Cooking with Jennifer

[Jennifer]

@Mossy, yep, I think that men (and women) are naturally more instinctual, but the many forms of oppression throughout history, including the insidious such as stereotypes, the current information (overload) age, the perpetuation of non-reality that is social media and so many other factors have led to self-doubt and overriding our instincts. I suppose I see instinct as foresight and analysis hindsight (so similar to what you said?), both having merit, but instinct seems less likely than analysis to be contaminated by social conditioning and thus a more reliable yet underutilized resource. I could be wrong, though. All I know for certain is I have benefitted greatly from exercising my once atrophied, instinctual and intuitive muscles.

I completely agree that the digital world has led to the neglect of our nature and needs. I take no offense to you referencing differences between the sexes, but I can’t be certain which qualities beyond physiology are innate to men for reasons mentioned above so I don’t have more to add to the conversation that isn’t based solely on my pool of reference—being the last surviving woman in my family I see more than once a year and hiking with all men, I’m in the company of men more than women.

Thank you. ️ I’m sorry you’re in a similar situation and your dad’s appetite is less. Having been let down by most doctors myself, I can understand your position. Playing music is good for my dad, just not the 5 hour long gigs he normally plays, while his immune system is weak from the treatments. He has a music studio he’s in most days and I suggested to him during the worst of his symptoms that instead of playing gigs, he gets together with the band just to jam but…

Sadly, able to help, but not willing to. But yes, I can see the delirium and our letting go as a de-stressing mechanism, however, a simple life—a tiny house near the coast and a lot of time spent active outdoors—has been my dream since I was a little girl so even though my desire to do nothing but float on water and eat takeout currently is the exhaustion speaking, it’s not far off from my end-goal and I feel no shame in that.

Oh, wonderful! Do you find the milk buns easier to digest than wheat buns, and is their texture lighter? If you do make the ravioli lasagna, fingers crossed your dad likes it.

[Jennifer]

I almost forgot…

I made this meatloaf recipe the other day using a cup of potato flakes (Bob’s Red Mill brand) instead of the half a cup of breadcrumbs and half a cup of potato flakes the recipe calls for, and for the beef I used wagyu, and my dad said it’s a keeper:

https://savoryreviews.com/potato-meatloaf//

[Mossy]

@Jennifer I think that makes sense, that instinct and intuition are counters to being overly analytical and hesitant, which either lead to, or are by-products of, self-doubt.  I don't see all social conditioning as bad, but I do see what could be called political manipulation and conditioning as bad.  And at the scale in which we're dealing with it, very bad, producing that non-reality you mention.  Really, though, that is the history of mankind, a battle for truth against falsehood, reality against non-reality.  We are in a new chapter of that battle, but it's always existed.  May we prevail.

Ok, so you've probably had an overdose of the male experience and influence, given your disproportionate interactions with them.  I get you may feel hard pressed to find any qualities worth considering. 

Hopefully your dad will listen to reason, though I imagine that which he loves to do the most is the hardest to give up, especially when he's feeling his worst.

I have experienced that myself, to a large degree: those who are able but not willing to help.  Human nature is stubborn.  One thing I've learned is that at the right time, those who are unwilling to change, will be required to change, out of necessity.  I've seen it in my own life many times.  Some people may call it karma.   I think this life is too short, that anything is truly arbitrary.  I think we each get the lessons we need, and nothing happens without consequence.  Though, at times it doesn't seem like it.

A tiny house by the coast is a good dream.  Much floating and much takeout, no doubt, would be included.

I could guess the milk buns are easier to digest, and they do seem to do so for me.  They do have wheat, but use milk to make them soft.  They definitely are light and fluffy.  They are quite a project, among my others, but satisfying when eating.

I'm glad to report that my dad liked the ravioli lasagna (pronounced la-zag-na, right?...haha).  He was reminiscing about Chef Boiradi when eating it...haha.  He actually ate the largest dinner he's had in a long time.  No joke.  So, that's a recipe I can add to the lineup.

[Mossy]

@Jennifer Excellent. Thank you. I'll test drive that one when I get a chance.

[Jennifer]

@Mossy, yes, tale as old as time. It’s scary to think how dangerous some hand-me-downs can be, that they aren’t created in a vacuum, but a byproduct of something far more reaching, since we are connected to everything that is and ever was, man being a strand in the web of life and all.

