Now I know there are many dangers of striving for excellence. After all, haven’t we learned that Satan will take anything we do for good and seek to bring forth evil. We have been been taught, 2 Corinthians 2:11, to not be “ignorant of his schemes.” I know if we are not careful, a pursuit of excellence can lead to pride whereby we look down on others or desire to draw personal attention to ourselves or seek to be man-pleasers. I know it can lead to a reliance on our own strength and not God’s strength. I know it can lead to misplaced goals that believe the product is more important than the spiritual goals it aims to produce. I know it can lead to misplaced trust that excellence alone can somehow achieve God’s purposes. And I know it can lead to misplaced methods, looking to worldly techniques more than Scripture. I know all of these and now you do as well, but we can’t operate in fear as an excuse to excuse the behavior expected of us from the Lord.

Randy Smith

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Grains, Dairy	Italian	New, Text, Import	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2	lb	Fresh or prepared cactus paddles or nopale; needles removed
3/4	c	Olive oil
1 1/2	ts	Salt
4		Italian Roma tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1/4" dice
1/2	sm	Red onion, cut into; 1/4" dice
2	md	Serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and; finely diced
2	bn	Cilantro, leaves only,; chopped
1/2	c	Finely grated Cotija or Anejo cheese
1/2	c	Red wine vinegar
1	ts	Freshly ground black pepper
6		Lettuce leaves
1		Avocado, peeled, seeded and; sliced for garnish
1/4	c	Cracked black pepper garnish,; recipe follows

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat grill or broiler. Place cactus paddles in a bowl and toss with 1/4
cup of the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Grill or broil the
paddles until grill marks appear on each side, or they turn dark green with
black patches, about 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Cover and chill 2 to 4 hours or overnight. Cut cactus into 1/2-inch pieces.
In a large bowl, combine the cactus, tomatoes, onions, chiles, cilantro and
cheese with the remaining 1/2 cup oil, the vinegar, the remaining 1
teaspoon salt and pepper. Toss well. Serve on plates lined with lettuce
leaves, and garnish with avocado slices sprinkled with cracked pepper
garnish.
Recipe By     :TOO HOT TAMALES SHOW #TH6118
Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #316
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 1996 08:02:26 -0500
From: Meg Antczak <meginny@frontiernet.net>

A Message from our Provider:

“Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.”