TicTac

The itch continues - plotting my layout this year - thought I would share one new wintering girl and one old stalwart - curry leaf & bay leaf - enjoying the southern exposure and heat vent by the front door... Cathy curry leaf was shipped as a single twig with maybe 10 leaves to her measly stalk, she has surprised and rebounded quite nicely

Korean Sweet potatoes, my mistake. White fleshed variety - absolutely amazing roasted. And yes, I did! Typically used for tacos, but I needed a heat element and these called out to me.

Whacky Wednesday concoction - avocado, celery, spicy pickled carrots, picked ginger, lemon/evoo, sweet soy and roasted sesame oil. Roasted cauliflower, Korean and russet potatoes, zucchini corn flour patties w/ tahini and pomegranate sauce - accompanied by aforementioned whacky concoction. Hot sauce not pictured.

X2! - If only I had the time to bust out the D600 prior to feeding the horde. But the horde is hungry, and one must satisfy said hunger lest you feel ( aka; hear) their wrath!

Check out Aurora peppers when you do. One of my favourites and they look really neat too (little white things that turn purple, then red) and have a fantastic flavor profile. Those and Serrano's are my go-to's I have one Aurora plant under burlap and a plastic tub over winter, read somewhere that they can, potentially - continue growing next year - we shall see. If not, I got seeds!

I would be too nervous to try other things in mine! Quite frankly we use it multiple times a week for Haiga rice (with a little one who has Celiac, we have moved from channeling our Italian roots and onto our Asian heritage....if there is any!) and I would be hesitate to muck it up. Given you are off grains completely (good for you, whatever reason is prompting it!) perhaps its time to experiment with it (and report back)!

Another well timed execution! Happy birthday!! We continued celebrations (seems more like Greek wedding celebrations than an 8 year olds birthday!) with requested (similar tastes scuba!?) cheese burgers. Ground ribeye and chuck - For me however if I’m consuming red meat, I’ll take a true ribeye please! This one is an 8 week aged from Cumbraes; deckle end. Fantastic Zinfandel

Happy birthday to you and your little one! Good timing on different continents- my ‘big’ man turns 8 tomorrow so this weekend was all his request - sadly in Canada still under lockdown no parties so we try to make him feel as special as we can by obliging to his special requests... chicken tinga home made tacos w fixin’s He loves sushi rolls - supporting a local Japanese joint (marinated calamari salad in the forefront) And while not food related...a new member of the family soon to arrive - a present for all...

Some seriously excellent execution going on here! @Shelby - that foie is on point! @Eatmywords - same with the fillets! @curls - and with the duck breast....! People bringing their 'A' game!

The lime is obviously flourishing and the lemon grass is doing well too. I am trying an 'insulation' technique on my outdoor lemon grass over winter, have it covered with burlap and some other containers to try to manage temps, see if it rebounds in the spring. Same thing with my Aurora peppers as I have heard there *might* be a chance they could survive the winter if properly treated. We shall see. My slew of new seeds are coming soon, quite interested to see what this Lemon Bottlebrush does, sounds very interesting - amongst others. Now to source some soil-less seed starter, another month or so and its about sproutin time!

@jimb0 - Looks very cool! Almost like a living wall type of setup. Ken - tent is looking good, especially that sawtooth coriander!

Splurge on a high end gas range. My preference is Wolf. Bluestar, Garland, Thermador are all good options as well. An equally high end hood with multiple extractor fans (no sense in being able to sear the crap out of stuff if your house constantly turns into one big hotbox!) Perhaps an in counter wine fridge. No need to go crazy on the fridge, IMO - I have had Sub-Zero's in the past and they quite frankly have issues as they age and are expensive to repair. Our current Kitchen Aid (french door) is very good. If I was doing it all over again, I would try to incorporate a wood burning oven into the kitchen - so many fun things one can do with that, plus it looks damn cool! On our next move, for sure. Pullout cupboards with built in racking systems are also a great storage tool.

Garden tomato and cheese risotto Nice Gavi Some of my favourite truffle cheeses (available on this continent) Salad not shown. You don’t make friends with salad!

Works well with radicchio too.

