whispercricket

My parents visited in the middle of January (I am not going into that now), and one of the things they left with was our old tiny rice cooker. My dad offered to get me a replacement, and I requested *drumroll* an Instant Pot.

For those like me who were unaware of the glories of Instant Pot, it is an electric pressure cooker / slow cooker / rice cooker / saute-er (I know, not a word) / yogurt maker / create household peace device with a stainless steel pot and the magic to make me able to cook food I like.

I got it to cook rice. Over the past month, these are the other items we've made, in order of awesomeness:

* Chicken Pho - plus star anise and with the greens on the side; I had to fight for the leftovers
* Beef stew - modified to add cloves and cinnamon and replace potatoes with Gilfeather turnips
* Risotto (used short grain Haiga rice: mushroom; chicken-fig) - still refining; has a tendency to end up a little sweet, but the consistency is great
* Crispy potatoes; French Fries - steams the potato before pan-frying or roasting, so they're double cooked
* Saag - no dairy and awesome
* mashed turnips
* Sushi rice (Haiga again) and Basmati rice
* Steamed Sweet Potatoes (and regular potatoes)
* Applesauce / Apple butter, to use in:
* BBQ Pulled Chicken (AIP)

Not sure I'd make again without modification:
* Goat/lamb boned curry - I had some issues with the bones (should have pulled them out / returned the meat to the dish); sauce flavors were awesome though
* Chicken Stew - good, but not as good as others
* Winter Vegetable Soup - very tasty, but my body isn't liking coconut milk based soups for some reason; I'd recommend trying with actual cream added post-pressure cooking for people who aren't dairy-intolerant


We have not yet done tried making hard-boiled eggs (I was not eating them during January) or stock. I also have a list of recipes to test out, unless I decide to make pho every week... Anyone want to swap recipes and tips? :)

(Thanks to metahacker for introducing the Crowdsource Tarot!)

Over the years, I've read bits and pieces of information about cell phones and radiation (or microwaves, or wireless networks, etc.). Mostly, what I saw was vague (or extreme) enough that I moved most electric items away from the bed, told myself that I needed to use a headset for my phone, tried to stay back from the microwave when it was on just in case, and sort of forgot about the rest.

However yesterday, lilairen mentioned an environmentally-focused blog that she sometimes reads, and paging back through its archives randomly, I found an entry called "10 Ways to Limit Health Risk from Cell Phones".

Well, if the French (and other countries) are banning cell phone use in their public elementary schools, then that's interesting...I had also heard that at least one Canadian university had decided not to roll out a WiFi network due to potential health concerns (the radiation, it's everywhere! O.O).

Even more alarming was the report (which I thought was linked off the DailyGreen entry, but now doesn't seem to be - how odd) called Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern (Science, Spin, and the Truth Behind Interphone). I haven't done any checking as to what dissenting responses may exist to the report (happy to get that information), but the report at least is endorsed by a range of scientists, doctors, etc - not just one or two specific people. I found its review of the data to be a bit alarming but not alarmist or sensationalized - I would be very interested in knowing other people's reactions as well.

An inset quote from the report: “In a world where a drug cannot be launched without proof that it is safe, where the use of herbs and natural compounds available to all since Egyptian times are now questioned, their safety subjected to the deepest scrutiny, where a new food cannot be launched without prior approval, the idea that we can use mobile telephony, including masts, and introduce WiFi and mobile phones without restrictions around our 5 year olds is double-standards gone mad. I speak, not just as an editor and scientist that has looked in depth at all the research, but as a father that lost his beloved daughter to a brain tumour.” Chris Woollams, Editor, Integrated Cancer and Oncology News, Icon Magazine

The report also notes that the effects of cell phone radiation are the sort that would build up over time and amount of exposure, and it's really just getting to the point where 10+ year studies or reviews can actually be attempted.


Both pages had some suggestions for reducing your exposure to cell phone radiation (which I mostly combined into one list):

( Steps to reduce exposure )

(Look, a post. Without much personal content, but still something.)

We just cleaned out a bunch of extra A/V and computer cables, and I'm trying to find a place to donate them. If anyone could use anything on this list, please let me know - they're free. Also, if you know of a place that might want these, I'd be happy to take any information, as I'm mostly starting by calling around to thrift stores (I'd rather reuse over recycle to start).

( Read more... )

(via mr_teem)

Giant Microbes has added new products!

Oooh, maybe it would be nice to have a White Blood Cell to cuddle when I'm sick. Go little white blood cells! Fight those invaders! Fight like...the wind...(er... :} )

For many, many people...

Dance Dance Immolation

Also (added to this entry because I didn't really want to create a whole separate new one):

Quoting out of context by the "liberal" media (NYT) (gah! - example is short but clear)

I've got enough going on at work today that I'm going to write down all the non-work things that come to mind so that my brain doesn't explode.

( Read more... )

I keep forgetting to actually post this - here are the answers to the 15-song lyrics meme I put up last week.

( The answers, oh yes )

"Never trust a man with a blanket."

Thank you, It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. :)

*doo de doo doo de doo doooo dooooo....doo de doo doo! (dee dum dum dee dum dum dee)* Snoopy dance!