KennethT

I'm not usually a fan of jackfruit, but the way it's done in Yogyakarta, Indonesia is fantastic... they call it gudeg. The jackfruit is stewed with spices for hours, and it's served with beef skin that was slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices and also usually a piece of chicken cooked in coconut milk.

All these tomato shots are making me long for my Goose Creek that I used to grow in my apartment. Maybe once I move, I'll consider it again - I'll already have all the herbs in the windows and the tent for, ahem, other stuff... Why not one more???

what varieties are these?

I've been in rain forests all over SE Asia and the Caribbean - I've thought it's usually much cooler in there than out on the street due to the ever present shade.

He's actually a botanist who specializes in plants of tropical rainforests. He invented the vertical green wall. And I love how his hair and shirt match the plants.

This guy is my hero.... I want to be him when I grow up.

I'd stir-fry the chard with garlic like I would with any kind of choi.

I've always heard Lovage being called the "potato salad herb" as it's the predominant flavor in potato salad..

My favorite version was in a small restaurant in the Tra Quay vegetable village in Hoi An - they grilled their flat in about a 12x12 inch square. A layer of betel leaves, then a layer of beef and then the layer of thinly sliced lemongrass. I'll search for a photo... Found it....

We ordered delivery from Hanoi House for the first time. I have to say that I'm really impressed - it will not be the last for sure! The best bun cha we've had since we almost missed our flight in Hanoi looking for more of this marvel of pork... Pork and crab spring roll, super tender grilled pork slices and hiding in the murky broth is some really savory grilled pork patty wrapped in a true betel leaf!!! One day soon I'll try to grow some betel leaves so I can make a proper bo la lot.

I'm not a huge fan of dried galangal... to me, it's totally different. If I can't get fresh, I'd rather use frozen galangal, then thinly slice while frozen (don't defrost whole). FYI, the H-Mart in Ktown usually has fresh galangal and always has frozen galangal. Also, the SE Asian market on Mulberry just north of Bayard (I don't know if they're still open - I haven't been there since pre-COVID times) always had frozen galangal as well as a great ingredient not seen often - frozen grachai. Finely shredded grachai is amazing in red curry - Kiin Thai (a sister of Somtum Der) used to do it that way before they closed. It's also great in stir-fries along with kaffir lime leaves and fresh peppercorns. Also, the Bangkok grocery on Mosco used to have fresh galangal but I haven't been there in a long time either.

What size bottle do you have? A 1 liter bottle only lasts us a couple months if we're lucky!

There's 2 different baskets - one is a large one used for steaming the sticky rice - it like of looks like an upside down hat...Set of Sticky Rice Steamer Pot and Basket Cook Kitchen Cookware Tool

I ahve a heavy pan - it takes a minute or two just to get it hot...

@weinoo If doing sticky rice, you could probably do it really well in teh CSO... I haven't tried it yet, but plan on it soon (I always forget to start soaking it the night before!), but in general, sticky rice is steamed, not boiled.... no woven basket required!

I was thinking the same thing!! When I stir fry them, the whole thing takes about 3 minutes...

Thanks. I check it all the time for scale/aphids/other pests.... right now, it's clean. Many years ago, my lime tree had scales and they almost killed it. I did what you did and like you said, it came back really well. I think I just need to be more patient. I don't think it needs more light - and I definitely don't need to upgrade my light - that light is currently only running at 60% output - it's a huge beast capable of putting out 1200umol/s/m2! Very few lights can put out that kind of PPFD.

Thanks Heidi. I've googled tons about the curry plant - most of the results came from people growing them in India. Most of the stuff I had found said that once it started growing, it went like crazy - so maybe I just need to wait for it to really take off. Your article was good because it showed the relative sizes of plants vs age - I had never seen that before. So the light I'm providing should be fine, and the tree currently gets between 45 and 58% relative humidity. there's a temp/humidity gauge sitting on the white crate. Hiding to the right of the gas tank is a humidifier, although now that the other plants have taken off, it's not running because I'm getting enough humidity from the basil plant's transpiration and evaporation of the runoff from watering.

Not possible in this building - the roof is where the gym and swimming pool are, as well as lounge chairs for sunbathing. When we move (hopefully in a couple of months), that building's roof has a roof deck and is already planted with ornamentals. But the new apartment is North facing (instead of South where I am now) and has 10 foot high windows across the whole front of the apartment and gets a good amount of even light with no direct sun so it doesn't get super hot like my place now - so I was going to put the herbs in a row in front with some hanging supplemental lights... as well as a small ornamental green wall when I get some time...

Thanks - that's one thing I thought of, but it's actually getting quite a bit of light - about 650umol/s... which turns into a DLI of not quite 33mol/day which is equivalent to being in full sun for about 6 hours in summer time... I moved it after the photo was taken - maybe it'll get more light in its new position... I'll check with my PAR meter this weekend when I have time...

Thanks! I will definitely check it out!!!

What is the name of the grocery? I've never seen rau ram sold in a store in NY before. I'd love to check the place out!

An updated family photo... Everybody is doing well. I can't use the Genovese basil fast enough, it's becoming a tree already! The only one not looking so good is the curry tree. More research required for that one...

Yeah, here they can be like $5 for a mediocre specimen. I have to wait for the occasional (once a year if I'm lucky) trip to the tropics to feed my addiction.

If I had access, I could definitely eat my body weight in passion fruit!