Phoenix in the summer: Hot and humid with evening storms and a chance of a haboob (major dust storms for those who haven’t heard). One thing is certain of Phoenix summers; it takes a little motivation ...

So there I was, stalking the wild prickly pear cactus. With tongs in hand, I gave each fruit a quick twist. Within 10 minutes I had 6 pounds — and all without even a scratch. After attending a ...

Like their name implies, prickly pears can be a thorny fruit to deal with. They’re covered in tiny needles, chock-full of hard seeds and their juice can stain everything it touches a shocking magenta ...

A swirl of prickly pear syrup in a frozen margarita adds a pop of color and a hint of sweetness. But a bottle of clear liquid extracted from the same prickly pear cactus and distilled in San Antonio ...

Some summer foods beg to be eaten: fresh tomatoes, sweet corn on the cob. But one virtually screams, "Leave me alone!" Nopalitos are the pads of the prickly pear cactus. In Mexico and the American ...

*Center Staff Member Recipe from Rick Mick: Rick helps write and edit the Center’s action alerts, weekly e-newsletter and other email communications. This recipe is adapted from the Prickly Pear Jelly ...

A night of holiday-party drinking doesn't have to be painful the next morning, thanks to a common desert plant. The fruit of the prickly pear cactus is a lean, mean hangover-fighting machine. Grown in ...

August is prickly pear harvest season in Arizona, where some species of the cactus are native to the Sonoran Desert. The pinkish plant proves picturesque and tasty, starring in salads, sweets and ...

What it is: Prickly pear cactus pads, also known as nopales (singular: nopal), are commonly consumed as a vegetable in Mexico and Central America. The cactus pads—the flat “paddles” that grow from the ...