PRICKLY PEARS: PRICKLY PEARS BENEFITS AND USES: PRICKLY PEAR SALAD DRESSING RECIPE

PRICKLY PEARS

Prickly pears come from the Opuntia family of cacti and there are more than 200 varieties in the world. They are native to arid regions and have spread to Greece and Turkey. It is said that in Greece and the islands the cacti were planted by the Venetians but this has not been proven. The fruit is known among other names as frangosyka of French figs, and elsewhere the fruit are also known locally as ‘figs’. This might be because they taste a little like a cross between a melon and a fig.

   The Aztecs were cultivating them when the Spaniards arrived and they used the milky juice from the pads of the cactus mixed with honey and egg yolks as an ointment to treat burns.

   In Ayurvedic medicine the plant and fruit is used to treat patients with diabetes and clinical studies have shown that the prickly pear can lower cholesterol levels and help in the treatment of patients with Type-II diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels. However it is believed at present that only the Opuntia streptacantha variety of cactus can do this.

  In Chinese traditional medicine, the pads were used to dress abscesses with. Presumably, the milky juice from the cactus pads is somehow good for the skin when applied directly.

  Native Americans made a syrup from the fruit and found it effective for whooping coughs and asthma. They also used the plant in other ways. They dried the fibres of the cactus and used them to weave baskets. Mats and fans, and used the woody skeleton of the plant to make furniture. They used the cactus spikes as toothpicks, so no part of the upper plant went to waste.

   In Sicily the flowers of the cactus are boiled in water and drunk as a diuretic. In Mexico the plant has been used for centuries to treat diabetes and inflammation caused by ulcers.

  I think we ate prickly pears last year while in Pakistan, but what we ate wasn’t prickly, although it had a hard skin, which we peeled, to reveal a red fleshed fruit which had some fairly large seeds in it. It tasted rather like a raspberry, and we grew a cactus from the fruit, so we guess it is one of the prickly pear varieties. We bought it as “sumerkand” which might be the Pashto word for this kind of cactus fruit.

In August 2010 a newspaper article from Hurriyet the English daily newspaper in Turkey suggested that Turkey utilize its prickly pear cacti (Opuntia ficus-indica) and cultivated them in order to cash in on the demand for the fruit and to plant them in order to prevent soil erosion on slopes going down to the sea. These cacti grow in abundance along the Turkish coast. It reported that Italy exports 50,000 tons of the prickly pears every year.

  To peel a prickly pear, hold it down with a fork and cut off the ends with a sharp knife, then make lengthwise cuts and peel the fruit. You can make prickly pear juice by washing the whole fruit and then put them in a pan with a cup of water. Cook over a low heat for 20-30 minutes until they are tender. Remove the hard skin and mash the fruit to a pulp then strain to use it in the recipe below.

PRICKLY PEAR SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients

½ cup of puree after boiling the fruit

1/3 cup sunflower or soy bean oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

4 tbsps tarragon vinegar

Method

Put all the ingredients into a jar and shake well to mix.

Pour over a fruit salad or a green one.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

  

WHAT IS AMROOD? GUAVA ( PSIDIUM GUAJAVA): GUAVA RECIPES: HOW TO MAKE AMROOD CHAAT:

GUAVA, AMROOD, (PSIDIUM GUAJAVA)

In Pakistan there are amrood everywhere perfuming the air when the fruit sellers spray them with water. This must be a good selling ploy as they smell wonderful! Unfortunately we’re very wary of them having eaten some that weren’t quite ripe last year. The problem was that we ate too many as they are delicious. However, don’t let our greed stop you from trying the recipe below, it’s very tasty. We have the guavas which have white flesh and green skins here in Pakistan, or yellow skinned ones with a creamy flesh. I hadn’t realized that they were guava as I had only previously eaten the pinky-red variety.

  In the Romance languages these fruit have names that are obviously guava, but in Guam they call them abas so I had to include that piece of information, and in Urdu they are amrood. There are many different varieties around the world, but it is believed that they originated in Mexico and Central America. 

The Portuguese brought them to the Indian subcontinent in the 18^th century and they have flourished. They have grown in Egypt for a long time and are known to grow in Algeria and Morocco. They were spread around the world by the 16^th century Spanish and Portuguese explorers. One of the first places they were exported to were the West Indies in 1526. They were said to be a favourite of the Aztecs and Incas. The bark of the trees is very distinctive as it is a copper colour although this outer bark peels off to reveal the green under layer.

