
v. gautam
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Everything posted by v. gautam
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Wok burners of various persuasions and of the fiercers strengths have been discussed in other forums on eG. Here i want to focus on a specific model I have noticed in this video of the Chiang Mai Culinary Institute: I am familiar with the Taiwan-manufacured "fast stoves" available in the US, e.g. Tarhong brand and those from the Wok Shop. I find the model depicted in the video far superior on many counts. My hope is that the many expatriate culinary experts resident in Thailand could give me some leads on the make, model, availability etc. of this particular TABLETOP (type) wok stove. With many thanks, Gautam.
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Kris, I don't know how practical this is for a busy mom or economical re: availability of material in your locality, ut from what i gather from these threads, boned chicken or pork seems to be the preferred cut for most families. Which leads me to ask: are there markets where good sales of chicken backs, necks, thigh bones, drumsticks, pork neck bones, shoulder etc. may be found? Real cheap I mean, as in 20 cents/lb? I.E. Worth the trouble! These have a double purpose, making tare for grilled meats, and base for curry. If you cook some onions and then gently cook these parts with that plus some Madras curry powder [and I can send you several recipes you can make from scratch, if you choose, with or without celery seed giving the Western or Japanese effect] you would have a big batch of base. plus, if people are not too finicky, and love to chew bones, they can make many good meals out of "them bones" as well. Lotsa meat there. Chopsticks must prevent economical gleaning of fowl carcasses!! All those heavy pork shoulder bones have rich brown and white marrow that infinitely enrich a base. If you have a pressure cooker, no sweat at all. That sort of base will be rich and gelatinous and can be frozen in small portions for several months. Later addition of curry roux will refresh it, and make for quick dinners. Even with omelets may be cooked in it, or fish cake tempura, plus the usual, or a combination. One can choose to live dangerously and shock Japan! gautam
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Dear Prasantrin, Sorry to chip in a bit offtopic, but like different types of tofu, the hardness and indeed, rubberiness [and therefore yuckiness of the cooked dish of paneer] will have a lot to do with how you press it, but also what milk you use, what acid and what temperature [similar parameters apply to tofu as well. The best paneer for COOKING, that will accept moderate compression and still retain tenderness should have high milkfat, 7-10% and high solids-not-fat 13%. That is why, good cooking paneer is made with buffalo milk, and this is compressed to a fair degree. However, chhana, or jol chhana, made with cow milk with butterfat 5-6% and SNF 11%, curdled with soured whey or buttermilk, at 80-90C, will yield a different product. This too can be compressed, but not hard compression, and exceptional cubes are made from these, as in savory dishes. Many iconic sweets of Bengal are made from the warm loose stage of this chhana, never from the higher fat buffalo milk. When curdled with stronger acid like citric acid or lemon juice, plus higher temperatures like a simmer or boil, care must be taken with the compression and the fat content, otherwise you will end up with a disagreeable, chewy, squeaky, dry product when finally cooked in gravy. A very, very little compression, both a regards time and pressure, goes a long way with both paneer and chhana. How to increase fat and SNF? Add half & half, if available in Japan. Non-homogenized milk, the freshest you can get, will give you the best texture and flavor. Don't discard the whey. Either use it for the savory dish you might be cooking, save a portion and sour it [carefully] for the next batch of curdling and use the rest to bake bread, cornbread or Southern style beaten biscuits, even Irish soda bread. Happy cooking.
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A complete katsu curry ignoramus, nonetheless I found these styles of serving the most appealing, in descending order: futennochun.cocolog-nifty.com/.../25/frit002.jpg f.hatena.ne.jp の他の情報 blog-imgs-16.fc2.com In all, the cutlet is separated from the gravy either totally or in part, allowing one to douse each mouthful with as much or as little of the spicy fraction, and also control the crispness of the cutlet. So you get three-way control, and also can stop to savor just the rice and cutlet plain, or the rice plain, according to your fancy. Every mouthful carrying curry liquid would tire out my tastebuds, both the heaviness and the 'spice load' of the gravy contributing to this. What are your favorite ways of having the katsu curry presented to you?
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When green tea is steeped, depending on the provenance mode of manufacture and type of leaf, especially those from Himachal Pradesh, the liquor is not necessarily green but a pale yellowish-pink with the lightest steeping in water just under the boiling point, 200-2005F, for 3-4 minutes at sea level. There are several different types of Kashmiri tea: some with salt, others steeped with apricot kernels,then reboiled, saffron added; steeped with aromatics like cassia, cardamom, apricot kernels, then brought to simmer before drinking. The long steep releases some condensed tannins that form in the Indian process of making green tea, quite unlike the Japanese process of steaming and rolling. In the north Indian TRADITIONAL process, the phenoloxidases have some time to function, would be my best guess, between the bruising and cessation of enzymatic reaction. The interval would be far less than that allowed for an oolong, but more for the Japanese and some, but not all, Chinese "green" teas. So, the Kashmiri green tea, inclding tha formerly grown in the Himachal, is yellowish, fractionally tinged pink, in liquor to begin with. Boiling and cooking releases more of the tannic fractions, the colored elements. Sometimes a pinch of soda is added, an this akaline element may depen the color. Why this is done, I have no idea. Is it to neutralize ome of the acid or some other good reason unkown to me? There are many things in traditional recipes that make some sense in their home turf but not necesarily everywhere