Gingerbread Beer

It's that time of the year, the end of it. Next comes 2020, the year that as teenagers we thought would be a million years away. Well it's finally coming and I don't think I'm ready for it. but looking back at the year, so much has happened and I am grateful, although I'm still not ready for another year, a new decade.

You've probably heard that out of every bad situation something good comes out of it. Well, it clearly happened to me this year. It was during a gloomy situation(s) in my life that I learned to make my own sourdough starter. It happened because of the negative situation, not just in spite of it.

It was the lowest point that gave birth to my new hobby of sourdough bread making. And it was from my reading and research about sourdough that I came to know about ginger bug. I started making my own ginger bug and producing lovely fizzy probiotics drinks that the whole family enjoy.

I won't post much about making a ginger bug. It's basically just adding shredded ginger and sugar to distilled water, feeding it everyday and waiting for it to produce bubbles. It took me about 8 days before I see good signs of fermentation. It's been alive and well until today. And hopefully I can keep it alive for a long while more.

Before this, through my kitchen experiments, I found that brewing some spices with Rooibos tea produces this drink that somewhat has the hints of root beer flavours. So when I when had this ginger bug going I knew I had to try adding it to this drink.     

To me, it's a little bit like root beer. But I can't call it root beer cause it doesn't have sarsaparilla or any of the required "roots". My little girl calls it "ginger cola". I was thinking since it's almost Christmas and it has the ingredients of gingerbread, let's call it Gingerbread Beer. (By the way, I also have been baking so many gingerbread men and houses that I'm beginning to smell like it.)

Below, you can see the ingredients I used. It's pretty simple. Orange (peel only), Rooibos tea, star anise, cinnamon, and ginger. I also used blackstrap molasses for colour and flavour but I believe black treacle would work just as well.

The thing that still perplexes me is that sometimes it's foamy, sometimes it's not. At the time when I took this shot, unfortunately the drink wasn't foamy. But I didn't have time to make another batch so I just went ahead and shot it. Besides, it was still super fizzy.

So here's wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! And if you're as unexcited as I am about going through another year, maybe you should try this drink and chill back a little. Tell yourself it's gonna be okay....

If you dare to try, here's the recipe for the Gingerbread Beer. Cheers!

Pregnancy Chai Tea

Hello everyone. It looks like the festive seasons are over. Christmas, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day... 

Now it's Lent and it's time for me to put aside the hectic baking schedule and focus on the next BIG event... the coming of a second child.

So, while mentally preparing for birth and practicing relaxation etc, I'd like to share a caffeine-free tea recipe that's safe for pregnant mothers to consume. 

I use rooibos tea in this recipe but if you don't have any, you can just omit it. You may add a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses. It's nutritionally beneficial, especially if you're anemic.


Okay folks, hope you'll give this a try, whether or not you're pregnant.  It's time for me to do some meditation and relaxation..... or maybe later.