Resources: http://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=4438 www.houstonwildedibles.blogspot.com Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest by Delena Tull (2008,

University of Texas Press: Austin) The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing

Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer (2006, Forager's Harvest Press) Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guide)

by L.A. Peterson and R.T. Peterson (1999, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Compiled (for educational purposes) by

Jen Weiss & Shelley O’Grady for Skillshare Austin June 2010

www.skillshareaustin.org/

for questions/comments about this document: madfigs9@gmail.com

do not reproduce for commercial purpose

Edible

Plants of

Austin: a

brief guide

THE FIRST RULE OF FORAGING…

DO NOT EAT ANYTHING YOU HAVEN’T POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS EDIBLE!

FORAGING ETIQUETTE

1. Do not strip the plant or over pick; leave some food for animals (this is their food source too!), other people and for propagation.

2. Do not water, add pesticide, or prune bushes and trees unless you know what you’re doing and you have permission to do so. There are good and bad times to care for plants. For example, pruning at the wrong time of year can lead to plant disease.

3. Foraging on private property is against the law and you can be arrested for stealing. When in doubt, ask for permission. More often than not, someone with a fruit/nut tree will be more than happy to have you pick it instead of it falling and rotting in their lawn.

4. Foraging can be dangerous to your health.

Always make sure you positively identify a plant before eating. In addition, some people can be sensitive to edible plants, so eat sparingly while you determine your body’s tolerance for a particular plant.

Don’t forage by old abandoned houses – stay 3 feet back due to lead paint and asbestos contamination.

If you know an area has been pesticide treated, wait at least a year before foraging leafy greens and fruit and at least 3 year for harvesting tubers.

Know your foraging site history – some may have been used for sewage treatment, oil mining, brown sites, drainage sites etc. A lot of this information can be found on line.

5. Don’t leave a trace. Pack in, pack out. Be gentle on the plants and kind to the wildlife sharing their food with you. Don’t slash your way through a wildlife area to get at a plant.

FORAGING NECESSITIES

1. Common sense. 2. Bug repellent. For you, not the plants. 3. Appropriate clothing: long pants, long shirt, hat, close-toed shoes,

gloves. 4. Clippers. Avoid ripping branches, tearing off fruit. This will damage

the plant. Use small clippers to help retrieve plants. 5. Something to collect plants in. 6. A way to wash plants before eating.

PUBLIC ACCESS LANDSCAPE & NATIVE EDIBLE PLANTS

Once you start recognizing plants, you’ll start to see them everywhere! Here

is a list to get you started. Keep in mind that foraging on private property

without permission is considered stealing. Keep in mind safety

considerations on foraging in unknown history land plots.

PUBLIC ACCESS FRUIT/NUT TREES:

There are many orchards and singular trees planted around the Austin area

for the purpose of public access and consumption. Here is a list of some

1. ACC Eastview Campus :

Mexican Plum trees (Fall)– all over – small-size, can have thick skins - some trees are better than others

2. Mueller Park:

Pecan Trees – In the native plant sect ion (south side by restored prairie land, along the giant red metal art). There is a mixture of very young and very old pecan trees.

Peaches, Pears, Figs (all around lake area with fountain, also around shopping area)

Salvia, prickly pear cactus, agarita, etc. are used in landscaping throughout

3. Richard Moya Park:

Located just south of the airport, off 183. Very old pecan orchard. Soooo many large and older pecan trees!

4. Southeastern Metropolitan Park:

Relatively young orchard.

6 large mulberry trees, large fig trees, several pear trees, loquats, pomegranates, and a couple of small, sad peach/plum trees and some blackberry bushes.

5. Seton Ave, between 25th and 26th

Loquat on the sidewalk/street

Many throughout the city – some on UT campus (like the GIANT persimmon tree @ 24th & San Jacinto – but a ladder is needed to reach most of them..), and along sidewalks in the residential area.