else. Again, some some practices, e.g. as in Indian chai, about which i do know a lot, are plain wrong-headed and better beverages can be prepared by abandoning the crude violence of the original. But Kashmiri tea is not my home turf and can only direct you to some recipes from the internet However, I am surprised they ask you to boil, reduce and rebuild to the extent advised. That would imply a very strong and harsh liquor. Kahva, the post-Islamic Kashmiri word for this tea, derives from the Semitic root for black [which gave the Arabic word for coffee]. Tea has ancient, pre-Islamic rootsin Kashmir, especially green, Chinese-style tea. We know that a royal prince of China was kept hostage in Kashmir by the Huna Emperor, Kanishka, 2nd century CE. Pears brought by the prince' s entourage flourished there, as a result of which pears, a new fruit to the region, were given the name "cinarajaputra" [Chineseprince] by the locals. Tea and its appreciation cannot have been missing, because if a Chinese steward bothered to bring pear trees, he would 100 times more caefully have made sure his prince would have had the luxury of tea as well!! http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/chaikash.html http://www.angelfire.com/country/fauziaspa...ashmiritea.html http://www.khanapakana.com/drink-recipes/kashmiri-tea.html this one is the terror: boil boil, boil away And yet again, from the Pakistani half, Holy cow is all i can say!!!! "i make kashmiri chai at my home. i tell u a tip of making it pink . first of all always make it with cold water and let it boil and when it reduced to half add cold water again and keep stiring . keep adding water until its colour turned to dark and it will take 2 to 3 hours .in the end pour it in another pot and add salt or sugar depends on ur choice ( i use salt bcoz actual kashmiri tea is saltish) and milk . if u have 1 cup of kehwa use 2 cups of milk and boil it for 2, 3 min and in the end add nuts etc baking soda is the secret ingredient of the receipe but dont use too much for 2 cups only 2 pinches of soda . it will change the colour of the tea and use full cream or less fat milk and u can also make it by using mineral water . 'gul-e-nasreen' green tea..that stuff makes good kashmiir tea *tried n tested* http://wayfarerinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2...shmiri-tea.html A gentler tea guaranteed not to pickle your gullet: http://www.recipezaar.com/8856 Here is an authentic Kashmiri Brahman website, food & drink, traditions predating Islam & Buddhism in Kashmir http://www.koausa.org/Misc/Samovar.html Some conjectures: Refined Sugar "sharkara", rock sugar called "khanda" spread from India via the Silk Route passing through Kashmir to Central Asia to China and the Roman world. Kashmir had various examples of the samovar, fom ones carried inside one's personal overcoat to a communal one, always on the boil, like a Mongolian hotpot. So the Russian Samovar tradition likely originated within Kashmir, with its sugar, tea, and apricot kernels plus long snowy winters, continuous interaction with Tibet and Greater China. The Samovar Tradition was widespread within Tibet. Kashmir itself exhibits both the Sweet and Salt Tea styles, AND ORIGINALLY MADE ONLY WITH GREEN TEA. Clearly, this is a region heavily under the Chinese (green) & Tibetan (not green, but salt) tea culture, adapting it to the Indian palate (sweet and/or aromatic) re-exporting the "sweet" preference outwards.
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I wonder if any of you are interested in trying this experiment: if [pork] caul fat is available by ordering from your butcher, when you heat your oil, always add a bit of caul fat, to make up half or whatever % of your total "grease content" you feel comfortable with. Especially with our "broiler" thighs, breast, greenhouse raised eggplant etc., an occasional experiment can become interesting. Even with the Tilapia fry, the use of the caul will add an extra depth of flavor. If you lightly wrap the marinaded fillet in a single lacy layer of the fat, and place it in a tiny bit of hot oil or even a bit of cooking spray on a non-stick frying pan or seasoned cast iron, wait till the fillet is let loose on one side, turn etc.-- experience the magic. Differently aged pigs & breeds will have differently flavored fat but: any port in a storm, whatever is available from butchers. So much is made of leaf lard, but caul fat is overlooked for the most part. Pure shrimp rolls [no rice paper], shrimp toast, fish cakes and the like, gently wrapped in a single or double layer of the fat and rolled lightly in whatever your preference, will create a very tasty, and actually a lighter, less greasy "fritter". The wrap will disappear on frying.
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Some millets, beans & oilseeds are very nutritious yet go rancid even 4-5 days after milling, stored at room temperature. If cost was no object, this laboratory mill would have been my choice: 1. http://www.hosokawa.co.uk/acm.php Hosokawa Air Classifier Mill - Mikro ACM a pin mill : impact Supremely wonderful Next: 2. http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/index.aspx#Nutrimill high speed impact chamber For cereals only: 3. http://www.frischmahlen.de/en/mills/fidibus_21.html http://cooking.glassbrian.com/2007/02/03/komo-fidibus-21/ from this blog review : it does not mill beans 4. http://www.santhagrinders.com/flourmill.html Indian grain mill: "It facilitates ease of grinding Wheat, Dried Rice, Ragi, Pulse, Dry masalas, Soya Bean Flour, Rava, and Maize to the required consistency." ( Ragi = millets, rava= semolina i.e. wheat to semolina, pulse =legumes, masala=spices e.g. sesame) http://www.santhausa.com/ " Available at your nearest appliance retail stores in New Jersey, Atlanta, California, Chicago & Texas. Call us for store information at 828-256-5811/404-433-8653."
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Hi Elie, Wonderful as always. I wonder how you would feel introducing your friends to the wines of Lebanon, made from truly ancient grape varieties? The styles are something they might learn to love, and the grapes certainly are of extreme historical, cultural, botanical/oenological significance. The persistence of the winemakers' craft and of vineyards through all the difficult history of the area is surely a tribute to Lebanon. Perhaps by buying more of these wines, people can support the farmers of the land in very real ways and preserve the vineyards for the future.
