Eating Cacti

     I love cooking and eating unique foods, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I have tried and fallen completely in love with several preparations of Nopales, or Prickly Pears. Not only can you eat the cactus pads, but you can also eat the fruit, and the whole plant makes some delicious dishes. So I figured I'd share with you a variety of Cactus recipes, these recipes are still Gluten Free and Vegetarian, but some of them do include eggs and dairy.

     Before we get into the recipes, here's a quick video on how to clean the cactus pads so you don't eat one of the spines. Nobody wants to do that.

This lovely woman has a YouTube channel devoted to Meatless Mexican Recipes, I encourage everyone to check her out!

But now that you know how to clean your cactus, on to the recipes!

1.  Cactus goes well with eggs? Who knew? But this is such a great dish! And it's super simple, great for breakfast or brunch. My husband and I love to stuff tortillas with this and make a Mexican Breakfast Burrito as well.

Huevos con Nopales

Ingredients

1 tbsp Olive Oil

4 Green Onions, diced (white and green parts are welcome)

3 Garlic Cloves, smashed and minced

1 cup Nopales, diced (blanch them if you want the goo gone, but this step is optional)

1 small Hot Pepper (Serrano is my go-to, but you can use Jalapeno or Habanero as well), diced

4 Eggs, beaten well

1 small Roma Tomato, diced (optional, but I really like this touch)

¼ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:
     In a skillet, over medium-high heat, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil for about 1 minute. Add in the Nopales and Serrano Pepper (or whatever pepper you choose). The Nopales will start to ooze a bit, keep cooking until that liquid is mostly gone (about 3-4 minutes). Add in the eggs and tomatoes, reduce the heat to low and cook until the eggs are done to your liking. Stir in the cilantro, salt, and pepper and serve warm!



2.  Here is proof that I was born and raised in the South. I swear, if we can eat it, we will find a way to fry it. But this recipe is soooooo good I couldn't leave it out! I use all gluten-free flour (my favorite is Namaste Foods Gluten Free Organic Perfect Flour Blend), but it's also super good with a mixture of corn meal and flour. I also like to use coconut oil to deep fry with, it doesn't break down as much at the higher temperature making it a little bit healthier. This is kind of like frying a grilled cheese, it's great comfort food and pairs well with tomato soup!

Stuffed Nopales

Ingredients

6 Nopal Pads, cleaned and blanched

Oaxacan Cheese (or Mozzarella)

3 Eggs

2 cups Milk

1¼ lb Flour, sifted

Salt and Pepper to taste

Coconut Oil (or whatever oil you want to use for frying)

Instructions:
     For the batter, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the milk while wisking. Whisk until mixture is smooth, then add in your eggs one at a time. Once the batter is mixed well and smooth, cover and chill in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
     After cleaning your Nopales, pair them together with close to the same size pads per pair. If needed, trim them to equal sizes and shapes. Use them to make “sandwiches” with the cheese slices by layering one Nopal, then some cheese, then a second Nopal. Secure them with toothpicks.
     In a deep skillet, sauce pan, or deep fryer, place enough oil to cover your Nopal sandwiches (one at a time). Bring the oil to a boil. Dip each sandwich into the batter, making sure to cover them well (optionally, if you're having problems getting the batter to stick you can dredge them in flour first), and place them in the boiling oil. Fry them until they are golden brown. Remove them from the oil and place them on a clean kitchen towel to drain. Try to remove the toothpicks before eating.
     Enjoy them, while hot, with Salsa and/or Guacamole!



3.  Speaking of guacamole. I just LOVE avocados, and any excuse to use them is a good one! So of course I had to make some guacamole with Nopales. This version is a little more work because I grill the Nopal, but if you want to skip that step, you can just blanch them to get rid of some of the goo. I also happen to collect cast iron, so I am lucky enough to have a stove top grill (like this one) that I can use which makes this recipe much easier.

Grilled Cactus Guacamole

Ingredients

1 Nopal Pad, cleaned

2-3 ripe Avocados

Juice and Zest of 1 Lime

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 Roma Tomatoes, diced

½ a medium Red Onion, diced

1-2 fresh Jalapenos, seeded and diced (or Serrano for a little more heat)

a little less than ¼ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped

Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste

Instructions:
     After cleaning the Nopal, brush it with a little olive oil. Heat up your grill and place the Nopal on the grill to cook. It should take about 20 minutes per side, but if you want a little extra of that grilled taste, you can cook it a little longer. Also, you can toss your peppers on the grill too, before dicing them.
     Cut your avocados in half and scoop them out. Mash them up with the lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. After grilling your Nopal, and allowing it to cool, dice it up and combine it with all the other ingredients. Mix well. Chill for 15 minutes and serve cold.



