I'm always looking for ways to reinvent the wheel or for ways to utilize as many of components of something...like buying a whole chicken and using ALL of the chicken from the meat, to the bones...you get the idea.

As I have been preparing for a kombucha workshop this week I've been thinking about what new things I might present to the students. Normally, I give out a recipe for making Kombucha Soap, I talk about using pieces of scoby as a live bandage, but I wanted something new. I have a million scoby mamas hanging around my Brooklyn apartment. Some get saved as backups, or sold, most end up in the compost bin. Waste. I don't care for waste. Which led me to doing some research and coming up with this Scoby Jerky recipe. (Note: for those of you coming to the workshop at Pels Pie Co. this Thursday you are in for a treat!)

Here's my recipe:

- Take your scoby(s) and cut it up in to jerky sized strips. (Remember they will shrink when you go to dehydrate them)

- Marinade (adjust according to how many scobys you use) : I used a combination of Gluten Free Tamari (appx 1/4 cup), 1/2 cup of kombucha, 1/2 tsp red chili flakes, 1/2 tsp grated ginger root, 2 garlic cloves (minced), 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

- Put the cut up scobys in a plastic bag with the marinade. Zip shut and leave out on the counter for 24 hours.

- Take your dehydrator trays and line with parchment paper, or alternatively if you have removable liners you can use those. Give plenty to space between the jerky pieces so the air can circulate when dehydrating.

- Dehydrate on 90 degrees for 8-12 hours (pending on your brand of dehydrator some are more efficient than others)

- Once it's the consistency of real jerky you can pull it from the dehydrator and enjoy!