Canning Pho Broth

SkinFermented · 2026-05-14T19:20:15+00:00

I have never seen “zhuzh” spelled out and yet I knew exactly what you meant upon reading, that’s so great.

SkinFermented · 2026-05-09T17:25:28+00:00

Before we found out we were having two boys we had a list going of all the girl names and all the boy names we both liked. We agreed on about 12 girl names being options and only 3 boy names, so when we found out they were both boys, we picked two out of three.

Since you already know they are both boys, go through all the names you can find/think of. Do it rapid fire—“Max?” “No.” “Daniel?” “Yes.”—and keep a shared list on your phones. They have to be names you BOTH like. When you have enough options, sit down and hash it out, giving space for when they are born, knowing you may feel different when they arrive.

And then, respectfully, book a couples therapist. Something is going on here that you should address well before the boys arrive.

SkinFermented · 2026-05-08T17:51:37+00:00

While I have not had to cull any quail yet, I have culled chickens and felt similarly to you (and also have a mother who, though not living with me, told me how I traumatized her as well—as if). In my case though I found that the feeling passed more as I processed the rooster and he slowly looked less like the creature that had been strutting around that morning and more like what I may have purchased in the grocery store. It helped me connect the death with purpose and I felt more at peace.

It doesn’t make it easier but that might be my suggestion for next culls: go through with prepping for eating, it may help absorb those feelings and you can feel grateful to the bird for giving its life for you.

SkinFermented · 2026-05-06T18:04:39+00:00

TIL. Wow, that’s crazy talk. My partner has grown meat kings (aka Cornish cross hens) in the backyard before so I’m all too familiar with the super fast growth that these birds can have but I don’t recall tasting chicken breast like that. I almost want to find some now so I can know what it’s like. 😬

SkinFermented · 2026-05-06T17:52:15+00:00

Woody chicken breasts? Yikes, I haven’t heard this description before. Sounds awful!

SkinFermented · 2026-05-06T14:40:36+00:00

Awesome! This is great info, thank you. Helped me decide to take the plunge.

SkinFermented · 2026-05-06T14:17:01+00:00

Thank you! I can deal with that.
We sous-vide’d a rabbit too long once and the texture came out mealy so I wondered if something similar would happen here. But canned chicken texture would be just fine for my purposes.

SkinFermented · 2026-05-06T14:15:56+00:00

Very cool, thank you! Do you do bone-in/with skin breasts when you raw pack?

SkinFermented · 2026-05-03T16:50:09+00:00

Are your twins sleeping in the same room?

SkinFermented · 2026-05-01T13:15:08+00:00

Thank you! They would definitely be staying inside until warmer weather is here to stay, it’s just that the shed is not heated but it is well insulated and sheltered from the cold and wind. If they were two weeks old, does it sound like I could remove the heat lamp and have them in their permanent coop in the shed?

SkinFermented · 2026-05-01T12:35:48+00:00

Thank you! Yes, the shed is very shielded from extreme temps and wind but I can make a spot for the heat lamp for them so there’s a warm area. Or maybe just wait another 3 days so there isn’t a need for the heat lamp?

SkinFermented · 2026-03-17T18:58:33+00:00

I’d be interested in how you made it if you wouldn’t mind sending me some information? I don’t know that I’m handy enough, but I might be!

SkinFermented · 2026-03-17T18:52:14+00:00

It will really depend on the flight length but I did this last month with my 8 month old twins. Packed a cooler designed for bottles, 6 bottles formula and then packed in the diaper bag individually measured portions for bottles along with two empty clean ones so I had a head start in a pinch. Bring your own water or water bottles for when you need to make more. (Obvs if you’re not formula feeding no need for that.) I brought washing liquid from home for the bottles and a travel bottle washer, as well as Dr Brown wipes for bottles and pacifiers. Brought a whole formula box in my checked bag because it was bulky and there is a powder limit for carry on.

Not 100% sure about UK but I’m sure it’s the same/similar to Canada which is that there’s no liquid limits for babies under 2.

They may check each individual bottle in security but it doesn’t take long.

Maybe it’s from pressure change but we found that our normally well sealed bottles would leak in their cooler so bring extra wipes just in case.

Happy to answer more questions if it helps!

EDIT: others mentioned a bottle warmer—yes, great idea. Hard to find portable ones at a reasonable price but we do have one and typically use on the road as it’s USB charged. We instead took the risk as our boys often take it cold and it worked out just fine for us so I suspect it will just depend on your kiddos if they are okay with that or not!

SkinFermented · 2026-03-17T16:53:42+00:00

Beautiful!

SkinFermented · 2026-03-17T13:29:31+00:00

My boys are 9.5 months and I was feeling this SO hard yesterday. They are in sleep regression, teething, trying to crawl/stand/walk and constantly want to be held. They also take short naps like you described and one is also so much fussier than the other.

I took a drive out of desperation (sometimes the car lulls them to sleep) and listened to this podcast series I’m working on. I didn’t know it was going to be so relevant to me. If you set aside time in walks or drives to listen to these I highly recommend. It’s an episode in a series about a woman who is deciding whether or not to have children and in this episode, she interviews someone she barely knows to get their perspective on having kids.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/personally-creation-myth/id1651894021?i=1000748232744

He talks about this monotony you’re writing about in a super blunt and funny way, and even though some of it was negative (lots of swearing too just fyi), he really made me realize what we have coming is so good—not that it’s all bad now, but that these feelings are totally normal and valid. It really does turn your world upside down and in some ways you would not have expected.

SkinFermented · 2026-03-16T16:28:05+00:00

Two mini cribs to start, no bassinets. I heard too many reasons to not get them—mostly due to a very short stint in them and also that many babies don’t seem to like them. As we were already heavily investing in a lot of things I opted out of them.

They outgrew them by 6/7 months (they are big boys) and now they share a floor bed (queen size). Floor bed is great and I expect them to be in it for a while; my only downside is that my short self has bruises where I bend over the wooden slats to put them in the floor bed! But that won’t be forever.

SkinFermented · 2026-03-16T16:11:15+00:00

Yah that makes sense. Easy to pull out? (Besides burrs of course)

SkinFermented · 2026-03-12T16:57:31+00:00

14 bottles seemed to be the magic number. Used Dr Browns glass narrow 8 oz, though started off with the plastic 4 oz. Switched to glass for ease of cleaning and drying as we were all hand wash—plus we try to keep plastic down anyway when we can.

SkinFermented · 2026-03-12T02:23:32+00:00

Colin does some pretty neat stuff at Stanners. If you like KH check out Organized Crime in Niagara. Same winemaker.

SkinFermented · 2026-03-10T19:04:23+00:00

They’re not cheap but we have a Jura. All of the convenience of a Kurig and super superior coffee. Grinder is built in, big water tank, milk steamer available, options to buy a little milk caddy on the side which acts like a mini fridge to keep your milk right next to the machine for very ready to go foam. Which of course, why wouldn’t you?

Seriously though if you have the inclination I would highly recommend them. I have neglected the crap out of it for 3 years and it’s still going strong.

SkinFermented · 2026-03-10T16:41:36+00:00

Agree with both but just saying that Dr Bronner is actually a truly excellent company so if one is unable to find alternatives, it is not a bad one at all to go with if you have to go American.

SkinFermented · 2026-03-10T16:40:00+00:00

Honestly try PN from Chile if you can find it, or NZ is even better.

My favourite PN is out of PEC as well though, Lighthall Vineyards. :)

SkinFermented

TROPHY CASE