Scalyfreak vs Stress Hydra, Round 2

[Scaly Freak]

On 9/21/2019 at 3:21 PM, Curl Brogo said:

I brewed my own last summer. You do not need to purchase a SCOBY. Just shop around for now. When you find a brand you really like, just dump a pint into a small batch and a SCOBY will grow, that you can use for other batches. Also, you do not actually need a SCOBY, just keep transferring starter from the previous batch into the new one. Having one for each time you start a batch may be a good thing. I'm not saying it affects nothing, but it is not a necessary purchase. Focus on  getting a hold of a couple 1 gallon jars and some swing top bottles if you want to do finishing and flavoring.

 

So... I basically just save the grime at the bottom of the bottle and let it sit in the fridge with some kombucha on top? That sounds too easy.

[Jean]

9 minutes ago, scalyfreak said:

@Jean, they have a great video about what to look for when buying a chef knife! Complete with links to the various models in the video description.... I really want a new chef knife now!  

 

Wow, thanks! I've never put that much thought behind buying a knife (I usually go into a supermarket and choose the one whose shape I like the most). I want a real chef knife now!

[Scaly Freak]

26 minutes ago, Jean said:

 

Wow, thanks! I've never put that much thought behind buying a knife (I usually go into a supermarket and choose the one whose shape I like the most). I want a real chef knife now!

 

That's the right approach though.You have to like the knife!

 

My one and only real chef knife was a Christmas gift many, many years ago. And after looking closely and following the link from the video, I am nearly 100% certain I have the Wusthof knife he's waving around and comparing the other knives to. It lives in a protective silicon sheath and comes out for special occasions. For day-to-day cooking I have a set of J.A. Henckels International knives that are not nearly as high end as the Wusthof, but still really, really good. I have been slacking off on sharpening them, but thankfully Epicurious has a video on that too!

 

I like my knives. A good knife is the entire difference between cooking being a chore, and cooking being a pleasure.  

[Stronkey Kong]

11 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

 

So... I basically just save the grime at the bottom of the bottle and let it sit in the fridge with some kombucha on top? That sounds too easy.

 

I don't think you need the grime. You just need to make extra sweet tea,  dump in some store bought kombucha and let that sit at room temperature with a cheese cloth on top of the jar.  If you're into kombucha, go check YouTube for some how to vids. It's not that easy, but it is easy. 

[Scaly Freak]

2 hours ago, Curl Brogo said:

 

I don't think you need the grime. You just need to make extra sweet tea,  dump in some store bought kombucha and let that sit at room temperature with a cheese cloth on top of the jar.  If you're into kombucha, go check YouTube for some how to vids. It's not that easy, but it is easy. 

 

That's good news, since the grime tastes nasty. I found a couple of blogs that made the process sound very complicated, but based on the rest of said blogs, they might have been trying to hard to come across as impressive and natural food-ish. (By far my least favorite part of any eco-friendly, zero waste, vegetarian, DIY beverages movement anywhere - the snobbery.)

 

Are there any particular videos I should look for, or just go for anything I can find?

[Harriet]

Watching carefully to see how the kombucha turns out. Will it have flavours? Will it be COCONUT flavoured??? 

[Mike Wazowski]

14 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

I like my knives. A good knife is the entire difference between cooking being a chore, and cooking being a pleasure.  

100% agree!! Is there a reason why you can't use the Wusthof more often? I'm under the impression knives are a pretty durable tool on the whole, but I could be mistaken there.

[Scaly Freak]

19 minutes ago, Mike Wazowski said:

100% agree!! Is there a reason why you can't use the Wusthof more often? I'm under the impression knives are a pretty durable tool on the whole, but I could be mistaken there.

 

I can, of course, I just have chosen not to. Using a knife dulls the edge, and I have been shamefully negligent in obtaining the necessary tools for sharpening my knives. I have a honing steel that came with the Henckels set, but honing is not sharpening.

...

...

...

I know what to attack Procrastination with now! *begins googling whet stones*

[Scaly Freak]

25 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Watching carefully to see how the kombucha turns out. Will it have flavours? Will it be COCONUT flavoured??? 

 

Um. Eww?

 

Coconut is for cooking and cocktails. Not for tea.