NATIVE ‘PUBLIC’ ACCESS (“from the sidewalk – not trespassing”)

Wild plants – look along fence lines for berry trees/bushes especially and

anyplace that does not get mowed

Agarita

Mulberry

Mustang grape

Wild onion (make sure they smell like onion!)

Prickly pear cactus

Horsemint

Greenbriar

Purslane

Hackberries

Honey mesquite

Henbit

Sunchoke

Chile pequin

Field pennycress

Others listed here are mostly common landscaping plants/trees

Others (not mentioned here, but can be found in the area):

Asiatic dayflower

Red clover

Dandelion

Curly Dock (common weed)

Elderberry

Shepherd’s purse

Etc…

Loquat Eriobotrya japonica(Rosaceae family)

What: fruits When: spring Where: landscaping Identifying Features: evergreen large shrub or small tree with woolly

new twigs; dark green leaves are alternate and simple, are about 5-10 inches long, and are leathery looking; fruits grow in clusters and turn from yellow to orange as they ripen and are about 1-2 inches long

Notes: each fruit contains one or more large seeds which are inedible and contain small amounts of toxic compounds; fruit contains high acid, pectin, and sugar.

Persimmon Diospyros virginiana (Ebenaceae family)

What: fruits When: late fall, early winter (some say after first frost) Where: landscaping; wild Identifying Features: medium-to-tall tree with large oblong leaves

(about 6 inches long and 3 inches wide) that are simple and alternate with dark green, shiny upper surfaces

Notes: eat fruits when soft and mushy; unripe fruit is astringent. Fruit can be gathered when unripe and left in a sunny indoor spot to ripen

Pomegranate Punica granatum (Lythraceae family) What: fruits When: fall, winter Where: landscaping Identifying Features: deciduous shrub or small tree; narrow, glossy oblong leaves that are opposite on stems and are around 1-3 inches in length and up to 1 inch wide; most easily identified by the bright orange/red flowers in spring Notes: many pomegranate trees are fruitless varieties; fruits will split when over ripe

Fig Ficus carica (Ficus family)

What: fruits When: spring, summer Where: landscaping Identifying Features: large, deciduous shrub or small tree; leaves are 5-

10 inches long and 4-7 inches across and are deeply lobed with three or five lobes; fruits are 1-2 inches long with a green skin, sometimes ripening towards brown.

Notes: fruits can be eaten fresh, dried, or made into jams; most common fig tree in Central Texas are Texas Everbearing trees (Ficus carica) which bear medium-large, mahogany to brown fruit, with strawberry colored pulp; the early crop ripens in May; the main crop ripens in late June and continues to ripen into August

Cautions: sap from leaves/stems can irritate skin

Pear (Kieffer) Pyrus communis What: fruit When: summer, fall Where: landscaping Identifying Features: tall deciduous tree; white flowers in spring Notes: keiffer pears don’t get soft as they ripen as bartlett’s do, instead they stay crisp

Turk’s Cap Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (Malvaceae family)

What: fruit, flowers, young leaves When: spring and fall Where: landscaping, wild Identifying Features: Perennial shrub is usually around 3-4 feet but can

grow up to 10 feet; leaves are 2-3 inches long and have a heart-shaped base and are about as broad as they are long; leaves are simple and alternate with toothed margins and three shallow lobes and have a velvety texture; bright red flowers produce mealy red

fruits about ¾ inch in diameter.

Notes: Fruits contain several seeds and can be cooked down to a jelly or syrup. Flowers can be used in tea (similar to hibiscus tea) and dried for later use. Young leaves can be eaten raw, in salads.

