KennethT

I haven't read that article, but I've read similar ones to it recently. That's actually what I'm researching now. I've got a bit of warehouse space I'm not using, so I figure why not make some money from it. Plus, my proximity to NYC gives me a market for high price high quality fruit. I'm actually experimenting with some uncommon varieties prized for their flavor, but not typically grown around here, and dont' take kindly to shipping, which should give me a nice niche, so long as the costs of production (A/C, lights, etc) are not prohibitive... but not paying rent should certainly help profitability.

Yeah, that Breville indoor looks great. I'd probably be more interested if I wasn't surrounded by great pizzerias, though.... and if my kitchen wasn't more than a 8 foot x 4 foot box with no ventilation!

@liuzhou does your friend make the jaozi from scratch or purchased? I am always curious as to what people do at home versus restaurant culture...

Freeze drying requires vacuum to directly sublimate the frozen water to gas

No pics (I'm sure I've put them up before), but last night was Malaysian chicken curry with homemade prata and some stir fried yu choi that I found in my recently discovered H-Mart 4 blocks away from me! I wonder how long it had been there for? Obviously, I am probably the last person to know about it since the place is constantly packed. They've got great quality fish and very nice asian produce which makes me happy. The yu choi was almost as good as the one I used to grow in my windowsill - except it was full of dirt, which my hydro plants never get. I'm really happy with last night's prata - it was the same dough as before (I made 4 meals worth and froze them), but I let the pan heat up more and cooked it for less time - this time, the texture was much better.

@liuzhou Does the bitter melon need to be peeled first? I don't know anything about its cookery - I had once heard that it needed to be soaked to remove bitterness, but I don't know if that's true..

Finally letting my strawberry plants fruit!

The last few times I've done it, I did it in the microwave in a glass bowl... Start out at 30s at full power, then stir, then 10s / stir - repeat... done in about 5-10 minutes and a nice dark brown.

What was the price of the meal you had?

Yes, like the others, I'd like to thank you both for taking us along... I always enjoy seeing what you gals get up to! Have a safe trip home!

Or kosher salt?

So he was correct, in a garbage can....

Is it some kind of whiskey cocktail or is it just a LOT of whiskey on the rocks?

The biggest ones I've seen so far have been in Central Vietnam - although who knows where they actually came from. They looked similar to your smaller ones, but not as 'S' shaped, but a little more of a rounded oval... they were probably about 1.5 pounds... and delicious! Very juicy, sweet and not fibrous at all...

@liuzhou What kind of mango is that? It looks like a Tommy Atkins mango, which I imagine would be hard to find in Asia, although it is ubiquitous here in the US. ETA: sorry, I just realized that you wrote that it weighs 2 lbs!!! That is one big mango!