LACEBLADE EVOLUTION

[laceblade]

Uhh, so turning to Dreamwidth for life advice about herbal tea helped me a lot!

So now I'm going to turn you again, for discussion about two other topics you might enjoy!

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Project 1: Help me find alcohol that I can drink!
SO. I have non-ulcerative dyspepsia that disallows me from consuming certain foods/beverages - generally ones known to aggravate heartburn/GERD.
I have recently discovered that this condition might never go away! Which means that I need to find some damn alcohol that I can consume. I live in Wisconsin, for fuck's sake.

I have carried out a few experiments - wine and beer do not work. Rum on ice does not work (to be fair, maybe that doesn't work for anyone!).
I had shōchū pomegranate at a Japanese restaurant, and that was fine.

Things to know about me-the-alcohol-drinker:
--I am a total lightweight. Prior to illness, my maximum for a normal night at bars was like, 3.
--Favorite drinks were amaretto sweets and peanut butter martinis.

Things I can't have due to medical condition:
--Citrus, citric acid
--Milk
--Carbonation, so beer is probably not an option; this also severely limits my mixer options, i.e., all soda.
--Caffeine
--Technically alcohol is on the list, but whatever.

Maybe rice milk could be used as a mixer?! It won't curdle!
I've also been keen to experiment on letting non-caffeinated soda go flat in the fridge, and seeing if I can drink it post-carbonation. That's about all I've got.

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Project 2: Talk to me about good balcony plants for a north-facing apartment balcony in Wisconsin!

That's about all I have for descriptions. I generally SUCK at keeping plants alive.
Growing food would also be okay, but I'd like to stick to things like basil, instead of trying to grow, say, an entire summer's worth of green beans on my porch.
I want some pretty floral shit.

I can't eat tomatoes, so I won't be growing those.

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As a follow-up to project 1, maybe there'll be a night out to a bar in the future, where I test drinks to see if I can handle them, and give free drinks to you fine people if/when I can't! Everyone wins!

Comments

[sasha_feather]

Northern exposure: Ferns, fuschias, African violets.

Easy growers that can go just about anywhere: spider plants, ivy, philodendron, peace lily.

I love plants and would be happy to give you some starter spider plant babies.

[littlebutfierce]

I know nasturtiums are considered pretty un-killable here--I grew some last year & then apparently the seeds from the blooms blew into a crack against our garden wall, b/c later on these MASSIVE ones grew there. Like, they kept sprawling towards the house & I thought they were gonna get us. The back garden gets the most sun, but this is England: so that ain't much.

[laceblade]

I do have a spider plant that I've been growing since babyhood from a friend of mine! So I think I'm good on the spiders.

OMF, African violets are pretty, I didn't know they could grow here! And ferns might help me think of Up North, even if they won't be the same kind!

It'd be cool to get ivy to go around my balcony, too. *rolls in ideas*

[laceblade]

Oooh, I just did a Google-image search, and they look pretty/cheerful!
Their unkillable-ness bodes well for me.

[sasha_feather]

I have also had really good luck with Arrowhead plants! Mine keep multiplying, I have three pots of them now.

[laceblade]

*googles* Ooooh, those are leafy and pretty, too!

[owlectomy]

I tolerate alcohol VERY badly (not a stomach thing, more a hangover thing) and sake is the one alcohol that never gives me trouble. It's sweeter than wine, I find, and has about the same alcohol content, and I like the subtle flavors of all the different types -- so that's my top choice for something to drink straight up.

[wrdnrd]

And they're edible!

[wrdnrd]

Sake doesn't have sulfites, which is why it doesn't usually cause hangovers.

[wrdnrd]

African violets need to be kept warm, so you'd have to bring them in when autumn rolls around unless you don't mind just throwing them out. I grow African violets inside under plant lights year-round.

[laceblade]

Ooooh!

Well, I could certainly bring them inside! I might not get plant lights, but my apartment is usually warm enough that I don't actually ever turn on the heat (b/c everyone around me are rich bastards).

[laceblade]

:O

[littlebutfierce]

Intriguing! I wish I liked sake more, then. Maybe I should drink a lot of jenever & see if that gives me hangovers, since I sure like that.

[laceblade]

Are sulfates at all related to acidity?

[wrdnrd]

You must try it ... FOR SCIENCE.

