dcarch

All cutting boards get damaged, plastic and wood. The damaged surfaces are the problem for sanitizing. There are no practical ways to repair the damages in the home kitchen. Sandpapering does not work. The following works very well for both wood and plastic boards: Get a set of cabinet maker's scrapers. They are not expensive. Every time you have done cutting, use the scrapers to clean the surface, then wash. The scarpers give a very flat shinny finish on the boards. Members here who has done woodworking will know what I am talking about. I am surprised that they do come with a scraper with every board they sale. dcarch

I use a germicidal UV light. dcarch

I am not that concerned about weeds. I don't think they effect crops much. This year's weeds will become next year's compost after rototilted. dcarch

Something is very strange this year! Tomatoes are huuuuge! Wonder what is going on? dcarch Ugly, but big Looks like 2.5 lbs, still growing.

There are many stores who will give you beet greens for free. Because people don't know how good the greens are and they don't want them. How very nice for me!!! dcarch Smoked chicken SV short ribs e

Congee = extreme Risotto. dcarch

Craig and Carolyn Male, two most important scientists who changed the world of tomatoes. dcarch

Very much like us guys. dcarch

I agree. One of the useless (but cute ) tips. I think based on the law of physics, the compliance of a coil spring also depends on the length of the spring. In other words, the thickness of the steak makes a difference on how soft / hard it feels even cooked at the same temperature. My tip: get a thermometer. $5.00 to $100,00. dcarch

http://img.weixinyidu.com/160404/7d3ae0b8.jpg_slt2 http://hsweixin.wecba.org/data/upload/ueditor/56f1f9f6d2b18.png dcarch

Thanks for the amazing pictures from your wonderful NYC trip. 11 Madison is walking (30 seconds) distance to Union Square farmers market. dcarch

Some times it is fun to take the opposite view just to start a fight. I disagree that "They don't make 'em like they used to." In the old days, they sold 10,000 refrigerators, today they sell 1,000,000 modern refrigerators. There will be mathematically many more failed modern refrigerators. Also, a modern refrigerator today is a much more complicated device, with many more components for breakages. Given the fact that satisfied customers don't talk, dissatisfied ones complains all the time, especially with internet and e. mail today. So you will hear today a lot more complains even with proportionally fewer appliance failures. "You know, My uncle has a Hobart mixer for 40 years, weights a ton, still working today. They don't make 'em like they used to." If Hobart made 10,000 mixer, 40 years later, 100 of them survived and still operational, those are the ones you will see and hear, not the 9,900 ones which failed and died. dcarch

So many things you can do with black garlic dcarch Black garlic ice cream Black & white pasta with black garlic sauce

In various jars and containers in the pantry. dcarch

I use a lot of black garlic. I have some which must be 5 years old. They don't taste any different. dcarch

Black garlic can stay at room temperature for years without going bad. dcarch

If fermentation means microbe action, I don't know if that is possible at that high a temperature. dcarch

It really is not that important to me if a particular vendor is being fraudulent, and I don 't care if something is local or not local. If I see something I like at the price I am OK with, I buy. I grow a lot of the stuff I eat, including strawberries. That's local enough for me. There is a vendor on one of the farmers market who sells mushrooms. Obvious to me her stuff was not grown by herself. dcarch

"Are you serious? You want your steak medium and your egg yolk not runny? And BTW, my pasta is not uncooked. It's al dente!!!" dcarch

Possible. But also notice the complete uniformity of berry sizes and shape. dcarch

I have seen the same berries in other farmers markets. Whoever produces these berries must have quite a good size farm and operation. With real estate prices, NY labor and NY taxes, there is no way you can have a real farm unless you are many hours away. dcarch

Yesterday, Union Square Farmers Market. Does it look like these berries are from his own farm? local? There were a few vendors selling lots of the same berries. dcarch

Look at it this way, for a small plot of asparagus, I would not start seeds from unknown parentage. I would do a little research and buy seeds which have qualities I like. I would want to optimize for the next 10, 20, 30 years of production. Just MHO. dcarch

Those are female plants. You should remove female plants because they are not as productive as male plants. dcarch