Rose Rosa Species (Rosaceae Family)

What: Rose hips (raw, cooked, jelly, tea); rose petals (salads, teas) When: when available Where: landscaping Identifying Features: thorny stems; leaves are alternate and pinnately

compound, with sharply toothed oval-shaped leaflets; rose hips ripen in late summer to fall and resemble small pomegranates

Notes: rose hips are very high in vitamin C and can be eaten raw or cooked for a better taste

Pecan Carya illinoinensis (Juglandaceae (Walnut) family)

What: nuts When: late fall, winter Where: landscaping; wild; riverbanks Identifying Features: large, pinnately compound leaves that alternate

on the stem; each leaf has many oblong leaflets arranged opposite each other on the leaf stalk; oblong shell of the pecan nut is smooth

Notes: best gathered after a norther, which will help knock them out of the trees

Plum/Wild Plum Prunus species (Rosaceae (Rose) family)

What: fruit When: summer, fall Where: landscaping; wild- stream banks and fencerows Identifying Features: wild plums are shrubs or small trees; simple,

alternate leaves are ovate to elliptic and have finely serrated margins; in early spring the trees are covered in fragrant white flowers; wild plum fruits are about ½- 1.5 inches

Notes: wild plums tend to be sour but make good jellies and jams; Mexican plum (Prunus mexicana) is the most common wild plum.

Redbud Cercis Canadensis (Legume family)

What: flowers, young seed pods When: late winter, early spring for flowers; late spring for pods Where: landscaping, wild Identifying Features: small sized deciduous tree with simple heart-

shaped leaves with smooth margins. Pink flowers cluster along the branches and seed pods are flattened and grow to about 2-4 inches long.

Notes: flowers can be eaten raw or cooked and are high in vitamin C; young green seed pods can be eaten raw, boiled, or sautéed. By the end of spring seed pods turn dry and papery and are no longer edible.

Canna Lily Canna species (Cannaceae family)

What: tubers When: year round Where: landscaping Identifying Features: very large flat, alternate leaves; bright flowers;

grows up to 5 feet tall Notes: rhizomes of the canna plants are some of the riches starch

sources available; tubers can be dug up and consumed as you would potatoes; may also be consumed raw

Mustang Grape Vitis mustangensis (Vitaceae family)

What: grapes; young leaves When: spring, summer for grapes Where: edges of woods, everywhere Identifying Features: grapes have simple, alternate, heart-shaped or

broadly ovate leaves; leaf margins are lined with teeth and may be lobed; underside of mustang grape leaves are whitish and covered in woolly hairs almost like Velcro; grape vines are prolific growers and do not have spines

Notes: green grapes in spring, before seeds have fully grown, can be used in baking; ripe grapes (purplish black in color) can be eaten raw but have a tough, sour skin and large seeds. The ripe grapes can be washed and cooked into jellies and syrups. Leaves can be used for dolmas, or sautéed and eaten.

Agarita Berberis trifoliolata (Berberidaceae family)

What: berries; young tender leaves When: berries in spring; young growth in spring and fall Where: forest edges Identifying Features: holly-like evergreen shrub produces bright yellow

blooms in late winter/early spring and small berries (about 1 cm) ripen to a bright shiny red in spring; mature leaves are stiff and sharp

Notes: berries can be collected in larger quantities by laying out a sheet underneath and threshing the branches with a stick

Hackberry Celtis species

What: berries (seeds are edible but vary in chew-ability by tree) When: late summer to late fall when berries are ripe Identifying Features: trees have simple, alternate leaves and can

develop a rough wart-y bark as they age Where: hackberries grow nearly everywhere in the area and many

consider them “trash trees” because they grow fast, weak, and have relatively short lives

Notes: sweetness of berries varies by tree- try many to find the sweetest; many trees have hard seeds, but some have seeds that are chewable. Berries with chewable seeds can be ground up (pulp and seed together) for eating. Berries with non-chewable seeds can be cooked and strained into a juice then cooked with sugar and a little lemon juice to make a syrup.

