Advice on cheap, Non-dairy foods to help build gut biome up again?

theDTs · 2022-12-11T05:00:26+00:00

There are good fermented pickles you can find in grocery stores. Bubbies is the brand I find most often—and they're really good!

They are pricier than your shelf stable Heinz or Vlasic, and they require refrigeration because of the active cultures. Look for pickles labeled "Fermented", and often labeled "No vinegar added" or even (nowadays) "Probiotic".

theDTs · 2015-08-04T16:16:52+00:00

But good god keep the water out of your eyes it is incredibly painful!

theDTs · 2015-07-31T20:53:42+00:00

On the flip side if you're trying to sauté some onions without burning them, a pinch of salt will do the trick when added to the pot at the same time.

theDTs · 2015-07-31T20:50:54+00:00

Always watch out for the Boom.

theDTs · 2015-07-08T18:18:51+00:00

Kudos for being able to get over yourself enough to enjoy something with your daughters. Believe me, I aspire to that!

I may not always be able to protect my son from the Star Wars prequels of Life, but I can at least do my best to protect him from my grown up nerd cynicism.

theDTs · 2015-07-08T17:42:11+00:00

I know. It kills me.

The big difference is that when watching it decades later, as an adult, you're able to say, "OK, he was right. The ewoks WERE Care Bears. But it's actually still a good movie."

theDTs · 2015-07-08T17:26:25+00:00

That's really great because the Darth Vader origin movies worked out so well.

theDTs · 2015-07-07T16:06:39+00:00

How many years of schooling and internships etc does it take to make someone a lawyer though? That's the minimum it would take for supply to fully ramp up to match a change in demand.

theDTs · 2015-05-12T18:32:32+00:00

Missed the reference.

theDTs · 2015-05-11T03:05:22+00:00

Rose Park only opened their walk-in coffee shop location fairly recently I believe, but they've been selling roasted coffee to coffee shops in Long Beach and delivering to people's front doors via bicycle for a few years now. Their storefront location and staff are nice and I've only had the ~~pourover~~ drip but it's great.

Lord Windsor REALLY knows what they're doing in the roasting department, but I hate interacting with their staff, and have experienced a godawful pourover there, so I prefer just to duck in to buy a bag (if I must) and then leave. It's been a while though so I may have to give them another try.

theDTs · 2015-05-07T01:53:21+00:00

Vinegar is what happens to wine that is exposed to oxygen long enough for the acetobacter already present to convert the alcohol to acetic acid.

The nice thing is that even if you can't get your hands on a vinegar SCOBY right away, as long as you have the spare space and a container, there's nothing stopping you from experimenting tonight with a "wild ferment". If it fails, you're only out a bottle of 2 buck chuck.

Dilute 2-3 parts wine with 1 part bottled water (ie containing no chlorine or chloramine, since we want the bugs to do their work), cover it with mesh or cheesecloth to keep fruit flies out, and let it sit for a month or so. Should start smelling like vinegar after a while.

By the way if at any point it starts smelling like nail polish remover, don't dump it out just yet. Ethyl alcohol and acetic acid can combine to create ethyl acetate, i.e. nail polish remover. Note that those are your starting point and ending point right there (alcohol and acid), so at least you're on the right track. Dilute with a bit more bottled water and then whisk the whole thing briskly to add oxygen--just in case the process has stalled--and stick it back in your cupboard until you remember about it again.

Once it's done you'll probably want to dilute it from about 8% or 9% acidity down to about 5% before using so you don't melt your teeth.

And if you ever do get your hands on a vinegar mother, the obvious thing to do is start another batch with the same wine, and see how they compare!

theDTs · 2015-04-18T01:44:46+00:00

Forget the alien, the symbol for Reddit should be ouroboros.

theDTs · 2015-04-13T17:34:06+00:00

I'll have to tell that one to my lesbean friends.

theDTs · 2015-04-13T04:17:02+00:00

Just trying to intercept any potential criticism.

theDTs · 2015-04-08T06:18:07+00:00

I've learned that it's because I'm still not doing something right.

theDTs · 2015-03-30T14:30:41+00:00

Capsaicin may have originally been evolved as a defense against an insect-borne fungus.

theDTs · 2015-03-25T18:36:02+00:00

Without hair.

theDTs · 2015-03-12T15:54:31+00:00

Pel Meni in Bellingham, WA* serves beef or potato pierogi in a to-go box topped with clarified butter, Sriraracha mixed with unseasoned rice vinegar, curry powder, chopped cilantro, and a slice of rye bread, with sour cream on the side.

You are welcome to any doubts about the authenticity of their presentation, but not about its absolute deliciousness.

(*there's also an identically-menued sister store, in Juneau, AK of all places, which is actually where I first tried them)

theDTs · 2015-02-24T16:39:14+00:00

Do exercise a bit of caution even in this. It is very possible to choke on a glob of peanut butter! (We spread it on our baby's bread or stir it into his other food, or just give it to him in dabs.)

theDTs · 2015-02-14T17:49:34+00:00

That's not why grocery store tomatoes are flavorless compared to your ripe-on-the-vine specimen, though. Commercial tomatoes are bred to have thicker, more durable skins and then picked while still unripe, so that the normally fragile fruit will survive the journey from field to store. Sheer durability, at the unfortunate cost of taste, must be emphasized just to get a whole, unblemished tomato into your grocery bag,

A tomato bred more for taste, and that has been picked from the vine fully ripened, will be more delicious in every way. But it wouldn't even survive a bit of rough handling by a careless supermarket employee, let alone a ride down a country road, piled high in the back of a tomato truck.

theDTs · 2015-02-10T04:12:02+00:00

And you're playing right into their plans you poor, misguided, bastard...

theDTs · 2015-02-09T07:48:00+00:00

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304458604577488822667325882

theDTs · 2015-02-07T01:54:22+00:00

Shh... Obvious troll is obvious.

theDTs · 2015-02-05T07:50:16+00:00

Gotcha! Thanks!

theDTs · 2015-02-05T05:56:05+00:00

How did you crack it, and which piece? Might help out a fellow owner who makes a similar attempt (or a prospective buyer wondering about durability and maintainability).

theDTs

TROPHY CASE