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Chilled coconuts like this are often sold on the streets by itinerant vendors in summer for people to drink the coconut water they contain. This type isn't particularly meaty. The vendor will drill a hole in the shell and supply a paper or plastic straw. Very refreshing in the tropical heat. Today, I picked up this from the supermarket. They (or some supplier) have not only drilled a hole but fitted a tap so you can carry it home without fear of spillage. They have also supplied a straw which the tap is cunningly designed to hold. Then they have wrapped it nicely in a life-affirming wrapper. The large writing reads 加油 (jiā yóu), which literally means 'add oil', but is used as encouragement at sports events and the like to urge on your favourites. They claim it's Thai, but I'm not sure I believe them. Maybe. However, there is no Thai on the packaging other than Young Ham Nom Coconut, Nam Hom being the transliteration of the incorrect Thai name* of the type of coconut, but they also grow in Hainan, China. Apart from that there is only Chinese and English. * The Thai name is หนุ่มมะพร้าวหอม which transliterates as 'Nom maphrao hom'.

Tortellini en brodo, with zucchini, tomato and diced chicken . House made chicken broth in the instantpot, grated Parmesan on top.

I re-appraised the sourdough I bought a couple of days ago. At the time I posted it I had tasted a slice and reported that it didn't have much sourdough flavour. What I did with that slice was toast it and buttered it. Later, I buttered an untoasted slice and the sourdough taste came through no problem. Same loaf; same butter. I don't remember that difference between toasted and untoasted in any sourdough I've had before. Is that normal?

This grabbed my attention a couple of days ago, as I was idly flicking through my local delivery app. It wasn’t the 王螃蟹 (wáng páng xiè) king crab that surprised me – I’ve long known they are available in China. It was the price listed. ¥9,999! I know king crabs don'’t come cheap but the most expensive I’ve previously seen were around ¥2,000 / $275 USD. ¥9,999 is $1,372.86. Then it twigged and I read the description. Nothing to do with king crabs, at all. The delivery app insists on the listings only containing items for sale (a no spam policy) but occasionally some companies get round that by advertising something they don’t stock at a ludicrous price to stop any idiot actually ordering it while getting their real point across in the description. The “description” in this case consists of information on the Chinese weighing conventions, which I think everyone knows anyway. We sensibly use metric, but mixed in with some old Chinese names. So, for example 500 grams can be described as such or as a 斤 (jīn). This used to be a variable weight depending on location but has now been standardised at 500 g throughout Mainland China. 1 kg is a 公斤 (gōng jīn), which confusingly literally means ‘common jin’ which it isn’t; jīn without its gong is the one I see most often! Anyway, back to king crab of whatever weight. These creatures, which aren’t true crabs*, like to hang out in very cold waters. Those in America tend, I’m lead to believe, to be caught mostly in Alaskan waters but some from Argentina. (?) Those here are always from Russian waters except for once when I saw one from Chile. It was the most expensive I've seen. I suppose because of distance. Although I can’t buy them whole locally, I can for delivery from further afield in northern China, suitably nearer to Russia! Those are usually around the $80 - $140 mark, depending on size, However, frozen king crab legs are available in supermarkets. These come from Russia, too. A 500g box can be between $30 and $50, again depending on size. * The only thing carcinologists agree on is that they aren’t true crabs (the Brachyura family). Some believe they are related to hermit crabs; others determinedly disagree. I don’t care.

I do the same thing as @PatrickT

Agree with @blue_dolphin - this is what I do with all of my loaves now. After baking, I allow the loaf to cool thoroughly, slice it, bag it, pop it in the freezer, and simply remove what I want to eat on a given day. If destined for use as bread, I seal the slices in a sandwich bag and allow them to come to room temp in the bag before using. If destined for toast, they can go directly into the toaster (sometimes requires more than one cycle).

On one of his podcasts, Dave Arnold said that 1 freeze/thaw cycle was ~ equivalent to one day at room temp for bread so I would recommend slicing the whole loaf, reassembling to minimize exposure of cut edges and freezing. Thaw as needed. Then, if plans change, it will still be good.

I have a bread question - but not about baking. I bought a boule of rye sourdough at the supermarket (best by date is 4/8 - 2 days from now). I plan to use 2 slices per day for the next 5 days to use for sandwiches. Should I just slice what I need and keep the rest of it at room temp or should I slice the whole thing and freeze the unused slices, defrosting the day of use? Or something else entirely? If only slicing what I need, should I cover the sliced end with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out or will that promote it going moldy faster?

