TicTac

Not sure there are pickerel farms...from the minimal knowledge I have on the matter. Not a huge market for them. From what I gather, hatcheries that do work with them, but then are release back into the wild.

Very interesting trick with the vodka. I have done similar things with vinegar. Never thought of vodka...

I like this idea, but I do not see it as a scalable business. Unless you plan on training store employees to become hydro growers. Yes IoT can help with sensor technology etc, but there is still a required human element. Indeed @dcarch! I have a great little 80watt LED strip bar light that not only sprouts seeds beautifully but also produces some great lettuce. My outdoor Bay Leaf and Curry leaf plant are near a South facing window almost on a heat return - so far, they are content! I run no-till organic living soil. Curious as to what veggies you grow during the cold months and your setup?

Though certainly not visually appealing - live little neck clams turned into some Asian inspired concoction with baby bok choi. Had a very enjoyable socially distanced visit with this guy today. He hung out for a good 20 minutes eyeing my kids (they were just a bit too big on the prey scale) through the window as he hunted for mice (I have seen him before swoop down and catch one and go on to eat it for the next 4 hours)

Lamb shoulder Rogan Josh w beet greens and a nice sancerre Been having fun experimenting with a hard to, but newly sourced variety of mushroom - lion’s mane. Really delicious.

Not trying to 'one up you', BUT....if they are fresh (live spot prawns being a great example) I would either make a reduction similar to your suggestion, or - better yet - deep fry them and eat the whole damn things!

I did not top it as per usual, but topped one of the branches to see how it reacts. Must have been the full sun spot I put it in, but this little twig has grown into a nice little bush in about 7 months! Such a pretty little plant. And the fresh curry leaves are so superior to dried, just like its neighbour, Mr. Bay Leaf plant (maybe there is an unknown symbiosis between the two!?)

I am coming to love them as well, but I love the plant itself! It is a gorgeous little thing, and I have a fondness for this one in particular as when it was shipped to me it was literally, no more than a barren twig. She clearly is hearty and has come a long way. For the most part I have not picked off leaves, besides a few from the bottom early on just to smell and taste them! Now I have been experimenting with pinching stems part way down the branch. Curious to see if it splits (ala topping methods) or how the rest of it reacts. I will also try from the stem to compare. Thanks!

I like his videos as well. Not sure if @Tom Thomas is still around, as I love experimenting with Indian cuisine and have all of those ingredients on hand (and a beautiful little curry leaf plant which is one of my new found loves!) but I am curious....What are 'no.' as a unit of measurement for the Kokum and Curry leaves? Pieces? I have been wanting to experiment with the Kokum but have seen very few uses for it, so this will be fun.

Not sure how I missed this... Saute onions till fully caramelized. Remove then sear livers in butter - I take it to about a medium rare then deglaze with port and typically sage or rosemary - add back in the onions, cook off the alcohol and add butter. Blitz and you can push through a sieve if you wish. Bourbon and apples sound like a good combo too.

I think yukon golds might result in a better latkeh than russets...perhaps I will experiment more, though I will admit to hating frying foods.... The ice water soak after shredding, pre-ringing out/air drying, seemed to be an improvement in the overall process.

A couple recent meals new vendor at my weekly organic farmers market sourcing and growing some unreal shrooms (2 types of chanterelle, oysters, Piopino, cauliflower, lobster) - these are heavily seared oysters and Piopino excuse the cheat on salsa - it wasn’t planned (doesn’t necessarily match with conchinita pibil) bit the kiddies requested it.

This is awesome, and timely! There is this great Netflix show called 'Flavourful Origins' that has 12minute segments on various Chinese foods/ingredients, often VERY unique. The last episode I saw was about potatoes and how the Chinese have created potato starch noodles, which looked delicious! I now must try this. Thank you!

While I do not have 'caviar' per say - I do have frozen Tobiko - bet that would be tasty on the latkes!