Oh wait, that only works on Andy.

If you are ever able to come visit me in Seattle again, i will happily spend the entire vacation taking you on an excursion thru' sake. Surely we can find something you'll enjoy! Granted, then the trick is finding it when you return to Bristol. :P

[sasha_feather]

Oh, all the plants I listed you've have to bring inside in the winter if you want to keep them over, but I take that as a given on a balcony in WI.

[wrdnrd]

Beats me! I was actually going to ask you if it was something about alcohol itself that aggravates the GERD or it it's sulfites, 'cause then my next step was going to suggest you try some sakes.

[jesse_the_k]

sulfites != sulfates. More on that here, where I learned that the easy way to see if you're sensitive to sulfites is to eat a dried apricot. Each one has ten times the sulfite in wine; if you react to the apricot, then you'll probably want to give white wine a pass totally, and be cautious with red wine.

You could use diluted fruit juices or teas for mixers, or just learn to sip whatever alcohol you can stand neat from a shot glass, which would add 50 points to your Fierce score.

[laceblade]

Trufax!

[laceblade]

As for aggravating the GERD/dyspepsia, I really don't know. My gastro-doc has been really frustrating in this department. She gave me this really general hand-out saying things like, "Limit alcohol and caffeine intake! Avoid citrus!"

So I pulled out this really specific list of foods I've been avoiding due to Internet advice, and she just said, "Yeah, that looks great."

So I really don't know which things do/do not aggravate it, specifically.

I suspect they say "no alcohol" because it's a lot easier, much like telling pregnant women not to drink any alcohol whatsoever, instead of explaining how much is okay/etc.

I haven't tried sake yet (post-illness). Maybe I'll figure out how to try a small amount of it, and see what happens.

[wrdnrd]

Maybe I'll figure out how to try a small amount of it, and see what happens.

If we're able to come to Wiscon, i can help you with this. ;)

I used to work with someone who has GERD, but, alas, he retired last year, otherwise i'd talk with him a little about his experiences with it in case there'd be some useful info you could use. This may sound cheesy, but are there any GERD support groups -- maybe online? The vague advice from your gastro-doc sounds really frustrating.

I've been meaning to go back and reply on some of your other posts (re: tea & food/spices), but, uh, i keep not. :(

[wrdnrd]

I am confused if you're replying to me or laceblade? I just made the (possibly erroneous) assumption that Jackie typo-ed by asking about "sulfates" in response to me.

That's really fascinating about apricots!! Sulfites don't seem to bother me too much, fortunately. Unfortunately, i just simply don't like either wine or beer on their own merits. ;)

[laceblade]

I'll be at WisCon for sure! It's less of a money issue when staying at one's own apartment and not needing to travel.

I hope that you are able to make it!

I'm taking off less work than usual, though.


There might be GERD groups online?? My diagnosis is technically no longer GERD, but instead "non-ulcerative dyspepsia." Still, it would make sense to look for them.

Gastro-doc has been really helpful in other ways, so I guess that's semi-hokai.

Don't feel bad! I've been bad at commenting/interacting with people in general, lately.

[sasha_feather]

then you'll probably want to give white wine a pass totally, and be cautious with red wine.

Isn't this backwards? White wine is usually milder tasting and less headache-inducing than red wine.

[jesuswasbatman]

Sulphite is added to wine to prevent biological oxidation (vinegar). Red wine has its own natural antioxidants (and also more of the chemicals that cause hangovers) as it is fermented in contact with skins/seeds, so white wine is more vulnerable to oxidation and needs more added sulphite.

[littlebutfierce]

that the easy way to see if you're sensitive to sulfites is to eat a dried apricot.

Huh. Years ago I had a karate teacher who was sensitive to sulfites & I was told that they are usually added to dried apricots as a preservative or something: she could eat, say, organic/health food store-y ones, but not usually standard conventionally-produced ones as they'd be treated w/it. This is why, say, most dried apricots in stores have a pretty orange color, but organic/non-treated ones tend to be duller & brownish.

IIRC, I've seen labels on dried fruit (& maybe wine?) indicating there were no sulfites. Hm.

[littlebutfierce]

Yeah, Bristol is sorely lacking in good things in general, asyouknowBob.

The Asian supermarket near us does have a selection of sake, but it's fairly small.

