Gotten any fun stuff lately?

[KennethT]

8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Yesterday, I had fun shopping in a newish store in Nanning, the provincial capital an hour south of Liuzhou by bullet train. Its game is importing ingredients from Thailand and Vietnam as well as other SE Asian countries. I’ve often moaned here about not being able to get these goodies despite us bordering Vietnam and only three hours from Bangkok.

 

So, I bought some eggplants / aubergines which I posted here in the relevant topic. Here are a couple more purchases which don’t have a dedicated topic or really merit one.

 

First up is Alpinia galanga, galingal, Thai: ข่า (kha), Vietnamese: riềng nếp; Chinese: 高良姜 (gāo liáng jiāng). I was able to source this occasionally in the past, but this new place will hopefully be more reliable.

 

Galingal

 

Next we have something I am more excited about. This is the first time for me to find it here, although I’m told it is native to and still grows in neighbouring Yunnan province. They must keep it all for themselves!

 

Boesenbergia rotunda, fingerroot, Thai: กระชาย (krachai); Vietnamese: ngải bún or nga truật; Chinese: 凹唇姜 (āo chún jiāng).

 

 

The English name, one of many, is derived from its appearance. The Chinese name literally means ‘concave lip ginger’, which is derived from who knows what?

 

That'll come in handy!

 

Both of these are in the ginger family, but are subtly different in taste from other members and each other.
 

 

That's some nice looking galangal.  If you want some other names for it, it's called lengkuas in Bahasa Indonesia and Malay - one of the culinary terms that actually translate the same (not all do - ginger is jahe in Bahasa and halia in Malay).

[Shel_B]

I just tried Marie Sharp's Noplales-Green Habanero sauce. Its ingredients include prickly pear, also known as nopal, paired with key lime juice and green habanero to create a nice citrusy flavor. The sauce has a medium heat level which is very pleasant for me.  Ingredients are nopales, green habanero peppers, vinegar, onions, lime juice, salt, and garlic.  Another winner from Marie! 

 😍

 

[weinoo]

Of course, at almost 300 mg. sodium PER TABLESPOON,  it must taste good.

[Maison Rustique]

13 hours ago, weinoo said:

Of course, at almost 300 mg. sodium PER TABLESPOON,  it must taste good.

 

I would love it then. I have always loved salt, but the last year or so, I crave it. And I eat a ton of it. I do know that salt and sweet taste buds seem to stay strongest as we age, so maybe that's why. I thought my doctor would have a fit over my sodium levels when I had blood work done a couple of months ago, but it was actually low. Go figure! I'm gonna keep eating my salt. And anything else I want. At my age, who cares!

[TicTac]

On 1/13/2025 at 6:55 AM, Maison Rustique said:

 

I would love it then. I have always loved salt, but the last year or so, I crave it. And I eat a ton of it. I do know that salt and sweet taste buds seem to stay strongest as we age, so maybe that's why. I thought my doctor would have a fit over my sodium levels when I had blood work done a couple of months ago, but it was actually low. Go figure! I'm gonna keep eating my salt. And anything else I want. At my age, who cares!

If you love salt, highly recommend getting some Celtic Sea Salt.  Not only is it extremely high in various minerals etc but it has a far more subtle and pleasant taste than most other salts I have tried.  Not cheap, but worth it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On 1/9/2025 at 12:17 PM, Tropicalsenior said:

I just made my first batch and it is so easy. You are going to love this thing. The ice cream is so smooth and probably the best ice cream that I have had in years. I made passion fruit ice cream which is one of my favorites.

I made the Custard in the microwave the night before as I have always done when I use the other type of ice cream makers. My custard was a bit thicker than it should have been but it still turned out perfectly. I do think though that if it had been a bit thinner it would have aerated more and I would have gotten more yield. As it was I got about a quart and a half.

I'm going to start posting about this on a topic that I found here about the KitchenAid ice cream accessory. Seems that it was started in 2004. I had no idea that they had an ice cream maker. I don't understand why it isn't more popular because I think everybody that owns a KitchenAid should have one. You and I might be the the only ones posting on it but maybe we can become enablers.

https://youtube.com/shorts/O_Ga2S8ZB5o?si=8EW-2mXwRVg7d-nl

 

 

Waiting with bated breath.  I find my Creami wonderful for some lower fat recipes such as mango ice cream, the recipe for which I had posted somewhere previously.  But full egg and milkfat ice cream comes out somewhat chalky from the Creami.  I have a Cuisinart ICE-100 compressor unit but no room for it on the counter.  It was replaced by an excellent ice machine that I use practically every day or two.

 

I wonder if your new KitchenAid works as well or better than the Cuisinart ICE-100?