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If your local Halal butcher is from Pakistan, there is a strong possibility that with a bit of personal history between you two, he might be persuaded to prepare [from his home kitchen, as a special order] biryani for you. This adventure should not be missed, if available. Eid-ul-Fitr is coming up, popularly called Chaand Raat, or Night of the (Crescent) Moon. People are in a very expansive mood, distributing food to friends and customers alike!! So a few thoughtful and sympathetic expressions of goodwill and greetings, sincerely meant will go a long way to cement a personal relationship. In North Indian Muslim cookery, the art of meat cutting is as important as that of cooking. This is a dying science,a s none of the younger generation is prepared to undergo the long and thankless apprenticeship involved. Ask your butcher about this, and get him to show you how he slices the meat for kebabs in thin strips holding the knife with his feet. The cuts and thinness of this makes for the right kebabs. Other dishes like biryani depend entirely on the cuts of meat and the correct cooking of the fat and manipulation of meat and gelatinization of rice: a whole universe of interplays of textures and aromas, a symphony orchestra. We have created a forum to discuss a few of these aspects, step by step. When you prepare the paboiled rice or dum, you need to lightly flavor and salt it. One traitiona way was to add a ittle ballof cheesecloth containing a few weet spices, like cardamom, cassia, cassia leaf, cloves, shahzeera/shiahzeera into the cooking water for a hint of flavor. A more elborte way was to prepare a yakhni, a flavored stock. Yet a third way was to sizzle the sweet spices in a tiny bit ofhot ghee and add water in which to parboil the rice, gelatinizing it. The hybrid basmatis we have available in the US seem to require minimal handling. Quick washing, very little soaking, and not even 5 minutes parboiling in copious water before draining and immediately being set on dum. It is desirable to keep the rice a tad undercooked than overcooked. For fussy cooks, when doing high quality chevon or lamb kacchi-pakki or raw meat-par-cooked rice, biryani, it sometimes is worthwhile to add the rice in 2 batches: the lowermost batch slightly more undercooked, the topmost layer, a bit more cooked. Top means the rice layer that comes above the layer of rice sitting immediately above the meat. Remember in all these cases, there is ONLY 1 layer of meat, sitting on the bottom, and only 1 layer of rice, above it. All the creatures made with multiple layers of meat and rice are outside our purview. There are other types of biryanis, zarebirian etc. with different (higher) proportions of ghee, and yoghurt investing the raw meat marinade which later gives up water to the rice, cooking it, and then the ghee and fat fom the cooking meat further fries the rice, gelatinizing the grain in a particualr way. The amounts of the liquid and the meat-rice-ghee proportions have to maintained in prescribed proportion, as does the shape ofthe vessel, and the quality of the rice. Here, Long grain Basmati is not necessariy the first choice. There are hundreds of aromatic rices in India, of various lengths and starch properties. All evolved along the foothills of the eastern Himalayas and migrated south and west (e.g. Persia). [There are some people who go around preaching that "pilafs" originated in Persia. They have not the slightest knowldge of the etymology of the word pilaf, palAnna, pala + anna and that this meat + rice, and legume + rice (khecarAnna) dish had ancient roots in India [including the us of aromatic rice] predating its appearance in Iran. ]
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Mistakenly left out the narrative that went with this link: the restaurant is named BANGALIANA, that serves [allegedly good + authentic!!] food from Calcutta, West Bengal style. So visitors to Bangalore curious to sample yet another regional cuisine could try this one out. No guarantees, only read a review, objects I treat with the greatest suspicion. Perhaps Episure has more critical + reliable judgments on "Bengali" establishments in Bengaluru, since he lives there and keeps an eye out on their ups and downs. [Thanks, Helen, for the heads-up, sorry I did not see it until today!].
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Hi Big Bunny, no help with the "glass" measurements here, but as someone who experiments with Pakistani packaged biryani masala mixes, i often reduce the cooking times and water content/volume when preparing the "korma" base, especially with US broiler/fryer chicken, even lamb shoulder chops. YMMV, wildly, because my preference is for a not-melting meat texture. When put on "dum" or steam, meat seems to tenderize very rapidly or well. Since this step is obligatorily included, I make an allowance for it. Also, i am not a fan of the "green" spices, ciliantro, chilies, [even tomato] in any biryani, but then again, your preferences may vary. The green spices show up in the Hyderabad-Deccan redaction, perhaps even to leser extent in the Bombay/Ismaili versions. If you have the desire/opportunity, you may wish to try the National brand biryani mix, as well as the LAZEEZA brand [several different biryani types]. If you ever wanted to try your hand at your own biryani from scratch, you may find these interesting: [get iranian saffron, btw, although its price has gone up to $78/oz. It will last for 5-7 years in the freezer.] http://www.gourmetindia.net/forums/index.p...opic=134&st=140 # 132 [pictoria for technique] # 147, #155 [ for time modification] http://www.gourmetindia.net/forums/index.p...opic=134&st=180 post 194
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H-San, I live in an area with 110 inches of snow and 135 growing days, USDA zone 5a with 6 months of winter, the last day of frost being May 29 and cold soils well into June [and have lived much of my life in zone 4a with 300-400 inches of snow & -40F minimums]. Right now our nights are 38F! So please trust me when I assure you about something, be it specific strawberry cultivars for your garden or season extension or growing salad greens in January without heat This plasticulture and its associated ecophysiology is something we have to teach, so we understand its parameters somewhat better than a casual acquaintance might suggest. It is part of my professional duties and I successfully assist market gardeners in their economic ventures for winter cultivation; and can assuredly help you, who live in a very, very much warmer zone. If I am not mistaken you must be in the equivalent of an USDA Zone 7 or warmer with minimum winter temperatures no lower than -5 to -10F, possibly no lower than 0F. Precisely for that reason I forwarded you the technical names [e.g. perforated 1.1 mil, 300 holes/yard]and exact specifications of the different agrofabrics so that the farm suppliers would be able to recognize thes internationally traded standards. Garden stores might not, and would be horribly expensive. As the season wind down, mixed salads comprisg amix of various lettuces lke Simpson, Buttercrunch, Red Oakleaf, Red Deertongue, Red-purple Japanese Mustard, Red Kale, Mizuna, Winterbor kale can be sown moderately thickly an be harvesed by careful snipping, saing the terminal pices, takng the maturing smallleaves. This wil give many cuttings of what has become very popular in the US as baby greens or Mesclun, sold at high prices $7/lb. You can become even more complicated and go for the really-cold hardy salad greens for the next instalment after these: mache, arugula cultivar "Adagio", wild "arugula or sylvetta, plantago etc. Spinach o certain varieties wil overwinter easil in your climate, so will certain types of chard and leek. You are living in a "banana belt" compared to me. Yet even here, if one were to retrieve the clouded greenhouse film ready for disposal, and re-assemble it in 6 feet high x 8 feet wide hoophouses over over 1" or 1/2 inch PVC piping, most years we get our market gardeners to sow continuous trays of the reddest lettuces and winterbor kale and they harvest marketable organic crops even in mid-January, when outside temperatures do not climb above the single digits F during the day. Snow, winds and blizzards are everyday affairs. The climate in the northern tier of the US is harsh. Come here once and you will lose forever your awe of the "snowiness" of your home! And we are 42 N, with a weaker sun than Niigata!!! This year for the first time, one took on a new horticultural therapy class at an unfamiliar place. Using that same protected culture, one spoke of 60-75 lbs of tomatoes per plant and was laughed at. Well, they are not laughing now, when all the organic fields around have been wiped out by a pandemic of late blight this year, from Massachusetts to Ithaca, these young students are harvesting more tomatoes than they have ever imagined, with no end in sight. Sweet, tasty ones, too. There is one mystery I cannot understand: people sigh about the high price of melon and watermelons in Japan. It is relatively easy to grow supremely delicious melons on 2of 5 rows 1 for melons 1 for watermelons and have a great surfeit. In your area, protected culture will give the best results:spun bonded insect barrier overlain by perforated row cover [300 holes/yard;early in the season onl, 72 inch hoops, woven blakpolpropylene weed barrier. Fantastic true kamonasu, even King Stropharia mushrooms. It is easy to grow many cucurbits without soil at all, just on a bale of rice straw and get quality fruit. Watermelon can be grown in a 33-55 gallon non-circulating hydroponic culture: a plastic HDPE garbage can filled once only with water & nutrient, seed sown, cover closed. That is it. Cucumber and watermelon will grow as water drawn down, fruit will form, become sweet. Very little space needed.
