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Yes. For banana bread I usually wait till my local supermarket decide the unsold bananas are beyond redemption and give them away for a token payment.

Just to be clearer, the name I gave is the name used in Thailand for the specific cultivar known internationally as pisang awak. Also, the transliteration I gave is the standard Thai. Of course, Thailand has other banana varieties including Cavendish. However, กล้วยน้ำว้า (kl̂wy n̂ảŵā) is by far the most common.

They look pretty close to the little bananas that I get here in Costa Rica. They probably aren't quite ripe yet but they will be in two or three days. The riper they are the sweeter they get. You can wait until they get quite dark before you use them. I found that the easiest way to mash them is just put them in a zip top bag and squish them.

I would.

Just to be clear, pisang awak = nam wah (nam wa, namwah), alternate names for the same banana. There are other names for the Thai banana depending on location, and there is more than one variety of the Thai banana.

Thank you. From what you said, i should wait to use them until they turn yellow? The picture shows them as being more yellow than they are.

Did a bunch of grilled veg (I had salmon fillet brushed with hoisin, DH had a strip steak). Corn salad for tomorrow’s dinner, leftovers of the grilled eggplant/zucchini/red bell pepper/red onion warm salad that I make a lot over the summer.

Thai bananas (Thai: กล้วยน้ำว้า (kl̂wy n̂ảŵā) but more commonly known as pisang awak, the Malay name in most countries) are eaten both raw and sour as well as sweet and yellow all over SE Asia, including here in southern China. I have often made successful banana bread with them when fully ripe to the point of over ripe. By the way Thai banana flowers are a delicious and commonly used vegetable here and in Vietnam. Also, grilled sticky rice Thai banana cakes are a common street food in parts of Vietnam.

It's been more than a year since I've had a Thai banana. I believe they go by the name of Nam Wah. I remember it as being sweet with slightly sour/vanilla overtones. They are firmer than the more popular/common Cavendish banana, and should be showing some black to indicate ripeness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R64M22Pt50&t=22s I like them more than the Cavendish ... more character. I understand that they are often served fried, but don'thave first hand knowledge of that.

The Korean grocery store has beef and pork already cut up and ready to take home and marinate but they also have beef short ribs not only cut up but in a marinade ready to take home and grill. We had not tired them before today and they were good. The little BBQ was going to be too small and converting the smoker is a chore. the clean-up is too. I got a cheap charcoal grill at Walmart yesterday and set it up for today. In a couple of weeks, Charlie is having a couple over for some of my smoked meat and wants to include some Korean food, so I knew that I'd need a separate grill then, because I can't use my smoker for smoking and grilling at the same time.

The galangal is pretty slow growing! Compare this to what it was back on 8/22... My cabe rawit plant is doing really well. Cabe rawit is usually translated as Thai chillies, but I think that they're different - much more plump. I have a bunch of chillies on the plant now - none ripe yet... this is an early one:

There are more than 1,000 species of Thai bananas?

At home for cooking, I never buy any farmed fish - though I may partake of some - when at a sushi bar, for instance (or if I shop at Russ & Daughters for varieties of smoked salmon). As I mentioned, both salmon varieties I cooked were delivered fresh, as opposed to how we get them from Wild Alaska or Great Alaska Seafood. For this smoke, I used Japanese (Sakura) cherry blossom wood chips.

there are more than 1,000 banana species. so - mash 'em and keep baking!

Fettucine with charred grape tomatoes, bacon, shallot and arugula. Topped with parm on the plates.

I bought these today. They were labeled in the store as Thai bananas, but there are no other markings on them to tell me more about them. I bought them thinking they might be good for banana muffins. Does anyone have any words of wisdom for me, particularly, are they ripe now or do I wait to use them until they turn yellow? All help appreciated.

I was at the local Cal DMV office a while back and the folks were efficient, friendly, and competent. I had to go through three separate processes and they went quickly and smoothly. The last time I was at a Starbucks the visit was far less enjoyable than the recent DMV visit. YMMV

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of either of those salmon - at least when I used to get them from Wild Alaska... I found them too lean. I LOVE the akaroa king salmon from New Zealand - it's almost buttery and so tender. I actually get it regularly for sashimi at the Wegmans near me. Best salmon sashimi ever. What do you use to make the smoke in your donabe? Have you ever seen coconut husk charcoal available near us?

Fresh sockeye has spoiled me for any other type of salmon.

No, I don’t think I’ve watched that video. Or maybe I watched it 10 years ago and forgot!

Today's cutting of basil, oregano, and rosemary. The basil will go in olive oil and be frozen. Rosemary will go in the dehydrator as will the oregano.

Since I'm not fortunate enough (nor do I have enough room) to cook with a countertop indoor smoker, I have to resort to old school means. Such as my Japanese gin donabe. This week I experimented with two types of salmon; wild Alaskan king and wild Alaskan sockeye (both fresh). I happen to like the sockeye moreso than the king; it's just more to my taste. But these both came out nice and lightly smoked. Served with rice and some sautéed vegetables.

Adding bacon to a tomato sandwich can be great, but as you said, it's all about the tomato. I'm getting some bacon for an upcoming egg salad sandwich, and I may decide to add a couple of slices to my next tomato sando. BTW, have you seen Melissa Clark's interpretation of a tomato sandwich: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6a-UXhm-V8

I made a couple of brioche, one to give away, and one so that I could make fig leaf bostock... I toasted a bunch of fig leaves; some got blitzed into a powder and added to the almond cream, the rest were used to flavour the syrup for the brioche. It was good. I'll make some more powder and syrup for future use.

BLT, with a spectacular gold tomato and a schmear of avocado on the bottom Yes, the crispy bacon got smashed when I sliced it but this was all about that tomato!