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@KennethT Nice looking pho (another thing I miss going out for). How about a few photos of your indoor herb garden? I can't recall seeing any recently.

Salmon rubbed with gochujang and fish sauce and grilled, shrimp roe noodles, blistered shishitos, nori and finished with green onion tops and cilantro. Enjoyed with a dry Lake City cider. Not shown are a side of cherry tomatoes and sliced mini cucumbers.

Pulled pork on flatbread with deep fried potatoes and peppers.

The PolyScience tubing 7mm OD was what I measured with my micrometer. I was too lazy to convert. Granted I could just have pressed a button on the micrometer. I have no idea how well the PolyScience tubing will stretch until I cut off one of the end pieces and try.

Thanks for the discussions ALL! I've made a reference sheet containing the strategies and information I found in a lot of my research online and condensed it all into useful sheet to review during an outage for a restaurant or home. We'll reference it when we need to. I'm going to find some places to post it, like with the generators etc. I don't think you'll find such a thorough, comprehensive and succinct list on the subject elsewhere. So during such crisis we will have a clear mind and not be too indecisive and making poor decisions and panicking. Thought I'd share below for anyone interested in using or building from for their fit: Take care. POWER OUTAGE/UNIT FAILURE-FOOD PRESERVATION INFO: Outages Often Do Not Last Long. If So, Refrigerated & Freezer Food Is Quit Safe & Unaffected For A Few Hrs. DO Check CSU.ORG For Expected Restoration Times! If Outage Might Be Much Longer, Read Below & Take Appropriate Short/Long Term Actions ASAP. First For The Refrigerator Units. Info Is Also Applicable To Broken Units. If Generator(s) Are Available, Also See Long Term Actions. Avoid Unnecessarily Opening Units. Without Power, Your Unit Is Still A Powerful Insulating Box. Do Not Place Food Outside In The Snow. The Sun Warms Food. - REFRIGERATORS: Foods Will Maintain A Spoil Safe Temp. (≤40℉/4.4℃) For 4-6 Hrs. However After The First Hr., Foods Can Begin To Age Faster, About 1 Day For Every Hour. Above The Safe Temp., Food Will Begin To Spoil By Accelerated Natural Growth Of Bacteria & More. Many Foods, Left Over 2 Hrs. Above Safe Temp., Are No Longer Considered Safe To Eat. Especially Fish, Seafood, Poultry, Red Meat, Dairy/Milk & Cooked Leftovers. Anyone Eating Them May Become Quite Ill. Also Chopped/Cut Fruits/Vegetables. Rinsing or Cooking Slightly Spoiled Food, May Very Well Make It Safe Enough For A Dog’s More Robust Scavengers Digestion, But NOT A Human’s. SHORT TERM Actions: EXTENDS The Safe Temp. Time, By Placing Into The Refrigerators, ASAP: Ice (From An Ice Maker)/Gel-Water Packs/Cooling Paddles Sometimes Stored In Freezers. Dry-Ice* Can Be A Strong Option, Be Aware It Can Freeze Food Near It. Also Helps: Consolidate Food From Another, To Fill A Unit (Leave Room For Ice). Move Freezable Food(s) Into A Freezer. - FREEZERS: Frozen Food Will Thaw In 12, Up To 24 Hrs-If Unit Is Packed Full. Even Then, Food Won’t Reach An Unsafe Temp. (≥40℉/4.4℃) For Another 12-24 Hrs. Time Can Be EXTENDED By: Consolidating Food To Pack A Unit Full. Adding Dry-Ice* On The Top Shelves, Atop The Food. Once Power Is Restored, Food That Did Not Reach An Unsafe Temp. Can Be Safely Refrozen. Taste Might Be Effected Some. - LONG TERM Outage