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H-san, Taking advantage of your kind nature, am appending a list of types and approximate prices of US agricultural fabrics /row covers to serve as a rough guide, should you ever consider extending the season at both ends. In your area you may pretty much have 4 season crops, yes even in January, NO HEAT. Red Lettuces and Winterbor kale in Ithaca in protected cultivation in low tunnels, in a climate colder than yours. Request details, if curious. Even otherwise, the colder months make work pleasant and the harvest both worthwhile & profitable. I don't know what your views are on the use of plastic, but employed in a skilful and profesionnal manner, these materials have a very long lifespan, especially in a mini-garden. The benefits they confer re: increased yield, early maturity, disease & weed prevention etc. need to be seriously considered. Insects and weeds are great destroyers of enthusiasm and hope as the season wears on and the heat and humidity of summer take their toll. With weed barier and appropriate management in place, you can go on holidays without a worry, and the garden maintenance is reduced to less than an hour or two a week of enjoyable light activities. Gardening becomes a pleasure instead of a struggle. For example, with woven black polypropylene weed barrier, a row cover plus an optional perforated cover to warm up soil and hasten the season, you could plant a PARTHENOCARPIC cucumber [e.g. "Cool Breeze"], eggplant or tomato. These will set fruit without pollination, and ripen or mature under row covers. So no dreaded beetles or wilt. Just sit and wait until the cucumbers are developed. In this case they are superb picklers & fantatic for fresh eating. At this stage the plant is somewhat more resistant to beetles/wilt. Some tomatoes are parthenocarpic, but not necessarily the tastiest. But most are self-pollinating, needing a little mechanical agitation for maximum fruit set. Even so, there are dozens of exceptional short varieties like Highlander, Sheyenne etc. that will do well entirely under a low tunnel. Eggplants protected under a low tunnel from beetles until they begin to set fruit will make your life easier. In this way, with the help of the black weed barrier and the double row cover, one perforated, one spun, you can grow superb KAMONASU, excellent Charantais, honeydew, other long-season melons. Best of all, you can grow an abundance of small watermelons that I hear are very expensive in Japan. Grow tens of them easily, many of Japanese origin : Yellow Doll F1, Dwarf Asahi Yamato [an old open pollinated variety you should get free from universities], Sugar Bush [open poll. USA] Kengarden [OP, USA, from Asahi], Gypsy F1, Orchid F1. Why not try some great potatoes under row covers, haricot beans, things that are really expensive but will do well in a garden: rakkyo, leeks, negi, scallions, shallots, okra, mitsuba, tetragonia, sweet potato, flowers for cutting like miniature roses & mini-gladiolus, calla lilies, lavender? Not all at once, but perhaps in the future. All members of the mustard family will get chewed on, and insect barriers are the best recourse. I do not know if animals such as squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, field voles, slugs or birds become a nuisance in your area. Weed barrier and row covers help stop many of these. They help control/reduce frequency of watering, given certain conditions, i.e. mulh plaed over the barrier and drip tape or soaker hose. Thisisanother advantage, providd the proper slope, soil texture and several other factors. For example beds may be prepared in a manner that leads the precipitation towards the roots so that the natural rainfall provides most of the water for the season. Thereafter, clever conservation via mulch and barrier seeks to reduce addtional irrigation [or flooding] to a minimum. Please do NOT confuse plastic mulch or wavelength selective mulches with WOVEN polypropylene barrier that lasts 10-12 years when overlain with organic mulch and subjected to very careful use. The former is a no-no in my book!! I use 3 feet widths and cut NO HOLES, laying them in parallel strips, using fabric ground pins. This way, weighed down with mulch as simple as newsprint, shredded or not, or anything as nice as straw, leaves etc. [raw woodchips need to be composted first] this material is a keeper. It remains permanently on raised double-dug beds or can be moved as often as you want to shift beds around or add stuff to them. I don't know the aspect of your land, the way the beds will run. But just suppose that there are 5-6 beds, each nominally 1 meter wide; the 0.5 m will go towards boundary ditches/furrows. So each bed will have 2 furrow on either side, you will pull up soil on to a raised bed not more than 2.5 feet wide. This is a convenient width. You need plenty of space in-between to move around and tend to growing plants. You can then use 3 feet wide woven barrier, and you will need carefully to cut holes or use 2 slightly overlapping lengths so as to have flexible spacing in future rotations and no holes. If finances permit, plastic lumber, tongue & groove, to line the 2 sides of these beds later might prove to be really helpful. HDPE, never PVC. If you can get the raised beds done, one at a time, you will be guaranteed a hugely joyful experience. I know people resent unsolicited advice, but i hope you may get some positive benefit out of many decades of experience and possibly avoid some growing pains! Some US prices and dimensions are given below so that you may have a reference point for similar material in Japan. These are best purchased at farm supply stores, not garden centers. Tunnel Coverings Clear Perforated [must be removed when temperatures rise] (1.0 mil, 45 holes/ft) 5' x 2000'.......................$93.60.........................Suntex (US) 6' x 2000'.....................$112.32.........................Suntex (US) Gro-Therm (1.1 mil, 300 holes/yd) 5' x 2000'.....................$102.96.........................Suntex (US) 6' x 2000'.......................$95.00.........................Rain-Flo (US) .....................................$112.32.........................Suntex (US) B. B.1. Row Covers for frost protection [use with perforated covers for extended harvest ] Dewitt Deluxe row cover, 0.5 oz/yd, provides 4ºF frost protection 6’ x 250’........................$21.24.........................McConkey (US) 7’ x 100’........................$97.09.........................McConkey (US) 10’ x 500’......................$69.34.........................McConkey (US) 10’ x 1000’..................$138.64.........................McConkey (US) 13’ x 1000’..................$180.25.........................McConkey (US) Grow Guard (GG)-17, 0.5oz/yd², 85% light transmission, up to 4°F frost protection Made to order in widths up to 50' 100-1200 yd²...................