TicTac

@liuzhou - Curious as to what Morels go for in China....?

We bought an under counter 'Marvel' wine fridge. Believe it holds about 50 bottles. Have had it for 7 years and it has been fantastic.

Indeed! I do not think it odd that you do not like Reese's (assuming you enjoy PB and Chocolate on their own) given the garbage within them. Oddly enough, I enjoy a crisp, fresh, green pepper - but cooked.....not a chance!

Too funny. I inherited my hatred honestly, via my mother who brainwashed me based on her own hatred for the 'white stuff'. I have an uncle who will not eat ANYTHING (stark) white...now *that* is strange! 😄

Everyone has their own foibles ... Me; I loathe yogurt and even more so, cottage cheese. Oddly enough, I love a good raita.

Awesome stuff, @Duvel Thank you for taking the time and effort to share with us all.

While I agree with you on most points here, especially yields and ability to control the environment - I have to disagree with you on the flavour topic. There are certain flavours one cannot get without soil. Especially healthy (ideally, 'living') organic soil. One a separate topic - I am curious as to suggestions of when I should start my seeds for our outdoor garden (first year doing so, we live in Southern Ontario)...

I think it has to do with salmon (why did they start out at such sizes?) itself and items used for cure. Next time, try to get either wild or 'sushi grade' salmon (City Fish is where I get the raw salmon from as well) and keep it simple - use copious amounts of salt, brown sugar, peppers, and I would suggest Dill (other herbs are too strong). A splash of vodka/gin works well too. If either of you do end up at City Fish, the smoked trout is also excellent, as are their frozen Argentinian prawns (far superior to anything else I have tried).

Not meant to be a negative post at all, I just wanted to ensure you were safe! Here is a shot of our New Years spread - on the plate in the upper right you will see both Vodka Smoked salmon from City Fish (lower part of that plate) and my home made gravlax - the smoked salmon is far more opaque than the gravlax is. It could also be as noted, the image itself. Re: City Fish - they are in Toronto, at Dufferin and Lawrence. The most unreal smoked salmon I have had! Re the quote above " Home Cured Gravlax. ... Once every 12 hours or so, open the curing salmon package and baste with the accumulating juices, then re-wrap and weigh down. After 2 to 3 days, you'll see that the flesh is becoming a bit opaque " I would have to disagree with this. In fact the idea does not appeal at all...the juices are essentially what the salt and sugar have extracted from the salmon - not something I would enjoy consuming (hence why I rinse the fish between re-brining and prior to serving). The flesh should become shiny, and when thinly sliced almost translucent.

Hard to tell by the pic, but the salmon looks oddly opaque, for some reason. Gravlax should be shiny and almost translucent - could be a bad picture... My recipe is slightly different, I keep it simple and just use loads of salt/brown sugar/fresh ground pepper. No measurements, but enough to seriously coat a half side of salmon. I will then chop up a ton of Dill and put that over, then douse it a bit with either vodka or gin (I used Aquavit for my last batch which turned out great). Wrap and put a good flat stone and then weight it down, flipping once over 2-3 days in the fridge. My latest batch I did a 'double cure' - after 2 days I washed off the curing items, and re-applied a second batch (less on the salt this time) and it came out unreal - my yard stick is a place we used to go to in NYC called the "Caviartaria" which did unreal gravlax. I would omit the mustard powder, for sure. Lastly, re your smoked salmon request - give City Fish a call and see if they will ship you some of their Vodka smoked salmon (they sell it frozen) it is unreal. Far better than Kristapsons.

It does indeed spread underground with offshoots which are resilient as stink!!! It also spreads with seed. I do not mind it, and have prepared it in the fashion my Korean friends have suggested - but it is not something I would consume in large quantities!

Be careful with that stuff. It is an awful weed which has basically taken over my backyard (no idea where it came from) but some Korean friends love it and often come to pick (and bring me awesome kimchi in exchange!) bags full of the stuff. I would suggest pots, unless you want it to completely take over. Very invasive.

Perhaps UV was the wrong harmful factor, but I know that LEDs can seriously damage your eyes if you are not using proper protective eye-ware! Have not heard about Fluence....will have to check them out.

Agreed. Ken clearly has a greater knowledge than I on the topic, but with some 'experimenting' with hydroponics in my youth...*ahem*, I learned that a hydroponic system requires, ideally, reverse osmosis water, a strong aerator and a close monitoring of PH and nutrients levels. I cannot say the idea of some 'preloaded' cartridges appeals to me, quite frankly. I am also curious as to what 13w will produce. I was sent a KIND LED X80 strip light not long ago which I was thinking of creating a setup similar to this, though still determining the growing medium... Also the question of housing came into play. LED lights give off strong UV rays which can be harmful to the eyes. Not sure if it is an issue at 13W, but at 80W they can certainly damage ones eyes and without an enclosure, a lot of the light is being lost - a reflective wall system would be much more efficient.

For whatever reason I was under the impression this was a hydroponic system. What is the growing medium and how are the plants getting nutrients?

So this is basically a plastic tub with an aerator and an attached (what appears to be very low wattage) LED?

I like the idea of miso and mushrooms. What type/brand of miso do you use, Anna?

Yes - it has to do with the health of the animal prior to slaughter and the method of slaughter and how they quickly draw the blood from the body.

Just to clarify, Halal has nothing to do with Kosher food. While originating from similar geographies, Halal refers to what is permissible or lawful in Islamic law, often pertaining to food or drink. Ironically enough, your dinner would certainly not be Kosher (Halal aside), with the mixture of meat and dairy

Ok - thanks. Moved to the cellar!

In the basement itself I would say it is between 20-24 Which environment is more ideal?

I have read not to let it go above 27 degrees in a storage space, but what about too cold? I have a cold cellar that gets to between 5-10 degrees in winter...too cold?

Smart idea. I will try that next time - I was unsure if exposure to any air was a bad thing. I could see water starting to fill the tiny gaps already when I put it downstairs. How long do you typically let it ferment for?

Well...got 2kg of organic green cabbage, sliced thin, measured out 8 tsp of salt and went to packing the heck out of it into a glass jar. I placed a large leaf on top and a plastic bag of brine on top - cloth to cover the opening and an elastic band.

Someone needs to invent a cheap barcoding scanning system that one can simply barcode as they go in, and scan out to update a list. Take my idea, someone - 7% inventors fee is all I ask in return!