4.  What's better on a hot day than indulging in a fruit sorbet? Well, Prickly Pears make a great sorbet. Be sure to use a real ice cream maker (like this one) for this recipe though, if you freeze it and then blend it later, the chunks won't get as smooth and you'll miss out on the awesomeness that is the smooth texture of this sorbet.

Prickly Pear Sorbet

Ingredients

7-8 ripe Prickly Pears

1 cup Water

Juice and Zest of 1 Lemon

Juice and Zest of 1 Lime

½ cup (or a little more) Sugar

Instructions:
     In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, stir together the water and sugar. Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool. While you're waiting for this, cut the Prickly Pears in half and scoop out the insides, being very careful to avoid the irritating hairs and spines on the outside. Pulse the pulp in a blender for a moment to separate out the seeds. Strain this through a sieve to fully remove those seeds. Once the sugar mixture is cool, add in all the remaining ingredients, including your strained puree. Place this mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill.
     Once the mixture is chilled, set up your ice cream maker and pour in the mixture, following your factory settings. Serve immediately or put in the freezer for later. If you put it in the freezer, take it out of the freezer before serving to let it soften enough to be able to stir it with spatula and bring back the smooth, velvety consistency.



5.  I have been working in the hospitality industry most of my adult life, and a good majority of that work has been behind a bar. I love mixing new drinks and creating amazing cocktails. So when I heard that Nopals could be juiced, I decided that I was going to make it my next cocktail goal to create a Cactus Margarita. Well, I ended up creating 2! The first one is from the cactus pads, the second is using the fruit. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Nopal Margarita

Ingredients

For the Nopal Lime Mix:

2 Nopal Pads, cleaned and diced

2 cups Water

½ cup Sugar

Juice and Zest of 3 Limes (6 tsp Lime Juice)

For the Margarita:

1.5 oz Tequila of your choice (I prefer to use Silver Tequilas for this recipe, my favorite is Milagro)

.5 oz Triple Sec (or other Orange Liqueur like Cointreau)

2 oz Nopal Lime Mix

Instructions:
     To make the Nopal Lime Mix, combine the Nopal pads, water, and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir while boiling until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to steep for 1 hour. When the hour is up, strain out about half of the cactus and put the syrup into a food processor. Add in lime juice and zest, blend until smooth.
     For each margarita, combine 1.5 oz Tequila, .5 oz Triple Sec, and 2 oz of the Nopal Lime Mix. Shake with ice and pour into a glass (optional-rim the glass with salt for a great flavor). If you want to make a batch of frozen margaritas, combine ingredients in a blender with ice and blend away. I make the frozen ones in batches of 4, so that's 6 oz Tequila, 2 oz Triple Sec, and 8 oz of the Mix. I also like to use the Nopal Cactus Pieces (from making the Mix) as a garnish.

Prickly Pear Margarita

Ingredients

For the Prickly Pear Syrup:

1 lb Prickly Pears

Water

1 cup Sugar

Juice and Zest of 1 Lime

For the Margarita:

1.5 oz Tequila of your choice (I prefer to use Silver Tequilas for this recipe, my favorite is Milagro)

.5 oz Triple Sec (or other Orange Liqueur like Cointreau)

.5 oz Prickly Pear Syrup

1.5 oz Lime Juice

Instructions:
     To make the syrup, cut each prickly pear in half and scoop out the insides (be careful of the irritating hairs and spines on the outside of the fruit). Combine the fruit and sugar in a pot. Put just enough water in the pot to cover everything and bring the contents to a boil over medium-high heat, stiring and mashing the fruit as it boils. When the sugar is dissolved, cover and remove from the heat. Allow to steep for 30 minutes, or until it's cool. Add in the zest and lime juice, give it a good stir, then strain out the pulp and seeds.
     For each margarita, combine 1.5 oz Tequila, .5 oz Triple Sec, .5 oz Prickly Pear Syrup, and 1.5 oz of Lime Juice. Shake with ice and pour into a glass (optional-rim the glass with salt or sugar for a great flavor). If you want to make a batch of frozen margaritas, combine ingredients in a blender with ice and blend away. I make the frozen ones in batches of 4, so that's 6 oz Tequila, 2 oz Triple Sec, 2 oz Syrup, and 6 oz of Lime Juice.




