Santa Barbara Fermentation Festival

Hey everyone, Kim here. So I went to this really awesome Fermentation Festival in Santa Barbara with my mom last weekend and I'm super excited to share my experience with you all! This festival celebrates the importance of traditionally fermented foods and beverages, and empowers attendees to make these foods at home. There were about 40 exhibitors, tons of delicious samples, hands on activities to sign up for, and demo stations.

Our first stop was to the DIY Pickle Station. This is where we got to fill up a jar of various veggies; squash, onion, carrots, beets, garlic cloves, sprigs of dill, and cabbage. Then we filled the jar with brine (a solution of salt in water). Took the jar home, and three days later I had delicious pickled veggies! 

Our second stop was to the dairy-free coconut yogurt demo. That, bar far, was my favorite part of the festival. I am so glad that I learned how to make homemade yogurt. It's ridiculously easy. I wrote down the recipe and made my first batch over the weekend. I'm sharing it with you all today, so that you too can see how easy it is to make, and hopefully start making your own! 

What you'll need:

1. Milk - this recipe works with all types of milk (cow, goat, almond, coconut)
2. Probiotics in capsule form. This is the brand that I use: http://www.jarrow.com/product/228/Jarro-Dophilus_EPS
3. Jar
4. Whisk
5. Something to cover the jar with, and a rubber band. You can use anything from a paper towel, cheesecloth, a tea towel, or coffee filters. 
6. Bowl - this is optional. You can pour all of the ingredients directly into the jar, but I chose to use a bowl because I made multiple batches. 

Step 1. Pour milk into jar or bowl. 

Step 2. Add the probiotic. 1/2 a pill per 14-16 ounces of milk.
Step 3. Mix the milk and probiotics. Make sure the probiotics are blended in well.
Step 4. If you're using a mixing bowl, pour the milk and probiotic mixture into the jar
Step 5. Cover and let sit on your counter. 

The fermentation times will vary depending on the temperature of your home. You're going to want to check on your yogurt approximately 15 hours later. You'll be able to gauge how often to check on it based on the consistency at that time. Your yogurt is done when it is no longer watery and has a thicker more yogurt like consistency. And has a slight tangy flavor (like yogurt). Once your yogurt is fermented to your liking, keep it refrigerated. It should stay fresh in your fridge for about 7-10 days. My kitchen usually stays pretty cool, so it took about three days for my yogurt to be ready. 

After the yogurt demo we walked around to check out all of the exhibitors and tried as many samples as we possibly could. One of my favorites was a company called Cultured & Saucy. They make probiotic condiments. They were so good! You can use them as salsas, marinades, or even add them to other condiments, like sour cream, or cream cheese. I definitely regret not buying a jar. Luckily, their products are sold in stores locally. You can check out their website here: http://www.culturedandsaucy.com. 

After checking out the exhibitors we had one more stop to make, and that was to the Cultured Butter Shake-Off, hosted by Organic Pastures, where we made our own homemade butter. Unfortunately, due to the heat, mine only turned into whipped cream. Once I got home I refrigerated it for a bit. After it was cold enough I shook the jar for about 20 minutes while catching up on a show, and voila! Homemade butter! Despite the high temps that day, I had a really awesome time with my mom sampling some really yummy foods, and learning some cool new things. I'm really looking forward to going next year!

Goodbye Summer! Hello Fall!

Hello everyone and happy first day of Fall! Today's post is actually two posts in one; a little two-for-one deal for you guys. The first part is from Lori, and the second from Kim. We will be doing this periodically because, at times, we will want to share with you as individuals. Today, we pay homage to the wonderful Summer season that was just upon us. In this post we will be reminiscing about our favorite 2015 Summer memories. We hope you enjoy!

- KiLo

Lori

This summer, as all summers are, was about music, Dodgers games and hanging out with friends. I love music festivals; it’s such a great way to see a lot of different artists at one time. I also enjoy going to the after parties and seeing some of my favorite acts in smaller venues. One of this summer’s highlights was Roger Sanchez’s old school house set. He only played house music from 1985-2005 which brought back so many fond memories. I know a lot of people claim that the sense of smell is directly linked to memory but for me it has always been music. I can hear a random song and it will trigger all kinds of different memories; usually good ones. Roger Sanchez is definitely worth checking out especially if he is playing an old school house set! Prepare to dance your butt off.