$13/lb seems awfully steep for mangosteens...does that include delivery? I see them range from $5-8/lb ($CDN) at the local Asian grocery store. Fresh not frozen. I find it very hit and miss with them, unless I am able to feel them (soft equator) and not see any yellowing (a sign they are going rotten) I tend to avoid as they just become expensive compost. Perhaps I should start exporting....!?

Strange that the chef does not toast their whole spices in the ghee before adding onions/ginger/garlic/tomato An employee of mine years back gave me her recipe for a paneer curry (which I almost always add peas to!) which involved toasting cloves, green cardamon and cumin prior to adding the ginger/onion paste - then the crushed spices (ground coriander, red kashmir chili powder - later on garam masala) and after that tomatoes. Cream goes in towards the end, she also insisted you put cashew paste - last week I used almond butter instead, still came out great. Fenugreek goes in at the very end.

It pays to make friends with people in the food industry! I called my local Japanese fish monger yesterday to place an order for pickup today (as I have come to trust his ability to select prime pieces) When I arrived today he came out with two packages of fish collars (my favourite). I had requested kampachi and while he offered the requested variety he also brought out a pack of huge beautiful hamachi collars which he was very proud of the fact they had received a large whole fish and wanted to save them for me. What a guy! I tried a new dish today. Grilled them and then picked the meat off the bones. I macerated ginger and green onions in Yuzu the strained. Also macerated bonito flakes in a soy/sugar sauce then strained and combined. Tossed in the pulled fish and served on California gold rice and tobiko. My wife better be careful, this guy clearly knows how to make me happy! Lol.

The skin is not fully intact, I will slice down 'inner' side of the leg along the bone, and carefully using a little pairing or boning knife slide along the bone, get under it, cut around the cartilage ends and usually end up with a large boneless leg, skin attached to one side. That, or I just get lazy and ask my butcher to do it and pay an extra $1/lb..lol

After the Steve Young 49'ers Era (my team!) I briefly rotated between Ellway and the Broncos and later The BUS and the Steelers. However I just have had no time these past years to watch any football. I do however make a point to watch the superbowl (if just as an excuse to eat in front of the TV and have junk food with the kids). This year we will do chicken fingers (boneless chicken legs skin on cut into strips, tossed in corn starch and spices and baked till crisp), nachos and salsa/guac and dipping sauces. I will be cheering for KC, as I cannot stand that cheater, er, I mean, Tom Brady.

Love the look of that shelf system. In your kitchen too - very cool. Could you take a wider shot to see the whole thing? Looks great. A few unique plants I am considering this year - Toscano, Prospera and Green Pepper Basil, Elder Berries, Lemon Bottlebrush, Confetti Cilantro, Fenugreek - just to name a few. I will start everything under a 80w KIND LED strip light in a 2x4 tent. No till organic living soil.

Awesome @jimb0 - My buddy used to grow those tiny wild strawberries indoors, so good. What type of light are you using? About to pull the order on some fun new seeds from Richter's ... now to start reverse engineering timelines of germination and creating planting schedules!

Great idea. The Japanese Izakaya's near me do some fantastic grilled chicken odds n ends. I particularly like the fried cartilage. For gizzards you would need to boil or pressure cook them first else they would be texturally challenging. Hearts are also a good option to skewer and grill without any need for prior prep.

I was pondering earlier as I wrote my previous reply whether it was a Canada / US difference, which it appears it might be. Clearly the climactic variable is important as any place with snow will expect visitors to remove shoes (and if not, give your head a shake!). Though I am sure there are other variables at play.... Maybe its part of our overly-polite culture...as I do see it as a respectful thing to do when entering someones home (last thing I want to do is muck up someones clean floors/carpets).

Thanks for chiming in Anna. Perhaps it is a cultural thing...I was going to say prior to reading your and Chrome's response that 95% of friends/family that we visit, everyone takes their shoes off. Kind of disgusting to consider what people have stepped on outside and then them walking through your house tracking that around. I purchased booties (the disposable slip on/off type that go over your shoes) when we were having contractors in our house doing some bathroom reno's and gave all them a pair. I still have some on hand for 'unique' situations....(ahem; stubborn uncles who are painful to argue with, so I play dress up with them instead!)

Fair - however, odds are you will be far more mindful of handle placements and being more conscious (whether you realize it or not, your subconscious is a powerful tool!) around that area given the trauma you went through.