[laceblade]

Red wine is more acidic, though, I think. I know this has nothing to do with sulfites/sulfates!

And actually, I've tried white wine and it didn't work; I'm leery of wine in general, I didn't like it much to begin with because it was pretty strong for me-the-lightweight.

[jesse_the_k]

I am a clueless reporter of the info on that page; white wine is worse in my experience so I bought what they said :,)

[jesse_the_k]

I'm glad gastro-doc has been useful at all — sadly, docs often are totally unhelpful once the diagnosis is delivered. Sushi Muramoto in Hilldale has an entire mirror wall of sake, as does Edo on Park street. We could undertake a voyage of discovery!

[jesse_the_k]

I'm thinking they were advertising the lack of sulfites because they formerly were assumed to have them (e.g., Chinese restaurants in the USA often trumpet "NO MSG"). Which means, as I mentioned in previous comment, I have been deluded by the internet yet again.

[sasha_feather]

You are right! I am confusing sulfates and sulfites. I think I am not sensitive to the white wine type so I am sulfite-privileged.

[laceblade]

I lol'ed.

[laceblade]

MAYBES. I'd like to try in small amounts before I plan a night for it, though. Also-also, I can't eat sushi (except for the avocado kind!). I guess I know about other Japanese foods that I'd find other delicious foods to eat.

It'd probably be cheaper to get stuff from Woodman's? If I find stuff I really like, I'd truck down to Mitsuwa and get some in bulk.

not very helpful

[joannkatana]

-I have plants that haven't died, which are succulants, and I generally don't open my windows, so, if they survive me, then that's a pretty good sign... (jade plant, a spider plant... uh. a couple other things that I don't know what they are...)

-my alcohol range is very narrow and deep. So, if you want to try some scotch, let me know? Also, have you had plum wine, or mead? (mead isn't good for me because it's best, I think, heated with the herb packet mixed in, and I can't drink the whole bottle by myself, so I end up waiting to take it with me to other people who will make it and drink it with me - but just about everyone is more social than I am, so it might be useful to try). Mead and plum wine are quite sweet...

[thewalk]

People mix shochu in their tea all the time here. I only care for it if it's blueberry tea though, which obviously doesn't help you.

I broke myself for sake after the Monumentous Vomitting Christmas Enkai of 2010. I tried drinking it last weekend and even though it was great stuff, it made me grimace. But this isn't about me. At least sake doesn't get mixed with anything so that would make it easy to figure out how to drink.

What about vodka? Vodka is my personal magic booze that I can drink no matter how I feel and mixed in anything. If you drink a flavor-infused one maybe you don't even need a mixer. Maybe hard liquors is where it's at for you. A lot of people drink "X and water," or "X on the rocks." Haha or maybe the key is in one of those crazy old timey mixers that many people don't really know what they are - like sweet vermouth, though clearly tonic and grenadine are out. Or you could go in the complete opposite direction, if kool-aid is artifical enough not to upset your stomach haha

Or stick to one of those sip-able things like a cordial, liquer, or flavored spirit. Grow to love cognac lol maybe try and see if fruit flavored liquer is fruitless enough. But I mean, if you were drinking POMEGRANATE as a mixer, you should be fine with triple sec, I would think. There's always creme de menthe or amaretto, they're really not strong at all as far as boozes go. I consider them more mixers than alcohols lol

Re: not very helpful

[joannkatana]

Er. I also do have some saki...

[laceblade]

There is some kind of tea I have that has blueberries in it. If it's herbal tea, I can do it; just not caffeine.

I had vodka + rice milk at the Super Bowl party. It tasted okay while actually drinking it, but I don't know about overall effect because I ate a lot of food that was bad for me, and felt miserable most of the night.

I can't have mint, but amaretto as a mixer would be fine by me, as amaretto sweets used to be my drink of choice.

Fruity things, I don't know either. I've determined that artificial fruit flavors, in addition to citrus, are usually not good for me. I can have artificial banana flavor, but nothing else. It's weird.

I will find something! It's just kind of daunting/annoying.

Re: not very helpful

[laceblade]

I've had a few succulents that have died - I think I over-watered them, :[

I've had other wine, but not plum wine. Is it less acidic than like, pinot....something? I'm not overly familiar with wines - I didn't like them much before illness.

I haven't tried mead since being sick - if it's carbonated, I probably won't go that route.