#cosmiccoz

[cosmiccoz]

Ta da! My first batch of Kombucha at the start of its fermentation. This time around, I bought my scoby through Kombucha Kamp, partly because they’re nearby, but mainly because they ship their scobies fresh with each order. No sitting around in packets for weeks on end. The difference between this scoby, and the one I bought last year from The Kombucha Shop, was immediately apparent. Kamp’s was bigger, more natural in shape, and the starter it came packaged with smelt like strong Kombucha, vs the pure vinegar smell of the previous one.

Because caffeine acerbates my anxiety, I used a naturally decaffeinated Irish Breakfast from Trader Joe’s. A quality loose leaf Assam would have been preferable, but my anxiety said hell no.

I’m fermenting this batch for 7 days. Then I bottle, flavor and ferment for another 2 days. The second fermentation creates the carbonation, so it’s not something to skip out on.

I’ve already came up with names for my flavors:

“Ginger Minister”

“Go Go Mango!”

“The Leper”

[cosmiccoz]

Tea with a Squid

I’ve been planning on homebrewing kombucha again. Mainly because kefir (though more probiotic in nature) would mean drinking way more milk then my system could handle, and Kombucha has just that right blend of beneficial acids, carbonation and low alcohol that keeps my digestive system happy. My end goal is to one day brew beer or mead, but it’s too complicated a setup for a newbie like me. Not to mention the extended brewing time and higher cost of equipment and ingredients.

I find the process of fermentation absolutely fascinating. Like a mad cross between science experiment and culinary art form. This is especially true when it comes to Kombucha, since you’re pretty much brewing with a squid alien:

This is a SCOBY, which stands for “Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast”. For the curious, It’s actually not too dissimilar from a mother of vinegar. This is essentially the “beehive” of the bacteria and yeast and mostly made from cellulose.

Kefir cultures look like large, spongy curds of cottage cheese, while beer/wine/mead yeast looks like what you’d use for baking.

A note on kombucha: while I’m over the moon about it, my mother doesn’t like it at all. I would say it reminds me of black tea married to a hard cider (less sweet, more tang.) I enjoy most fermented foods/drinks, so I guess that’s to my favor. My favorite store bought kombucha flavors also have an added yeasty quality that reminds me of beer.

For those curious about giving it a go, GT’s Kombucha “original” and “ginger” are my favorites, but their “Mystic Mango” is nice and lite for a newbie.

[cosmiccoz]

Ok, Let’s Try This Again.

I haven’t been using this Tumblr account as regularly as I’d planned, mostly due to lack of free time, visual impairment, and soul crushing levels of stress… I feel like I should give it another go, especially now that I’ve finally got a handle on Tumblr and its frenetic culture.

Since I tend to go on about my life with Brawn, general animal behavior, and hobbies/non-fandom interests, it seems logical enough to continue on that path. Keeping it relaxed. I’ve learned enough lessons over the years about not revealing too many private details or getting involved with communities. I have very little time in the day to “decompress”, so I’m not about to sabotage my brief escapism. That said, I think I can strike a balance and add an occasion personal post. We’ll see how it goes…

I’ve also started a “fandom lite” account (TheGoodTailor) where I post and reblog whatever I’m currently watching/reading. It’s become a quiet sandbox for whenever I have a few minutes to spare.

I think my motto is to just keep it mellow. Log out when RL is too much to bear, come back when I have something worthwhile to share.

~ Cóz

[formerlysanholo]

cosmiccoz answered your question: Okay, so if you’re in #the hour tag I’m going to...

I’ve a “Downloads” section on my Tumblr sidebar. You can find Series 1 there. :)

Awesome, thank you! :)

[darling-y0ullbeokay]

Defiantly "Being Human UK". ; )

alright thanks c:

[cosmiccoz]

"Ten Random Facts About Myself"

Penns-woods tagged me, so I did attempt to think up something. ; ) The last number of years have been a right misery and a struggle to get by, nothing interesting in that. . . but I did throw all my savings away for a trip to NZ when I was 15. That's probably the most interesting thing I've done. I haven't gone on a holiday since then, which should tell you just what it cost me in the long run. Still. . . what's the point of living if you can't have an adventure?

1) I've held The One Ring. About nine or ten years ago, I was staying just a short walk from Trafalgar Square in Nelson, New Zealand. There was a small gold and silversmith shop on the corner originally owned by Jens Hansen. He crafted a few of the rings used in The Lord of the Rings trilogy including The One Ring. 

So I went in on a very chilly winter's day and met his son Halfdan. After hearing I was a huge Tolkien fan, he went to the back of the shop and brought out the mother prototype that was used to craft the precious. 

I think my reaction was something like, "Aaaaawwwessssssoooooome!"

It was shockingly heavy. 

2) I am quite flexible. I can put my foot behind my head. 

3) While I can no longer read books, I have dozens of boxes full of them crowding my room. I don't know why I keep them. . .

4) I play Native American spirit flutes. I've a special double flute (a drone) that's the prize of my collection.

5) The most influential movie of my childhood was "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". I vividly remember Tuco running blinding through the valley of graves. . . the camera spinning wildly out of control. . . 

6) My hair is about the length of my thumb nail just now. I don't have any money for luxuries, so I cut it myself.

7) Because I've watched British television for most of my life, I can mimic a rather believable RP accent, with a shade or two of estuary. . . 

8) I have three elderly rabbits named Leto, Galileo and Sekhmet. 

9) I am ten inches taller than Peter Dinklage.

10) I've a map to Peter Jackson's house. His goddaughter gave it to me when we met at a cafe in Wellington (she had some great stories!). I remember it being quite late in the evening, and outside there was a torrent of slanting rain. By the cafe's door, a maori man played flamenco on his guitar. . . 

I've the map still. . . written on a napkin. . . somewhere in one of these boxes.

[cosmiccoz]

My sketch of Estraven & Genly Ai from Ursula K. LeGuin's 1969 novel "The Left Hand of Darkness"

Click the image to view in high-res! More information about the novel and characters can be found on my DeviantArt page.

[cosmiccoz]

Looking for fellow fans on Twitter. . .

I'm CosmicCoz there as well. My followers are nearly all a part of the Doctor Who & River Song fandom, so my tweets of Being Human and Deep Space Nine haven't gone over all that well. . . 

In fact, last night's drunken DS9 tweets lead to quite a number of unfollows. >_<

I really shouldn't have mentioned Dukat's penis, but it was a legitimate question about the. . . oh, never mind.

In any case, I'd absolutely love to chat about Hal's collection of mismatched socks, Garak the Tailor, Severus Snape, Sherlock Holmes or whoever. I keep all my social networks fandom related, and I wont spam anyone's feed.