KennethT

You can't go wrong with La Chapelle with some age!

I haven't tried it but it's a good idea. I've always heard of other fruits being ripened that way - I didn't think of it for the mango though. I think we have maybe 4 or 5 left, which we're going to keep green in the refrigerator. I'm almost out of the palm sugar/chilli/shallot/fish sauce/shrimp paste dip I made - maybe I'll make a chilli/salt/sugar dip tonight - that's always tasty too!

Congratulations!

Tonight we had yet another of the green mangoes (we're having 1 each night... it's like the Chanukah mango box) but we also had the other one that I left out to ripen. It was amazing! So much better than the other ripe one. It had a similar flavor to some of the best ones I've had in Thailand, but it wasn't quite as juicy. But the flavors were like flowers and honey. I think I need to get another box when it's on offer again... temptation...

You could smell a durian stand in Singapore from across the street and down the block. Outside, not inside.

I've found that frozen durian doesn't smell nearly as strong (once thawed) as the fresh ones do.

I don't think there were any fresh durians there..... probably just frozen and defrosted. It is illegal to import fresh fruit from SE Asia (it all has to be frozen), and I don't think anyone has been successful at growing durian in the US or areas from where we can bring in fresh - like Puerto Rico or Mexico. It's possible that they could have the cut fruit - but it would have been whole defrosted fruit that was cut in the store. When I was in Singapore they had stalls selling durian (in various grades) - both whole fruit, and already cut fruit on a styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic.

We let 2 of these mangoes sit on the counter to ripen - we had one of them last night. It was really good, and you could tell that it would be amazing if it was left to ripen more on the tree, but being picked as green as it was really hindered the development. If I had never had one of its kind in SE Asia, I would say that this was an amazing mango, but I know its potential of dripping down your chin with a distinctive flavor, so it was a bit disappointing. I'm glad we only left 2 to ripen as we really enjoy them more when they're green.

My wife and I used to go to NOLA once a year (she grew up there) for a long weekend. Most times I'd have gumbo for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then eat my weight in oysters and boiled crawfish. One year we were invited to her step-brother's annual crawfish boil which was a lot of fun (they add pineapple btw) but some of the attendees were a little prejudiced against us Yankees assuming that we would have looked down our noses at them. That was annoying. And ironic.

Personally, I find the stories fascinating, so keep them coming! I don't always like or emoji a post because I have mixed feelings - I'm happy about how you always seem to know how to handle these situations, but I don't know how to describe how I feel about some of the people's actions!

Was this with the ME Sonoma Coast? What did you think?

YES!!!! I want my prize to be a bowl of luosifen!

intestines cutter?

Update: I tried isopropyl alcohol first (it's the least aggressive). A gentle wipe with a soaked paper towel and then rinse/wash with tap hot water did the trick. It is so shiny now!!!!

That's what it was! I remembered that they selected a certain gender but forgot the why... thanks.

I seem to remember seeing a video where he was showing one of his inventions to combat malaria - it's a small device that uses a laser to shoot down mosquitoes indoors. First it identified whether the mosquito was male or female (I think only one of them carries the disease) and then targets the wings and basically vaporizes the wing.

If they're soldered then it's ridiculously easy, but for some reason, I had thought that most battery contacts were welded - it's much faster production wise and less heat (other than 1 small concentrated spot) to damage anything.

I think you're right. I have a lot of solvents - in addition to alcohol, acetone and mineral spirits, I also have vapor degreasing grade perchloroethylene and xylene.

@SmithyThe Li batteries inside the case are usually standardized (size and voltage) - but you have to crack open the case to get to them. If you're lucky, the case is held together by screws which will make easy access. If you're unlucky, it's been glued or welded shut. If you can get to them, you can get new batteries on Ebay. And if you're handy, you can get an inexpensive handheld welder to reweld the contacts - there's tons of YouTube videos showing it and it seems to work really well. In fact, you might even be able to give it an upgrade using higher AmpHour batteries (of the same voltage) to give you more life between charges.

also, it's hard to test a chemical in an inconspicuous spot - the bottom isn't painted - just the top, so there isn't anywhere I can try a solvent without it being unnoticeable. But, I'm thinking that a solvent would be fine. The paint/glaze is fired at super high temp (1300 degC) so I'd be really surprised if a solvent would remove it.

Maybe I'll soak them in a pot full of really hot (almost boiling) soapy water. My building's hot water is hot but not super hot.

Back in 2006, after visiting the factory while in Chiang Mai, Thailand, my wife and I bought a bunch of carved celadon plates, bowls and a hand painted tea set (the dollar was really strong against the Thai Baht back then). We've only used the tea set a few times just because it's so beautiful and we're afraid that constant use/washing will damage the paint - plus the tea pot looks rather delicate (even though it probably isn't) and we didn't want to risk damaging it either. Rather than keeping it in a closet, we kept the set on a display shelf in the living room so we could at least enjoy it visually. The problem is that the range hood in my old apartment sucked - or didn't, actually, so aerosolized grease landed practically everywhere except the bedroom which was closed off with a door whenever I was grilling or stir frying or basically doing anything. We got around to unpacking the set yesterday and I carefully washed it in hot water using normal dish soap and then let it air dry on the drain rack. I used a fair bit of pressure, but I didn't want to use the green scrubby side. After it had dried, there is still a thin film of dried grease in some spots. Any good tricks/products to use to get it off that won't damage it? I imagine the paint is tougher than it looks since it's baked on at like 3000 degrees but even still, I really don't want to take a chance.

Crab leg cutter?

We had our 2nd mango of the box this evening. It was even better than the one from yesterday! Tart, a little sweet and really crunchy - like the best Granny Smith apple ever. I could have never imagined I'd be saying that I'm so happy that I paid about $7 for a fruit (other than durian which can be a LOT more expensive, even in the area where it's grown).

Can you say which hobs you've tried previously that you didn't like the results? I'm in the market for a good induction hob and I don't want to make a bad choice. I'm looking at the Vollrath HPI4-2600 and would like to know if you've tried it but weren't happy with it.