Actually, it was my dad’s lack of fitness that bothered him more than anything, but I had a heart-to-heart with him, reminded him of everything we’ve been through with my mum’s passing and his cancer diagnosis, spoke from experience of having to fight to walk again after my spine collapsed, and when he got down on himself, said he was never going to get better, I reminded him that doctors said I would never get better and I’m climbing mountains again, something I didn’t do by giving up. I think it’s important that we keep each other honest so I was a pain in his arse when he made excuses (lol), and he’s finally taking his recovery seriously. He started napping twice a day, eating and taking his supplements on schedule, and he’s now up to 2 mile hikes with ease. I just switched his thyroid from TyroMix to TyroMax and within two doses, he told me he got his appetite back so another victory.

I’m sorry you’ve experienced it, too, Mossy. It’s a lot. In my case, the lack of help from abled family isn’t stubbornness. Some take things for granted, don’t realize what they have until it’s gone, but I guess that’s their cross to bear, not mine. When my dad passes, I’ll have no regrets, just like when my mum passed, because I knew what I had when I had it, and did everything in my power to nurture and protect it. I mean, what is a family, if not for that? Blood may be thinker than water, but love is thicker than blood, and as far as I’m concerned, love is a verb. It means little, without action.

Oh, okay. You meant actual milk bread. If I’m not mistaken, it’s popular in Japan. I have a few milk bread recipes by Japanese bakers saved on YouTube. It does look light and fluffy. That’s why I tend to stick with brioche, but you’ve inspired me to make milk bread.

YAY! I’m so glad your dad liked the lasagna.

[Mossy]

@Jennifer Indeed, if you can recover, he can as well...at least to the degree allowable by age, circumstances, etc. The mind and the spirit definitely need support along with the physical. That's good how you've turned your dad around, and how you keep each other honest.  I tend to be the voice of reason for my dad as well. Though, I'd say my dad is more stubborn than yours.  Two naps a day is great.  I've told my dad sleep is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your body.  He does nap during the day, but only because he hardly sleeps at night.  So, I don't count those as naps, but as necessary sleep.

Interesting about the switch to TyroMax, for your dad.  I've mentioned thyroid to my dad several times.  If I wasn't so sensitive to supplements, I'd suggest to him that I'd try it first.  So the T3-T4 ratio, between the two supps, must've been the difference for your dad.

Yes, if we do our best, we've done our part.  Part of that I think is letting go, each day.  We can't be indebted to the past and that which we didn't do, but work in the day that we have and that which we can do.  That verb you talk about.

Yes, milk bread is big in Japan...but isn't everything, haha. They tend to love fluffy and cute.  So, it makes sense they do that to their bread.  Brioche is very good.  And from my very little knowledge, I'd say maybe a distant relative to milk bread.  I've yet to make it homemade, but it's on my list for French toast.

I've yet to try the potato meatloaf, but I hope to soon.  I made broccoli cheese soup today, and it is really hearty and good.  I realize talking about anti-thyroid broccoli on a Peat inspired forum is close to incurring anathema, but there is plenty of cream, milk, and cheese in the soup to counter it.

I did make pro-Peat beef liver pate this week.  It's not bad.  I'm not a huge fan of liver, so it adds some flavor to it.

[Jennifer]

@Mossy, yes, your dad’s naps are necessary sleep, for sure. Regarding the stubbornness, my relationship with my dad may be different than your relationship with yours? My dad didn’t raise me so it has taken difficult conversations to get to this point.

I’m not too sure why TyroMax is more effective for my dad, but I once came across a post on the old RPF stating that Ray thought alcohol degrades thyroid hormone so if true, maybe the ethanol in TyroMix affects its potency?

Yes, doing our best. Effort, itself, goes a long way.

Haha! Modern Japan (Tokyo?) does seem to like fluffy and cute. Brioche makes amazing French toast! Have you made French toast with the milk bread?

LOL I think cruciferous veggies only (potentially) inhibit thyroid function if they’re raw. Ray was known to make, and recommend, kale broth for magnesium and I don’t think he would have done so if it’s anti-thyroid, but I’m all for plenty of cream, milk and cheese.

