what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI That's a fine tribute Dawg.

+1

[Meadbh]

I am nursing a cold after doing some business traveling this week, so I am staying home and taking Zinc and Halls, and writing a report. Yes, it's w*rk, but it's the type of w*rk that I enjoy. Hope to feel better tomorrow.

[citrine]

Meadbh...yes I have become and old married lady! I don't even recognize myself somedays! LOL.

I worked on one of my favorite clients today, got an appointment for another Tuesday...post op!! I love scar tissue and post op clients Went to Sam's to load up the fridge and freezer....DSSon will be with us for 5 days!

[Sarah in SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby When you die from botulism, we'll see who's on the short bus, Sparky.

True! But mostly that's from canning low acid veggies incorrectly. My mother did a lot of canning and freezing. We always thought we'd die from her green beans.
Speaking as a proud owner of a short bus, of course.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Speaking as a proud owner of a short bus, of course.

As my momma always used to tell me "They sent a special bus 'cause you're a special boy. Now put on your hockey helmet and go to school."

[citrine]

I am so scared to try canning....freezing sounds so much better! OTOH, I made my own body wash today....grated a soap bar, added water, and voila!

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski There is more to freezing food than throwing the food in a zip lock bag, carefully squeezing out as much air as possible and then putting the bag in the freezer? Shouldn't take 2 hours to learn that unless you are in the slow group.

Yes there is (but I still can't imagine it taking 2 hours).

Most things you would freeze will do much better if you do a quick freeze, and then package them. And some things need to be blanched. For example, for fresh green beans, you would blanch them, dip in cold water to stop the cooking, dry them, place on cold baking sheets from the freezer, and put the beans on the sheets individually, not touching. They will freeze quickly, then you can put them in containers with minimal air (vacuum is even better). Wrap well to protect from freezer burn.

This way, you can take them out and thaw them w/o them being in a big mushy lump. They will tend to separate out when removed from the container. The quick freeze can make a huge difference.

-ERD50

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby When you die from botulism, we'll see who's on the short bus, Sparky.

Botulism critters are anaerobic, and growth is inhibited by acidic levels and by cold temperatures. Freezing foods is not a botulism risk. Canning low acid products is, you need to pressure cook them to get the temperature high enough (above the atmospheric boiling point) to kill the spores.

Something I only came across recently was, even if the food has the toxin from the critters ( Clostridium botulinum) the toxin itself is destroyed by heat from cooking. So the problem would be more from canned, low-acid foods that are not cooked before eating.

Fortunately, beer pH is low enough to protect against botulism, and the alc from fermentation helps. There is some concern over the unfermented beer (wort), if stored before fermenting. But even that has been done, with no reported issues.

-ERD50

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 There is some concern over the unfermented beer (wort), if stored before fermenting. But even that has been done, with no reported issues.

I've been doing that for decades. Occasionally I will make a 12 gallon batch instead of my usual 10. The excess wort gets canned right out of the kettle (in a pressure cooker at 15 psi for 15 minutes) and stored to make future yeast starters. I've used that canned wort as late as a year afterward, with never the slightest problem.

[NW-Bound]

The recent posts spurred me to surf the Web to learn a bit more about botulism, and I did learn a few things I did not know before. Look at the danger of aluminum-foil wrapped baked potato, for example. Garlic in oil is also a big no-no.

Since I have never done home canning, nor vacuum packing, I managed to stay alive despite my ignorance. People may find it comforting to learn that the death rate from botulism is as low as 3 to 5% due to modern treatments.

Oh, one has to spend a few months inside an iron lung, but what a time to spend contemplating the meaning of life, and thinking about how one should live the rest of his life once he gets out of the respirator.

PS. I also ran across recent cases of prisoners suffering from drinking "pruno", another term that I learned. Wondered what that might have in common with beer making.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby When you die from botulism, we'll see who's on the short bus, Sparky.

[NW-Bound]

I forgot to share what I found about the potency of the botulinum toxin. One site said that a fatal dose can be measured in nanograms per pound of body weight.

For comparison, a cyanide fatal dose is measured in milligrams per pound of body weight.

This means botulinum toxin is in the order of 1 million times more deadly than cyanide. Yikes!

[freebird5825]

I got up earlier than usual...8 AM.

I made an orange cake from scratch for the Legion AM coffee dudes. I brought it down at 1100, but most of the guys had left. They will devour it tomorrow AM.

So I ordered a "poor man's Bloody Mary".
It tasted so good, I had another one.
And then a 3rd one.

I'm sure it was 5 o'clock somewhere.

I enjoyed a bowl of chicken noodle soup from the daily soup pot. It is customary to throw in a dollar to cover the cost of the ingredients. I stuck around and visited with some of the guys, then came home and watched National Geographic.
"The Sahara" is on now.

It's cloudy and chilly out, so I will be staying in tonight. It's leftover night...French Canadian meat pie from the freezer.

And...I ordered one of these babies for frequent muscle aches in my back and shoulders. I tried out the simpler version (only 2 massaging knobs in a small size pack) at a friend's house a few weeks ago and fell in love.
http://www.homedics.com/total-covera...e-cushion.html

[pb4uski]

I had never heard of a "poor man's Bloody Mary" before - I had to google it. I'll have to try it.

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski I had never heard of a "poor man's Bloody Mary" before - I had to google it. I'll have to try it.

A.K.A.

Red Eye
Red Beer
Bloody Beer
Red Rooster
Hair of the Dog

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 And...I ordered one of these babies for frequent muscle aches in my back and shoulders. I tried out the simpler version (only 2 massing knobs in a small size pack) at a friend's house a few weeks ago and fell in love. Total Coverage

Looks neat, I hope you enjoy it! There was a time when I would have just ordered something like that on impulse. Now that I am on a budget, that is not happening. It has to pass the "do I really need this? " test, as well as the "what"s my variance?" test.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Looks neat, I hope you enjoy it! There was a time when I would have just ordered something like that on impulse. Now that I am on a budget, that is not happening. It has to pass the "do I really need this? " test, as well as the "what"s my variance?" test.

I see you are suffering from 'first year frugality'.

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Looks neat, I hope you enjoy it! There was a time when I would have just ordered something like that on impulse. Now that I am on a budget, that is not happening. It has to pass the "do I really need this? " test, as well as the "what"s my variance?" test.

Pssstttt...go for it

If you have any deep muscle knots from stress, this is THE answer.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I see you are suffering from 'first year frugality'.

You betcha!

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 Pssstttt...go for it If you have any deep muscle knots from stress, this is THE answer.

Thanks Freebird, but not today! I just did an online purchase of my favorite Vitamin E moisturizer from the Body Shop.....10 jars and free shipping for half the price at the store. Let's see, that will go in the "toiletries" category, but will last for at least a year.....and I have a hairdo coming up later this week. Gotta watch those expenses, don'tcha know!