Actions: Power Refrigerator/Freezer Units With A Portable Generator(s), Until Power Is Restored. This Can Also Power Lighting & Small Items. Add Units & Motors One At A Time, To Avoid Multiple Start Ups, Over Loading The Generator. If The Generator Isn’t Capable Of Running All The Units At Once: Simply Rotate Powering In Split Groups, Approx. Every 30-60 Min. Once All The Cooling Units Reach Their Temp. Setting, Their Motors Will Cycle Off & On. You Then Might Find You Can Now Power All The Units With The Generator. If Food Is Cold Enough, To Conserve Fuel, You May Turn The Generator Off Occasionally. Be Aware, That During A Wide Spread Power Outage, Generator Fuel May Be Scarce, Gas Pumps May Be Out Of Order, etc. Only A Large Trailered 250vac Generator Is Capable Of Powering All The Restaurant’s Open For Business Equipment. i.e. Electric Grills, Espresso, AC, Vent Hood, Make Up Blower, Etc. When Done, Be Sure To Shut Its Off Fuel Supply Valve & Run The Generator(s) Till They Stall. So They Will Not Be Gummed Up With Dried/Gelled Up Fuel Next Time They Are Needed Again! = *DRY-ICE(Penguin Brand?): Is Sold At Some Local Grocery Stores & Some Other Places. In A Chest Freezer, Up Front By Customer Service. Wisely Call First To Check On Current Availability. I.e. Walmart @ $2 Lb., King Soopers @ $2 Lb., Safeway @ $4 Lb., Reddy Ice CSC 80907 $?. The Cost Adds Up. Dry-Ice Is Super Cold Frozen Solid CO2 Gas @ -109℉/-78℃! Normal Ice Is Only A Bit Below 32℉/0℃. Avoid Frost Bite, Handle Only With Thick Protection i.e. Gloves/Cloth. Keep Away From Children. Direct Contact Can Damage Temp. Vulnerable Surfaces(i.e. Glass, Plastic, etc.). Place Some Insulation i.e. Cardboard Sheet etc. Directly Underneath It. Suggested Quantities: Refrigerator: 10 Lb.(Replace Every 1-2 Days). Freezer: 15-50 lb.(Dependent On Unit Size. Replace Every 1-4 Days). 12’x12’ Walk Ins*(Replace Every 1-2 Days.).: Freezer: 150-150 lb. Refrigerator: 50-100 lb. *Use In A Walk In Can Cause A Suffocation Hazard. The Room Can Fill From The Floor Up, With The Melted Carbon Dioxide Gas. Just Leave The Door Open When Entering & Have A Rescue Buddy Outside. Use In Refrigerators Can Freeze Food. Start With Conservative Quantities & Monitor Temp. Store Spare Dry-Ice In A Freezer Unit. Otherwise In A Camping Cooler, But Never In Any Container Which Is Latched/Sealed Air Tight. This Could Pressurize As The CO2 Turns To Gas. Causing A Real Hazard Upon Rupturing/Opening. To Dispose Of Dry-Ice, Place It In A Freezer Unit. It Will Help The Motor Keep The Food Well Frozen & Save Some Electricity. While It Slowly Disappears Over A Few Days/Weeks. Otherwise, Leave It At Room Temperature In A Well Ventilated Area. With Cardboard Under It To Avoid Any Temp. Vulnerable Surfaces Damage. It Will Slowly Sublimate Away Into CO2 Gas Within 24 Hrs. For A Small Fog Effects Show, Place Some Into A Large Pyrex Glass Bowl Or Metal Pot, Half Filled With Hot Water. Once The Water Cools(5-10 Min), Most Of The Show Is Over. Never Place Down a Plumbing Fixture Or Pipe. It Can Easily Damage Them, With Its Extreme Temp. Interesting Dry-Ice Uses: Removal Of: Car Hail Dents, Floor Tile. Mosquito Attractant(Away From People) & Industrial Uses. Refrigerators Were Originally Just Insulated “Ice Boxes”. Cooled Simply By Placing A Large Block Of Ice Inside. Common In American Homes, Between 1835-1935. Until Our Modern Electricity Powered Refrigerators Were Perfected & Popularized.