[Harriet]

1 hour ago, scalyfreak said:

 

Um. Eww?

 

Coconut is for cooking and cocktails. Not for tea.

 

...asking for a friend. A friend who drank coconut and lime flavoured kombucha from the shop and who, while not understanding the exact relationship between the drink in hand and the concept of fermented tea, nevertheless became obsessed with the strange concoction and was desirous of further coconut and lime flavoured things. 

[Scaly Freak]

2 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

...asking for a friend. A friend who drank coconut and lime flavoured kombucha from the shop and who, while not understanding the exact relationship between the drink in hand and the concept of fermented tea, nevertheless became obsessed with the strange concoction and was desirous of further coconut and lime flavoured things. 

 

Coconut and lime are an excellent combination in cocktails. Maybe in very cold kombucha... if the combination is balanced in the lime direction. Hmmm.

 

I currently have one shop-provided bottle left. It calls itself "gingerade" and sits in the mini-fridge in the corner of my cubicle here at work.

[Stronkey Kong]

On 9/24/2019 at 11:28 AM, scalyfreak said:

 

That's good news, since the grime tastes nasty. I found a couple of blogs that made the process sound very complicated, but based on the rest of said blogs, they might have been trying to hard to come across as impressive and natural food-ish. (By far my least favorite part of any eco-friendly, zero waste, vegetarian, DIY beverages movement anywhere - the snobbery.)

 

Are there any particular videos I should look for, or just go for anything I can find?

 

23 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

...asking for a friend. A friend who drank coconut and lime flavoured kombucha from the shop and who, while not understanding the exact relationship between the drink in hand and the concept of fermented tea, nevertheless became obsessed with the strange concoction and was desirous of further coconut and lime flavoured things. 

 

I found this vid which seems relevant...

 

Seriously tho, just get the sugar/tea ratio, dump in a kombucha you like, and wait for a SCOBY to grow. I usually start this with just a quart. Then you have your own starter. Just dump that quart, or pint or whatever you decide to start with into a gallon batch or whatever.

 

Also, you don't need the grime, but make sure your kombucha you use to innoculate your starter has grime. The grime means its real. Some kombucha is just tea with vinegar and lemon and yogurt runoff.

 

Then it gets a little more complicated when you want to do flavors. I transfer to swing top bottles with fruit added for secondary fermentation.

 

You can do this.

[Harriet]

3 hours ago, Curl Brogo said:

I found this vid which seems relevant...

 

Ah. Well that explains it very clearly. If I'm not terribly mistaken, I should put a lime in a coconut and drink them both. I might have to listen to the song a second time just to make sure.

[Gemma]

On 9/23/2019 at 9:55 PM, scalyfreak said:

Cut back on the stomach liner solvents. I think I either need to find a place that sells really cheap kombucha, or learn how to make my own. My favorite grocery store recently installed kombucha taps next to the beer grovler station so I'm thinking of just cleaning out a growler and go that route.

 

Make gym fun again. The preloaded program in Progression isn't very detailed at all, and would take way too much  effort to customize to work for me. So I dug out my very old training journal from before I joined TheRebellion, and will spend a portion of tonight preparing it for Mad Cow lifting. (There is an awesome challenge title in there somewhere. I can feel it!) 

 

Carry-over from previous challenge: Attack Procrastination  Prep. Training. Journal. Tonight. No excuses.

 

Decided to land a solid blow on Stress Hydra by having a very slow and relaxing night doing only things that I enjoy, that engage the brain and make the Flame of Anxiety settle down into a glowing ember for the evening. Ended up completely geeking out to various kitchen technique videos in the Epicurious YouTube channel, and now I have ambitious plans for cooking next weekend. 

 

@Jean, they have a great video about what to look for when buying a chef knife! Complete with links to the various models in the video description.... I really want a new chef knife now!  

 

On 9/23/2019 at 10:06 PM, Jean said:

 

Wow, thanks! I've never put that much thought behind buying a knife (I usually go into a supermarket and choose the one whose shape I like the most). I want a real chef knife now!

 

On 9/23/2019 at 10:25 PM, scalyfreak said:

 

That's the right approach though.You have to like the knife!

