Miskatonic University PressThe Alchemy Pickle Company booth at the Wychwood Barns farmer’s market was another regular stop. Owner Rebekka Hutton would be there every other week (I think the alternate weeks she was making and fermenting) and I’d get a two litre bottle of kombucha and probably something else.
I started getting her kombucha a few years ago, but I can’t remember when. I don’t think I’d ever had it before, but I passed by her booth at the market and got curious. There were always people buying bottles of the stuff, and whatever exactly kombucha was, the colours were beautiful. She also had kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, hot sauce, and more.
I started to get a glass of kombucha to drink while I was at the market and quickly worked up to my litre-a-week habit. I like to have a glass first thing in the morning. It’s a good start to the day.
With the market closed I was happy to find out that I can still get the kombucha. A couple weeks ago I got two big bottles of the stuff through a local pickup location. I’ve been drinking it in small amounts, so I still have a lot left, but I need to get back to normal, since happily there’s no shortage of the delicious stuff.
Here’s what I got: strawberry chamomile on the left and blueberry mint on the right, with a large jar of extra hot fermented hot sauce. It’s got a wonderful flavour, very different from sriracha or your workaday Frank’s RedHot or some smoky Mexican ones I’ve tried. The regular version is just as tasty but I’ve built up my tolerance and I want that extra heat.
The fruits and vegetables are from local farmers, some of them who also sell at the Wychwood Barns market.
In my fridge I have a jar of fire paste and and a bottle of fire tonic. That’s the fire tonic in the glass.
Rebekka once explained to me how they’re related but I’ve forgotten. The tonic is made of: onions, horseradish, garlic, hot pepper, ginger, turmeric, raw honey, sea salt, elderberry and black pepper. It’s potent! The fire paste has the same ingredients but is solid, and if you stick your nose in the jar and inhale it’s a real blast for the old sinuses. I put a teaspoon or so into vegetable dishes for a bit of heat and a nice background flavour. It’s strong—don’t use too much.
I’ve never mixed fire paste into fire tonic. I’m not going to play with … you know.
See also: ChocoSol, Clover Roads Organic Farm.