. Everything was taken to the sink and watered deeply, cleaned, and fed. Our aloe vera has grown so big that my husband had to carry it to the sink. It’s put out countless pups. It’s pretty much outgrown its large pot. I have to start thinking about an even bigger vessel for this gorgeous aloe.


The quenepas pits have germinated. We have about a dozen plants. My friend, who gave me the pits this summer, is a native of Puerto Rico. We all know what has been happening there. Aside from the high wind and water assaults on human and animal life, Puerto Rico’s plant life has been decimated. My friend suggested I carefully nurture these plants, and I will.

While on our boat in Long Island Sound last Sunday, my husband and I spotted a gigantic sea turtle. Without exaggeration, this awesome creature was the size of a Fiat. He was magnificent beyond description. We were so dumbstruck by the sight of him that we just didn’t think to pull out the ubiquitous phone cameras and grab images. We just stood there, holding hands, watching this beautiful, beautiful animal bob his head out of the water, dive down, pop up, and dive down.


Today is September 26. It’s 90 degrees and sunny yesterday and today. This is the best of Indian summer. My internal clock is speaking to me of autumn and cooking and homesteading, sleeping long and sipping cacao, but the outdoors is calling us to our boat and the woods. We plan to savor every last day of this breathtaking weather. Autumn is here and winter is coming, but it’s all good. 

Be kind to one another.

Much love,
Barbie xo

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