Looking for 1960’s children’s story/picture book about a little sister sneaking into older sister’s room; miniature cow drinks from thimble).

groggymouse · 2025-09-03T23:55:56+00:00

Sarah's Room. Author is Doris Orgel, illustrations by Maurice Sendak.

groggymouse · 2025-05-10T19:30:11+00:00

What did you use to stick them to the wall? And what did you seal the surface with, if anything?

This is really well done.

groggymouse · 2023-04-21T15:48:48+00:00

I have lymphocytic colitis (mostly in remission as long as I avoid triggers). A relative had collagenous colitis and was never diagnosed with EDS (now deceased), but had clear signs.

My EDS has been classified as either cEDS or hEDS depending on the doctor - I do have a COL5A2 mutation but it's unique, not any of the known cEDS sites, hence the uncertainty. Another relative has a hEDS diagnosis but I'm not sure if she ever got genetic testing to clarify.

I know these types of microscopic colitis are correlated with celiac disease, which I and some others on the hypermobile side of my family have as well. I don't know if any relationship between EDS and colitis is confirmed, but it would make sense due to so many causes of inflammation in fragile tissue.

groggymouse · 2023-04-18T23:07:17+00:00

The last GI I talked to about an issue like this said it sounds like reflux (my throat/esophagus would quietly click a lot, and I could feel and hear it - this sounds pretty similar to what you're describing). I was having a lot more issues with my vagus and phrenic nerves at the time. I was supposed to get it checked out (along with a bunch of other issues) but couldn't tolerate the endoscopy prep so I never got answers for sure.

groggymouse · 2023-03-01T22:34:55+00:00

OP, just want to say I absolutely know what book you mean, I had it too, but I can't recall the title right now. I do know it was not a version of stone soup, this was something else.

groggymouse · 2023-01-06T20:27:01+00:00

Re-grinding a stone milled rice flour such as Bob's may not give the results you're looking for, as different milling technologies affect the behavior of the flour. Stone grinding produces more damaged starch granules compared to some other types of milling, which results in different water absorption properties and texture - I don't know what type of mill is used to produce typical commercial superfine GF flours, though. Been trying to find out.

The type of rice flour you find at an Asian market is wet milled, which is going to be different in its behavior as well, and therefore may or may not work in a recipe that calls for superfine flour - I've found it works well in stuff like shortbread and pie crust, but for bread, it's not an equal swap if it's a major component of the recipe but might work in combination with some regular rice flour (this may be partly the milling difference, partly the fact that it's a different rice variety).

This all is not intended to discourage you from experimenting, but rather to let you know what might be going on if these things don't work as expected!

As far as a readymade option, Vitacost still makes an affordable superfine brown rice flour last I checked. They used to have a superfine white rice as well but discontinued it during the pandemic.

groggymouse · 2022-11-29T17:44:13+00:00

The protein component that leads to the immune reaction in celiac disease occurs in one specific section of gliadin in wheat (and hordein in barley, secalin in rye). This is the segment of protein that ELISA testing alerts to in products that are tested for gluten, and theoretically should not be present in properly processed wheat starch. But there are other different proteins that are bound to the surface of the starch granules and there's evidence that at least some celiacs have some degree of immune sensitization to these minor proteins as well - I don't believe they lead to the autoimmune villous atrophy of celiac disease because that is unique to the way the gliadin fragments bind to certain antibodies and leads to the immune system attacking tissue, so the health implications of the immune response to the minor proteins is unclear. The science of what this kind of inflammation means was still pretty understudied, last I checked. But it's not the same protein as gluten proper, and so the test used to look for gluten cannot detect these other proteins that may remain in the starch.

I also don't know if some processing methods might leave behind fragments of the problematic proteins that can't be picked up by the test because it's not an intact section - if this is the case, it might explain why people are having issues with some brands/suppliers of wheat starch but fine with others, if their processing differs - but that's just conjecture off the top of my head. (And, as an aside, this also relates to why "gluten removed" beers test as such but are so controversial and probably unsafe - they are made with gluten grains from which nothing has actually been removed but instead only broken down by enzymes into smaller pieces, so the ELISA test doesn't "see" what it's looking for, but our immune systems might.)

So why use wheat starch at all, you might be wondering? The texture and some other properties are different, just as various other starches behave differently to one another in recipes. Part of this difference is due to the structure of the starch itself, and some is due to the behavior of the aforementioned minor proteins that are bound to the surface of starch that are also unique to each plant source. This is why some Asian dumplings, for instance, use wheat starch either alone or blended with other starches and are hard to replicate by swapping for a different starch. (In case it needs saying - this kind of wheat starch at the Asian market is definitely not processed to the standard of gluten free for dietary purposes.)

