Nopales, prickly pear cactus paddles, are delicious, but you need to know some tricks to cook nopales without slime.
Foraging
Sweet and Sour Ramps
So far as a ramps recipe goes, this is an easy one. The origins of this recipe are Italian, where they call this method agrodolce, or sweet-and-sour. You can do this to any sturdy vegetable, from ramp bulbs to pearl onions, small turnips, carrots, parsnips, and even things like cauliflower. It is a great accompaniment
How to Clean Nopales
How to clean nopales, prickly pear cactus paddles. Step by step instructions, with a video, on how to remove spines from nopales.
Nopales en Escabeche
A recipe for nopales en escabeche, pickled nopales from Mexico. Prickly pear cactus pads, diced and piickled with jalapenos, carrots and onions.
Fireweed Tea
Fireweed tea is a fermented, black tea like store-bought, only made from the leaves of fireweed, Chamaenerion angustifolium.
Fancy Pigeon
A band-tailed pigeon recipe that uses ingredients from where these game birds live. Acorn spatzle, a pigeon jus, pine nuts and various pickled fruits.
Doves with Prickly Pear BBQ Sauce
A damn good barbecue sauce featuring the fruit of the prickly pear, also called a tuna.
Pickled Blueberries
Pickled blueberries – blueberries or huckleberries (or really any small berry) preserved in a semi-sweet vinegar. Use them alongside meat or poultry.