Duck meatloaf with braised Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes - duck meatloaf was made with ground duck, onions, garlic, basil, sriracha, panko crumbs, eggs and finished after baking with a glaze made from ketchup mixed with ground cumin. The Brussels sprouts were braised in diced tomatoes, onions, tomato paste, dark brown sugar, rosemary and bay leaves. The mashed potatoes were made with butter, cream cheese and heavy cream

Hi: I tried a couple more recipes from Salt and Straw book that was gifted to me: strawberry balsamic and black pepper, and strawberry sorbet. For SBB, I swapped out the milk base for coconut base, and replaced honey with sugar. It tasted like the strawberry push pops I had as a kid in the 1980s omg what a blast to the past! The Strawberry Sorbet calls for cilantro/coriander essence/extract, which I have no clue what this is so I added a few twigs of natural organic fresh home grown urban raised evil sourced unfair wage [free labor] non-d.o.p. cilantro. This was delicious.. a variation of strawberry with mint! The book itself is poorly written. They don't list all the ingredients in the ingredients side bar of each recipe, and they are inconsistent with when they include parts of a recipe or move it out into its own paragraph. It's like we have to read and comprehend the recipe, can't just skim and know what to do. Bah. That said, results are tasty, and they all keep a soft-serve texture after undergoing the ninja treament, maybe from all the corn syrup. No pictures, sorry, I just ate each straight out of the cream-i jar and it's ugly. If you can use your imagination, SBB was light pink with streaks of jam, the other was dark pink, borderline maroon.

if you’ve ever seen the movie Stripes, perhaps you’ll recognize:

And a few more from Irene!

You are more than welcome! Just be sure the radishes are patted very dry on paper towels.

@OlyveOyl that is beautiful and sounds delicious. I'm a lover of radishes and horseradish, thank you for the directions!

Elk roast sv'd, rustic (skins and not smooth) mashed, and gravy with onion and mushroom

Makes sense - very similar to a bo nu'o'ng

I smoked pork loin ribs today.

After yesterday's delay, a warm up bath for 2 hours at 131 (thanks again @rotuts ) Post sear- And slice- Plated on the dinner thread. (Fwiw, partner found it a bit gamey and while good, not my best. I disagreed. Quite tender, not mushy. Could have salted much heavier for the soak. I'll need to do a more intense flavoring next time)

Palak paneer (with the last of the paneer); carrot, daikon, and cucumber quick-pickle; and the last of Mrs. C's delicious sourdough bread (which did not last the day lol). Interesting idea, thanks! I have not tried that with salads, usually with stir-fries. I do like grilled meats on salad. Recipe was "yaam nuea" from an old Thai cookbook, with modifications.

Picanha steak with roast potato and broccolini.

Most of the time, it wouldn't matter if the pot is only being used as a PC. However, many cooks use their PC bottoms as stockers, and for many of those applications it can matter. My point wasn't directed at PCs in particular, but at disc-based pans in general. In skillets for example, a large temperature discontinuity where the disk ends can preclude some things.

Regardless of the threat, ALWAYS keep your car fully fueled. Trying to get home in SF from Berkeley after the Loma Prieta earthquake, husband was lucky to find one, ONE, gas station that had generator power and was pumping gas. With our increasing 'weather events', we should NEVER take normal for granted. You never know when you'll need to "get out of Dodge".

Indeed, but then velveting is not so common in Chinese cuisine as people seem to think, either. It is a Cantonese technique. In my experience, few people here have even heard of it. Not surprising. After all, only around 4.6% of the population are Cantonese and not all of them are cooks. I'd say it's more American than Chinese. The term 'velveting' is certainly American.

We're in the Peak District on holiday this week. I don't have my full complement of ingredients, so I'm keeping it simple. Fish pie. Salmon, haddock, smoked haddock at £10 for 3 from Morrison's. I didn't pick up any flour so it was just double cream in the sauce. Worked alright! PS Oh, and prawns!

I'm not @C. sapidus but to me, that dish looks very Vietnamese, in which case, velveting would not be typical. Typically it would be "grilled" which doesn't always mean like it does here in the west, but could also mean high heat pan fry.

have you tried "velveting" the beef for that salad? looks scrumptous! we have a "Mongolian" dish - uses ramen+veggies - that I top with velveted beef. strips coated/tossed/left standing in corn starch followed by a fast pan sear in shallow oil. the beef really stands out in a "salad type" dish

@BonVivant what a wonderful trip thank you for taking so much time to share with us such detail. cheers P.S.: where next ? where ever it is , Im looking forward to it.

Irene's pictures this time. Iren