TicTac

#1 - that is an amazing haul! I would certainly be proud of that... #2 - I love your Halloween decorations! The crows, the cat, and the white pumpkins in the back! Amazing! TOTALLY off topic, but I am really torn about whether to put out my usual yard this year, not planning on giving out candy, but do we still decorate (not looking to attract visitors either!)....?!

It's the cooking glut...I was there a couple months ago, still sometimes trip and fall back in... What I found helped was; - Documenting what we really like to eat, dishes we have made, and starting to schedule what I wanted to cook the following week. - At first, really bringing everything back to the basics; old standby's that everyone enjoyed and that were somewhat easy to prep. - From there, starting to branch out and looking into ethnic cuisines I enjoy cooking but wanted to evolve (my Indian, Thai and Chinese game are on point!) - Re-creating dishes we would have enjoyed eating out at restaurants and being OK if they do not turn out exactly as we might have remembered (gives a challenge to build from the next go-round). Looking on this site helped a lot, as did watching some interesting cooking and foraging Youtube videos. We tried ordering in (take-out) a few times during the pandemic, most food does not travel well and not to toot my own horn, but I can prepare better food than most of those places, so I would rather reduce the stress and anxiety (oh, anxiety, how you have reared your ugly head this last while!) and just spend the money on high quality ingredients and do it myself. Now the fun really begins, 'virtual school' for a 7 and 5 year old while my 3 year old darling angel plays 'quietly' in the background.

And so many damn scallops that your rolls cannot even contain them! Talk about rubbing it in....!

Rarely do I order sashimi as I prefer sushi - the execution of the rice is a key tell in the chef's caliber (and I like really good rice!). I seem to recall when I last ordered carashi, the rice was seasoned. I would hazard a guess that if you simply order a side of rice at a Japanese restaurant (to accompany your sashimi), it will be just plain steamed rice; though I am sure if asked the chef would oblige to give you seasoned rice.

Chances are you are not eating at a Japanese run sushi restaurant, otherwise you should taste that the rice is indeed slightly flavored. I would suggest a few things re: the above recommendations... Chances are you will need to rinse the rice more than 3x - my experience has been 5-8x. That is, until the water is totally clear. I would sub the sugar for maple syrup - a local Japanese chef taught me that trick, really nice. Also, if you have a wooden bowl, cool and fold the vinegar while the rice is in there, fanning to cool it down and let the mixture evaporate faster. If not, I have used a big wooden cutting board. The wood is key to help absorb some of the moisture/inevitable condensation from the rice.

Lobster stock and clam ramen vino

I wanted to like the site, I really did...(as I love this sort of topic)... It is just so poorly presented and organized - very tough to navigate (functions like their map do not work) and limited information. I think they are trying to cover far too large an expanse rather than focusing and specializing on something more local. I cross reference a few links typically.... https://northernbushcraft.com/ https://ontarionature.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ontario_Nature_Forest_Foraging_Guide_official.pdf Among a few others.

I can only imagine many of the beautiful shots are taken using DSLR's... I have yet to bust out my D600 for food pics, it is just too much of a process! Perhaps one day I will upgrade to a Nikon unit with built in wifi...but probably not....this thing is still a beast!

That certainly will impact the end result as you are removing starch and drying the tater. What type of spuds did you use? I tried making oven fries the other day out of some new (gold) potatoes from the farmers market, they stayed crisp on edges for all of 1 minute before going limp. Too much moisture in new potatoes, methinks....

I cannot imagine anyone who has had the fortune of tasting ramps in its various delectable forms to ever utter such blasphemy!

If you want to 'splurge' on yourself, make some fresh mayo with some really good (preferably fresh/free run and/or Organic) egg yolks. Nothing beats a nice steamed choke dipped in home made mayo. You can also kick the mayo up a notch and make an aioli - also delicious!

From first glance it seems you are somewhat pigeonholing yourself into a very niche market. Your audience must like hot sauces and unique/funky snacks? What about separating the two and offering either or? Or for those who prefer - both?