 

My one and only real chef knife was a Christmas gift many, many years ago. And after looking closely and following the link from the video, I am nearly 100% certain I have the Wusthof knife he's waving around and comparing the other knives to. It lives in a protective silicon sheath and comes out for special occasions. For day-to-day cooking I have a set of J.A. Henckels International knives that are not nearly as high end as the Wusthof, but still really, really good. I have been slacking off on sharpening them, but thankfully Epicurious has a video on that too!

 

I like my knives. A good knife is the entire difference between cooking being a chore, and cooking being a pleasure.  

Amen to all of the above. That vid was great, and kind of made me want a new knife but I totally don't need one. Hubs and I each have our own - both Henckels, but they've lasted over a decade so I'm in no hurry to replace with something higher-end. Our #1 criteria was 'how does it feel in your hand' - his feels awful to me and vice versa. 

I do sharpen mine often - but I'm a knife freak in general (pocket knives, throwing knives, I have a pair of folding knife earrings that I keep very sharp just for funsies...) so whetstones are plentiful around my home. If I upgraded to a Wüsthof or something that would be why, I'd be looking for something that held an edge a bit longer. 
 

@Jean - don't discount the blade shape part, too. Mine is the curved ("German") type he talks about in the video and I love it. Hubs likes a santoku with a very straight cutting edge, even more than the French knife he shows. Important to know which you prefer/how you like to cut. 


Dragging myself down from the knife soapbox edge ... 

 

How's your Hydra? 

[Scaly Freak]

3 hours ago, Gemma said:

How's your Hydra? 

 

I think it may be weakening a little bit. It has definitely lost its ability to regenerate lost health, so that's an improvement.

 

I have discovered that when I am proactive and actively attempting to take back control over my life outside work, bit by bit, I increase my resistance towards Hydra attacks. Proudly shared this with my therapist during our last session and she said "duh"  

[Jean]

I love your therapist's simplicity. Glad to read the Hydra is loosing its power as well as you developping the proper immunities to go through it.

 

 

1 hour ago, Gemma said:

I have a pair of folding knife earrings that I keep very sharp just for funsies...

Oh my! I love it!

 

Since it was requested in my last challenge thread, here are the knives I use for most of my cooking. All three are very basic ones you'll find in any supermarket around here:

 

The small one is the one I use for peeling things or cutting them on the thumb, over the pot.

The scallop edged one (is that how you say it?) is the one I use for most of my vegetables work.

The chef knife is the one I use when I want to get fancy or when I am cutting meat (oh the heresy!)

 

 

2 hours ago, Gemma said:

@Jean - don't discount the blade shape part, too. Mine is the curved ("German") type he talks about in the video and I love it. Hubs likes a santoku with a very straight cutting edge, even more than the French knife he shows. Important to know which you prefer/how you like to cut. 

 

I'm usually cutting things with a parrallel motion. I'm sure there are more suitable blades than the one I use for that now that I've heard of it. I'm also very bad at sharpening them (by which, what I really mean is that I don't bother), which is something I should really work on (also for my other cutting tools that would greatly benefit from it).

 

 

1 hour ago, Gemma said:

That vid was great, and kind of made me want a new knife but I totally don't need one

 

Same and now is really not the time for impulsive purchases.  Some of those knives look so great! Now I want to spend some time with a knifemaker, talk about stuff and get home with a few well adjusted knives as well as the whetstone(s) required to keep them sharp.

 

I'm a sad kitty...*

 

 

*The vids (plural because I've of course searched for more) are still awesome so thanks for ringing me in.

[Scaly Freak]

I would describe the knife in the center of your photo as having a serrated edge. I cut bread with mine.

 

And after clicking the link to those earrings, I am fascinated. Self-Indulgence says we have to buy them.

[Scaly Freak]

Cut back on the stomach liner solvents. The stomach lining is almost restored, or at least it feels that way. The pain and nausea is gone which has led to much better eating habits, since eating is no longer unpleasant. The heartburn is gone too, but I have stashed a couple of kombucha bottles in the mini fridge in my cubicle. I think of them as antidotes against Stress Hydra's acid breath weapon.