Is shoe-lice just long noodle like strands? I think it's an Israeli thing. My mom (from Tel Aviv) also is not a fan of apple sauce, but then again does not like sour cream (where I got my aversion from!) - I will have to ask her if they ever did the brown sugar/salt thing. Can't be bad!

Shredded potatoes are a must. Some onion shredded is certainly a good option. Salted and squeezed is key. Do you folks prefer yellow potatoes or russets? Lately I have found russets make the best fries. I think my uncles (the latke masters) have used yukon golds in the past, though.... I like to try to keep my latkes as thin as possible to get as much crunch factor as I can. Applesauce should accompany, but that's typically my mom's wheelhouse and I am not sure whether it will make an appearance this year. Cranberry sauce also works really well. You can keep the sour cream! We typically get a large smoked turkey as well to have with the latkes. I think the turkey will get another pardon this year... Strange times. Stay safe!

Stay safe everyone! I have purchased my Spanish smoked oysters so it has official begun. After soliciting requests at dinner the other night, my 7 year old has requested Kabanosa sausage and pizza fingers - my 5 and 3 year old have requested sushi. My wife would like me to make my port infused chopped liver and hearts of palm salad. Oh boy. Talk about a smörgåsbord! While we had my folks in our social bubble, in Ontario - numbers are increasing (we are averaging 1700 cases per day over the last week or so and around 4000 across Canada) far more than they should be so we have now, sadly; had to revert back to our original social distancing isolation protocols. Meaning no more meals with family, which is really tough, especially with a 95 year old grandmother who wants nothing more than to see her grand (and great-grand) kids. Though we do not celebrate Christmas, we signed up for a Night of Lights event on Christmas Eve where you drive through this 30 minute light show that apparently has millions of lights setup in different scenes all matched to a custom radio station. Will be fun to get the kids out - and they just LOVE lights. Trying to convince me to put up Chanukah lights; I might just cave... Love the ideas being shared here - certainly a source of inspiration.

If ever, this is the year to plan something fun and special, because - well, life is all about making lemonade (or lemoncello!) out of the lemons you are given! I like the idea of a big spread to graze on throughout the day. Typically for our NY dinners we have a big table laid out and we / the kids just graze all evening - perhaps putting out an even larger one earlier in the day and rotating new things in later on might be fun. Home cured gravlax will be a must. As well as smoked oysters. Probably cheeses and crackers. Or perhaps I will change things up and go a different direction - but probably not. Traditions....after all! Looking forward to hearing others ideas and poaching them accordingly!

Yes, but unfortunately the majority of shoppers (perhaps more so on this continent) are clueless and see a bag of pre-cut, nearly perfectly uniform shaped 'baby' carrots and gobble them up. Unbeknownst to them they are, as mentioned, just whittled away larger carrots that have been soaked in a sugar bath solution to create the impression of a sweet 'baby' carrot. Now, baby bok choi, baby zucchini, baby potatoes, and certainly baby lettuces - sign me up all day long.

I would happily clean that mess up any day of the week! Sometimes the messiest of foods are the tastiest (there seems to be a subconscious correlation between getting messy and enjoying food). And from the looks of those schmears at the bottom, that gravy is finger lickin good!

There is a local Asian market that has a fantastic fish counter who recently has started bringing in live spiny lobster. As you said, at $30/lb I will take a hard PASS and stick to my beloved Canadian East Coast 1.5lb lobsters at $10/lb!

King fish is actually most often used in the Caribbean in ceviche! Because it is lean, as mentioned, it is a great protein for this type of execution.

Ditto! Ruttelicious!

Gnocchi 2 ways (because a half boiled half seared gnocchi is blasphemous!) Crispy gnocchi with extreme mushroom reduction, crisp pancetta, caramelized vidallia onions and fresh grated Parmesan - Boiled gnocchi with cherry tomato and garden basil. RAS (random ass salad) - roasted and marinated peppers, hearts of palm, cucumber, shredded cabbage, cilantro - balsamic dressing Argentine white blend in the glass

Smoked ribs (Aaron Franklin style - aka just salt and pepper) with Slaw. Pretty decent smoke ring for a 2.5h cook...