Cooking With Nature--Opuntia, Greens and Sage

[storm]

Cooking With Nature!

A wise man once said, “Supper is where you find it.” To harvest tonight’s wild repast, I walked over to our meadow and collected a wild mustard and a Goosefoot (Chenopodium sp.). Both plants are 4.5 feet tall. Some might consider them too old for the table, but au contraire, mon amie!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/stormbythesea/cooking%20with%20nature/1--GoosefootandMustardfordinner.j pg

This Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basillaris var. basilaris) prefers warm south-facing slopes up here at 8000 feet. I can hardly wait until those flowers transform into juicy, sweet, purple fruits!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/stormbythesea/cooking%20with%20nature/2--Opuntiabasilarisvar.jpg

This busy bee is foraging in a Rose Sage (Salvia pachyphylla) flower. It being one of the fragrant sages, I collected some for use as a spice.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/stormbythesea/cooking%20with%20nature/3--SalviapachyphyllaRoseSage1.jpg

Those two tall greens yielded four handfuls of vegetable matter. While I could have boiled and subsequently chewed the large-diameter stems, I chose to toss them outside instead.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/stormbythesea/cooking%20with%20nature/4--rawgreenscutup.jpg

Beavertail cactus is very precarious to handle due to the minute, soft, barbed spines. I flamed them off, then scrubbed the surface of the pads, flamed them again, then scrubbed once more. I did end up with about a half-dozen spines in my hands. There’s the Rose Sage in the middle.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/stormbythesea/cooking%20with%20nature/5--rawopuntiaandsage.jpg

Frying the cactus pads (the inner flesh is also known as nopales). I had previously sliced them in half, so the inner flesh is in direct contact with the cast iron. I did not flip them—saw no reason to. I love my cast iron frying pan—the best implement for cooking mushrooms.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/stormbythesea/cooking%20with%20nature/6--opuntiainpan.jpg

I had dried a bunch of Rose Sage earlier in the week. Using a coffee grinder, I powdered the sage for a wild and free and delicious condiment.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/stormbythesea/cooking%20with%20nature/7--powderedsage.jpg

Bon appetit!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/stormbythesea/cooking%20with%20nature/8--mealserved.jpg

[Moonraker]

Looks good storm. Some nice tips and flavours :)

Cactus are a problem and gloves come in very handy.

I like to make up flavouring 'dry rubs' for meat in a similar way to the sage, with the addition of a few wild herbs, salt and pepper. I use sea salt and can omit the pepper with the right herbs. They also make a good base for curry paste or coating root vegetables before frying.

Acast iron pan is the best, just a compromise on weight but worth it I reckon ;)