KennethT

Yup. but I think American oak gets a bad rap unnecessarily. When used properly (properly toasted, and using barrels rather than chips/shavings) it can be just as good as French oak. Personally, I think the cooper has much more influence on the outcome of the wine than the species of oak. I think American oak got a bad rap in the old days because a lot of the cooperages were inexperienced with making wine barrels (as opposed to bourbon barrels) and just over-did things. By now, they've come a long way. But, some houses like Ridge have always done a great job with it. I remember having a conversation with Anne Gros (Burgundy)'s assistant winemaker and she was walking us through their cellar tasting us out of barrel (oh that Richebourg.... drool) and explaining to us how they request different toast levels depending on the ripeness they get that year. It's not just a one size fits all decision. Nice. Years ago when we had a weekly tasting group, someone brought some '70s and early '80s Ridge and we tasted them blind next to some very nice older Bordeaux... quite interesting indeed...

Ridge ages really well. Their cabernet could pass for Bordeaux

The basil and Thai basil have sprouted. I'll thin them out to 1 plant per cube

I have a home built system that used to have circulation, but the circulator motor has long since died. But the rest of the system works fine - just like a SVS... but mine uses any standard stockpot (it's just the base) so once I'm done using it, I can dump the water out of the stockpot and put the base away easily.

The Thai Basil has been flowering like crazy so I'm letting it for a while before I chop her down.... It's just too much of a pita to keep pinching the flowers.

I also think that the food looks much better than I had expected - and the variety - who knew!?!

I always washed them with a sponge with some soap/water in the bottom of the sink. Then I put them on a rack in the oven and turned the oven on to dry them...

Those are either really big limes or really small lemons!

Algae need some kind of nutrient in order to proliferate - so, distilled water should theoretically be algae free.

Madeira goes with EVERYTHING!

Me too

wow! At what point does it stop being called a Brussels sprout and instead just called cabbage?

If you're using distilled water, it should never need descaling. How does it know it needs it? Is it just based on hours of steam usage (like a timer)? Based on this, I'd assume so...

I think there is a place for giant agribusiness - but I am happy there are other alternatives. The unfortunate reality is that we need the really cheap sources of meat to feed the majority of the world. Every time I read an article talking about how the world is going to run out of food, large agribusiness comes up with ways to be more efficient, to get more product out of a piece of land. Farm land is finite - and as the human population grows, land for farming is shrinking. As much as I don't want to eat it, GMO crops (like more disease/drought/pest resistant crops) are what saved the planet from starvation decade after decade.

I don't think it was its age - granted, it was probably over a year old, but it was doing great up until my system started to fail it. When I move (hopefully in a month or two) I'm going to revise my system which will keep that problem from happening again...

The rau ram (laksa leaf) plant is dead... Long live the rau ram plant...

Would you ever consider getting a plant light? That way you can have your herbs year round.

I imagine it would also be really good in a Thai style - egg white, red curry paste, kaffir lime leaf... it's typically done with a firm white fish, but I can't imagine it being bad with salmon. Also common in Nyonya style - called Otak...

OK - that's what I thought it looked like. What is the resulting texture? Is it just a firm but tender cake or does it have a "bouncy" texture that so common with SE Asian fish cakes/balls?

Was that salmon a salmon cake that was sliced? If so, how was it done?

Have you tried Katie's Best chicken thighs? You can get them on Fresh Direct... I'd be curious as to your thoughts, compared with Cooks Venture

adding some toasted sticky rice powder to your dressing will make a huge difference. Also easy to do...

Nice Champagne selections! What type of crab claws are those?

Those ducks look amazing.... if you like mashed potatoes with Yukons, try some fingerlings sometime - I think they're even better, but they're a pita to peel because they're so small.

Did you post your haul from Wu's?