KennethT

I've always seen la lot translated as betel leaves, but they are also called "wild betel leaves" and are completely different from the thick betel leaves used for chewing. As liuzhou said, they are distantly related - the leaves for eating are piper sarmentosum, while the ones for chewing are piper betle. I can find the sarmentosum leaves here in NYC on rare occasion if I go to a thai store... in Thailand, one of the uses is mieng kum which is a snack that uses the raw betel leaf as the mouth delivery device.... One time I was planning on making mieng kum and was talking to the owner of my typical thai store (he's from Chiang Mai) who usually stocks the betel leaves - he was out of stock, but he recommended using spinach leaves as a substitute... it's not really close either, but I think it would be slightly closer than lettuce.

I''m no expert, but I"m assuming that the internal temperature of the baked shortbread would be high enough to eliminate anything growing, correct? Do you know what the internal temp is when fully baked?

That's hilarious - I was 2 doors down from you this weekend - we went to the fish taco place for lunch on Saturday!

Here's an interesting study done by Univ of Michigan that tested how the amount of light during the seedling stage of basil affected the yield at harvest. Seemed like a well controlled study - although, as the article even admits, this may be crop specific. For instance, we know that basil loves tons of light - it's hard to give basil too much light, as opposed to other crops (like strawberries) that do worse under high light conditions, even with temperature/humidity/etc. the same... https://www.producegrower.com/article/lighting-basil-seedlings/

Wow - I'm not usually a dessert person, but those look and sound amazing - I love the idea of savory desserts - I'd love to try that fenugreek cake!

We order in quite a bit. I wish we didn't have to, but work/time pressures are what they are... so, if I don't want to eat at 10PM and go to bed at 10:30, that's it. Sometimes we use Caviar, which gives us access to restaurants that wouldn't normally deliver to our area. If getting delivery from a few blocks away, personally, I like to call the restaurant and order directly, but my wife (who hates to use the telephone) usually winds up using Seamless. I have noticed that some restaurants charge slightly higher prices on their Seamless menus than they would if you called directly... but in general, I justify using the apps by saying that if I didn't order from this restaurant using the app, I'd probably order from somewhere else. So, even though they are subjected to fees, they're getting an order they might not get otherwise. Plus, I can't imagine that any business would belong to an association like this that would cause them to lose money. Sure, they may not make as much profit as if you called directly, but if they were losing money on each sale, why bother using the service to begin with?

Getting warmed up for our summer vacation... Kari ayam - coconut chicken curry Belacan baby bok choi

SV salmon with nam jim seafood...

@Shelby I've been thinking of you as I've heard the news of the flooding going on over there... hope your weather gets better soon!!!

So sad to see this end! Thank you for all this - I really enjoyed a glimpse into your life!!!

@Panaderia Canadiense Thank you so much for that... I truly have a lot of respect for the feelings you've expressed - I think it is obvious to anyone who reads your blogs that you love your country and that there's no place you'd rather be.

@Panaderia Canadiense I don't remember if you've discussed this in the previous blogs, but would you mind talking about your community? Is there an expat community in Ambato? I somewhat remember your discussion of how your family decided on Ambato as opposed to elsewhere in the country, but don't remember the details. I am fascinated by the idea of being an expat, and would love to hear your take on it.

I'd love to see more about making juice...

It depends on how you grow and the strain, but for the average yielding strain, you can get 500-600 grams per plant. High yielding strains can get 700-800g per plant, assuming they're getting enough light, proper environment and CO2 enrichment.

Yes!! Looking forward to it!

Their prices on spices aren't too bad (definitely higher than they used to be), but on a lot of other things (like fresh kaffir lime leaves or frozen coconut milk) borders on exhorbitant. But, considering that I live a 5 minute walk away, it's easier to justify those prices than shlepping down to Chinatown when I don't have much free time. I buy a select few of their spices very frequently (I tend to make a lot of the same type of food) and have never had an issue with freshness of the stuff I get. Then again, I don't use about 99% of the store, so take my experience with a grain of salt!

I had one in Hoi An (in central Vietnam, from where they originate). It was very tasty, but I don't know if I'd bother making it at home... but it was a nice cheap snack.

To be honest, I never use the website, but I'm in their store all the time, which is more of a rabbit hole than the website!

Lately, I've been using the Vietnamese peppercorn from Kalustyan's - it is very reminiscent of what I had all over central and south Vietnam. http://foodsofnations.com/

https://vollrath.com/Products/Countertop-Equipment/Cooking-Equipment/Mirage-Cadet-G1-1800-Watt-Countertop-Induction-Ranges

This is similar to the Thai YouTube show I linked to earlier... she made fresh rice noodles from rice flour - but I think she added tapioca starch as it helps improve texture...

Looks great! What cut of pork did you use?

Just don't use too much or it winds up becoming "mucous-y", for lack of a better term... There are threads in here that discuss proper amounts and techniques for use.

Isn't syrup sugar+water, by definition? I agree with @pastrygirl that it is probably a chili oil of some kind - note that many chili oils are not just chili flakes and oil, but can be quite complex with herbs, spices, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, etc...

The last time I bought chicken in Chinatown (quite a while ago) I think it was at Hong Li Meat Market on Mott St. north of Canal. Back then, Bo Bo listed the stores that sold their products on their website. The store was clean and well kept - they do cooked food in the front, and there's a meat market further back. They had silkies, old stewing chickens, black plume and white plume, plus quail, squab, etc... They weren't well labeled, but the bobo stuff has the yellow wing tag and the black plume look like they're a little scrawnier in the breast area... I had tried to ask questions, but I gave up since my Cantonese is a little rusty.... but they tried to be helpful... But it's been a while, so things may have changed...