$0.16/yd²..................MTC (US) Grow Guard (GG)-20, 0.6oz/yd², 80% light transmission, up to 5°F frost protection Made to order in widths up to 50' 100-1000 yd²...................$0.19/yd²..................MTC (US) Grow Guard (GG)-34, 1.0oz/yd², 70% light transmission, up to 8°F frost protection Made to order in widths up to 50' 100-1000 yd²...................$0.30/yd²..................MTC (US) B.2. POLYVINYL ALCOHOL FABRIC Tuffbell “Natural”, absorbs dew and frost and holds in more heat at night and prevents overheating during the day, 93% light transmission 49” x 109’ .................................$79.80.........................G&M (US) 49” x 328’ ...............................$233.40.........................G&M (US) B.3.Crop Covers (continued) Spunbonded Polypropylene, insect barrier only 5.4' x 330'......................$53.46.........................Suntex (US) 5.4' x 820'....................$132.84.........................Suntex (US) 8.5' x 330'......................$84.15.........................Suntex (US) 8.5' x 820'....................$209.10.........................Suntex (US) 13.6' x 330'..................$134.64.........................Suntex (US) 13.6' x 820'..................$334.56.........................Suntex (US) C. no.10 smooth galvanized steel wire, 100/bundle 76”.................................$45.60......................... D. Clips E. Pins
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Another white idea: El Rey Icoa White chocolate discos : see the 11 lb. size & split with friends ? = $10/lb. FEDEX free shipping in USA. In Japan?? http://sales.chocolateselrey.com/Search.bok Discos between good marzipan or almond paste Dip or stuff dried apricots Press peanuts/raisins between 2 discs of white chocolate
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Thanks very much, both of you. Here's a "giant takoyaki" maker to make you smile: http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/motherearth/bc2889.html Next to the bunny egg molds, my favorite thing to fantasize about: http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/e-zakkaya/033075496.html
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H-san, Thanks for your amazing forbearance, ksanti, in the face of zany queries! May I ask if the price you suggested include the steel backsplash/flameguard +airvent or does it include only the cooktop? If it is not too personal a question, since you had your house built to your specifications, what style/type of cooktop did you prefer? I am actually very interested in the steel flame guard and vent, as much as the cook top. I remember seeing your fish grill when you showed us your kitchen. That or an oven is not so much of a priority but would be quite nice. The safety feature of the steel fireguard impressed me very much as it is a feature not available for ordinary domestic cooktops in the USA, certainly not for the small-sized ones. I am interested in Structural Insulated Panel [sIPS] residential construction. These have a flammable threshold of 165 Celsius, their only weak point amidst many virtues. You can see why I might be drawn to the Japanese models. Amazing stuff. US$600-800 approximately, for the best quality, you say. How much more for the steel guard and vent? Thank you very much. gautam
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Shri Hemant Trivedi has created an extraordinary site called The Hub: http://www.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=8549 this is the INDEX Am excerpting 2 recipes in detail because you may find the mixed Indian & English vocabulary used in the index above confusing Mrs. Mano's CHETTINADU CHICKEN GRAVY: Powder finely 3 pieces cinnamon, 2 bay leaves [indian Cinnamomum tamala or tejpatta], 2 cloves and 2 green cardamoms. In a tsp of oil fry 2 [dry] red chillies, 1tsp fennel seeds, 2tsp poppy seeds, 1tbsp gram dal [split chickpeas] and a handful of shredded coconut to a golden brown color and then grind to a fine paste. Heat a wok or any useful skillet and pour in 4 to 5 tbsp oil. When the oil becomes hot add 4 chopped onion [indian onionsare smallish, use your judgment] and fry for a few minutes until it changes into a light brown colour. Then add 4 big tomatoes, which are finely chopped with 10 red chillies, 1tbsp ginger paste, 1tbsp garlic paste, and 1tsp turmeric powder, and fry well until the tomatoes are changed into a fine paste and the oil floats on the surface. Add the pieces of 1 big chicken [1kg to 11/4kg], 3sp coriander powder [tsp??], 3sp chilli powder, the ground paste, powder and enough salt with 1 cup of water. Cook on medium fire until the chicken is well cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves and curry leaves http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.p...=asc&start=1320 MADURAI CHICKEN c/o Hemant Trivedi [Hub] Madurai has its distinct taste in its dishes because of confluence of many cultures. Chettinadu, saurashtrian and Deccan influence is amalgamated in its non vegetarian dishes.I am presenting this recipe of Chicken curry in two versions. I am sure that all of you who appreciate spice factor in a dish would love this chicken. INGREDIENTS Chicken pieces (with bone) 1.5 lbs Cardamom 5+5 numbers Cinnamon sticks 1" 3 to 4 nos. Jeera 2 spoons cumin seed tsp? Ginger 1.5 " piece Garlic (Optional) 4 to 5 cloves Fresh Curds/plain yogurt 1 cup Salt to taste Ghee 50 gms DRY SPICES Garam masala OR Cardamom +Clove+ Cinnamon +Nutmeg powder 2 spoons Chilli powder or Green chilli paste 1 spoon METHOD OF PREPARATION First prepare chicken pieces for marinating by pricking and making slice cuts . Keep aside. Prepare paste of Poppy seeds, Jeera, Cardamom (four to five), and Ginger. Use of Garlic is optional .If you are using Garlic also, use just three to four cloves .Add broken cashew pieces to spice paste .Add this paste to Yogurt , mix thoroughly and keep aside. Now prepare dry powder of two to three pieces of cinnamon, a few cloves (Two to three is enough), A small piece of Nutmeg and if you wish , a little jeera and Couple of Cardamoms. Set aside. Now rub dry spice powder/Garam Masala on chicken pieces thoroughly after rubbing with salt to taste ,and set aside for ten to fifteen minutes. Smear /Dip the chicken pieces in spice paste mixed yogurt. Let the chicken pieces marinate for three hours. Take ghee in a kadai/wok and add whole spices for tempering as shown above. When cloves puff up, add chicken pieces carefully and cook at medium flame till chicken pieces turn brown .Add Chilli powder at this stage as per your taste. You have a choice to either use the dry chicken as above or prepare gravy of your choice. But its best to prepare gravy separately and add chicken pieces in it before serving. Generally dry chicken curry is best with this recipe. You can garnish with lemon slices Green pepper slices and Onion slices. So cook and enjoy !!! Kori Ghashi This is a recipe taken from friends at AS most probably. I apologize for not writing down the name, it is meant for my personal use only. Since you asked for an authentic "Madras curry", I am trying to show you the vast differences that exist. Ghashi is typical of the Karnataka coast, opposite to "Madras" but within the same flavor palette . 