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Fall Flavors

Living in Central Florida, fall comes slowly. We may have a cold snap in September, but it's highly unlikely. There have been many a year that we've made it all the way to Thanksgiving without even bringing out our light jackets. So cool, icy treats are still a thing for us here. But to help make it a little more like fall, I figured I'd share some of my favorite Sorbet and Sherbet recipes using fall flavors.

Sorbet vs. Sherbet

Sorbets are very basic. Mainly they are pureed fruit, sugar, and water. You can make them more interesting by adding fresh or dried herbs, honey, maple, or even alcohol. Alcohol also has an added benefit of helping prevent the sorbet from becoming one large block of frozen fruit, though if you freeze it on a cookie sheet, break it up, and blend it, multiple times, you can get a good consistency as well.

Sherbets are very similar to Sorbets, the main difference is a creamy/dairy element. Adding cream, yogurt, buttermilk, coconut milk, etc to fruit puree, sugar, and water, then freezing will give you a decent Sherbet.

1. Perfect Persimmons

Hachiya Persimmons are a great fall fruit here in the South. Just make sure that you wait until they are fully ripened, almost too ripe, or they'll be to astringent to really eat. Just cut the top off and scoop out the ripe, jelly-like, insides. This makes them super easy to make sorbet with.

Persimmon Lemon Balm

Ingredients List

2 pounds of Persimmons (hachiya persimmons work best, allow to ripen until they are as soft as jelly)

1 cup Honey or Sugar
1 cup Water

1 tablespoon Lemon Balm leaves

1-4 tablespoons Lemon Juice

*optional ingredients

¼ cup Almond Milk or Whole Milk

2 tablespoons Vodka

Instructions:

In a pot, on the stove, combine honey and water. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes while stirring. Remove from the heat and add in the lemon balm leaves. Cover and allow to come to room temperature. Once your persimmons are nice and soft, cut the tops off and scoop out the insides, into a blender. Add the lemon juice and strain the lemon balm syrup into the blender as well. Blend well. To make it a Sherbet instead of a Sorbet, here is where you add your milk and keep blending. If you are making this without the aid of an ice cream machine, adding alcohol will help keep it at a nice consistency. You can still make it without alcohol or an ice cream machine by freezing it on a cookie sheet, then breaking it up and blending it again several times (minimum 3 freezes to get the right consistency). If you're using an ice cream machine, just add this mixture to the machine, turn it on, and wait.

2. The Quintessential Fall Flavor

This time of year you can find Pumpkin Spice flavored everything. Why not join in the fun! This makes a delicious, cool treat, for the warm fall seasons we tend to have here in Central Florida.

Pumpkin Spice

Ingredients List

2 pounds Pumpkin Puree (roughly 2 cans)

1 cup Honey or Maple Syrup

1 cup Water

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1 tsp ground Ginger

½ tsp ground Clove

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 Vanilla Bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped
1-4 tablespoons Orange Juice

*optional ingredients

¼ cup Almond Milk or Whole Milk

2 tablespoons - ¼ cup Bourbon

Instructions:

In a pot, on the stove, combine honey and water. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes while stirring. Remove from the heat and add in the spices. Cover and allow to come to room temperature. Put your pumpkin puree in the blender with the orange juice and syrup. Blend well. To make it a Sherbet instead of a Sorbet, here is where you add your milk and keep blending. If you are making this without the aid of an ice cream machine, adding alcohol will help keep it at a nice consistency. You can still make it without alcohol or an ice cream machine by freezing it on a cookie sheet, then breaking it up and blending it again several times (minimum 3 freezes to get the right consistency). If you're using an ice cream machine, just add this mixture to the machine, turn it on, and wait.

3. Figgy Goodness

I love figs! I grew up eating fig preserves with my toast in the mornings, dried figs on hiking trips, and fresh figs every chance I could get. So it's no surprise that this is one of my favorite homemade sorbets.

