I recently posted about how I'm slowly shifting my eating habits to include less animal based protein, and more native foods. This shift is driven by an increasing awareness of industrial farming on the environment and climate, and I talk more about that here.
But in this post I don't want to talk about the planet being on fire. I want to talk about tasty, native foods. Particularly cactus fruit. Sometimes called cactus pears, and usually just called prickly pears where I live, these are abundant, in season, tasty, and versatile.
They're sometimes green, and sometimes red. And you can use them in a variety of ways. (I'm thinking of making some prickly pear wine next week!) For this meal, I kept it simple. Cut off the ends, slice through the thick skin, and they peel real easy. Then I diced them up with some frozen mango chunks and squeezed some lime juice over them for a fantastic, cool desert.
I made it with a simple succotash including other native or native inspired vegetables including corn, Mexican gray squash, lima beans (in lieu of tepary beans) and green beans. Cooked up in some olive oil with garlic, onion, and chilli powder and it was a fantastic lunch before desert!
Cactus fruit is full of fiber, and nutrients. But it's also full of seeds. These can be spit out or swallowed. They won't hurt you. In candies and jams and juices, they're easy to strain out.
It's a challenge to incorporate native foods into my diet like I want to. Since I live in an apartment with no yard in the suburbs, my options for growing food are very, very limited. And foraging has proven to be a little harder than expected. But every little bit helps.
Have you ever had cactus fruit? Or do you try to incorporate local and native foods into your diet? How do you do it where you live? And would you like to see how I make cactus wine if I start some next week?
Have an awesome day, and awesome food!