liuzhou

Whether you are a Plebeian or not depends on which definition you accept: the original classical definition as a citizen who is not a member of the ruling elite; a commoner*, or the more recent derogatory sense. As to black tomatoes, yes they are a thing. * which I assume you are, unless there's something you're not telling us about your true identity! 😀😀😀

They're certainly pretty, but not cheap! I hope some of the knowledgeable people here can shed light for you.

IF you've found it online, then you can post a link to the appropriate page. The only relevant rule that I can think of is that you shouldn't post images you don't own the copyright to (without the owner's permission), but again a link to an image on a website is permissible. I have no experience with copper pans, I'm afraid, so I won't be much use to you!

Welcome. Which country?

It's potting compost bought from the local supermarket. Mainly bought by people to raise flowering house plants, I think. The basil seeds were an unexpected find. Despite our proximity to Vietnam where they love the stuff, the Chinese don't eat it or even know it can be eaten. In the past, I've always had to smuggle seeds in. But recently, they turned up in one store, being sold as mosquito repellent houseplant seeds (驱蚊草 qū wén cǎo). Apparently, mossies don't like it.

Penne Rigata with a Fresh Tomato Pork Ragu. Could have done with some basil, but I don't think my plants are quite ready to harvest yet.

I'm still loving this, but you can keep that pizza! 😎

yes, I know about the restaurant. I have a very good friend from China who knows luosifen well and who is currently living in Seattle. She has been and was underwhelmed. I saw a picture and said that it looked good. Her reply was that it looked good but any of the Luosifen places I took her to in Liuzhou were 100% better in taste. Another comment on the Facebook luosifen fan page read "On my one visit (so far) I found the soup delightfully full flavored, though wondered about the lack of the funky snail flavor touted by writers familiar with authentic Luosifen." Still, please give it a try and get back with your impressions.

Oooops! That's $5760 USD Story here.

What do you do now?

What else could it be? Presumably you don't have the same reaction with a glass of water. Beer is nearly all water, with some flavoring. And ALCOHOL!

What do you mean by "natural"? The idea that "natural product"s do not harm the human body is ridiculous. Arsenic is natural but trying sprinkling that on your dinner! Cochineal, used in food coloring, is natural but some people are allergic to it. And it's certainly a threat to the bugs killed to produce it!

This amused me, but it doesn't take a lot.

Today, I ignored the work I was meant to be doing and went lunch shopping instead, intending to cook. Right by the entrance to the supermarket is a Japanese conveyor belt place. It is Chinese owned and operated. Not super quality, but adequate. Laziness prevailed,, lunch cooking forgotten and the shopping was temporarily abandoned. Shrimp sushi. There were two, but I ate one before remembering to take a picture. Tuna sashimi. The lighting was a bit odd. It looked normal, honestly. Salmon sushi 6 ways. I'm not a fan of mayo on sushi, especially sweet Kewpie! Scallop sushi. The best thing I ate. Tuna sashimi. Again, I ate one slice before taking the picture. Cost the equivalent of USD 15.50.

Great. Looking forward to more.

Irritating host, but the idea was amusing.

Very seldom but a) When it wasn't what I ordered. b) When it contained corn despite me telling the waiter twice that I didn't want corn on my pizza! c) In a new Indian restaurant in London, when my starter turned up ice cold and burnt d) In the same restaurant in London (same visit- I never went back) when the chicken curry was lamb (or vice versa - it was a long time ago.) e) Guess where! When the advertised basmati turned up and was obviously sticky short grain rice! Finally, the owner of the Indian place apologised and said I need only pay for what I liked. I paid for the three gin and tonics I'd consumed while waiting over an hour for a total farce! He did not demur.

As part of a fridge/freezer clearing drive, for lunch today I boiled up some frozen, but home made, wontons and ate them with yellow Sriracha sauce and ground black pepper.

Thai style mango beef with asparagus and rice.

Agree. A few weeks ago, I went to my local supermarket and selected some lovely on-vine tomatoes. The new person on the weigh station pulled them all off the stems and threw the stems away. No doubt she thought she was doing me a favour, but I almost wept. Another advantage of keeping them on the vine is they last longer in storage (NEVER THE FRIDGE!).

Round here we consider ourselves fortunate if the bathroom has a door!

I finally managed to track this down and watched it tonight. What a wonderful movie! Rammed with food and with a twisting and turning plot. Also a real tear-jerker in places. Thank you for the heads up!.

I don't know @Bernie's rationale, but I often leave tomatoes on the vine in cooking. The vines have a lot of flavour which can be imparted to sauces etc. I usually remove them before serving. I also pan roast on-vine cherry tomatoes for the same reason. More flavour.

Must be catching. My dinner tonight was a disaster. Barely edible and certainly not photograph worthy. Yet it, too, was something I've made a zillion times with no problems.

Right now nothing. Not only is my mother on the other side of the planet, but Mother's Day was back in March! The May Mother's Day is American, but China also follows that model. All day I've had people asking if I have called my mother. It took me a while to work out why. Never mind. She turns 90 in June, so I'm planning a trip home - haven't seen her for 12 years!