Cactus Blog

Jumbled words littered with cactus spines taste good on the tongue.

The East Bay Express reviews the Oakland branch of one of our favorite local restuarants, Cocina Poblana in Emeryville, and isn’t thrilled. They do like the nopales though.

Cocina Poblana belongs to the bourgeoning genre of Mexican restaurants that focus not on burritos, fajitas, and enchiladas, but on the more complex regional cookery of this food-centric nation….

Emeryville’s Cocina Poblana, which opened in 2006, helped bring this trend to the East Bay. Now proprietor Lito Saldaña has opened another, more upscale location among the chain stores and restaurants of Jack London Square. But… only a few of the venue’s dishes attain the sophisticated, dynamic, virile heights of gustatory Mexico….

Another entrée, the huarache Azteca, involves a dried-out platter of masa piled with refried beans, grilled cactus, grated cheese, and a few salty shrimp.

Well, I don’t know about the shrimp version of the huarache, but the chicken huarache at our local hangout is quite good. The grilled cactus is crisp, and tasty. And the margarita menu is top notch. Maybe we’ll go there for dinner tonight.

It’s true in this season of giant echinocereus blooms that some of them are bound to make the news. The Green Valley News and Sun published this picture.

JERRY MARRION PHOTO
Cactus king
An estimated 30 blooms make this cactus (ecinopsis genus, trichocereus species) in Esperanza Estates, a wonderful reason to appreciate the desert.

I’d pay money to see that.

Actually, it’s a bloom photo of a cactus that was planted in a trough and featured in a post yesterday.

Mammillaria spinosissima ssp pilcayensis

I don’t know much about this plant. I believe it is a cactus, or as they say, “in the cactaceae family.” The flowers are pink, the plant is spiny, the background is black. Cylindrical stems 2″ around to 20″ tall.

If you really want to get to know this plant, check out yesterday’s photo from the Bingleys of the plant in its new home.

I’d watch out for cactus if I were in Scottsdale. You never know when they’re going to jump out and hit your car.

Cactus has run-in with speeder

NORTHEAST VALLEY - Morning drivers had to contend with desert scenery on Wednesday as town officials worked to remove a cactus knocked onto Shea Boulevard by a speeding car.

A Maricopa County sheriff’s spokesman said a speeding driver lost control on Shea between Fountain Hills and Palisades boulevards during morning traffic Wednesday, jumping the median and knocking a cactus into the roadway.

No injuries were reported and the driver, who not identified, was cited for speeding.

Sometimes the cactus in Arizona not only jump, but they’ve been known to crawl as well.

Well, it’s official. That last sentence was literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever typed. Do I win a prize?

National Geographic wants to know, or wants you to know. Check out their Greendex. I did. I scored 61, but then it’s self-scoring, so I’m sure I shaded my answers a bit.

We like it when you send us your photos.

Here we have a friendly couple, with a couple of friendly dogs, who came into the nursery with a large trough to fill, and they picked out some lovely cacti. Spiny cacti, even. Poor dog. Well, the blooms are going crazy all over.

I’ll feature my own photo of the mammillaria (the one on the left) tomorrow, from before they planted it.

Hi Peter, Hi Hap:

Attached please find pictures of our antique Chinese water trough filled with your beautiful cacti!
Check out the blooms on the tall one!!

You may remember us from the pottery art show, and due to our little dogs.
Also, my orchid is blooming again thanks to your help.

Best,

The Bingleys

Echinocereus grandiflora hybrid in yellow.

From the New York Times.

Nopales en Ensalada

Adapted from Ana Sabrina Rivera del Río

Time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes’ resting

2 pounds cactus leaves (nopales), spines removed, coarsely diced (see note)

Salt

3 tomatoes, peeled, coarsely diced and tossed with a pinch of salt

1/4 white onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (preferably whole, not ground)

Panela or cotija cheese, for serving.

1. In a saucepan, simmer cactus with 1/2 cup water and a large pinch of salt, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cool.

2. In a bowl, combine cactus with remaining ingredients except cheese. Let sit for 30 minutes before serving on tortillas; garnish with cheese.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Note: Wear gloves and use a paring knife to remove spines. Mexican and other Latino markets often sell prepared cactus leaves; use 1 1/2 pounds.

Usually I would excerpt an article, but you know if I left out any part of the recipe, then it wouldn’t work.

For instance, if I left out the part about the simmering the cactus, then you’d have cooked the whole thing with un-simmered cactus, and that wouldn’t be very good nor would it?

Christie at the Cape is featuring a Euphorbia for entertainment purposes only. Euphorbia meloformis, with pendulant bloom stalks.

I think the plant looks happier now, if it is possible for Euphorbia meloformis to look happy. Its unapologetic fatness is somehow happy.

…that the short post I posted last week could use a little more filling out.

Parkinsonia aculeata
Mexican Palo Verde Tree

Now I can understand if you liked the original “Short Post” as it was, but you know, it was inevitable that I would photograph the tree when it came into bloom, and then I would be forced to type a full post about it.

It’s spiny, small-leafed, and very low-water too.

It’s the Mexican version, because, you know, the California native Palo Verde doesn’t grow in N. Cal. We’ve killed about a dozen babies trying to get them to grow, but please don’t tell the woman who sold them to us, because she was very protective of them and didn’t want to sell them to someone who would kill them and we convinced her we would take good care of her babies, and then BAM! we go and kill them anyway, so now it’s Mexican Palo Verde or bust.

These Echinocereus grandifloras come in so many colors. They’re blooming up a storm. I’m sure I’ll have more colors coming up on the blog in the weeks ahead. Today is yellow. Tomorrow, too.

Here we see the bloom from below. I t doesn’t look so giant in this photo, but just wait for tomorrow’s portrait. This shot really shows the relationship of the bloom to the cactus below, and the buds yet to come, along with the fruit from last year’s blooms too.

The sun is quite bright as reflected in the washed out yellows in the center of the bloom.

Did I mention that I’m an architect?

And I used to live in Alaska?

Water When Dry has a very nice Astrophytum myriostigma in bloom. It’s got a lot of character, which means it’s old.

Old enough to bloom, and Aiyana has the photo to prove it. Can you guess what color it is? Here’s a poll for you to give it a try. I love polls! Then click through and check it out, dude.