Blackberry/Dewberry Rubus species (Rosaceae family)

What: berries When: June/July Where: ditches, wastelands Identifying Features: perennial plants with biennial (two-year) stems-

the first year stems grow vigorously and can get up to 9 ft in length, the second year stems flower and produce blackberries; stems are very thorny; leaves are large palmately compound leaves with 5-7 leaflets

Notes: blackberries are those that grow upright canes while dewberries are those that trail along the ground

Mulberry Morus species (Mulberry family)

What: berries When: spring Where: landscaping; wild, particularly along streams Identifying Features: oblong berries resemble raspberries or

blackberries; small-to-medium sized trees with alternate simple leaves with toothed margin; leaves may be unlobed, or lobed on one or both sides

Notes: berries can be white, black, or red when ripe depending on the variety; eating too many unripe berries can upset stomach

Honey Mesquite Prosopis glandulosa (Legume family)

What: bean pods When: summer/fall Where: dry grasslands Identifying Features: deciduous shrub/small tree; leaves are bipinnately

compound with long narrow leaflets; long puffs of light yellow flowers in spring and slender yellowish bean pods (about 8 inches long) in late summer and fall; tree branches have long (about 1-2 inch) thorns

Notes: pods contain protein and up to twice as much sugar as sugar cane; pods can be chewed on raw and then spit out the fiberous pulp. Pods from different trees vary in sweetness and some can even be bitter, so sample several trees to find the sweetest

Yaupon Holly Ilex vomitoria (Aquifoliaceae Family)

What: leaves, twigs (NOT berries)- roasted or dried and made as tea When: all year Where: landscaping; wild Identifying Features: evergreen shrub/small tree with small, simple

leaves that alternate on the stems; leaf margins are lined with rounded teeth and are rather brittle – if you bend a leaf it will crack before it is bent in half; red berries (not edible) are present in fall

Notes: Yaupon holly is a relative of the South American mate and the leaves contain caffeine! Gather a mixture of newer and older leaves and roast or dry them before brewing as tea.

Wild Onion Allium species (Liliaceae family)

What: bulbs, leaves, just as you would a cultivated onion When: spring Where: river banks, wild Identifying Features: leaves are basal and linear, like tall blades of grass;

blooms from top of the flower stalk in the spring Notes: Wild onions can be stronger than the cultivated varieties Cautions: Do not confuse with Crow Poison (Nothoscordum bivalve),

which looks nearly the same- however, only wild onion smells like onion, so smell before you eat! (Crow Poison smells like grass – do not eat)

Sage Salvia species (Lamiacea family)

What: flowers, leaves When: spring, summer, fall Where: landscaping, wild Identifying Features: the tubular flowers vary in color from white to red

to blue and are about 1.5 inches long Notes: any fragrant wild sage leaves can be used just like culinary sage;

flowers can be eaten raw

Prickly Pear Cactus Opuntia engelmannii and others (Cactaceae family)

What: fruits (tunas); young pads (nopalitos)- before long spines have formed

When: spring, summer, fall Where: wild; landscaping Identifying Features: flat, round pads; spineless varieties can be found

but both spined and spineless will have areoles with glochids (tiny, hooked spines) on the pads and the fruits, so use thick gloves when handling

Notes: fruit and pads can be eaten raw, or cooked; contain oxalic acid so eat limited amounts; best to gather by holding fruit/pad and slicing it off the parent plant at the base- twisting the fruit/pads off can cause unnecessary damage to the plant

Cautions: glochids must be removed prior to consuming and there are several different methods of removing them- personally I run them

under water and brush off the glochids with a clean sponge then I carve off the edges and scrape off the areoles with a sharp knife

Purslane aka Stone crop aka Sedum Portulaca oleracea (Portulacaceae family)

What: stems and leaves When: spring, summer, fall Where: lawns, cracks in sidewalks Identifying Features: a low-growing succulent annual weed; fleshy

simple leaves are alternate on the stems and are about ¼ to 1 inch long

Notes: stems and leaves can be chopped up and eaten raw; contains 9% oxalic acid, which can tie up calcium, so eat limited amounts

Sunchoke aka Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus (Asteraceae Family)

What: tubers When: fall (wait at least 2

weeks after flowers have faded)

Where: wild, disturbed fields

Identifying Features: large (up to 10 feet), gangly, multibranched perennial with rough, sandpapery leaves and stems, and numerous yellow flowerheads; leaves are ovate and 5-10 inches long. The flowerheads are 3-4 inches across and have 10-20 bright yellow rays; It is distinguished by its tall, erect stems producing numerous, fleshy tuberous roots like slender potatoes, its medium to large leaves broad near the base and harsh on the upper surface, and its bright yellow, sunflower-like flower heads.