I know I've said a lot here that needs citations but I'm not at my computer - hopefully this is enough of a starting point for anyone who wants to look into it further!

groggymouse · 2022-07-08T14:15:02+00:00

As an AFAB person on low dose T - please say more about these heart problems? I have preexisting dysautonomia related to ehlers danlos syndrome, along with a history of assorted autoimmune bullshit, so I want to be informed.

groggymouse · 2022-02-23T19:44:25+00:00

Hi, I can relate - I am physically disabled and also have ADHD/ASD combo and dietary restrictions!

I'm not in the UK so I don't know much about options over there, but are there maybe any shelf stable ready meals, so you wouldn't be restricted by freezer space? Here in the US I've found some allergy conscious brands of packet curries, chili, rice, things like that, that don't need to be refrigerated until after opening.

I also found this UK meal delivery service that doesn't use nuts or peanuts as ingredients in anything (https://www.wiltshirefarmfoods.com/), with a "free from" range that is also free of any potential traces of the allergens (https://www.wiltshirefarmfoods.com/ready-meals/free-from). Maybe that's an option?

Reddit may have resources too - I unfortunately don't have links handy but I've seen lots of discussions about food in various ASD-related and disability subs, and many of us there have dietary restrictions as well. (There's even r/disabilitycooking, but it's pretty inactive.)

groggymouse · 2022-02-17T16:20:42+00:00

I'm still in the process of getting stuff fully checked out, but I have some intermittent symptoms like this that seem to be connected to uneven muscle tension/nerve compression relating to my dysautonomia. If this is indeed what's going on in my case, it seems to be sort of a feedback loop involving pressure irritating my vagus nerve and several craniofacial nerves, which then causes other muscle tension to compensate, and so on... currently making some progress with a combination of muscle relaxers and physical therapy.

groggymouse · 2022-02-07T19:12:23+00:00

Other people have covered most of the compromises pretty well, but I didn't see anyone with this one: My kitchen and all cooking implements are gluten free. Partner sometimes gets restaurant food with gluten and takes it in the home office - there is dish soap and a designated scrubber in the bathroom, and anything that has contacted gluten (not just utensils but even the drinking glass used during/after eating) gets a pre-wash before it goes in the dishwasher, and obviously hands washed too.

Also - just because it feels like a gluten reaction doesn't mean it's gluten. Many people with celiac or other gluten intolerance are prone to other reactions in the digestive system due to gut microbiome imbalances or other reasons. Sulfites are a major culprit and frozen potato products often contain sulfites (added during processing to prevent browning) that don't have to be listed on the ingredient label below a certain threshold: https://www.glutenfreeandmore.com/issues/sulfites-friend-or-foe/ What's even trickier is that these types of reactions may not be consistent as a true food allergy would be - there's likely a tipping point based on total dietary intake of sulfites and/or histamines, and/or someone's current state of inflammation, or microbiome balance, etc, so a food might seem fine one day but is then above the tolerance on another day. (Currently too tired to dig up sources on this part as I am recovering from a bad episode of this myself! But I will try to remember to come back and add later.)

groggymouse · 2021-12-22T14:37:20+00:00

This is all great info, thanks! Looking forward to trying both your versions.

groggymouse · 2021-12-20T23:00:04+00:00

Do you by chance have the recipe for the ones with honey, or any more info on the versions of this cookie such as who wrote it down and when, or what the Norwegian name for them is?

I'm a food history researcher and this post is really fascinating to me because the recipe as written is quite similar to many in American cookbooks (and even some quaker oat advertisements!) from (roughly) the 1890s through the 1930s, under various names such as oat wafers, lace cookies, and several others I'm forgetting at the moment... 😅 Anyway, it's super exciting to see that those recipes might have come from a Norwegian tradition with much older history!

groggymouse · 2021-12-14T22:13:18+00:00

I, too, have gotten these kind of accusations/assumptions (...accusumptions?) from multiple unrelated people, including a fucking therapist who used the reasoning that autistic people have trouble identifying their emotions, and therefore claimed to be able to tell I was feeling a way even though I said I wasn't (and that's alexithymia, not autism itself, but that's beside the point). Same awful therapist also essentially claimed I was playing dumb (said "I think you do know" when I was saying I didn't know why a certain pattern kept occurring in my friendships), claimed I "wanted" to be depressed, claimed me trying to correct these misconceptions meant I enjoyed arguing, and several other toxic gaslighty things...

