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What did you cook or eat today? (January 2026)

karadekoolaid said:
Dragon fruit are absolutely divine, when they're perfectly ripe. When they're not, they can be bland and uninteresting.
There's a S American version called pitahaya - a cactus fruit, but grey inside, not purple. Again, phenomenal when ripe.
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I must have had dragon fruit that was not perfectly ripe as I was very disappointed. I found it bland (and expensive)
Those prickly pear/cactus figs on the other hand.... Loved those.

I need to check, but I think I can grow dragon fruit in my climate.
 
SoCalZone10 said:
Ramen noodles with king oyster mushrooms and leftover everything in the soup. This way when I go to Hawaii I won’t have to pay an arm and a leg for a bowl ramen noodles.

For dessert, I had this Dragon fruit, when I first encountered this fruit was at Harrods department store, I remember it was £32 for a pound, after that If I can get the fruit cheaper elsewhere, I buy and eat them.

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I have never found that they have much flavour - are they better directly off the tree? I guess they must be.
 
Gazpacho for evening meal with a slice of the chickpea Panissa burger thing I made yesterday. The taste today was so much better!

Gazpacho

Gazpacho


Gazpacho

Gazpacho


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I couldn't quite make up my mind about presentation, as to which looked better, so you got both photos. Normally I can tell instantly, but not tonight.
 
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SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Gazpacho for evening meal with a slice of the chickpea Panissa burger thing I made yesterday. The taste today was so much better!
Gazpacho

Gazpacho


I couldn't quite make up my mind about presentation, as to which looked better, so you got both photos. Normally I can tell instantly, but not tonight.
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I like the second picture. Very pretty and delicious.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I have never found that they have much flavour - are they better directly off the tree? I guess they must be.
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The deep red inside is very tasty, I haven’t tried the yellow variety, but I do have the seeds.
The white one inside, you have to wait until they are ripe, one colleague told me they taste like ice cream when I gave him one to try.
 
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Thai-ish Coconut Soup - first recipe in...well, a long time. Life wasn't easy over the last 6+ months, for a variety of reasons:
  • My daughter's boyfriend tried to kill me by strangulation. This was because I learned that he had lied about his whole family being dead or in prison...I had the nerve to tell him that he needed to make things right with his family. He has felony charges against him in Michigan now. They released him on "personal bond" (i.e., $0 cost) because he had no prior charges. But I also found out that he violently assaulted his sister, brother, and many ex-girlfriends. But no prior charges is what mattered to the courts.
  • My daughter sided with him and decided to move with him to Kentucky. This was despite 2 separate times when he tried to kill her using his favorite murder method (strangulation).
  • Then, he got her pregnant. This was not out of love, but rather as a way of ensuring she'd be on his side, and maybe hoping my wife would put pressure on me to not cooperate with police. That second part almost worked.
  • Then, he tried to kill his parents with a butcher knife. Along the way, we learned that his parents would sometimes lock him and my daughter in their room. He's now in custody in Louisville.
  • My daughter came back home the same day he was arrested. His parents only allowed her there because they saw her as a meal ticket for them...the mom would ask me constantly for things to supposedly help my daughter.
My daughter has been back with us for the last few months, and things were starting to get good again. Then, my wife's mom died the day before Thanksgiving. She was a big part of all of our lives. What this has meant is that I don't have much free time to cook, except for the rare boring family meal (where I can't make things like Thai-ish Coconut Soup, for example).

This recipe happened because my wife met her sister, my son had an appointment, and my daughter was taking a nap. I haven't had a free moment before midnight since...I have no idea when. It was great to cook again, though I realize I'll likely have to lean into the Late Night part of my username if I want to make something like this again.
 
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