Elderflower and Fig

Ingredients List

2 pounds ripe Mission Figs, stemmed and quartered

1 cup Honey or Sugar

1 cup Water

2 tablespoons dried Elderflowers

1-4 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

*optional ingredients

¼ cup Almond Milk or Whole Milk

2 tablespoons - ¼ cup St. Germain or other Elderflower Liqueur

Instructions:

Clean and quarter your figs. In a pot, on the stove, combine figs, honey, and water. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes while stirring. Remove from the heat and add in the elderflowers. Cover and allow to come to room temperature. Add the apple cider vinegar and strain the mixture into a blender. Blend well. To make it a Sherbet instead of a Sorbet, here is where you add your milk and keep blending. If you are making this without the aid of an ice cream machine, adding alcohol will help keep it at a nice consistency. You can still make it without alcohol or an ice cream machine by freezing it on a cookie sheet, then breaking it up and blending it again several times (minimum 3 freezes to get the right consistency). If you're using an ice cream machine, just add this mixture to the machine, turn it on, and wait.

4. Apples Apples Everywhere!

Another flavor found everywhere this time of year, is apple. Apples go well with so many flavors, mint, cardamom, cinnamon, basil, and sage are just a few. Here I paired the roasted apples with sage, to give it a slightly different, yet still fall-like flavor. Feel free to use any of the herbs I listed, or one (or more) that I didn't.

Roasted Apple Sage

Ingredients List

2 pounds of Apples (Cortlands of Fujis work well), cored and quartered

1 cup Honey or Sugar

1 cup Water
½ teaspoon Sage

1-4 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

*optional ingredients

¼ cup Almond Milk or Whole Milk

2 tablespoons - ¼ cup Dark Rum

Instructions:

In a pot, on the stove, combine honey and water. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes while stirring. Remove from the heat and add in the sage. Cover and allow to come to room temperature. While you're working on your simple syrup, clean and quarter your apples. Place them on a cookie sheet with a little butter or coconut oil and bake, at 450 degrees, for 10 minutes then place them into a blender. Add the apple cider vinegar and strain the syrup into the blender as well. Blend well. To make it a Sherbet instead of a Sorbet, here is where you add your milk and keep blending. If you are making this without the aid of an ice cream machine, adding alcohol will help keep it at a nice consistency. You can still make it without alcohol or an ice cream machine by freezing it on a cookie sheet, then breaking it up and blending it again several times (minimum 3 freezes to get the right consistency). If you're using an ice cream machine, just add this mixture to the machine, turn it on, and wait.

5. Cranberry Bliss

I love how versatile cranberries can be. Even though most people only have them at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinner. Cranberries can be used in so many ways and combined with various fruits and herbs, they can be either sweet or savory. Here's one of my favorite ways to use cranberries during the warm winters we tend to get here in the South.

Cranberry Juniper

Ingredients List

24 oz (or 2 bags) of Cranberries (fresh or frozen)

8 oz White Grape Juice (or Apple Juice for added sweetness)

1 cup Honey or Sugar

1 cup Water
1 tablespoon Juniper Berries

1-4 tablespoons Orange Juice

*optional ingredients

¼ cup Plain Greek Yogurt or Dairy-Free Yogurt

2 tablespoons - ¼ cup Red Wine of your choice

Instructions:

Rinse your cranberries, removing any stems, dirt, or rocks that may have gotten into your batch. In a pot, on the stove, combine cranberries, honey, and water. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes while stirring. Remove from the heat and add in the juniper berries. Cover and allow to come to room temperature. Add the orange juice and strain the mixture into a blender. Blend well. To make it a Sherbet instead of a Sorbet, here is where you add your yogurt and keep blending. If you are making this without the aid of an ice cream machine, adding alcohol will help keep it at a nice consistency. You can still make it without alcohol or an ice cream machine by freezing it on a cookie sheet, then breaking it up and blending it again several times (minimum 3 freezes to get the right consistency). If you're using an ice cream machine, just add this mixture to the machine, turn it on, and wait.

I hope you enjoy making these Sorbets and Sherbets! Feel free to play around with these recipes, try different herbs and fruit, make lots of icy desserts! If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below!

Resources:

10 Delicious Ways to Infuse Honey: Ready Nutrition: http://readynutrition.com/resources/infused-honey_13062015/

How to Make Herb Infused Honey: The Kitchn: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-herb-infused-honey-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-180890

How to Make Sorbet with Any Fruit: The Kitchn: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-sorbet-with-any-fruit-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-205746

How to Make Sorbet without an Ice Cream Machine: Busy in Brookyln: http://www.busyinbrooklyn.com/tag/how-to-make-sorbet-without-an-ice-cream-machine/