Thanksgiving

My friend Abbi's 3-year-old nephew made this Thanksgiving Turkey – or rather his mom filled it in for him, but he told her what to write.

It says water bottle, my guitar pick, snacks, new baby sister, Aunt Lisa, zoo, Daddy, Mama, Aunt Abbi, Uncle Nate.

I asked Abbi about the guitar pick and she said, "My mom found one and gave it to him (he loves music and has a little pretend guitar). But he lost it 😂"

Anyway, I love guitar pick and water bottle – that he is thankful for objects – and cheap, everyday objects at that. It got me thinking about cheap, everyday objects that I am thankful for.

I recently got these plastic drawers which were only S$5 each (you can see them on the shelf below the typewriter).

I used to keep my art supplies in my storeroom, but now that I have them in my study, in neatly organised drawers, I use them more.

I'm likewise thankful for my cotton bedsheet, a pair of sneakers that I got for a steal (secondhand but unused), and a mint-blue retro-style toaster which I found abandoned in our recycling bay.

In my previous post, there's a photo of Chiok (who made the pomelo kombucha) and our mutual friend Emiri. Emiri is Japanese, and said itadakimasu before drinking. Chiok's partner Guofeng asked her what it means, and Emiri said it's a way of saying thanks.

Guofeng:	Like thanks to Chiok, for making the kombucha?
Emiri:	To everyone. To Chiok, to the farmer who grew the pomelo, the people you bought ingredients from, and also to the pomelo.

Purple Kombucha and Other Developments

In last month's post I talked at length about homebrewed kombucha, but I forgot to say – and I will just put it out there without false modesty – it's really good. Or as the kids say, my kombucha slaps. A few people have independently told me that it's the best kombucha they ever tasted.

I continue to experiment with different flavours. The bottle on the right is plain kombucha, but the one on the left has blue-pea tea (my neighbour got dried blue-pea flowers from an organic farm in Thailand, and gave me some to try).

My blue-pea kombucha is purple because anthocyanin, the pigment in blue-pea flowers, is a pH indicator. It's blue in water, but if you add an acid – like lemon juice or kombucha – it turns purple.

I still do kombucha-tastings with Chiok and Guofeng, who, like me, got their SCOBY from my friend Violet. Pictured below is Chiok's grapefruit and pomelo kombucha, which also slaps.

I also started making water kefir (below left) which is another fermented drink. Also tasty, and easier than kombucha – shorter fermentation time, and only needs sugar (not tea). But to me, it's not as delicious and complex as good kombucha.

The jar on the right is kombucha-pickled cherries, flavoured with cinnamon and star anise. These turned out okay – nothing special. But you ideally want fresh cherries, and I could only find frozen ones here in Singapore. If I find fresh cherries, I might try it again, because the recipe looks promising.

No Fighting!

A house on my street is being renovated. There are various notices on the gate, including a cute and unexpected "No Fighting!"

My friend Abbi said, "Maybe we should have that notice everywhere."