Burnt food is indeed unhealthy, *IF* carbon is being created - however, Wok Hei is the searing / slight browning of anything (I suppose?), thus creating a smokey/toasted aroma. Pre-carbon creation, no doubt. Take for example Beef Ho Fun - the noodles especially are to be toasted to create a bit of browning, as are any veg, thus the Wok Hei technique is accomplished. Same concept for the aforementioned cabbage example, browning/blistering the veg not only caramelizes the sugars, but will also create a smokey note - which is the essence of Wok Hei.

Something I have been doing at home for many years and a lot easier than most would think. Just get your pan searing hot (2-3x longer than perhaps you typically would) and only add the oil once heated, I coat the pan and remove the excess (you do not want burning oil, even if using a high smoke temp one like Rice bran oil or grape seed) - then get your veg in there and SEAR it! The browning is what you are looking for. Cabbage for example takes on fantastic nuances when prepared this way. Mushrooms, even more so! The article is a bit much, no blowtorches required - trust me.

You are more in tune with the authenticity of the dishes than I, given you have visited the source. When it comes to Thai and Viet food, my position on Rau Ram (and coriander for that matter) is similar to the Franks Red Hot Sauce lady....I put that sh!t on everything!

Welcome to the club - my excuse tends to fall back on the 3 underage rug-rats running around! I would think that Enoki mushrooms would also work really nice in that dish, as would seared shiitake. Surprised to see none of your (beautiful) Rau Ram make an appearance either!

Thanks @chromedome & @heidih What did you top the cardboard with? That is what I am most puzzled by at the moment...as I do not want to introduce weeds on top of the cardboard!

Back when MicDicks used to cook their fries in animal fat, they reigned supreme - I would always ask for them extra crispy.

Burnt fries!? They look IDEAL! Send them over my way, you can have the limp/flaccid ones! 😛

Curious to hear all you dirt guru's opinions... What I did not plan for nor really deal with this year were the 'weeds' (various grasses, unwanted/inedible weeds, etc) growing in between my fruits/veg. I have been reading about this method of addressing that, but was curious as to the best timing to implement - I have heard various approaches.. Basically the concept is that once you pull the harvest, you till the soil, and then lay down a thick sheet of heavy duty cardboard over the entire plot - water it, and then put mulch (or dirt?) on top of that, and let it sit over the winter and melt into the ground. Basically from that point onward next season you just cut openings where you want to plant and add more mulch (or dirt?). This needs to be done every couple years as eventually the cardboard will decompose and break down into the earth. Curious whether this is the right approach, the time of year to do it - and if anyone has done it before and if so, what medium did you top the cardboard with? Appreciate y'alls help (I am drawing my slang from my EG friends down south!) 😛

Whatever fits! 😛

Seems like a weekly occurrence (no complaints here!) - wild ocean trout sushi/sashimi - broiled hamachi collar / seared ocean trout belly (home made ponzu not pictured) blistered beans and enoki mushrooms from the farmers market alongside sushi rice and lots of tobiko

WOW that is cheap! Even at $6.65 CDN, I have never seen lobsters at that rate. Any idea of the source? Lowest I have seen here is $8.50/lb (CDN) Stock up, par cook them, freeze in some fat - enjoy!

Too funny. I agree, orchids would certainly add an extra wow factor. Especially some of the more exotic 'dangley' varieties. I too had heard good things about Richters. Unfortunately I think they were quite overwhelmed with the order volume due to the pandemic and were foolishly sending out sub-par specimens. After a painful back and forth with multiple CS agents, I finally tracked down someone who was able to help me (and ended up refunding half the order - which was less than ideal as I still had to resource some items, but better than nothing).

You just can't wait to start your living wall garden, eh!? My lemon grass this year was fucked from the get go (excuse my french). The nursery I ordered from (first - and last time, ever) - Richter's - sent me what literally appeared to be a lemon grass stalk purchased at a grocery store, stuck into a tiny pot. Now months later it has 'fanned' out and basically looks to be about 6-7 stalked all growing in a very straight fan type shape. Never seen anything like it. I have always been used to clumps of lemon grass stalks (like 30+ stalks in a large plant 'clump') so I find this beast quite odd. On the flip side, the little shit (literally, a single twig of curry leaf plant) has flourished, as pictured above.