New Food Reviews; Optimizing Projects

I love novelty. Despite getting in trouble for trying new foods (I ended up in an ambulance once), I enjoy new foods enough to keep trying them.

With the flu going around the office, I thought I'd try fermenting L. casei shirota in pawpaw fruit puree. Pawpaw is a mango-like fruit native to eastern North America. It's very sweet, but fermentation reduces sugar. I cooked the raw puree before fermenting it, then had a few bites with some pork. A few hours later, I was vomiting. It's been days and I'm still not feeling right.

Despite the web full of articles on the amazing properties of pawpaw fruit, it contains neurotoxins. Even members of the Lewis and Clark expedition might have gotten sick on it.

Fortunately, I have fermented pear juice. I put a few capsules of Floristat in the bottle and left it on the counter for a few days. It tastes good and makes my stomach feel a little better.

Finally, Mark Sisson has come out with a healthy queso dip in his Primal Kitchen line. It's a plant-based dip, but it's rich, creamy and really does taste like nacho cheese. I enjoyed some tonight with celery and carrot sticks.

* * * * *

It may have felt like spring last weekend, but it's been a good week to stay inside, do my taxes and carefully consider home improvement projects. I've kept researching what to put in the paths between my raised beds. A look at the photos submitted by Home Depot customers who put in their own pavers convinced me that paver installation is a job for professionals--or at least amateurs willing to put in the time, money and effort to get presentable results. I don't fall into either category. I thought sod would be the answer until someone quoted me $1350 to resod the area. No, I didn't type an extra 1 in that quote.

So I think I'll go back to cardboard and wood chips. Fifty dollars' worth of chips will cover the paths three inches deep, and a $50 roll of cardboard that's the width of the paths will make easy work out of putting down four layers of a biodegradable weed barrier. Yes, I could collect some cardboard for free, store it downstairs, then cut or fold it into pieces in the right size and hope it doesn't blow away in a strong wind. But the cardboard roll seems like a better, reasonably priced solution.

The paver review photos and a YouTube video on DIYs that don't suck got me thinking about outdoor projects. Look around working class neighborhoods and you'll find that the number of outdoor "projects" is inversely proportional to the upkeep of the property. They're typically prohibited in higher end neighborhoods, or at least subject to review by a homeowners' association. Twee little hardware stores, not big home improvement centers, are what you find in the latter area.

To be fair, higher end houses are designed not to need patios, sheds, and other "features" added. But there's also an emphasis on maintenance, not projects. So anytime I feel the urge to take on a project, I'm going to ask myself, are my house and yard in good condition? Need and tidy? Free of anything that needs to be cleared out? Until I can answer yes, I'm not starting any more projects. I'll finish the few I've begun, but the first priority will be maintaining what I already have.

Comments

An Objective Book about Other Childhood Vaccines

Today's decision by the CDC to add COVID shots to the schedule of childhood vaccines has some people concerned about the rest of the vaccines on the schedule. Contrary to fact-checker claims, adding COVID shots to the schedule means children will be required in about a dozen states to get a COVID shot to attend public school. Indiana isn't one of them--our childhood vaccination law doesn't mention the CDC and such a requirement could run afoul of our ban on COVID vaccine passports. But even freewheeling Indiana has some vaccine requirements and this kerfuffle has people wondering how safe those vaccines are. There's a book called Vaccines: Truth, Lies and Controversy by Peter C. Gotzsche, DrMedSci and co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration, about the safety and efficacy of all those vaccines, including COVID and others. Cochrane was founded to "to organise medical research findings to facilitate evidence-based choices about health interventions involving healt

Battered Cod and my Eclipse Pictures of my Colander

If you miss battered cod on a low-carb, grain-free diet, here's a recipe that'll satisfy your craving. It's based on a Dr. Davis recipe. Battered cod and cole slaw Ingredients 1 pound cod fillets 2 eggs 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 cup ground golden flaxseeds 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder Instructions Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the cod into 1-1/2 to 2 inch pieces. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and butter. Beat continuously--don't let the butter cook the eggs. In a shallow bowl, combine the flaxseeds, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Coat each piece of cod in the egg mixture and then roll in the in the flaxseed mixture. Place on the baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, turning once. Eclipse Crescent Shadows Today was the total solar eclipse, and my house was in the "path of totality."

Eclipse Glasses, Probiotics for Heart, Muscle Recovery

Are your eclipse glasses fake? The total solar eclipse over North America is almost here, and Indianapolis is in the "path of totality," meaning the moon will completely block the sun here. A lot of people have gotten special glasses to safely look at the eclipse. But the American Astronomical Society says , "counterfeit and fake eclipse glasses are polluting the marketplace." Some of the counterfeit glasses appear to be safe, the society says, but others are fakes that are no more effective than sunglasses. One of the counterfeits they describe matches the glasses someone gave me. I don't know where she got them, and she's not someone I'd trust to perform adequate due diligence. I just got over an eye injury and I don't need another one--I'll try the pinhole method instead to see crescents during the eclipse if it's not too cloudy. Picture from Pexels . Heart Centered Probiotic I started getting scary heart palpitations several years ago

Diabetes Down, COVID Curiosities, New Glasses after Accident

Diabetes Down Despite Dietitians' Directions Last Sunday when I wrote about the grifters over at EatThis.com, which calls itself "Eat This, Not That," I was worked up enough to tweet to their medical expert board members if they stood by the site's article flogging sugary drinks and fast food for St. Patrick's Day. The site has over 1,300 articles, mostly puff pieces, on McDonald's and a news feed full of "the most important breaking news" on Doritos, burger joints and Chips Ahoy! I asked a dietitian who responded to me what exactly the "not that" part was in "Eat This, Not That." Important news about what you should eat! I was worked up until I remembered the saying, "You can't cheat an honest man." Meaning that this con, like a lot of others, requires some dishonesty on the part of the mark. Every Joe Six-Pack knows that cookies, chips and coffee-flavored milkshakes from Starbucks aren't health food. It takes s

My New Diet: How it's Going

Saturday I started a new diet to heal my cavities. It involves eating mostly foods high in vitamins A, D and K (fat-soluble vitamins) and calcium and phosphorus. I'm eating zero grains, but still eating a few chocolate candies (as in, three or so dark chocolate kisses per day) at work. To that end, on Saturday I bought a quart each of half-and-half and cream, two dozen eggs, liver, several tins of sardines on sale, and a bunch of salad ingredients. It's Monday and I'm already down to eight eggs and I've gone through half the cream and half-and-half. (I still have three-fourths of a pie dish of low-carb flan I made tonight with the dairy and eggs, and I fed a few of the eggs to my dog.) There's liver thawing in the refrigerator for tomorrow night and a can of sardines in my lunch (I already ate one can of sardines Saturday when I wanted a quick, easy snack). In other words, it's been incredibly easy to eat this food. I also changed my toothpaste to Xyliwhite(TM)

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Search This Blog