   The leaves are particularly used in traditional medicine and so are the young fruits and the bark, all of which contain tannin. You can get a black dye for dying silk from the leaves too. The wood from the trees is used for carving, and because of the high tannin content the bark is used in Central America, it is used for tanning hides.

   A tisane can be made from the fresh or dried leaf which relieves diahorrhoea. You need 1 cup of boiling water to 1or 2 tsps of fresh leaves (1 tsp dried). Pour the water over the leaves and leave to steep for half an hour for medicinal purposes. This tisane also acts as a diuretic and stops the E.coli bacteria sticking to the walls of the intestines and urinary tract.

This is also good in the treatment of diabetes as it inhibits the increase of blood sugar in plasma, but has no effect on the level of insulin in plasma. It’s also good for dieters as it helps reduce body fat and is an antioxidant which combats the free radicals in the body which damage cells and can cause cancer.

   The Tikuna Indians living in the Amazon use a decoction of the leaves and bark as a cure for dysentery and diahorrhoea, for stomach upsets, vomiting, to regulate periods and as a douche for vaginal discharge, and to tone the walls of the vagina after childbirth. The decoction is also used to apply to wounds. The young leaves are chewed for mouth ulcers, bleeding gums and bad breath, and if you chew them before drinking they are said to prevent a hangover.

   Researchers have shown that the guava leaf has antioxidant effects which are beneficial to the heart. Consumption of the fruit over a 12 week period lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Guavas are used in Peru and Brazil as diuretics and they contain carotenoids, saponins, flavonoids, essential oils and fatty acids. They have been called one of nature’s “super fruits.” In some parts of the world they are called “the poor man’s apple”.

   Guavas have a long history of cultivation and the seeds have been found in food stores in archaeological sites in Peru, showing that the ancient people’s used to cultivate them, even though they grew wild.

costa rica guava

    You can do a lot of things with guavas including using the juice in cocktails. One really refreshing drink is made from 2/3 rds guava juice and 1/3 Portuguese vinho verde or any other sparkling wine. Simply stir the mixture well and add ice.

    For a quick appetizer, cut guavas in half around the middle, scoop out the seeds and put cottage cheese in the cavity add a few chives and serve on lettuce leaves.

Use them in a sauce with chicken and pasta and light rum – you need spring onions, 1 cup of guava juice a tbsp fresh lime juice ¼ cup light rum and shredded coriander leaves. Pound the chicken breast halves so they are very thin and fry them on both sides until cooked (about 4 mins each side)  then remove them and fry the onions for a few minutes, next add the juices and finally the rum. Boil the sauce until it has thickened, add the chicken to heat it through and serve with your favourite pasta.

AMROOD CHAAT

Ingredients

1 kg guava (white or cream flesh)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp sugar

Method

Cut the guava in half across the middle and scoop out the seeds.

Mix the salt, chilli powder (red) and sugar together (you can put it in a jar and shake it well). Put this into the amrood shells and rub in to the flesh. Leave to stand for 15 minutes before eating.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

PUMPKIN SEEDS - USEFUL FOR MEN' S GENERAL SEXUAL HEALTH

PUMPKIN SEEDS

When you hollow out your pumpkin, don’t throw the seeds away. They are good for your health too and can be snacked on at any time of day. In Greece they are called “passé tempo” (time passing) and often served in bars with drinks. Older Greeks can often be seen removing them from their pockets and cracking the outer casing to eat the green seed inside. You can eat the husks too, as they are normally salted, but you shouldn’t, apparently. Often they are mixed with sunflower seeds and roasted chickpeas. The green pumpkin oil is extracted from the seeds and this makes a healthy cooking oil and salad dressing.

  Native Americans used pumpkin seeds to get rid of internal parasites and dispel kidney stones. They are still used to prevent stones and gravel forming in the kidneys and gall bladder, but there is no medical evidence to support these treatments.

   Pumpkin seeds are high in magnesium and ¼ cup of them is 87% of the recommended dose of magnesium for an adult per day. They also contain other minerals such as potassium, manganese, protein, iron, calcium, zinc and vitamins A, B, and K. Zinc can help prevent osteoporosis. The Omega fatty acids they contain are natural anti-inflammatories and so are good for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. The phytosterols they contain help lower cholesterol levels too. Phytosterols can replace cholesterol, so reducing its levels in the blood.

  They are useful in helping to keep testosterone from inflicting damage on the prostate and so help reduce the risk of prostate cancer in males. They also help with discharging urine by inhibiting the enzyme associated with the enlargement of the prostate. The extract obtained from pumpkin seeds can also help incontinence in males with prostate problems as they help to strengthen the pelvic muscles and increase testosterone levels. Because of this they also help men’s general sexual health.