1 chicken, about 1 kg, cut into pieces 1½ coconut for milk ½ coconut, grated 15-20 red chillies 2 level tbsp. coriander seeds 1 level tsp cumin seeds 10 seeds fenugreek 1 tsp peppercorns ghee for frying and tempering 3 onions, chopped ¼ tsp turmeric pdr 6 flakes of garlic 1 tsp butter salt to taste ½ tsp garam masala Extract thick and thin milk from the coconut (about 2 cups thick and 3 cups thin). I frequently used canned coconut milk instead. Roast the grated coconut until brown. Fry ingredients from red chillies to peppercorns in a little ghee. Fry separately 1 chopped onion until light brown. Grind the coconut, the spices and the onion with the turmeric and garlic to a very fine paste. Combine the masala with the thin milk, chicken, 1 chopped onion, butter, salt to taste and cook until the chicken is done. Add the thick coconut milk, lemon juice and simmer for a few minutes. Tempering: Fry the remaining chopped onion in ghee until brown. Add the garam masala powder and pour over the curry. Serve with roti, kori-roti, idli, dosas, appam or rice. Another drier form from the same area where ghashi comes from, around Mengaluru Chicken Sukka Ingredients 1 large chicken, cut into small pieces 1 onion, chopped finely A sprig curry leaves A small lemon sized ball of tamarind 3 tablespoon ghee(clarified butter) Salt to taste Roast the following and powder: 6 kashmiri chillies( or dry red chillies) 1 tsp coriander seeds 1/2 tsp methi(fenugreek) seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1 onion 4 cloves garlic 1 small piece ginger Blend to a coarse paste: 4 tablespoon coconut, shredded 1/2 tsp methi(fenugreek) seeds 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp turmeric powder 3 cloves garlic Method Heat 2 tablespoons of the ghee in a non-stick pan and fry the powdered masala for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and fry on a high heat, stirring continuously. The chicken will now be well coated with the masala. Add about 1 cup of water and salt to taste. Mix well and cook on a low flame till the chicken is completely done. There should be no gravy left at this stage. Extract juice from the tamarind, by immersing it in hot water for about 10 minutes. Add this tamarind water to the chicken and the blended paste. Mix well and fry the chicken and masala on a high heat for about 5 minutes. The water content reduces. Now turn to a lower heat and simmer till all moisture in the gravy is lost. In a sepasrate pan, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee and add the chopped onion and curry leaves. When the onions brown, add them to the chicken. Mix well. http://mangalorean.com/recipes/recipes.php?recipeid=188 Slightly to the north of this Ghashi, which by the wy can be cooked with cauliflower + potatoes, green beans, hard-boiled eggs etc., comes this recipe: Veena’s Chicken [from Another Subcontinent, already cited] The chicken in made thusly: roast in coconut oil some whole coriander seeds, cumin seeds, methi [fenugreek] seeds, red chillies , and whole garam masala [* generally green cardamom, clove & cassia bark]. They used a bit of each spice from the pre-packaged whole garam-masala mix that they get in the shops for five rupees. To the fried masala, add some garlic and tamarind and pound the entire mix to a powder. Heat oil, pop some mustard seeds, add chopped onions and fry until they turn light brown. Add the chicken pieces and salt; cover and cook for a while. Then add the masala and fresh grated coconut (one coconut per kilo of chicken). Cook until chicken is done. [* This will be dry dish with quite a bit of oil showing through]. [*aromatic bright red chillies without much heat called Byadgi from Mysore are often used in mixture with others. You can use a variety of unsmoked Hungarian sweet & hot paprika or Turkish red peppers or Korean kochu karu to add color & flavor instead of blind heat] I hope you will explore these sites and discover more about authentic Indian regional cooking than the "Madras" curry of restaurants, one example of which is:
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Dear Y, As Waaza and others have explained here before, there are NO codified dishes in Indian regional cuisines. There are many endogamous communities, each with their own special ways of doing things, within which families have their own quirks. So it is not like Chinese cooking or Nyonya cooking. Plus, the word "curry" as you well know, has wholly different connotations when used by non-Indians to refer to restaurant dishes, versus Indians to refer to a whole gamut of "other" things! Returning to the "restaurant" cuisine, which is what you seem to imply you want to learn to reproduce, unfortunately, it is something that each establishment cooks up on its own free will and imagination. I am not trying to be difficult, only trying to save you from disappointment as to why no one else can help you re-create the flavors of your favorite take out. That said, http://www.anothersubcontinent.com/forums/...l=chicken+curry http://vahrehvah.com/popvideo.php?recipe_id=4263 http://vahrehvah.com/popvideo.php?recipe_id=4343 http://vahrehvah.com/printrecipedetails.php?recipe_id=794 Above were all Indians cooking Indian food of various regional styles. Below is what you probably were searching for: Brirtish Indian Take-out style an invented name called Chicken Madras: like American chow mein it has its own merits and has created its own devotees. I you search this forum you will find an addess for a website devoted to British curry house cooking. There re subgenres of this, even!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-4h4qfnrfw&feature=related The Modern Balti Curry Cookbook Pat Chapman Hope this will set you off on an initial trial! Pm me with any questions. Happy cooking. gautam
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In this video for a fire extinguisher, we see a very nice compact 2-burner gas stove with steel back-splash/flame guard + wall vent http://smt.blogs.com/mari_diary/2008/08/funny-items-on.html Who are the best stove-makers in Japan and what might be the cost of such a unit? Most "apartment sized" US units are small with 4-burner construction whose dimensions and conception are non-functional for my needs. I wonder if such smaller size Japanese stoves are available in the USA? The one i saw seemed to have one strong-burning wok ring and one other burner, ideal for my purposes. TIA. gautam