Notes: tubers can be eaten raw or cooked as you would potatoes; skins do not need to be peeled but should be cleaned/scrubbed; one plant can create 2-5 pounds of tubers

Henbit Lamium amplexicaule (Lamiaceae (Mint) family)

What: leaves, stems, flowers When: year round but most abundant in fall and winter Where: lawns, fields, sides of roads Identifying Features: square stems, opposite leaves, and tiny pink-

purple two-lipped flowers; usually only a few inches tall, it can grow up to 18 inches high

Notes: can be eaten raw as in salads or added to soups

Greenbriar aka Saw Greenbriar aka Catbriar Smilax bona-nox

What: tender, thin vines; tendrils; tubers When: all year Where: shady areas- greenbriar is notoriously hard to get rid of due to

the massive tubers Identifying Features: vine with BOTH thorns and tendrils; light green

splotches may be on leaves Notes: new shoots and leaves can be eaten raw; tubers are a good

source of starch but are time consuming to dig up and prepare (see other sources for information on eating the tubers)

Horsemint aka Lemonmint aka Beebalm Monarda species (Lamiaceae family)

What: purple/white leaves; flowers- raw or in tea When: spring, summer Where: wild; side of roads Identifying Features: grows up to three feet tall with dense clusters of

flowers at the leaf axils, surrounding the stem Notes: very strong minty flavor (like an altoid), especially when raw

purple/white leaves are chewed

Field Pennycress aka Poor Man’s Pepper Lepidium species (Brassicaceae family)

What: seeds When: spring, winter Where: wild, sides of roads Identifying Features: stalks grow up to about 1 foot and form a rounded

mass of seeding stalks at the top; seeds are circular and flattened Notes: seeds can be used as a peppery spice; closely related is

Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) which has triangular flattened seeds that can also be used as a pepper spice

Chile Pequín Capsicum Annuum

What: berries, used fresh or can be dried for later use When: summer and fall, when berries ripen Where: landscaping; wild Identifying features: small, delicately branching shrub with zigzagging

branches and small, simple, alternate leaves. Small white flowers in spring. The small berries go from bright green to yellow or bright red as they ripen and are about ½ inch long.

Notes: Only one or two berries need to be used in cooking as they are hotter than jalapeños

Caution: Don’t confuse with Jerusalem-cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum) which has toxic red or yellow fruit. Jerusalem cherry has round berries and larger leaves (up to 4 inches) whereas chile pequin berries are generally oval or tapered and the plant has smaller

leaves.

RECIPES

PRESERVING FOOD

Preserved food not properly prepared can make you sick. Please see this

website for more details on canning and preserving food:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ and for the complete guide to home canning:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html

STANDARD JELLY AND JAM RECIPES

Ref: Delena Tull. “Edible and Useful Plants of Texas & the Southwest”

Standard Jelly recipe:

4 cups prepared fruit 1 pkg sure-jell pectin (amount varies with natural pectin content different fruit) Equal volumes of sugar (1 cup juice = 1 cup sugar) 2-3 tbsp lemon juice (amount varies with acidity of fruit) Remove large seeds, large stems, and flowers. Wash thoroughly and remove

bad fruit, leaves, and insects. Place fruit in pot, barely cover with water.

Crush soft fruit. Heat and simmer 10 min for soft fruit, 20 min for harder

fruits. Mash fruits and strain to remove seeds and skins. Strain the liquid

through a jelly bad and squeeze to extract more juice.

Measure liquid and pour into clean pot. Add pectin and lemon juice (for low

acid fruits such as loquat). Bring to rolling boil then add in sugar all at once.

