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T Ash

T Ash

@crewgrrl.bsky.social

220 followers 170 following 7.7K posts

Knitter, parent, cook, artist wrangler. ADHD, Depression, trauma survivor. Unabashed feminist & fan. Jewish, Zionist & not sorry. Support class, not front lines. Also posts from #Hugo finalist @geekcalligraphy.com. She/Her https://linktr.ee/terriash

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T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · Nov 18

I left the intro out, didn’t I.

Well, here goes.

I’m a nearly 40 year old woman with #ADHD and #depression. I am probably best known for salty fandom commentary, running @geekcalligraphy.bsky.social with my best friend, knitting in public, and acerbic commentary on Jews and comics.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · Nov 18

So apparently I’m in a starter pack? Neat!

So for the new folks who only found me here and for everyone who came from Ye Olde Birde Site, an intro and some ground rules.

Rule 1 - this is my living room. That means my word is law and I will brook no disrespect here.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 14h

I mentioned their vastly increased purchasing power later in the thread.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 1d

I actually refer to these as ‘feel bad’ stories. They should make you feel bad that this is the depths we’ve sunk to as a society and country.

Micah @rincewind.run · 1d

there are going to be a lot of stories in the next couple weeks about the generosity of ordinary people in helping their fellow Americans and all of them will be wonderful and none of them should be necessary

we don’t have to have a government this cruel and capricious

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 2d

Welp. There has definitely been a change in the formulation of Kirkland oat milk. Thankfully it’s winter, which means my milk consumption is much lower (hot tea requires less milk than cold brew coffee to make it the way I like). Does anyone know if the Califa you can get in bulk is also yuck?

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 2d

Mom grew up on Miracle Whip in her tuna. Dad grew up on Hellman’s mayo.

Literally the only thing he asked her never to do with food was make tuna with Miracle Whip.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 2d

If you see this, quote with a vampire that isn't Dracula.

Image of Juliet Landau as Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire slayer.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 2d

I think there are more concrete fears than just that. But you’re not wrong.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

D) providing for kids for whom it is much more difficult to use these items

I don’t care that they make more garbage, disposable menstrual products are easier and safer in those situations. I say this as someone who uses cloth pads, cloth diapered her baby, and would use a cup if I actually bled.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

People experiencing food insecurity usually are one or more of the following:

A) short on the time it takes to properly clean those items
B) often experience housing insecurity and don’t have the facilities to properly clean those items
C) too damn tired to cope with those items

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

Following up on yesterday’s thread.

There’s a reason I said disposable menstrual products. Yes, cups and discs (and cloth pads, and period underwear) are all much better for the environment and more economical in the long run.

BUT.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

I did inaugurate the induction capable pressure canner with vegan dashi style broth, since getting kosher instant dashi is basically impossible. Having the broth means miso soup in under 10 minutes and it's nice when I can put it in whatever bowl I have more dirty dishes of at the moment.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

Middle of winter I'll get out the pressure canner. Then I do big batches of turkey & chicken stock, chicken curry in a jar (makes a decent biryani base) and jarred chipotle beef & onions for a taco base. Because my pressure canner is decidedly meat, I don't can veggies or beans.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

One of the best things about Jam Session is how it's organized. Instead of being organized by type of end product, it's first organized by season and then by item of produce. So all the peach recipes are together, all the apple recipes are together, etc. There's a lot less index fighting.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

I also canned plum jam with star anise & black pepper, plum & raspberry jam, peach & cardamom jam, and a peach BBQ sauce I've been meaning to try for years.

Everything but the BBQ sauce came out of my favorite preserving cookbook, Jam Session. BBQ sauce was out of the old yellow Ball canning book.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

For canning, it was all plums and peaches this year. Plums from the yard of the home that hosts our synagogue and peaches from the farmers market.

When plums are so readily available, I always make a batch of Asian style plum sauce. This year I did it in pint jars, because why not?

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

This year I froze a lot as well as canned. I have several pounds of pitted sour cherries in the freezer ready to be turned into pie filling. I also froze black raspberries, which I think are going to get chucked into vodka for a homemade chambord style liqueur.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

At the end of most summers, I put food by. Summer preservation is water bath canning. Some years I get loads of savory relishes made, other years it's sweet preserves and pie fillings. Sometimes it's fruit I bought at the farmer's market, other times it's the plums off of local trees.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

But with SNAP about to run out and the social safety net collapsing in general, existing food banks need your money. They need plenty of it. Canned goods they have. Random boxes of pasta? Got that too. Give them money and that becomes fresh vegetables, current shelf stable food, and much more.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

Another thing you should look into is food banks serving specialized populations. People who need kosher food or halal can't usually get food from just any old food bank so they need to go to very specific ones. Those specific food banks need your money too.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

But again, the thing that food distribution centers need the most is cold hard cash. They've been telling us that for years.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

If and only if the food bank asks for stuff rather than cash, get WHAT THEY ASK YOU FOR. Again, this is not the way to clear out the pantry. If they want individually packaged snacks, get thy ass to Costco/Sam's Club/BJ's and buy out the snack section. If they ask for shelf stable milk, get it.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

If and only if the food bank asks for stuff rather than cash, get WHAT THEY ASK YOU FOR. Again, this is not the way to clear out the pantry. If they want individually packaged snacks, get thy ass to Costco/Sam's Club/BJ's and buy out the snack section. If they ask for shelf stable milk, get it.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

Food banks/shelves/pantries have wholesale arrangements with local farmers and major processed food producers. They can turn your $10 into way more food than you can collect out of your house. It will also be food that their clients like, food that is within expiration, and not a random assortment.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

If the cockles of your heart can only be satisfied by driving up with a carload of stuff, then this is what you donate:

Menstrual products (disposable)
Disposable diapers
Soap, shampoo, etc
Baby formula (though the food bank probably can get a better deal, that they need no matter what)

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

For the people in the back: whatever the name of the service that provides food to those in need is, the thing they need the most is your money. Not your cans, not your boxes of random pasta, not the leavings when doing a pantry clear out.

They need CASH.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 3d

You know what we donate to the local food pantries? We donate MONEY. Because they can turn that money into what those they serve need the most. I do not know what those folks need better than the food pantry does. So I give them my dollars and they turn them into something useful.

Anna Holmes @annabookwriter.bsky.social · 3d

Sweet Jesus, do not donate seeds to your food bank in October. Honestly, don’t donate seeds to your food bank unless you are specifically asked to, and even then I would think REALLY HARD about whether that’s regionally appropriate.

When I needed food donations, I was in student housing.

T Ash @crewgrrl.bsky.social · 7d

Potential wholesale customer: "I can give you cash when you drop the order off"
Me: "PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT."

I can make a check go into the business bank account. I have no way to make cash go in at the moment without three hoops.