Kwik update. We promise to meatloaf more in 2010, but for now we’re on hiatus as usual. However, an important announcement:

Meatloafing on Ice 3

Friday, December 4
6:30 pm–? (but probably not past 9)
The Pond at Bryant Park

For more details, check out the MOI event on Facebook. And rsvp!

Meatloafing: gmd
Benjamin: Gmd
Meatloafing: is “deskfast” a good term for breakfast eaten at one’s desk?
Benjamin: Its a little awkward to say but it works
Meatloafing: ok

Recipe: Oatmeal, a little brown sugar, cinnamon, flax seeds, bananas, and a spoonful of Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams (peanut butter blended with rich dark chocolate).

Our good friend Oran—a.k.a. Cranberry—just published his highly anticipated (by us) memoir, Long Past Stopping. Yes, Oran’s the son of the Chicken Soup for the Soul guy. We remember LPS in its infancy—a mere Word document, rough but already stewing with the tidbits of a—ahem—fucking crazy life. Drugs, juggling, and anarchy made him one of our favorite people. Here’s a video of Oran reenacting page [tk] at the LPS release party last month. Buy this book!

long past juggling from Mollie Lauffer on Vimeo.

Now that you’ve gathered ingredients and supplies, it’s time to start brewing! Ingredients and supplies are listed in Part One of the EZ Kombucha Guide.

Part Two: Fermentation

1. Put your SCOBY aside in a glass bowl. I use a Pyrex measuring cup. Keep it in the fridge until it’s ready to use. No need to cover it unless you’ll be storing for more than the time it takes to cool the boiling water (Step 2) and/or your fridge really smells.
2. Boil 3 1/2 quarts of water in a large pot. I actually have a 1.8-quart Le Creuset tea kettle (right), so I just use two kettlefuls of tap water, which makes for easy pouring later. Distilled water is recommended by some folks, but if your tap water is good, then that’s fine. It’s wasteful to buy bottled water unless necessary. If you have a home filtration system like Brita, then of course use that.
3. Let the water cool until it’s not scorchingly hot, and then pour into the glass jar. Careful! I actually pour the boiling water right into the jar so I can start boiling another kettleful, and I haven’t had any problems at all, but Meatloafing readers may want to use more caution. Fill the jar to the point where it starts to get smaller, near the lid.
4. Add 5-6 tea bags* and let steep for 5-8 minutes (5 if the water’s boiling, 8 if it’s really hot but not boiling). Discard tea. Continue for photos!

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As many readers of this site know, we’ve been homebrewing kombucha for over a year now. After enjoying GT’s kombucha a few times, we quickly realized it made more sense to brew our own; GT’s costs roughly $4.50 per 16-oz bottle, and a gallon of homemade kombucha can be produced for mere pennies—water, sugar and a few tea bags are the only ingredients. Homebrew also tastes better! We’ve always been self-taught in the kitchen, but due to the weirdness of the beverage, we decided to take a kombucha class from good friends The Brooklyn Kitchen. The class was really helpful, but we’ve fine-tuned our recipe and process a bit since then. This EZ Guide will help you make the most delicious, refreshing and fizzy kombucha. If you need more detailed instruction or want to learn about the history of the beverage, there’s plenty of info out there (warning: the Wikipedia entry is pretty gross). This guide is suited for people who are comfortable in the kitchen and can follow simple, clear directions from the Meatloafing perspective.

Part One: Supplies

You will need:

• One-gallon pickle jar (and lid) from your local deli or bodega. Wash it out with soap and water and then give it a vinegar rinse to remove soap residue (pour white vinegar and a little water in the jar, swish it around, and dump out.).
• Regular white sugar. Buy Krasdale or Key Food brand. It doesn’t matter.
• Organic black, green, oolong, or white tea bags. I use the Whole Foods brand of green and black and also another brand of organic white tea. You can also obviously use loose tea, which I may try when the tea bags run out, but the bags keep the process simpler. Don’t use Earl Grey, herbal, or anything else that’s not real tea (Camellia sinensis). Just don’t.
• SCOBY* (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. the pancake-y blob, aka starter, mother, etc.). LMK if you want one. You can also make your own (will explain later, or just Google it).
• Starter tea. One cup of finished kombucha for each gallon you’ll make. If you get a scoby from me, starter will be included.
• Unbleached coffee filters or a small piece of clean, breathable cloth (like linen)
• Rubber band

*Tip: The SCOBY will keep for several weeks (or more, probably) if refrigerated. Just put it in the jar with the starter liquid (use extra if you’ll be storing for awhile, because the SCOBY will start to absorb the liquid and you don’t want it to dry out) and cover with lid.

Next up: Part Two: Fermentation! (coming soon)

Greenpoint: We recently dined at popular (?) NoGre Mexican restaurant Papacitos. PROS: byob, casual outdoor seating. CONS: Fish in fish tacos not fried, and not even really seasoned; unsalted tortilla chips and no salt on the tables!; the world’s slowest service (over an hour passed between ordering/receiving); Meatloafer Ben’s burrito was an enormous quasi-marinara-esque–covered blob. SADNESS FACTOR: They were robbed last week, so maybe that’s why they sucked. In fairness, we’ll return someday to report on the (unconfirmed) $1.50 lunch tacos. Papacitos, 999 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Midtown: In Bryant Park news, the Harrison Ford (/McAdams/Keaton/Goldblum) comedy Morning Glory was filming this week around 43rd and 6th. We didn’t see any of the stars, but we noticed that Grace Plaza was renamed IBS Plaza for Monday’s filming. Coincidentally, the Trini-Pak cart on the north side of Grace/IBS Plaza has recently expanded their offerings. (pics of today’s Trini-Pak lunch TK)

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Our good friend Mom bought a motorcycle recently. In her own words:

Continue reading for more pictures… → More Meatloafing