The Humble Prickly Pear Cactus

The Humble Prickly Pear Cactus loves the Big Bend...there are the Pink Prickly pear, the engelmans Prickly Pear, the Cows Tongue Prickly Pear, the White Thorned, the Brown Thorned, and the Blind prickly pear...Oh so many prickly pears...They prsoper here in the Big Bend with our desert climate.  I love the way you can propagate them by just placing a pad in our clayey, sandy soil and wha la as if magic another prickly pear plant will begin to grow.  And the flowers are sooo amazing...Just take a peek...



So so many things you can do with the prickly pear as well...here are some recipes for your dining pleasure...
Fried Nopalitos
1 cup nopalitos(the small baby cactus pads)
1/3 cup wheat flour
2/3 cup cornemal
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper totaste
vegetable oil

place flour, cornmeal and spices in a small bag, shake bag to mix. Drop in noplaitos and shake until well coated. heat oil in a skillet and fry till golden brown...Enjoy


In the summer after these incredible blooms have fallen, or have been picked and placed them in a bud vase..you can pick the fruits and make them into a jelly;
15 fruits
lemon or lime juice
powdered pectin
sugar to taste, about a cup to a cup and a  half
use only ripe fruits!
remove spines or you will get a mouth full of thorns. I Usually use rocks to take off the thorns.  Mash the fruit then follow the directions from the back of the pectin box.  Good luck