Summer Breeze....Makes Me Feel Fine...

Okay, well I'm not feeling fine, but singing this song makes me feel a little better. It is warm and oh, so smokey here in the Sacramento Valley. With all the fires raging in Northern California, the air is hazy, smokey and smells like 1,000 wood burning fireplaces are burning at once. It is a good day to stay inside in the valley.


I haven't felt like cooking much lately because we have had 100 degree temperatures, but today it is a balmy 92. So, it seemed a perfect day to have a salad for dinner. One of our favorite summer salads is Nopales (Cactus) Salad that John's grandmother used to make all the time. You can make it with fresh cactus or jarred cactus. Either way is tasty, one just takes longer to fix than the other. John bought some fresh cactus at the grocery store a few days ago, so we used the fresh, but I'll give you the recipe for the cactus in a jar.

1 jar of Nopales (Embasa is our favorite)
1/2 round of queso fresco
A bunch of cilantro
3-4 Roma tomatoes
1 large onion
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the nopales well and drain. They will feel slimy when you pour them from the jar, but just rinse really well. Put in a large bowl. Slice the tomatoes and add to the bowl, along with chopped cilantro, and sliced onion. Crumble the queso fresco and add to the bowl. Pour in some olive oil. You can eyeball it - I usually do a few turns around the bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. That's it!

When you want to fix something a little different, yet very refreshing - this is the salad for you. It is rich in vitamins, especially the cactus is rich in Vitamin A. Serve it as a side with tacos, or as a meal with some french bread or tortillias. I hope you try this sometime and enjoy!