Tereza Okava

This is something that only occurred to me hours later, since it isn't a problem in my region, but I used to live in a place where it can be.
Arsenic contamination/accumulation tends to happen with rice. Research has shown that rinsing can remove some, although cooking rice in lots of water like pasta, as mentioned upthread, removes more.

Nancy Reading wrote: isn't rice water a starting point for essential microorganisms?

Absolutely!! I also use the rice water as the first step in my bokashi starter.

Yes, wash (rinse), absolutely. I learned to cook in Asia and was taught the rice often has starch in it that needs to come out.
The number of rinses may vary-- unless there is some reason (like weevils) I usually rinse jasmine or basmati rice once, but short-grain white gets three rinses. Brown rice, of whatever type, usually only needs one rinse just for hygiene.
I don't use fortified rice that has anything added to it that I'd be concerned about eliminating.

That said, I do often buy organic or better products that may have the occasional weevil, husk, or some other random thingies. That is a sign, to me, that it is real food made by real people, and I rinse just to make sure I get any non-rice type stuff out before cooking.


(added bonus: don't dump that rinse water!! I was taught to hold it to soak my eggplants or potatoes, but I also occasionally use it as a bit of extra nutrition for potted plants. A friend of mine who grew up in Hong Kong told me that rinse water from white rice was often used to clean the sink, which I've never tried but has always intrigued me.)

holiday is over, this week we were back to work but I was unwell, feeling better today (Sunday) and went through the fridge/stocks to decide what to do.

Had to wake up my sourdough, discard went into a pizza dough that I'll make for tomorrow dinner.
I got a great deal on tomatoes, so currently making sauce for the pizza.

For tonight, I had some chicken leg/thighs I got on sale; as the tomato sauce cooks on the stove, I am making them Chinese salt-baked style in the rice cooker (skin on, rubbed with a homemade mix of ginger powder, white pepper, salt and cooked on the oiled pan with some sliced ginger and green onion whites. I have it on the 'steam' setting with aluminum foil sealing under the lid to keep all the moisture inside.... 25 minutes each side, only two quarters fit in my cooker but luckily that's exactly what I have).
Made some jasmine rice earlier to go with it, and picked some sweet potato leaves to make a quickie stir fry with a wee bit of garlic.

My appetite has up and left me, so I'm trying to make things that will stick around and be available for lunches for my husband, even though the last thing I'm thinking about is food.

i think the beet thing varies by person, because i can see a difference even if i only have a spoon's worth of grated beets on my salad!!
keep in mind that supplements (including sprinkling brewer's or nutritional yeast) on your food can sometimes give you bright colors in your urine, even if you're super hydrated.

besides color, murky or cloudy urine can indicate UTIs.

Andy!! I was just telling my mother about my own saga germinating these little stinkers. I live in zone 9b, and its supposed to be a hot summer, so I figured this would be a good year for them. In my experience they do well in 10+, but i'm an optimist.
I special ordered the seeds, tried once normally (soaked seeds, mix that worked for everything else). Nothing.
Tried again, nicked and soaked seeds, nothing. After 6 weeks of watering I started a new flat of something else and moved that flat to a hotter part of the yard and kept watering, and lo and behold 3 of the dozen i planted came up. It was HOT, like 35C+.
I transplanted the three seedlings. One fell victim to the feral cat that likes to poop/scratch in my garden, dirty rat. Another one was doing fine until this week, when it seemed to decide it didn't like living and decided to wilt away. Number 3 is looking okay, but I don't see myself getting the big old harvest I expected. We shall see.

Roselle has to be one of the hardest things I still stupidly insist on growing. But it wants hot hot hot.

i ran this through perplexity and this is what it spit out.

Yes, lambskin condoms are still manufactured and available as a niche product in 2026. They remain popular among those seeking a natural, latex-free option for a more skin-like sensation, despite not protecting against STIs due to their porous membrane.
​

Current Manufacturers
Major producers include:

Church & Dwight (known for Trojan Naturalamb line).

Ansell and Sir Richard's, offering premium natural varieties.
​

Specialized brands like Shandong Geamay Latex Technology and Sagami Rubber Industries contribute to global supply.
​

Market reports project steady growth, with the lambskin segment valued at around USD 60-80 million and expanding due to demand for hypoallergenic, biodegradable alternatives.


Ansell apparently markets "natural latex" condoms, you can search on Amazon. So does Sir Richard's https://www.instagram.com/sirrichards/?hl=en
I didn't go much farther than that but there must be people with latex allergies who want alternatives, it might be worth further research. Good luck!
​

ooh Burra you're a superstar!! thank you!

The golden flax explains it, i have always bought the darker one-- and then we get that "uber healthy" appearance. I will have to try the golden for, um, stealth use.

Burra, could you give us a very roundabout idea of how you make the biscuits? I love using flaxmeal, and love biscuits. Every time I try something with that much flax, though, it usually looks leathery and.... icky! I grind it myself, maybe i'm not grinding fine enough? anyway, yours look fabulous and I'd love to try! thanks!

Welcome James!
Check out this thread https://permies.com/t/57366/Cool-person-space-methods#484308 about "cooling the person and not the space" (not "cooking the person", which for some reason my fingers really REALLY want to type....).

also https://permies.com/t/14038/Electricity-free-cool-home#125306

and also a super interesting project in a place that gets even hotter than where I live:  https://permies.com/t/129015/Geothermal-cooling#1013321