Something simple and fun to make

First a little confession. I’m going camping Friday around dawn. Rumor has it there is a WiFi signal occasionally, so I am taking my iPad. I have a couple of things going on across the blogosphere, and will attempt to reblog and participate in comments.

If the WiFi fails me, I’ll be back Monday at midday. I love you guys, but camping is important this year.

So, we went to Whole Foods over the weekend. I like to try new things, but this isn’t exactly new. This odd fruit has been all over the American West for decades.

Prickly pear cactus grows everywhere out here. Unfortunately, the kind I’m familiar with are tiny. They are about the size of a finger at best, and covered with fierce spines. The kind in the stores are a slightly different variety.

The fruits of the prickly pear are called tunas. It’s because of the vibrant deep pink inside. I probably made a mistake by not including the sliced fruit in my photo.

The store bought variety is almost the size of a baseball, and are sold spine free. I assume some tiny spines were singed off somewhere along the line.

We cheated, because we wanted to try this. This is prickly pear lemon aid.

I just sliced the fruit, squeezed it into a plastic jug. No spoons required, it just squeezes out. We poured bottled lemon aid over the top, put the lid on and shook like hell.

This stuff tastes like heaven. The fruit comes through clearly, but isn’t overwhelming. It’s a perfect blending. It’s even better after it steeps for a while.

I will make this again, only I’ll make it the right way. If you cheat, like I did, you won’t be disappointed.

I have a theory my cocktail shaker will appear soon for an alcoholic concoction.

Look for prickly pear tunas at your Whole Foods or ethnic foods store. Let me know if you make the lemon aid, or even better if you invent something.

See you all Monday, unless I get lucky with the WiFi.