Do you experience benefits eating liver? I’m not a fan of it, either. One whiff of it and I gag. Ray talked about the importance of eating what we enjoy, how it starts the digestive process, and it’s something I live by so I found foods I like with similar nutrients as liver.

[Mossy]

@Jennifer Ah, definitely a different dynamic then, between you and your dad. I would imagine he doesn't have as much pull on you then, and can't be too demanding, stubborn. (Not that my dad can get away with too much of that.)

Ok, that is interesting then, why Haidut would use alcohol in one and not the other. Maybe he simply has a different perspective than Peat on the use of alcohol in thyroid.

I have not made French toast with anything other than the Brioche. My only experience with milk bread is with the hotdog and hamburger buns. I have seen some Japanese pancake recipes that must be some type of milk bread or an off shoot of it. They are the extreme of fluffy. They look great, but my cooking ability is topped off currently, where I'll likely never put that on the menu. I struggle fitting in that which I'm already familiar with, so the fancy and fluffy will have to wait for that rare opening.

Yes, cream, milk, and cheese tend to make many things better. I just made again (tonight) potato soup, with 2 cups of heavy cream, and then if desired, grated cheese on top once served. (The mention of potato reminded me that I need to attempt to work in your potato meat loaf recipe.)

I do experience benefits with liver. I really don't like it, but it's one of the few foods I eat that feels medicinal. I eat it like a supplement. It ebbs and flows, in terms of getting that effect, but normally when I eat it, I get an energy boost and simply feel better. It truly is a burden to eat, but everything else I eat is not like that. I do so poorly with supplements in general, I don't mind this one food that is a chore. I think making it into a pate does make it more palatable, and I can see how I can make it even tasty and something to look forward to, such as by adding bacon, cream, and mushrooms, along with the other ingredients that give it flavor. I've seen high-end pates at the store (duck liver, lamb liver, etc), that are expensive, throughout the years, so it must be something worth making...haha.

I can't blame you for passing on liver. I did so myself for quite some time, but have incorporated it back in lately.

[sunsunsun]

@Jennifer chicken liver cooked with lots of diced onions (caramelize them first) and some fennel seed and a can of baked beans and a generous wollop of sweet bbq sauce served on buttered toast is fire af

[Jennifer]

@Mossy, actually, the pull my dad has had on me is even stronger than parental authority. With my mum’s passing and his cancer diagnosis, having those difficult conversations felt like the equivalent of my kicking a puppy, but my trying to fill the void that my mum’s death left is what led to my less than graceful burnout, and I’ve learned that love isn’t always warm fuzzies, sometimes it’s brutal honesty, and our relationship is better for it.

True, maybe Haidut know’s something Ray didn’t, and I’ve read accounts of TyroMix working well for others. All I know is, like my dad, I’ve used it for an extended period when TyroMax was out of stock and I found it ineffective. I lost my period, something that only happens when my thyroid function is poor, and got it back when I switched back to TyroMax. I do wish TyroMix worked for us because I dislike not knowing the source of the thyroid glands used in NDTs, for ethical reasons.

I think I know the pancakes you’re referring to. Are they roughly 1.5 inches thick? As luck would have it, today I came across Japanese milk bread at Whole Foods so I’m going to use it for French toast and see how it compares to the brioche:

https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/grocery/product/whole-foods-market-kitchens-whole-foods-market-kitchens-japanese-milk-bread-loaf-500-gr-b0f1zfnzzv

I meant to ask you way back, is there a potato variety you like best for potato soup?

I can see having liver then, for sure. Even if you did tolerate supplements, I still think liver (and real food, in general) is better. Had I noticed a benefit from it, I might have been motivated to make it a part of my diet, too, but I’m getting many of the same nutrients averaging upwards of 6 eggs a day and sea scallops several times a week. However, since overcoming the adrenaline dysautonomia/adrenaline attacks, I’ve been slowly transitioning my diet back to animal-based so if I do include liver in the future, I would have it in the form of pâté, for sure. Cretons, a French Canadian pork pâté, as well as liverwurst, are staples in my family.

[Jennifer]

@sunsunsun, thank you for sharing. We have a similar meal that’s a staple in my family, except we have the baked beans on the side. I’ll try it on the milk bread and see what my dad thinks. Thanks again!