 

Make gym fun again. Did my first Madcow lifting workout last night, and learned that I had completely underestimated how much longer it takes to do a workout when you actually do all your accessories. I also learned two more things: 1. My poor core muscles have been horribly neglected while I fixated on nothing but power lifting. 2. Doing heavy squats while you have sever doms from a couple of days ago, is actually not more difficult than doing heavy squats without doms, just more painful. Lots more painful.

 

Carry-over from previous challenge: Attack Procrastination This evening I finally visited my profile on the new NaNoWriMo page and made sure everything had transferred over okay. I sent buddy invites to everyone who was in my buddy list on the old site, and recreated the community thread my camp cabin set up so we could keep talking to each other after camp.

[Deckard Gainz]

23 hours ago, Gemma said:

If I upgraded to a Wüsthof or something that would be why, I'd be looking for something that held an edge a bit longer. 

 

I have a set of Wusthof knives. I believe it is this set. And I can confirm they are fantastic and keep their edge very well.

[Gemma]

I would describe the knife in the center of your photo as having a serrated edge. I cut bread with mine. [emoji4] 

 

Agreed. The above is our collection - bread knife (I also use it for tomatoes), paring, my chef knife, and his santuko/chef knife.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

[Gemma]

20 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

 

And after clicking the link to those earrings, I am fascinated. Self-Indulgence says we have to buy them.

That awkward moment when I try to be a helpful, supportive accountability partner but I get distracted and shapeshift into a Bad Influence. Oooops! 
 

13 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

 

Make gym fun again. Did my first Madcow lifting workout last night, and learned that I had completely underestimated how much longer it takes to do a workout when you actually do all your accessories. I also learned two more things: 1. My poor core muscles have been horribly neglected while I fixated on nothing but power lifting. 2. Doing heavy squats while you have sever doms from a couple of days ago, is actually not more difficult than doing heavy squats without doms, just more painful. Lots more painful.

 

Carry-over from previous challenge: Attack Procrastination This evening I finally visited my profile on the new NaNoWriMo page and made sure everything had transferred over okay. I sent buddy invites to everyone who was in my buddy list on the old site, and recreated the community thread my camp cabin set up so we could keep talking to each other after camp.

My old coach used to make me do heavy squats even when I was extra-sore. I knew that she was right ... but I still made cranky-whiny faces and noises at her, because I'm a big ol' baby about DOMS. 

My NaNoName is GammaChan, if you want to send me a buddy invite. NVM 

[Scaly Freak]

23 minutes ago, Gemma said:

That awkward moment when I try to be a helpful, supportive accountability partner but I get distracted and shapeshift into a Bad Influence. Oooops! 

 

No worries. Self Indulgence is officially and thoroughly distracted by the link @Deckard Gainz posted. Though I did put the earrings on my short list of "things I will treat myself to for special occasions", so that was actually very helpful. Shiny things are very motivating for me. (Special occasions are lifting milestones, professional accomplishments and life milestones/accomplishments.)

 

The soreness is actually much lessened today, so heavy squats must be good for fighting off DOMS, but ouch did they hurt.

[Harriet]

13 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

The stomach lining is almost restored, or at least it feels that way.

Excellent.

 

13 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

Did my first Madcow lifting workout last night, and learned that I had completely underestimated how much longer it takes to do a workout when you actually do all your accessories. I also learned two more things: 1. My poor core muscles have been horribly neglected while I fixated on nothing but power lifting.

 

Yeah... accessories take time and they're less exciting than the big lifts, for me anyway. Oh, I thought powerlifting did work the core? 

[Scaly Freak]

14 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Yeah... accessories take time and they're less exciting than the big lifts, for me anyway. Oh, I thought powerlifting did work the core? 

 

After four sets of sit-ups and three sets of back extensions, I am 100% convinced that powerlifting doesn't work the core nearly as effectively as it should. Holy Abdominal DOMS, Batman!

[Scaly Freak]

ThredUp has my clean-out bag! According to my agreement with Self-Indulgence, that means we now are allowed to purchase one single thing from their website. I searched and searched and found a purse that practically screamed "I belong with you!" in color and pattern, so I applied my welcome discount code and placed the order. They offered to include a clean-out bag at no charge, so why not? I have more things I can get rid of.

 

This is fun!