I have decided what I want to be when I grow up

[Drama Llama]

I would like to be the person who cooks interesting foods, serves them to babies, and makes little videos.  

For example, have you ever wondered what babies eating nopales look like?

https://solidstarts.com/foods/nopales-prickly-pear-cactus/

Now you know!

How about freekeh?

https://solidstarts.com/foods/freekeh/

Babies and food are two of my favorite things, so this is my new favorite website.  And the videos are the perfect length for my attention span!  I could probably just cancel my Netflix account. 

What do you want to be when you grow up?  

[catz]

I love this!  If you're ever hiring, I want in!  So cute!  🥰

[WildflowerMom]

Professional organizer.      I'd even do it for free!  

[Drama Llama]

Just now, WildflowerMom said:

Professional organizer.      I'd even do it for free!  

Do you have a baby?  Because I would totally cook nopales for them in return for you organizing my stuff!  

[WildflowerMom]

2 minutes ago, BandH said:

Do you have a baby?  Because I would totally cook nopales for them in return for you organizing my stuff!  

Well, I have a furry baby.  Does that count?   I seriously doubt he will eat nopales, but he's not terribly picky.   He's really cute when he grabs something he thinks will be tasty and realizes it's not-- like pickles.   They sort of just fall out of his mouth.   

[Spy Car]

Nopales, yum.

I can still remember the first time I ate Nopales. Circa 1969 (age 11). There was a Mexican-California restaurant in Century City called Señor Pico. They had a "display kitchen" as one walked in where women patted out fresh corn tortillas by hand--not easy, and a dying art.

Anyway, on their Old California (Mexican) menu "Nopales," was an option as a side order. What kid didn't want to try eating cactus?

Let's just say, I loved it (and still do). From then on, any time we were near there, I'd plead to go to Señor Pico for the Tacos and--especially--the Nopales.

 And Freekeh is also delicious!

The babies you are (fantasy) cooking for are very lucky indeed.

Bill

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by Spy Car

[Spy Car]

You know what else is good? The fruit of the Nopal cactus, in Spanish "Tunas" and "Prickly Pears" in English. 

When they are ripe, as above, they turn a beautiful carmine color. I like to peel them, give them a blast in my bullet-style blender, and then strain the juice. There are tons of small black seeds in the fruit. But they are hard and don't blend (at least in my little blender).

A tiny bit of tuna juice with club soda makes a very beautiful drink. Also great for making a "Mexican" version of pink lemonade.

Would look good on camera. 

Bill

[Rosie_0801]

The fruit of the prickly pear taste a whole lot better cooked into self saucing pudding, according to my neighbour who made puppy dog eyes and me and had me bake them a second one.

[Spy Car]

4 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

The fruit of the prickly pear taste a whole lot better cooked into self saucing pudding, according to my neighbour who made puppy dog eyes and me and had me bake them a second one.

 

Are we talking "pudding" like so?:

As when my American compatriots hear "pudding," we tend to think:

 

Bill

[Miss Tick]

15 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

There are tons of small black seeds in the fruit. But they are hard and don't blend (at least in my little blender).

Those seeds also float, because my margarita was full of them, whereas dh had no idea what I was talking about, since he had politely poured mine first. 😂

[TechWife]

That’s fun to watch! 

[Rosie_0801]

26 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Are we talking "pudding" like so?:

As when my American compatriots hear "pudding," we tend to think

Bill

Neither. Self saucing puddings are cakes baked in some kind of sauce.

*googles what Americans call self saucing pudding*

*comes to no conclusions*
 

[Drama Llama]

2 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Neither. Self saucing puddings are cakes baked in some kind of sauce.

*googles what Americans call self saucing pudding*

*comes to no conclusions*
 

I might need some recipes. 

Is the sauce outside?  I always pictured that they were like chocolate lava cake where you cut into them and the sauce oozed out.

[Drama Llama]

@Spy Car, this is for you:

https://solidstarts.com/foods/prickly-pear-cactus-fruit/

And for @Rosie_0801

https://solidstarts.com/foods/durian/

[Spy Car]

47 minutes ago, Miss Tick said:

Those seeds also float, because my margarita was full of them, whereas dh had no idea what I was talking about, since he had politely poured mine first. 😂

LOL.

A strainer works miracles. But so do enough margaritas  

And why did I not think of "margaritas." Brilliant!

Bill

[Spy Car]

 

We have no idea what the heck you are talking about, then 

Bill

[Terabith]

I'm not a big fan of alcohol, but prickly pear margaritas are pretty yummy.  