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A suggestion for peeling taro, in case C did not already know of it: Wash the whole, skin-on corms and if a largish quantity, plunge into proportionate amount [large quantity] of boiling water for a brief period so that only the skin and the slightest fraction of a millimeter underneath gets set. Drain and run cold water. You now will find that the slippery and occasionally skin-irrritant quality [raphides] of peeling those corms has become much, much simpler. The frying/crisping of the taro also goes so much better this way, without the mucilage layer to interfere. The process is akin to blanching tomatoes: you take care to cook the skin but not the layers underneath. If you have not too many corms and a 1000 Watt microwave, a large 3 quart Corning type covered casserole, the washed taro with a tiny bit of water can be microwaved for a few minutes [adjusted for your microwave and how the corms are arranged] until the skins are just cooked. gautam
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Here is how kathi roll would be prepared in Calcutta, say at Nizam's, one of the best-known places for this. More or less the above, with the following modifications: You can use breast or thighs, according to your preference. Make up your own garam masala if you wish: lightly roast small amount of coriander seed & cumin seed, add several whole green cardamoms, cinnamon/cassia bark, cloves, a few pepper corns to the hot pan. Let cool and grind in a coffee grinder dedicated for Indian spices. Grill over coals, brushing with butter. You may add some crushed fenugreek leaves [dry kasuri methi] to the butter if you happen to have them. The leaves char and give a nice smoky aroma. Remember this when you make tandoori chicken! The major distinguishing feature of the Nizam kathi roll is a supple, chewy paratha cooked with one or two eggs, the kababs, the thin sliced shreds red onions and thai type green chilies slit lengthwise, the lime juice, a sprinkling of kabab masala. NO cilantro, NO chutney. You don't have the paratha, but a tortilla will do, especially a 100% whole wheat tortilla 10 inches or larger. Do not use the frozen ROTI PRATA made in Malaysia-- too greasy and soft for this. Please get some good ghee, and your mise-en-place ready. Your eggs, 2 large per tortilla, break into a many small bowls as you will have tortillas and beat very lightly so that the whites and yolks are not fully combined. You will have your skewers of kabab ready, they can be warm. Onions sliced, soaked in cold water if you prefer to make them milder, drained & spun dry. Thai green chilies, or mix them w/ Anaheim for milder palates, cut in long strips. Lime freshly cut to preserve fragrance. Some MDH chaat masala if you care for that. Your GHEE. Spatulas, big plates, butcher paper. 2 skillets one just fitting the tortilla size, second one larger, preferably non-stick. A good seasoned cast-iron skillet or a high quality non-stick skillet comes in handy now. This first skillet is the form-hugging one. Heat it up, lightly toast the tortilla, both sides. Now add a LITTLE ghee and maintan temperature control of stove/ skillet handle and your cool. Flip on both sides, and watch light chestnut brown areas developing and a toasty aroma enveloping you. Stir the egg [note, i have added no salt] and expertly slosh it onto the tortilla face. Here, the size of the tortilla vis-a-vis the skillet, your manual dexterity etc. will be called into play. In Calcutta, the large tava is slightly concave, and the paratha is moved around to various heat zones to take advantage of topography while the egg sets, amidst copious lashings of ghee. You & I cannot do all that. We can wait until the egg is semi-set and flip it over into a SECOND WAITING hot, ghee-greased skillet. Don't overcook. Seconds. The egg must have streaky white and yellow zones and pick up sufficient hot ghee but not too much!! It should not become a omelette sitting on the tortilla. The expert would break 1- 2 eggs on the bread and mess it around just so. You can do that when you are confident. The rolling asembly is done on the tava but a warmed plate and a second pair of hands may be welcome here. As soon as the egged tortilla reaches the plate, preferably on a large sheet of butcher paper cut to size, a skewer of kabab will be pulled off down its length, followed by a sprinkle of kabab or chaat masala, chilies, onion, lime juice. The bottom is folded up with some paper, then one side with its share of paper is used to roll the thing into a neat tight package with the top showing. You tear off strips of paper as you keep biting downwards. The paper protects your finger from grease and heat. You can do this with lamb or chevon, (that is preferable) but the meat must be cut in ribbons. If you are in NJ, find a South Asian Halal butcher and ask him to cut meat for kathi kabab. What i described to you is called a double anda double mutton. If you are in Calcutta go to Nizam's and order this, available every day but Thursday. Chicken is for the birds. Trust me on this. Kathi roll gained its rekown from the Nizam's original. There is the baida roti from Mumba, but all the buzz today comes primarily because of the Calcutta connection. In India, it has become a signature Calcutta food. No Naan, no chutney, no cilantro, no chopping of the meat, remember that. We can discuss at length the spicing & fattiness of the meat, but that might overwhelm you at this point. But the egg, and the ghee-roasted tortilla are a must to enoying the true flavor of the kathi roll. Otherwise it would just be a wrap around some kabab, would it not? gautam
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I am a complete ignoramus so I was hoping for some advice from you experts! Having heard El Rey mentioned , looked them up and found their variety descriptions somewhat incomplete [at least to me]. The Carenero Superior line seems pre-mixed with vanilla : it includes Apamate Dark Chocolate 73.5% Gran Saman Dark Chocolate 70% Mijao Dark Chocolate 61% Bucare Dark Chocolate 58.5% Caoba Milk Chocolate 41% ICOA White Chocolate The ones shaded in red are left with no explanation, the Rio Caribe line, comprising Macuro 70% Cariaco 60.5% Irapa [milk] 40.5% I have heard the Mijao being praised elsewhere as a chocolate good for eating straight, whereas the grainy Gran Saman was seen as a cooking chocolate. Would the Cariaco be the corresponding member to the Mijao in the Rio Caribe line and what might be the advantage of having vanilla included or excluded? [ It does not make clear]. If it is not impolite to ask on a publc forum, where are the best prices to be found for 5 kg or 10 kg discos of El Rey Mijao and the complete line? The company's own prices do not seem to be the lowest around. Thanks much. Gautam.
