1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
2. Combine the flour, oats, white sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Grate butter with cheese grater.
4. Mix butter into dry ingredients quickly but thoroughly with your hands. You don’t want the butter to melt or become too soft. (There should be small pea-size bits of butter in the flour mixture.)
5. Add kefir and stir with a spoon until just combined.
6. Add apple chunks.
7. Add nuts, if using.
8. Poured batter into a buttered pie pan or springform pan.
9. Dot with remaining butter, sprinkle with demerara or brown sugar, and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
10. Eat while still warm with a nice cup of tea or hide a slice away for later.
11. This cake stays moist, but it will be hard to keep it around long enough to find out!

Homemade Kefir

1. Place kefir grains in a glass container. (You can get active grains from someone who makes their own kefir–ask around! Or buy dried grains online or through a health food store and follow instructions.)
2. Cover with 2-4 cups fresh milk.
3. Cover container loosely with a lid, cloth or plastic wrap.
4. Allow kefir to ferment overnight at room temperature.
5. Within 24 hours, you should have kefir.
6. Gently remove grains with a spoon or use a strainer.
7. Place the grains in fresh milk to start the cycle again.
8. Store the kefir you made in the refrigerator until ready to use.
9. (Kefir can also be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days but will continue to ferment during that time, which means the kefir may separate from the whey and become slightly effervescent and more sour. It is still fine to consume.)
10. If you want to take a break from making kefir, store grains in fresh milk in the refrigerator. They will stay alive for at least a few weeks, but may need a week or more of coaxing in fresh milk before they begin producing good kefir again.