This summer I also attended the 2^nd Annual Low End Theory Festival which showcased a lot of up and coming artists as well as established drum n bass and experimental musicians. I really enjoyed that particular festival because I feel that it brought a lot of new talent to my attention, talent that I probably never would have come across. The Low End Theory Festival was amazing, totally chill, interactive, and is going to blow up. I love being part of something new and then seeing it expand, like Coachella, EDC, Nocturnal Wonderland and even Hard Summer. I can honestly say that I attended the 1^st or 2^nd show for all of those events and it has been incredible to see them all become wildly successful mega shows. I still have all of my tickets stubs from 98’ and 99’.

Lastly, for as long as I can remember most of my summer evenings were (and still are) spent cheering on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Win or lose; I love them. I stay until the very last pitch and must see the final out. I will forever be a Dodgers fan but I do appreciate baseball and all of its many accomplishments. This summer I witnessed something great and horrible at the same time; Jake Arrieta’s No Hitter. By all means congratulations to him, it just really hurt to see him throw that No Hitter against my beloved Dodgers inside of Blue Heaven. Ouch. Still, it was a career highlight for him and an incredible thing to witness. Now I just need the Dodgers to win the Division, the NLCS and then dominate in the World Series. That would truly make this girl very happy.

Kim

Well summer is officially over, which means my life is about to get crazy busy. With my job, dart league, school, and trying to stay consistent with a regular workout regimen - it looks like my social and dating life (not that I had much of one to begin with) is going to be non-existent for the next few months.

This summer I was really focused on my health and getting my body into the best shape possible. I started seeing a nutritionist, and joined a CrossFit gym. Two of the smartest decisions I have ever made - if you or anyone you know is interested in seeing a nutritionist please check out JoAnna’s website ultraliteforlife.com, or if you’re interested in joining a CrossFit gym, cstreetbarbell.com, they offer two FREE intro classes a week, Wednesday night and Saturday morning. I can honestly say that I have never felt more healthy and happy in my life! I'm extremely proud of all of my hard work and dedication to eating healthy and sweating my ass off at the gym. I'm still not exactly where I want to be, but I'm getting close. And to reward myself, I'm doing something that I never thought I would do: a boudoir photo shoot! More on that experience in a future post…

So now that fall is officially upon is, and school has started, I'm really only looking forward to one thing: Dart season! I have been playing for one full year now. I never really played much before, just for funsies at my little dive bar that the local league plays out of, and never took it seriously at all. One drunken night I was asked by one of the guys on the league if I'd join his team. In that inebriated moment it seemed like a great idea. And it turns out, it was! Joining the league has honestly been so much fun! I love playing. I'm surprisingly better than I thought I would be, and most importantly I've gained such an amazing group of friends. I love my little dart family and am so looking forward to seeing everyone every Thursday night.  I am very excited to see how this season goes. 

With all that said, I am really hoping that this fall season brings us plenty of much needed rain and cooler weather! I don't know about all of you, but I'm pretty over this heat and can't wait to start wearing warm and cozy clothes. And rain boots! I really want to have to buy some cute rain boots this year. So come on Mother Nature, my cute fall wardrobe is depending on you!

Hello and Welcome to our Blog

We are Kim and Lori, two cosmic opposites that have been good friends for over 20 years. Kim is an easy going, fun loving Gemini and Lori is a random and unpredictable Sagittarius; together we have a well balanced friendship that has withstood the tests of time. We both love to travel, meet new people and enjoy all aspects of life. Although we do participate in a lot of activities together, there are also quite a few experiences that we share after the fact in reflection and communication. We are two very open and honest people that wish to share the stories of our lives with you here in this blog.

Our vast interests and mild differences allow us to introduce each other to new experiences that we might not participate in if we were not friends. All in all our friendship is solid, strong, and rewarding; we have had a lifetime of fun and we want to share the joys of our friendship, random experiences, and opinions with the world. This blog is designed to express our thoughts about life, love, food, music, culture, and travel. As young, socially active people we constantly come across new and exciting things, places and people; we want to share those experiences with you. We hope that you enjoy this sneak peek into our lives and we thank you for reading.

--Kim and Lori
#KiLo