Ghislaine de Lessines

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since Jan 23, 2013
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Vermont, annual average precipitation is 39.87 Inches
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Recent posts by Ghislaine de Lessines

I'm in perimenopause.  I had run across the r/Menopause subreddit which clued me in that I was having night sweats!  I talked to my doctor and now I take a low dose of Estrogen and Progesterone. The risks are way lower than once thought and there are additional benefits like lowering the risk of osteoporosis.
1 month ago
Thank you for your reply Dr. Tilgner!  It's interesting that they all seem to work so similarly!
5 years ago
I am very curious about adaptogens in general.  When I first learned about them I was still nursing my youngest so played it safe by not trying them out.  

Now, with the guidance of a chiropractor/nutritionist I have been supporting my overworked adrenals with various adaptogens.  I used one supplement tablet for over a year which contained skillcap, licorice, ashwagandha, and Korean ginseng.  Now it seems that I need a different supplement which contains schisandra, bacopa, eleuthero, and rosemary.  

While I don't believe that everything listed are adaptogens, I am curious to know more about them to see if there is a pattern or trend with the two groups since they do not overlap at all.  I have not gotten around to digging into it myself, but I thought I would take tge opportunity to see if anything stuck out to someone as knowledgeable as Dr. Tilgner or anyone else who reads this post.
5 years ago
It's funny, it took me 9 months after I was given an Instant Pot before I was brave enough to use it!  Such a game changer in the kitchen for me.
5 years ago
You may want to look into how existing cohousing communities are set up.  It may help you to figure out some of the framework you'll want in place amongst yourselves.  
5 years ago
I love some of these ideas!  So far I have been using a garden fork to fill 5 gallon buckets that I transport by hand.  Or three buckets will fit in the Radio Flyer wagon I picked up at a garage sale to be pulled where ever needed.
5 years ago
Bryan, thank you for renewing tbis thread.  Travis, thank you for sharing all this. We hope to build a barn in a couple of years but the finances of it really worried me.  I clearly have more to learn,  but it seems more possible now.
5 years ago
1. Do not be afraid to try cooking something new, even if it involves a technique you have never tried before. Be brave and follow the recipe. Most things sound way more intimidating than they really are.  Bechamel is one of those French Mother sauces but if you follow a recipe to make Macaroni and Cheese from scratch, then you have made a Bechamel sauce.  Braising is the fancy word for what you are often doing to meat in a crockpot.  Consider the potato: baked, steamed, boiled, fried.  Practice cooking potatoes and you'll have a bunch of cooking techniques under your belt including knife skills if you want them.  

2. Seemingly simple foods are elevated to the sublime by using quality ingredients (many of which are quality just because you grew them yourself) and knowing the cooking techniques that brings out the best in them.  When you read the ingredients on a package of artisan sourdough bread it'll often be flour,salt, and water.  Isn't that amazing, but you can do it too!  Amongst many other things salad dressings fall into this category too.  

3. Cook what you like.  Ate at a restaurant and had a dish that was amazing?  Try to recreate it at home!  Find a recipe online for something like it, make it as written the first time, then start modifying it to your tastes.  Ask your parents/grandparents for the family recipe for your childhood favorites.  If you use ingredients you know you like, then even if you don't quite succeed at making it just how you wanted it, it is probably still tasty!  If not then you probably have a good idea what to do differently next time.  Tonight we used a grocery store gluten free pizza crust that turned out better on the stoneware than it did on the metal cookie sheet.  Next time I will move the oven rack to give each pie more space too (And honestly make a pizza dough from scratch. It was okay but kind of dried out on the surface.)

4. Substitute!  In the mood for a lemon goat cheese asparagus pasta recipe but asparagus season is over, substitute whatever green veggie you have on hand.  Green beans or broccoli will work great.  I recently used cilantro in my meatballs because I didn't have any parsley.  This probably fits under Know You Ingredients so you'll know what will sub for each other well.  

5. Learn ratios.  Salad dressings start with a certain ratio of oil and vinegar.  Crepes are a ratio between flour, milk, and eggs.  My favorite ratio for quiche is 6 eggs to 1 cup cream but that ratio (and the one for salad dressing) can vary by preference.  Ratios for baking are more firm due to the chemical reactions between ingredients being more sensitive.  
5 years ago
Yeah, the septic situation here in Vermont is tough.  I am a couple hours north of you.  The number that seems to get kicked around for septic systems is $20K,  then you can get started building the bouse.  Not so kind to the budget for sure!  Are you hoping to farm the land for income?  I wonder if you might be able to find some creative loan options taking that approach instead of a traditional construction loan.
5 years ago