More Randomness

So we dove into our goodness from Russo's on Sunday night.
First we tried the cactus pear. Also known as a prickly pear. After the disaster that was attempting to cut a mango for the first time we decided to use Al Gore's internets to find out how to cut this thing. Luckily a podcast known as the "Produce Picker" informed us to be very careful and use a towel or glove to avoid getting the tiny spines in your fingers. After watching the guy on the podcast get pricked I nominated J to do the honors.
Of course he ignored all the warnings and used his bare hands.
Cutting the end off...
It was so pretty inside! Like a dark hot pink!
Then you pull the peel off. It came off very easily...And looked ridiculously wrinkly afterward!There it is in all its peeled glory. After a thorough taste test we decided it would be better to flavor a drink with, or maybe to juice. There were thousands of tiny, and very hard, seeds that made it not worth it to just eat. Texture a bit like a watermelon.
Then we used some of the veggies to try the Elegant Vegetable Casserole recipe from one of the latest Healthy Cooking magazines (thanks for the subscription Grandma!)
Here it is all made and in the pad waiting to be baked. It all smelled so good.
The white stuff on either end is mashed parsnip potatoes (delicious!!), the orange is pureed butternut squash, and the other one is a mixture of swiss cheese, spinach, and breadcrumbs.

It looked and smelled so good J didn't want to wait to dive in!
Final taste test analysis showed that it was several lifetimes beyond delicious. With a few tweaks it will become a new favorite of this household!!

Anyone else try some good recipes lately? We're planning on going to Russo's again soon, does anyone have a wacky fruit/vegetable to try?