Bring to rolling boil again and boil for 5-10 minutes, until the jelly pasts the

jelly test. Pour into jars and preserve.

Jelly test:

Scoop out a teaspoonful and allow to cool for a few seconds. Pour back into

the pot. If the last few drops run together to form a sheet as they slid off the

spoon, the jelly is ready.

Standard Jam Recipe:

4 cups prepared fruit 1 pkg sure-jell pectin (amount varies with different fruit) 4 cups sugar (amount varies) 2-3 tbsp of lemon juice

Wash fruit and remove large stems, hard seeds, blossom ends. If it is very

pulpy, you may want to run it through a pulp grinder. Crush soft fruit.

Measure prepared pulp and place into a pot. Barely cover with water (if the

fruit isn’t already very watery). Add pectin and lemon juice (if needed).

Bring to a rolling boil. Add sugar all at once and bring to a boil again. Boil

mixture for 1 minute and pour into jars. Preserve.

NOTE: It may take a few days or few weeks for jams/jellies to set. Leave

undisturbed. If it does not set you can repeat the pectin process. There are

directions in your pectin box.

1. MULBERRIES A few notes about mulberries: Pick fresh and wash very well before

using. They are frequently covered in tiny bugs you can barely see.

Birds love them and frequently hang out in mulberry trees.

Mulberries don’t keep very well in the fridge; I recommend picking

and using within 24 hrs or freezing them back. They are great

frozen, in smoothies!

MULBERRY PANCAKES

¾ cup flour ½ cup cornmeal 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 ¼ cup soy (almond) milk 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp canola oil 2 tbsp maple syrup 2 tsp lemon zest (or 1 tsp lemon juice) Add up to 1/3 cup of water to desired consistency Fold in 1 cup of fresh mulberries (you can use frozen as well)

Sift dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Add to dry

ingredients and mix. Add water to the desired consistency and fold in

mulberries last.

MULBERRY JAM

Mulberry jam is easy, but it also makes great jelly if you like jelly better.

Follow typical jam and jelly recipe above. You can make a small batch of

jam to keep in your fridge or you can preserve it for use later. Note, you

do not have to remove stems.

If not preserving, pour into clean, hot jars, screw on lid and allow to cool

on counter top. Keep refrigerated.

2. MUSTANG GRAPES

MUSTANG GRAPE JELLY

Pick very purple grapes. Add just enough water to cover grapes and boil

until skins pop on most of the grapes. Strain and squeeze through a jelly

bag. Add equal volume of sugar and a package of pectin. Boil until jelly

tests done.

MUSTANG GREEN GRAPE PIE

Early in the grape season (sometime in late April early May) the

mustang grapes will be small and green with no visible seeds. This is the

best time to pick the grapes for this recipe. The grapes taste and have a

texture of tangy crab apples.

Vegan Pie Crust:

1.5 cups flour 1tbsp sugar ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp baking powder 1/3 cup nonhydrogenated vegan shortening ¼ cup cold water, plus 2 tbsp if needed 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and mix. Cut in shortening.

Combine vinegar with water and add to dough. Mix into a ball and

knead gently until it holds together. If you want to put a top on the pie,

double the recipe. If you want to do a lattice on the top, I just roll

thinner to get a bit extra crust for the lattice.

Pie Ingredients:

3 cups green grapes 3 cups sugar water 1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon Fresh nutmeg to taste

Mix green grapes and sugar, add just enough water to dissolve the

sugar. Cook for 10 min, turn off heat and add vanilla, cinnamon and

nutmeg if desired and mix. Pour into premade pie crust. Add pastry

crust on top. A cross top works nicely, or just a full pie crust cover (don’t

forget to poke holes!).

Bake 375 deg for 50 minutes. Cool 15 min at least before serving to

allow to set and to not scald your mouth!

