FauxPas

This looks delicious!

Curious about the pom juicing. Would love to hear more about it.

What a shame, it certainly LOOKED tasty! 🙂

Yes! I hate seeing good produce go to waste. Food banks often have volunteers who will pick edibles that would otherwise go to waste. I hate seeing all the citrus trees in AZ with unpicked fruit.

The answer from Desert Harvesters is "yes!" I'll paraphrase and abbreviate. If starting from dried buds, refresh by soaking for 3 hrs and then boil for 30 mins. Drain. Pack in sterilized jars with 1 clove of peeled fresh garlic and 1 small red chile. Heat 1/2 cup vinegar with 1 tbsp sugar or honey plus a few cloves. Fill jar with liquid. Cool and store in fridge or I guess you could process in a water bath. Desert Rain Café used the cholla buds in their Pico de Gallo - cooked and cooled re-hydrated or fresh buds with red onion, red bell pepper, diced tomato, cilantro, lime juice, jalapenos, sea salt.

I don't find it useful as much as I find it informative and entertaining. 😉 I'm up there with @Anna N - sometimes a cookbook is just a good read! I'm not a forager and not sure how many of the recipes I would ever use (maybe none) and as you know, this is not our full-time location. But it's an interesting read and I feel good about contributing to their cause. Someone like @gfron1 might use it to expand his knowledge/connections, I know he was an early purchaser of the book. Pretty sure he could have contributed to the book, with his NM and AZ knowledge.

News flash, @Smithy. I just found out that the Tohono O'odham people are reopening Desert Rain Café this weekend! But they are going to be even further from Tucson this time, in Ajo instead of Sells, AZ. Still, I will make the drive, Ajo is a fairly cool little town. Maybe we can meet up there in the Spring, especially if you are interested in going through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument? Someone there can probably answer questions on cholla and other things. I'm really hoping they will still be selling saguaro syrup!

For Prickly Pear juice, a man I know just freezes the tuna (fruit). After harvesting, he freezes them for 48 hours, then leaves them on top of a triple-cheesecloth-lined colander over a pot and they break down as they thaw and the juice collects in the pot. He applies some pressure to increase the yield, if necessary, then does a final straining through a coffee filter. (This is also a method that is recommended in Eat Mesquite and More.) We're not in town at optimal harvest time and we have a cactus ranch nearby which sells the pure juice, unsweetened. Arizona Cactus Ranch sells their Prickly Pear nectar in a few different stores around town. It's pricey, but we find a small amount can go quite a long way. Here is his graphic of the process:

I'm with you on that one! 🙂 I used to buy cholla buds from Desert Rain Cafe in Sells, AZ when it was still open (and they used them in some of their dishes), but I don't really like the texture. And I don't think I would want to harvest the buds or the fruit! A friend of ours recently took a spill off his bike into a cholla and he was still picking the results out of his skin weeks later.

Yeah, it seems it's the cholla's buds that are most important. Maybe because the buds are available in Spring and the fruit ripens later when the other desert fruit are also available. I have the Desert Harvesters book, Eat Mesquite and More and the emphasis is definitely on the buds for culinary purposes. However, they do talk about the fruit for medicinal purposes. So, it's edible, but not sure how often it's used in a culinary manner. I'm sure someone else will know more. The root is also attributed some medicinal properties.

Here's a couple of less-than-great photos I took during one visit to El Guero Canelo. Sonoran Dog is a quality frank wrapped with bacon and grilled, served inside a bolillo bun, with toppings of tomato, pinto beans, onions and condiments including mayo, mustard, a jalapeno sauce, maybe some cheese. A hot pepper on the side.

It was lovely to see you again! We really enjoyed connecting up again and hope to see you in the Spring!

Oh, I know it will! 🌟⭐🌙 I am somewhat regretting not joining you tonight, but I had a busy day with a quilt course and a luncheon and wasn't sure I would have energy for tonight's expedition. But I am very much looking forward to hearing about things! I hope you guys have a fabulous time!

I love Edible Baja Arizona! I know @Smithy has picked up a copy of two in the past. But the last I heard they weren't publishing anymore or not on a regular basis anyway. Do you know anything about their publishing status? I could search online for info, but if you already know.... We don't live here year round, but when we were here I used to always try and get a free copy whenever the new ones came out. (Maybe if I had bought a subscription, it would have helped them more!)

Edible Baja Arizona did a nice little article on coyotas a few years ago, with a recipe. http://ediblebajaarizona.com/hola-coyota

Are you going to the downtown location? I think it's the most authentic. Absolutely you need to try the Carne Seca. It's their signature dish and I think they still dry it on the rooftop at that location. https://www.elcharrocafe.com/ Tableside guacamole is overpriced but fun. Fajitas or tamales can be decent. And if you want really good Sonoran cuisine with delicious moles, consider visiting Cafe Poca Cosa. A bit more upscale, more adventurous flavours. https://cafepocacosatucson.com/

Funny to see the animals move in, where did you sit? 🙂

Mmm! Apricot goes so well with curry! One of my favourite beverages with a curry is St. Ambroise's Apricot Wheat Ale (Quebec, Canada) or Pyramid Brewing's Apricot Ale (Seattle). I'm sure other breweries make similar ones. Looks like a lovely meal, @Anna N, @Kerry Beal.

The easy way to deal with this may be to make two smaller batches, one with onion and one without and see which he prefers.

ThermoWorks has the Thermapen on sale this weekend again (through today only, I guess) for $79.20 instead of the usual $99. This is the Mk4, the new one with the auto-rotate display. https://www.thermoworks.com/Thermapen-Mk4

But have you used it for dehydration, @andiesenji? How did that work out? Edited to add: I have no doubts about the basic oven

Has anyone tried this? What about you, @Ann_T?

Costco US has the Oster French Door digital countertop oven on sale for $99.99, $40 off the regular price. https://www.costco.com/Oster-Digital-French-Door-Countertop-Oven.product.100407110.html

I see that Costco US has the Oster French Door Oven (digital) on sale right now for $99.99 through November 26th. They say that sale price is $40 off. I'm almost tempted because I really like the idea of side-opening ovens, but the usual lament here - lack of space! Sometimes I think ditching the big oven makes sense, just go with cooktop (induction, in my case) and use a couple of the better quality toaster ovens - CSO, Oster. Edited to add the link: https://www.costco.com/Oster-Digital-French-Door-Countertop-Oven.product.100407110.html

Saladish: A Crunchier, Grainier, Herbier, Heartier, Tastier Way with Vegetables, by Ilene Rosen, which was mentioned in the Cookbooks 2018 thread, is only $2.99 right now on Amazon US, I am not currently a Prime member.