I have frozen lemon grass that Ive peeled to get to the inner stalks. then vac'd and froze. I take a stalk out , cut it down the center line so that there are 1/2 ' leaves I pound it a bit , then add it whole to items id like a little lemongrass flavor. especially rice . the do the same w frozen ginger : a slice or two , pounded a bit , and added to a dish especially rice. removed before eating. it adds a pleasant flavor that i enjoy . lemon grass is a bit easier to purchase these days , MarketBasket has it . but id do the same w that as I do with frozen.

Me neither. I'd be very surprised if it's ever frozen in SE Asia. Absolutely. Same here even though we're only a stone's throw from Vietnam. I did grow it but haven't done since I moved house. Must restart. The best I've had in China was in an Indonesian style restaurant in Nanning where they used it as skewers for grilled chicken. Really flavoured the bird meat. They grew it and other herbal exotica in the restaurant garden which you were encouraged to visit.

Just gonna do a screen-cap here, owing to the NYT paywall, but those of you who may be affected can always check the FDA's site for details and batch numbers.

I was going to suggest a metal pan extender, we use fiberglass ones when I bake sheets of cheesecake or brownies. Pan extenders are made to fit a half or a full sheet pan, and they can be metal or fiberglass. I think the Detroit pizza pan is a better long term option though.

I think he copied that from me.

Kielbasa and roasted chile Poblano with cilantro, Mexican oregano, and a sauce of sauteed onion, garlic, and long red chiles, blended with chopotle in adobo and crushed tomato. Toppped with minced red onion, crumbled feta, and fried ripe plantains. Nice mix of hot-smoky-sweet-salty-pungent flavors.

@weinoo Congratulations. always nice to look forward to a fine bottle of wine , matched to ' local cuisine '

I have no ideas about frozen lemongrass - I've always thought that it lost its flavor quickly when frozen. As to usage, the most helpful thing I can think of is that it varies. In many Malay/Indonesian/Nyonya recipes, it is used whole and typically, as Bruce says, it's bruised and tied in a knot, which makes it easy to remove when serving and keeps it from splitting into individual long fibers while being constantly stirred while simmering. But, some curry pastes will blend the lemongrass in with other ingredients. I think it depends on how long it will be cooked for - if it's going to simmer for hours, it's better to leave it whole - but if the paste is to be quickly fried and simmered a short time, it would be pounded/blended into the paste. But there may not be 100% consistency in that. In most Vietnamese dishes I've seen, it is sliced thinly (thinner than 1/8") or minced. I had a version of Bo la lot (beef with betel leaves) in a farm area that grew all of its own herbs and the lemongrass was sliced thin and scattered over the beef while being grilled, and it melted in your mouth. I used to make a lemongrass chicken (ga xao sa ot) which finely minces several sticks of lemongrass along with a lot of garlic. One thing I will say though is that fresh lemongrass is very different from what I get in the store. I grow my own, and the stalks are not the desiccated husks that are sold in stores and turn to sawdust when chopped or sliced - they're juicy enough that if I bash them with a pestle on the cutting board, juice comes out, or are pretty tender if sliced thinly. I don't know what would happen to them if I freeze them. Since I grow them indoors, I only harvest about 5 minutes before I use it, letting the rest continue growing.

Jacques offers a shortcut.

It’s a mario batali recipe called savory lemon jam as he adds oregano/thyme to it. This is a sweetened version which I think you should be able to google it, I don’t have a link. It’s delicious, especially with Meyer lemons.

Only one way to find out!

No. I use Amora, Maille and Edmond Fallot. IMHO, Amora has among the best flavor. All of these brands hold up well over time, assuming refrigeration and non-contamination. Fallot's Walnut mustard is a lovely accent.

Our 'instant' milk frother. Any brand will do.

interesting idea. has anyone tried both the Amora and Tj's Dijon , freshly opened , side by side ?

I do love the stuff! Some day when you're ordering from Amazon, do try Amora (and my friends at Formaggio Essex sell it)- as @Margaret Pilgrim mentions, it's one of my favorites in its class.

The other night I made spaghetti and meatballs. We drank this: Fantastic nebbiolo +. Lots of cherries and berries, though I seem to have missed the forest floor! Wine Enthusiast Lest anyone think I spend this kind of money on a mid-week bottle of wine at home, you can be certain I don't. This bottle was inherited, and I'm sure it was purchased upon release, when the price was probably around $15 when bought by the case. I have quite a few bottles from this producer - 2010s, 2011s, 2012s, and so on. Looking forward to when they will be opened.

Indeed. but Dijon-ers do something ' special ' w those seeds ? FR white wine ? Gauloise ash ? and the like ? who knows. Dijon mustard from Dijon FR is still in its own class . as are others , in their own class.