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Anne, My home is in Bengal, 22.5 degrees North, with a climate somewhat warmer than yours, year round. Many years ago, we planted a great many pepper vines in a mango orchard but none succeeded even given our very mild and dry winters, much wamer than yours. But that was for a field trial. Some types of cocoa do succeed there, but not pepper, green cardamom or coffee, as far as I have been able to determine, try as I might over several decades. That does not mean a potted pepper vine cannot do well with you, provided it comes indoors! Left outside even at 40-60F, it won't die but MIGHT suffer "chill injury" and will be reluctant to produce fruit. There is also the low humidity to consider, during the winter months. At least, that is my suspicion, YMMV, and you certainly should give it a try. Cinnamon is one shrub that will do fine potted or outside, especially C. cassia/obtusifolium/tamala. Please do let me know if you manage to locate either of the last 2 species, as I am anxious to find seed or seedlings. These are the Indian cassia leaves used as "bay leaf" in cooking and the fresh or fresh green-dry is incomparably superior to what is found here.
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Growing a black pepper vine is very feasible in what used to e known as "stovehouse' conditions in the UK. A very large terrarium, even one cobbled from 4 sheets of plexiglass, will do. A potted pepper vine can be kept trained within 1 meter and should produce a few bunches. Mind, this is not cost effective, compared to the frozen berries available at Thai groceries, simply for fun! You will need to provide light, not ILLUMINANCE as sensed by the human eye and measured by camera light meters, but photosynthetically active radiation: warm & cold fluorescent tubelights. Peppers won't need much, 200-300 micromoles of photons per square meter per second of photosynthetic photon flux density [this is the technical specs for a plant light meter such as Licor: borrow one from a plant lab] should be enough, excessive actually, but I am allowing for all sorts of things like there not being reflectors to scatter the light evenly into the plant canopy etc. Pepper is an understorey plant, generally having "shade" leaves. Reasonably high humidity but airflow as well, so as not to attract pathogens. A tiny fan set to a certain gentle speed and angled up just so. If you have a huge marine aquarium, empty, that too is very useful for growing this pepper plant which flourishes best 8 degrees north and south of the Equator. So you may imagine what types of climates please it best. Temperature should never be extreme, mid 70sF nights, mid 80sF days. It is grown in shade, often as part of an intricate plantation that duplicates in certain respects the vegetation or folige strata present in an equatorial forest. Typically, coconut palms form the forest canopy here, their leaves taking the brunt of the full sun, 1700 micromoles plus, getting light-saturated, getting very hot as well, with all sorts of pluses and negatives for net photosynthesis. Down below, peppers coil around the palm trunks, taking advantage of the shade + sunflecks, moments of bright illumination; they are able to process these very efficiently, unlike the continuous light of fluorescents mentioned above. Such plantations often also include another palm such as the areca, small understorey trees such as cloves and nutmeg, and a final herbaceous layer on the “forest” floor: arrowroot, cardamom, ginger, even “wild” turmeric.
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Northwest Vegetable Gardening
v. gautam replied to a topic in Pacific Northwest & Alaska: Cooking & Baking
Eden, A. Alliums Right about now, you could sow Japanese scallions, Ishikura and nebuka types, available from Kitazawa Seeds Oakland CA and elsewhere for overwintering. Elephant garlic are leeks that also overwinter well in some microclimates. Of course, there are the garlics, the hard-necks and the soft-necks. Other alliums like shallots for next year [get ready], multiplier onions, ramps. B. Greens B.1.Lettuces Buttercrunch, red lettuces are very cold tolerant, B.2. mizuna though a brassica may surprise you, great for cutting in salads B.3. choi sum likewise a great tasty cooking green different from run of the mill brassicas like kale or collards, good for salads in baby stages as well B.4. around august 22 Spinach cv. Olympia for fall crop; cv. Monnopa for low-oxalic acid B.5. Overwintering spinach cultivars; see Territorial Seed for availability or Univ. Extension services; John Navazio, spinach breeder etc. B.6. Sow fenugreek if inclined to experiment with this delicious green avidy consumed by Indians: buy seed from Indian grocery or wherever fenugreek is sold as spice B.7. Cilantro. B.8. Beetroot, chard, black spanish radish, Parmex type carrot, small-seeded mache for succession sowing [Verte de Cambrai type], claytonia [miner's lettuce], dill for cutting. C. Peas: for pods and shoots [especially from snowpeas] Short and medium duration accordng to your microclimate 1. Dualis 2. Alderman [tall] 3. Frosty short, fast maturing