[cintinative]

46 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Neither. Self saucing puddings are cakes baked in some kind of sauce.

*googles what Americans call self saucing pudding*

*comes to no conclusions*
 

Do you mean like this? https://prettysimplesweet.com/chocolate-pudding-cake/  It makes its own pudding as it cooks.

[Rosie_0801]

Prickly Pear Self Saucing Pudding

3 /12 cups prickly pear juice

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 more cup of sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

*1. Place juice (which you made by halving, tossing in the blender, and sieving, then blending and sieving the pulp once or twice more,) water and one cup of sugar in a pot on the stove, stir until dissolved.

2. Preheat oven to 180C, put the butter in the baking dish and stick it into the oven to melt.

3. Mix the flour, the other cup of sugar, baking powder, milk, salt and vanilla into a batter.

4. Pour batter over the butter, and DO NOT STIR.

5. Pour the juice mixture over the top of that and DO NOT STIR.

6. Don’t burn it.

[Drama Llama]

Just now, Rosie_0801 said:

Prickly Pear Self Saucing Pudding

3 /12 cups prickly pear juice

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 more cup of sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

*1. Place juice (which you made by halving, tossing in the blender, and sieving, then blending and sieving the pulp once or twice more,) water and one cup of sugar in a pot on the stove, stir until dissolved.

2. Preheat oven to 180C, put the butter in the baking dish and stick it into the oven to melt.

3. Mix the flour, the other cup of sugar, baking powder, milk, salt and vanilla into a batter.

4. Pour batter over the butter, and DO NOT STIR.

5. Pour the juice mixture over the top of that and DO NOT STIR.

6. Don’t burn it.

How long do you cook it?

[Rosie_0801]

Just now, BandH said:

How long do you cook it?

Um...

"Long enough!" she says, helpfully.

(Until the cake bit is cooked which is going to depend on the size and shape of your baking dish.)

[Drama Llama]

Just now, Rosie_0801 said:

Um...

"Long enough!" she says, helpfully.

(Until the cake bit is cooked which is going to depend on the size and shape of your baking dish.)

Does the stick a thing in and see if it comes out clean thing work if it's self saucing?

Will this be cake on the top and sauce on the bottom?

[Rosie_0801]

1 minute ago, BandH said:

Does the stick a thing in and see if it comes out clean thing work if it's self saucing?

Will this be cake on the top and sauce on the bottom?

Yes, it works. The sauce and the pudding will be different colours.

More or less.

[Drama Llama]

2 hours ago, WildflowerMom said:

Well, I have a furry baby.  Does that count?   I seriously doubt he will eat nopales, but he's not terribly picky.   He's really cute when he grabs something he thinks will be tasty and realizes it's not-- like pickles.   They sort of just fall out of his mouth.   

Is it a furry baby rabbit?  

Although my furry old man will eat anything people eat, so he'd probably scarf down the nopales.

[Drama Llama]

23 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Yes, it works. The sauce and the pudding will be different colours.

More or less.

What colors?

[KungFuPanda]

I’m gonna follow B&H’s baby videos on YouTube. I’m not gonna understand this self-saucing pudding until one of y’all makes me some. I want the pudding. I won’t go until I get some. 
 

When I grow up I wanna be the person that names paint, nail polish, or cosmetic colors. 

[Eos]

I want a baby to feed.

[Drama Llama]

Just now, Eos said:

I want a baby to feed.

I fed my nephew soup today.  Then my nephew needed a bath.  It was worth it.  

I have a new niece coming.  Hopefully she likes soup too. 

[Rosie_0801]

23 minutes ago, BandH said:

What colors?

Prickly pear juice is probably going to be red and the cake will be pale yellow.

[Spy Car]

Many (many) moons ago, I had this friend who enjoyed weaving with fabrics that she'd spun herself and then dyed using natural colors, which led me to join a "hunt" in the hillside canyons of Hollywood in search of Cochineal.

Cochineal are tiny bugs (parasites I guess) that live on Nopal cactus. One doesn't "see" them, but rather the distinctive white "pods" where they live. See below:

 

 

 

If you squash one of these white pods, you get brilliantly colored Carmine bug-juice:

 

 

It used to be (back in the days when squeezing bugs for their juice was acceptable in Europe) that Carmine was used to give Campari its distinctive color:

 

 

Now, to come full circle, for decades Campari (which is a polarizing drink because it is both bitter and sweet) used to have, in addition to ads that claim "9 out of 10,000 Americans prefer Campari," also had  campaigns where celebrities talked about "their first time":

 

[Celebrity pic deleted by moderator]

 

Does anybody see where I'm going with this?

