Pain, Pain, Go Away!

My glasses had never fogged up in the summertime until last week. T he heat index (temperature with humidity) was 100 to 115 F , or 38 to 46 C. Hospitals saw an increase in heat-related illnesses last week , and even with a reprieve on Saturday, the glass doors to the grocery store had so much condensation, they looked like someone sprayed them with water. Hopefully, the knuckleheads who think the heat warnings are just climate change propaganda have had the sense to come in out of the sun. Or the moon: even at 10 PM, it felt like a sauna outside. Photo from Pexels.com .  For an easy meal and to avoid heating up the house even more, I made a charcuterie plate of sausage, bleu cheese, pâté, hummus and avocado and a salad and had a glass of magnesium tea . For dessert, I made  frozen yogurt . I also picked up a chicken at the store. Read ingredient lists when you buy sausage or roast chickens--some contain carrageenan (a sickening thickener). Or roast chickens can taste like ted...

 It should be 1 pound of pickling cucumbers, not two, per quart jar. The corrected recipe is here:  https://relievemypain.blogspot.com/2023/08/fermented-bread-and-butter-pickles-ft-l.html

These sweet-and-sour pickles are the tastiest I've ever made. There's just a little added sugar (some of which the bacteria will consume) and turmeric that gives the pickles their bright color.  Special equipment Quart jar (or two pint jars) with lid(s) (or a fermentation jar) Weight for holding down the pickles (I ordered these ; glass fermenting weights or a small, clean stone that's been boiled and cooled are other options) Ingredients 1 pound pickling cucumbers (not salad cucumbers) 1 t turmeric 2 T brown sugar 1/2 c apple cider vinegar 1.5 T pickling salt (or other salt with no iodine) 1 T pickling spice Filtered water 1/4 t pickle crisp (optional) Directions In a medium bowl, combine turmeric, brown sugar, vinegar and salt. Stir well to dissolve the salt.  Wash the cucumbers. Remove and discard the ends. Cut crosswise into 1/4" slices.  Put the pickling spice in the jar. Add the cucumber slices and pack them down. Pour the vinegar mixture in the jar and top off w...