Strange Fruit...

When I nipped down to the shops to get some "stuff" for dinner I had a clear idea of what I was after. The crucial ingredients are penciled in, I slip past the nuts and sweets and deli section - Heart Disease can wait to more prosperous times... Herbs / Chilli / Noodles / Tofu? Maybe? Line up in the quickest checkout line. I re check my cerebral list and I wonder If it will be enough for tomorrows lunch for both my partner and I. Its good to have tasty leftovers at work when others are tearing with wrists cocked at bain-marie roasts and tin gravy. Next to the pineapples, rockmelons and halves of each I see a container of six interesting fruit. Indian Figs look rather inviting, I am a fan of regular figs but there is every chance that they will taste nothing alike.

Well excited at the prospect of a new sensation, (Perhaps a new gem of the culinary world?)
I stir fry dinner and enjoy far too much so only one serve for lunch tomorrow. I crack open the packet of Indian Figs, I notice the cost was only $2.99 for a half dozen small roma tomato sized fruit. I think this seems a little strange - Either these are not rare or are not gem like at all. I grab one that looks ripe and slice it open upon the timber chopping board, scoop out the inside flesh and tuck in. There were lots of annoying seeds and some smooth red aromatic flesh that would be nice in a sauce much the same as a quince would add body to a homemade roast gravy. On the whole I was unimpressed by the fruit, moments later I knew I had made a terrible mistake. The black spots on the skin are actually the base for young transparent spines that penetrate your skin and remain lodged while you rub and rub to remove them. I rub my lip and some of the spines are transferred to my top lip. Tweezers - impossible. Soap - Stupid. Sand paper - 120 grit Sweet Relief!
The botanic name of the plant which bears this so called fruit is the Opuntia ficus-indica, for those of us not up to speed with our botanical names I know I'm a tad rusty...

It is the Prickly Pear! Stupid Foodie!



I know the video is not relevant at all to my prickly story. It's a powerful song that should be heard by everyone at least once.

Giles