  The oil obtained from pumpkin seeds is rich in essential fatty acids, which help maintain the nerves and blood vessels and help to lubricate the body tissues. They are also useful for the eyes reducing the growth of cataracts. They help stimulate the T-cells in the body and so boost the immune system, helping it stave off infections. The oil is good for counteracting the free radicals in the body which are responsible for cancer.

  You can add pumpkin seeds (remove the outer shell first) to soups to give them a nutty flavour and to salads or sauté them and mix with broccoli and other vegetables. They are good roasted or dry fried too.

BRUSSEL SPROUTS - BRUSSEL SPROUTS RECIPES: BRUSSEL SPROUTS BENEFITS AND USES:

BRUSSEL SPROUTS (BRASSICA OLERACEA VAR. GEMMIFERA)

Brussel sprouts are reputed to come from Belgium as the name suggests; but wherever they actually originated, they came from somewhere in northern Europe. They are not well liked by children, who frequently push them around their plates and find the taste and smell obnoxious. This smell can be avoided if you only boil them for the recommended 7 minutes, so that all the nutrients are preserved and you get the full benefit of them. They look like little cabbages and are clearly related to them, and cauliflower, but they are also related to carrots and radishes, including mooli.

   These little cabbages are extremely good for our health and may prevent many types of cancer including breast, colon, prostate, ovarian, urinary bladder and cancer of the lungs. They also help to prevent heart diseases and have anti-inflammatory properties as well as being having antioxidant qualities. They are chock full of vitamins and minerals and high in folic acid, so good if you are pregnant as the folic acid they contain helps in assisting a normal delivery and the formation of bones. Vitamin B12 helps in forming red blood cells too and can help lower the risk of heart disease. It also stimulates the immune system and flushes uric acid from the body so is good for gout sufferers.

  Brussel sprouts also contain Vitamin C – more than in oranges and lemons, but not as much as in peppers and spinach. This aids the body’s absorption of calcium and iron, so is good for the bones and blood. It also helps in the healing of wounds. They are a good food to eat if you are recovering from an illness as they provide the body with many of the nutrients it needs. They are a diuretic too and rich in potassium, which helps the heart function normally as well as the nervous system and builds muscle mass. The dietary fibre they contain prevents constipation and so the formation of piles. They stimulate the detoxifiers in the liver and promote general good health.

Pakistani Brussel

  Thomas Jefferson has been credited with introducing them to the US as he took seeds from Paris to Virginia in 1821. Now they frequently appear with the Thanksgiving turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

  The problem with Brussel sprouts is that children tend not to like the taste, but you can disguise this in several ways. When you cook Brussel sprouts you should trim any discoloured leaves and cut a cross in the stem so that they cook evenly and quickly. Bring water to boil and then add the sprouts and cook for 7 minutes. You can bake chestnuts in the oven, cut a slit in each shell first and heat the oven to 200degrees C, for 45 minutes. Then allow them to cool and shell them. Melt 25 gr of butter in a pan and toss the cooked sprouts and chestnuts in it. You can also fry bacon and add this too, tossing the sprouts and chestnuts in the fat.

   The 2 recipes below are intended to show how you can disguise the sprouts to encourage children to eat them (and those recalcitrant adults you know too).

BRUSSEL SPROUTS SPANISH – STYLE

Ingredients

1½ lbs Brussel sprouts, trimmed and stems cut with cross

1 lb tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

2 green peppers, sliced

1 sprig fresh rosemary / 1 tsp dried

1 tsp oregano fresh / ½  dried

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil or other oil for frying

Method

Cook the sprouts as described above. While they are boiling or steaming (8 minutes) heat the oil and fry the onions, garlic and peppers for about 10 minutes. Add the herbs, freshly ground black pepper and salt, tomatoes and sprouts and heat through. Serve immediately,

BRUSSEL SPROUTS POLONAISE

Ingredients

1½ lbs Brussel sprouts, trimmed and a x cut in stems

2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped

2 oz butter

2 oz fresh white breadcrumbs

2 tbsps fresh parsley, finely chopped

Method

Boil Brussel sprouts as above and transfer them to a heated serving dish.

Melt the butter and coat the breadcrumbs in it, stirring all the time until they become golden brown. Sprinkle the parsley and eggs on the sprouts and top with the breadcrumbs. Serve.

These have Taste and are a Treat.