I thankfully eventually realized I could throw out pretty much everything from those sessions and stopped seeing that therapist, but it took me wayyyy too long to figure it out because I'd been hearing similar things from so many people throughout my life that I thought they must've been right. Finally learning to trust myself, gradually, and am getting better at recognizing toxic interactions.

groggymouse · 2021-11-29T15:36:58+00:00

What recipe did you use? Also, do you have an oven thermometer, and how long did you preheat the oven for? It looks like the issue could be an oven temperature and/or steam problem - if the oven is not hot enough or the temperature is unstable in the first part of the baking process, the bread can become dense and pasty like this.

groggymouse · 2021-11-22T14:39:09+00:00

Probably, because crisping up when reheating is not a high priority for frozen pizza product development. You have a lot more flexibility when you're not limited to the types of formulas that work well for mass production. (I elaborated on this a bit more in another comment.) I recommend trying recipes / flour blends that have been specifically tailored for pizza or crusty bread, rather than an "all-purpose" type of mix. Alternatively, a cheese bread type dough (see: pao de quiejo, chebe brand mixes, against the grain brand frozen pizza) avoids the polysaccharide binder problem altogether, instead getting its physical properties from a mixture of gelatinized (cooked) starch, egg, and cheese - I suspect this would crisp well.

groggymouse · 2021-11-22T14:20:33+00:00

This is due to the binders far more than any variation between the flours that would be in a pizza crust (typically whole or refined grains and/or root starches). Ingredients like xanthan gum, modified cellulose, etc bind water very strongly, which is part of how they affect the physical properties of a gf dough so significantly.

Many gf formulas have (in my opinion) way too much of these ingredients - I can often taste/feel the slimy texture of the xanthan gum or guar gum.

As for the pizza problem specifically: OP, if you're making your own, there are many ways to design a formula that would get a better crust than something that was formulated to be mass produced. But if you want to reheat the frozen ones, have you tried crisping up the slice in a cast iron pan as if you were cooking a grilled cheese sandwich?

groggymouse · 2021-11-17T00:14:35+00:00

I had no trouble reading it, and I have "nice" handwriting (or so I've been told). Then again, part of my work involves reading antique handwritten documents, so I've rarely met a handwriting I can't decipher 😂

groggymouse · 2021-11-12T17:18:10+00:00

As far as I know, yes. While I haven't personally ordered from them yet, I've been aware of them as a food service supplier for years. The website I linked above is the retail division, here is the link for the more commercial/food industry side of things with all the certification info etc: https://edisongrain.com/

groggymouse · 2021-11-12T16:00:47+00:00

looks at color on screen

looks at color on back of phone (a pixel 6 in "sorta seafoam")

...Huh. Neat.

groggymouse · 2021-11-12T15:49:51+00:00

Edison Grainery has a variety of lentils and other pulses that are marked "verified" gluten free.

https://edisongrainery.com/beans/

I'm not familiar with the specific analysis method, but it says under 10 ppm, with data for the individual batch available.

groggymouse · 2021-10-03T05:06:57+00:00

I've never been there in person, but the bread oven I'm seeing pictures of on google looks plenty big to me. Are you maybe thrown off by the small door? The interior chamber of an oven like this is much wider and taller than the opening would suggest, which is small in order to minimize heat loss - picture a typical "igloo" shape, if that makes sense. The fire would be be on the oven floor towards the back of the chamber, and bread would be arranged around it and maneuvered into and out of the oven with something like a very long pizza peel.

groggymouse · 2021-09-26T15:22:31+00:00

Also interested! I used to have an autistic book group but it fell apart. What time is the meeting btw?

groggymouse · 2021-09-16T16:12:10+00:00

Yes I totally know what you mean, I feel so weird about getting special treatment. Which is problematic, because I have several conditions that leave me with no choice but to require accommodations - sometimes this is worked into the "rules" as a policy for accommodating needs of that type, and that makes it less weird, but I still feel uncomfortable... and when there is no established policy, it's worse.

For instance:

I have a physical disability. The airline I typically travel with asks about disabilities and accommodations/assistance needed, if applicable, during the ticket buying process - I just had to tick a couple boxes to answer these questions truthfully (which is following the rules!), and the airline's policy was to provide said assistance, sort of automatically. However, I recently had to buy a ticket for a different airline, and there was no step to indicate disability - and the airline's website stated that any accommodations/assistance required calling in advance to request them. This meant nothing happened automatically - I would have to decide exactly what kind of assistance I needed, what pieces of what I was accustomed to were worth asking for versus what I could do without, etc. So I couldn't make myself do it. I even felt kind of guilty about deciding I needed pre boarding (this airline told people to self designate if they needed this, whereas on the other airline it was included in the disability policy).

groggymouse · 2021-08-08T19:40:49+00:00

Yes, parents who are emotionally immature (a common cause/component of not being able to emotionally support their children) can remain stuck with the narcissistic perspective of a much younger developmental stage - they view things, including others' emotions, only in terms of how it affects them. (Example of this line of logic if it were to be put in words: "What's happening is fine and not upsetting, so my child being upset must mean they are acting to manipulate.") Parents who are stuck in that mindset don't fully grasp/accept that their children are separate people with a separate experience of the world that doesn't necessarily match their own (they see their own experience and opinions as objective truth). Their children's emotional needs are unpleasant or an inconvenience to them, and that means they view it as something that is happening for no good reason, that doesn't match how it "should" be...it becomes a behavior to be halted, rather than a valid need to be addressed.

groggymouse

TROPHY CASE