KennethT

Steamed red snapper with ataulfo mango som tum. These mangoes looked ripe - they were softish, well colored but were definitely NOT ripe. The flesh was a little fibrous - I didn't even know this variety could be fibrous. Very disappointing but the dressing kind of made up for it. Steaming in the CSO

Simple pasta with shrimp, chili and garden basil

I ordered a replacement for the curry tree - I don't know why the first one is not doing so well but I decided to try one from Logees. Looks great so far - I have it in the corner of the tent, acclimating....

Yes, the 240V 3800W is the largest one. Although I don't know if I will go that high - I've been debating the 2600 or 3000W... the 3800W is about double the price of the 2600W and I don't know how often I would use that much power.

I'm looking at the same one - the 240V version... once our renovations are done, I'm going to pull the trigger.

I cut them up and salt them too (long before eating) and they're certainly better that way, but as you said, nothing is like a garden tomato - wherever your garden may be.

I leave them out all week and they do soften and get sweeter, but that's not really ripening. That's a form of rotting. Ripening only occurs on the plant - not only is there the accumulation of water and sugars, but other flavors develop as well in the later stages of ripening that don't happen on the counter.

Nice haul. I got those mini-heirlooms from Fresh Direct last week. While I thought some of them better than others (the round orange ones I found really sweet), all in all I was slightly disappointed because none of them had that intense tomato flavor that I got when I grew my own in my living room. Then again, those probably wouldn't have survived shipping 100 feet, forget about from upstate! But I guess I let my expectations get the best of me. Or maybe it was just me and my slightly out of whack sense of taste/smell... But they were the same price as the Campari tomatoes I usually get (when they're not on sale) so at least they weren't horrendously expensive.

True... but galangal is not always used in paste form. Many times it can be added in sliced form - like in Tom Kha. But also I can't think of a time when galangal is eaten raw, either in pounded or sliced form. Cooking changes these flavors - like shrimp paste - it smells putrid raw, but cooked it's a thing of beauty.

Galangal, even fresh, is like a woody ginger... and it has a scent I can't quite categorize - almost medicinal

The frozen stuff I get at Hmart in Ktown looks like that... also, when I used to go to Chinatown and the SE Asian store on Mulberry or the Thai store on Mosco. The fresh stuff at Hmart in Ktown can be pretty decent, but sometimes it's not there at all or is old.

I've done it - I kind of saw through it with a big chef knife and shave off bit by bit. Or, if I have a big enough piece to hold on to, I'll use the chef's knife like a cleaver and hack off pieces. It's woody in the best of times.... when I move, I'm considering adding it to my stable of plants - I gather it grows pretty easily.

I never tried freezing galangal presliced - I always worried about it drying out or getting freezer burn. In the Pok Pok book, Andy Ricker recommends freezing the galangal whole (or in chunks of manageable length) adn then slicing while still frozen to add to the mortar. I've done this and it works pretty well. Especially when the only galangal I can get is already frozen...

He is actually stepping away from the restaurant entirely. https://ny.eater.com/2020/8/17/21372260/blue-hill-stone-barns-pivot-resident-chef-program-racism-nyc-restaurants

@dtremit you could also try a folded towel underneath the mortar to reduce vibration...

I've walked by a few places that have beautiful outdoor setups... Scarpetta is done really nicely. I know it's not nearly as nice as you're looking for, but the setup is surrounded by flowers, adn the tables have white tablecloths... it's a pretty pink theme.

Thanks to @Chris Hennes efforts, photos are uploaded!!!! @weinoo's much maligned Bond St.... personally, I love the look of the cobblestones - sure it may be a pita for bikes (women with high heels) but sure does look cool.... Fresh squeezed limeaid with butterfly pea flower shrimp chips with nam prik pao yum pla - the kind of fish salad I can really get behind! The fillets of gourami (a type of fish) are fried in Thai style - which basically means "fry the crap out of it" so that you can even eat the bones in the fillet - they turn crunchy and tasty. Fried fish with cashews and herbs Gaeng khua - snail curry. Snails were super tender and the curry was like a Panang curry with kaffir lime and ground peanuts. Included some raw veggies (including what was billed as green mango, but was really an in-between mango - not green, but not really ripe either). My favorite vegetable... pak boong

@Eatmywords do you add your own shrimp paste? Their paste lacks it (due to allergies probably) so to make it taste right you need to add your own. Also, to the Panang paste, I add more dried spices as well as a few tbs of ground peanuts (not peanut butter) as well as the shrimp paste...

Rose sauce? Made with rose water?

Homemade bun shrimp! 4 different herbs from the garden, plus homemade fried garlic and homemade Viet pickles.

Nice... In my research, it seems that they can typically drop all their leaves when it drops below 40F (as long as it doesn't freeze) but will completely come back once it warms up. My curry plant is very sad - it's one of the few that I'm growing that isn't doing so well... I actually ordered a replacement from Logees - their plants are older (about a year old) than the one I got (about 6 mos), and I gather they really don't start taking off until about a year old... and I'm sick of waiting!

Pai is great. I don't contribute to many Patreon, but I do to hers... I've gone through her site so many times, I definitely get my money's worth.

Thanks - that's what I thought too but it had no problem with other the other photos that are the same size or even slightly larger... weird... I was hoping @Chris Hennes could weigh in when he gets a chance; I'd imagine he would know the exact reason why this happens.

This street is basically blocked off to traffic - that's why the city allows them to put tables in the middle of the street like that - otherwise, they would have to put up barriers at least 18" wide to separate the tables from traffic

We enjoyed the beautiful weather last night at a Thai seafood restaurant called Fish Cheeks. Definitely was not disappointed - it really hit the spot! Tables were spaced nicely apart making us feel safe and once it got dark, eating under the light of the streetlamp brought back memories of Thailand. I'm having trouble uploading some photos, so I'll edit this post once I find out how to get it working... shrimp chips with chili dip Fried fish with cashews,some green-ish mango, lime juice... fantastic.. The rest of the photos failed to upload - all giving me the same "-200" error... I tried doing it from my phone and also my desktop computer... @Chris Hennes Is there something I can do to fix this problem? Thanks!