3. PRICKLY PEAR PRICKLY PEAR FRUIT: There are many prickly pear recipes on-line. The fruit is best picked when deep purple. Remember to use tongs and gloves when handling, there are many spines and glochids on the fruit. It isn’t called prickly pear for no reason! Use tongs to remove from plant. Glochdis can be airborne, don’t put face too close. Rinse in cold water, brush off with a sponge. This will remove most the spines. Slice off the thicker skin at both ends. Peel the fruit by slicing from top to bottom and peeling away the skin. Be careful of the spines! Alternatively, some websites say you can process directly in a food processor without removing spines or skin. Fruit can be used to make, juice, jam, jelly. Prickly Pear Lemonade:

Mix a 12 oz. can of frozen lemonade, one 12 oz. can of water, 1/4

to ½ cup of prickly pear juice and 2 cans (24 oz. more to taste) of

any lemon/lime soda.

CACTUS PADS (nopales) RECIPES (Ref http://www.erowid.org/)

Harvest young, small pads (spring). Even spineless cactus has very

painful glochids! Handle with tongs and gloves. When harvesting

avoid being too close (glochids can become airborne and you can

get them in your eyes), use tongs and cut off pad with a knife.

Breaking them off can stress and damage the plant. Remove

spines and glochids by rubbing with a sponge. Use a paring knife

or peeler to remove skin. Make sure you get the areas with the

spines and/or glochids. Cut around the pad and the bottom, rinse

in cold water. Slice or dice. Nopales are very goopy when cut,

somewhat like okra.

*crudites st. pierre*

slice raw, peeled cactus into sticks. add salt, lime-juice and

chopped cilantro to taste.

*ensalada de nopalitos*

to each 4 oz of peeled, chopped raw cactus add 2 Tbs good-

quality cider vinegar, and let stand in the refrigerator for at least

an hour. add chopped parsely to taste.

*nopales al vapor*

to 1 2/3 C peeled, trimmed, and chopped fresh cactus add 1 Tbs

chopped scallions, a minced clove of garlic and salt to taste. fry in

1 Tbs olive oil, covered, over low-medium heat for 10 min. shake

the pan from time to keep the cactus from sticking. when the

juice has started to flow, uncover the pan and cook for another 15

minutes, until the juice has evaporated some, the residue has

begun to resorb, and the cactus is lightly browned. scrape the pan

with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. yield 1/2 C.

CACTUS JERKY

Marinade 2 hrs to overnight in fridge: 2/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp liquid smoke, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder. Dry in a dehydrator or oven. 4. AGARITA JELLY NOTE: Chiggers and other insects love hanging around berry plants. Spray your shoes/feet/legs with appropriate bug spray so while you are collecting berries they are not crawling up your legs! Harvest when the berries are deep red, plump and juicy. Place sheet under agarita bush. Thresh bush (hold branch end and knock gently midway with a stick or ruler) or tickle berries off with gloved fingers. Threshing gets you lots of bugs, tickling takes a bit longer. Collect berries from sheet and WASH REALLY WELL in a strainer. You WILL get a lot of spiders, possibly chiggers and other small insects. Pick out dead berries and leaves, twigs, debris. Keep some yellow berries, they help with acidity and pectin content of your jelly. Barely cover with water, boil until skins pop on almost all of them. The water will turn bright red. Strain in cheese cloth, or preferably through a jelly bag. Add equal volumes of sugar. Boil until jelly tests done. Follow instructions on preserving in pectin box for jellies.

5. LOQUOT JELLY Harvest loquats when bright yellow, with a slightly shiny coat. The older the fruit, the less shiny. Older fruit has a more apple taste and texture, the younger fruit is more juicy, fleshy but quite tart. Remove pits (these pits are poisonous) and place flesh with skin in a small pot. Just cover with water and boil for 10 minutes minimum until the fruit has softened and has released most the juice. Strain and squeeze through a strainer with cheese cloth or a jelly bag (preferred). Add equal parts juice to sugar and 3 tbsp of lemon juice (see the recipe book that comes with your pectin) and pectin. Boil until jelly tests done.