just stuff...

Just some shots around the yard... this pic is a little overexposed, it doesn't really show the firecracker red of the bloom... but you get the idea... Cleistocactus winteri, aka golden rat tail or my preferred common name, golden cat tail... click the label if you want to see past pics of the whole plant...

And of course, the Prickly pears are in bloom... I was worried that I was going to lose a lot of blooms and therefore fruits... which are very important to me for making jelly, but it turned out not so much.

Now this is a foundling from the side of the road, and I'm gonna see if I can do something with it... an Areca palm... Chrysalindocarpus lutescens. They make decent parlor palms... and if I was a little bit further south, decent yard palms to 10' tall... but this guy has been neglected.

Step 1: cut off anything that is obviously dead and leave anything that is green...

I realize that the couple of leaves left are in pretty bad shape, but there's enough green on them to still be doing SOME photosynthesis... and since they're the only leaves left, I'm leaving them for now...

SAGO UPDATE

The second Sago did eventually put up new fronds... kinda... it seems to be putting up 1 - count them ONE, new leaves. One of it's four remaining leaves has died off. The other three... beat up as they are, are staying on there for photosynthesising purposes. I just don't feel like further weakening an already obviously weak plant... of course, this is way too much bother for most people, but I seem to find a perverse pleasure in reviving the near deceased...

The other plant however is doing just fine! Remarkably fine, actually, and he's about ready to find a permanent home in the yard.

Hoping everyone is having a great Memorial day, complete with Bar-B-Que and lots of family and friends.

Later!

now... this is what we're talking about...

home-made Prickly Pear Cactus Jelly...

also known as a mouthful of sweet-tart yummilisciousness...


The reward for making jelly is what's left after you fill the jars... you just put it in a little bowl, make some quick biscuits and eat it up... I mean, you don't want to waste anything, right?

See the previous post for more...

Prickly Pear Jelly begins...

And the jelly making process has begun!

You start with fruit on the cactus...

then you pick you a bunch of them... I picked over twice what you need for a batch of jelly... you don't actually need many, about a quart, but I always make extra juice... you can freeze it in 2 1/2 cup bricks to make a batch later.
The color of the inside of the fruit is so amazing... it always surprises me, even though I've cut hundreds of these things open in my life, that magenta is always a shock...
halved, covered in water, they'll be brought to a boil then cooked till tender. This is absolutely necessary to extract all the flavor and goodness...
And now, the fruit is in a jelly bag, dripping juice into a bowl... which I would have took a pic of, but quite frankly, it ain't interesting...

As my regulars here know, my Mother passed away recently. I'm actually dealing with it well, but Thanksgiving was a bit of a downer... all my normal holiday rituals and routines just went out the door.

I was lucky in that my 'adopted' family made sure I didn't spend it alone. I had my turkey day with Robert & Grace, their three grown daughters - who grew up calling me uncle and my mother 'Grandma,' - their husbands and a whole passel of kids...

I took a batch of pumpkin - cranberry muffins with me.

Of course they told me I didn't have to bring anything because they were raised right.

And, of course, I had to bring something because I was raised right.

It's one of those Southern catch-22's. We don't worry about it, we just live with it...

Anyway, it's one of my uber-simple recipes... take a can of pumpkin, a yellow cake mix and a bag of dried cranberries. Mix them together... sprinkle in some cinnamon, bake them in lined cup cake tins at 400 for 18 to 20 minutes.

Surprisingly good....

It occurs to me that I'm going to have to construct my own traditions now.

I think making this jelly, which Mom and I used to make together, will probably become a part of it...

Jelly waiting to happen...

The "Blue Pad" prickly pear in the back yard is beginning to be covered with fruit, and I'm starting to work myself up to making jelly.

Over the last few years, making Prickly Pear jelly has become a tradition around here. I helped Mom make it the last few years, because she had some problems standing in front of the stove for long periods... but this year, if it's gonna get made, I'm gonna have to do it myself.

To be blunt, there's no huge rush. The fruit will actually hold on the plants through most of the winter, and they don't all ripen at once...

The fruit below illustrates various stages. The tuna on the bottom, where the bloom scar or 'eye' has turned purple, is completely ripe. Above it is a fruit that's just turning color, and at the top is one that is ripe and usable, but the green-brown eye says that in a week or two more it will build up natural sugars and juice. Right now, it would be a little bit insipid.

Luckily, we'll have a few more days of warm sun yet... we don't usually get our first freeze until January, and, if I can talk myself into it, I'll have plenty of little jars of jelly to put into homemade fruit baskets for Christmas.

Prickly Pear Jelly is a wonderful thing... what it actually tastes like depends on what exact species of opuntia you use. The ones you get at the store don't have a great full flavor, IMO, but these produce a jelly that is deep, glowing magenta in color, and taste much like raspberries and cranberries mixed together.

The pics aren't too impressive. I think the ripening fruit is probably more exciting for me than anybody else... but I was a little at a loss for a post, so there we are.

And now I have to go, as Charcoal Briquette Cat has decided that the computer chair is hers, and she's ready for her nap... she can get quite testy about these things...

Prickly Pear Jelly...

I seem to be concentrating on recipes this week... the thing is that I'm helping my Mother put together a recipe book for my niece of all the "family" recipes, so I guess I got them on my mind...

That and I was looking at Aiyana's fabulous blog, Water When Dry, (link to the right) and she had some pictures of her optunia fruits that were ripening, and mentioned her prickly pear vinaigrette, and I remembered that I mentioned I was gonna publish this recipe back in May, and had let it slip my mind. Anyway, this is the recipe, easier than you'd think!

Prickly Pear Jelly

1 quart of Prickly Pears (or Tuna as they're called) to yield 2 1/2 cups of juice
1 package powdered pectin (the liquid doesn't work for this recipe)
3 Tablespoons lemon or lime juice
3 1/2 cups sugar

Use ripe fruit... If the fruit is very ripe, try to mix a few greenish ones in for natural pectin. It is not necessary to burn or cut off the spines, as they will disappear during the straining process... Wash the pears well, cut in half then place in a pot with water to cover. Boil till very tender and soft, this is necessary to get all the juice.

Strain through a jelly bag, or a collander lined with heavy gauze or lightweight muslin. hang the jelly bag to let the juice drip into a bowl, or tie the gauze or muslin and hang... let juice sit long enough for any sediment to settle. For clear jelly, don't use cloudy juice...

for every 2 1/2 cups juice, add 1 pkg powdered pectin. bring to a boil... add citrus juice & sugar. Bring to a boil that can't be stirred down, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, skim (important for clear jelly) and pour into sterilized jars - seal with hot canning lids or hot paraffin.

The taste & color of the jelly depends on the variety & color of the pears... The ones in our back alley produce fruit that are deep purple, and make a jelly that is deep magenta and most people describe as tasting like cranberries and raspberries blended together.

You can also freeze the juice in 2 1/2 cup 'bricks' to make jelly later if your not up to making the recipe all in one day, or you're making a lot of juice at once...