 

 

"Campari: The First Time Is Never The Best"

Bill 

 

 

 

 

 

[bibiche]

@Spy Car Campari tastes yucky since they stopped using cochineal. It’s given me a good excuse to try every other bitter thought - there are lots these days. I still miss old Campari though. I stopped drinking it after they changed the formula, but I recently read that one can still get the old version in Sweden and Mexico. I’m going to check that out!

[Spy Car]

5 minutes ago, bibiche said:

@Spy Car Campari tastes yucky since they stopped using cochineal. It’s given me a good excuse to try every other bitter thought - there are lots these days. I still miss old Campari though. I stopped drinking it after they changed the formula, but I recently read that one can still get the old version in Sweden and Mexico. I’m going to check that out!

On my (long) "to do" list, is to experiment making my own aperitifs.

I even found (and have) a bottle of 192 proof spirits to use for my infusions, which I don't think are really legal to sell here in CA, but "Lucky Bill."

Bill

 

[kbutton]

18 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Neither. Self saucing puddings are cakes baked in some kind of sauce.

*googles what Americans call self saucing pudding*

*comes to no conclusions*
 

My family makes what they call Poor Man’s Pudding, and it sounds like what you are talking about, particularly after reading your recipe. It’s rarely made as our version is super sweet. Most people don’t want a second piece due to the excessive sweetness, so you have to have a group committed to sharing it, or else you end up throwing out the leftovers. But the format and directions are analogous to your recipe. 

15 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Many (many) moons ago, I had this friend who enjoyed weaving with fabrics that she'd spun herself and then dyed using natural colors, which led me to join a "hunt" in the hillside canyons of Hollywood in search of Cochineal.

Cochineal are tiny bugs (parasites I guess) that live on Nopal cactus. One doesn't "see" them, but rather the distinctive white "pods" where they live. See below:

 

 

 

If you squash one of these white pods, you get brilliantly colored Carmine bug-juice:

 

 

It used to be (back in the days when squeezing bugs for their juice was acceptable in Europe) that Carmine was used to give Campari its distinctive color:

 

 

Now, to come full circle, for decades Campari (which is a polarizing drink because it is both bitter and sweet) used to have, in addition to ads that claim "9 out of 10,000 Americans prefer Campari," also had  campaigns where celebrities talked about "their first time":

 

[Celebrity pic deleted by moderator]

 

Does anybody see where I'm going with this?

 

 

"Campari: The First Time Is Never The Best"

Bill 

 

 

 

 

 

I just saw a really fantastic short documentary about this on FB. I will post it if it’s available as a non-FB link (I can’t figure out how to post FB links on here). 

[kbutton]

 

[Spy Car]

15 minutes ago, kbutton said:

 

Wow! Thank you. I watched it straight away.

Really fascinating. I appreciate you posting this.

Bill

 

[BeachGal]

I am in Mexico right now and just ate a delicious dish featuring nopales. Along with a gazpacho made from red beets which was ridiculously good. I don’t drink much but do like Campari. I might see if I can buy a bottle here.

[BeachGal]

So, am “taste testing” a Mexican Campari Negroni for the sake of ~research~ and, yes, it is quite delicious. 😁

Edited January 30, 2023 by BeachGal

[Spy Car]

6 minutes ago, BeachGal said:

So, am “taste testing” a Mexican Campari Negroni for the sake of ~research~ and, yes, it is quite delicious. 😁

You are truly a "Team Player."

Bill

[BeachGal]

Duty called, Bill. 😋

[Spy Car]

@BeachGal

Just now, BeachGal said:

Duty called, Bill. 😋

Say, are you able to tell if the Mexican Campari is made with "bug juice?"

I'm told it is hard to tell at first, so...

Bill

[BeachGal]

Well, tomorrow I am going to see if I can buy a bottle here and then I’ll compare it to the US variety over a few months if necessary.

[Clarita]

Forget all this fancy food. My favorite feeding with my little girl when she was a tiny tot was a table cloth covered with whipped cream and fruit. Then I just let her have at it in her diaper.

I think what I want to do when I grow up is help hobbists build and layout their electronic circuits. I don't know if that's a need but I don't want to come up with the idea of what to make, but I like making it happen.