Cactus Pear and Avocado Salad

Some of the nicest innovations from my kitchen seem to be the result of happy accident. Once, after finishing recipes for an article on salad I was writing, I was left with a container of prickly pear cactus slices and an avocado. The refrigerator also yielded a green bell pepper. Needing a vegetable to go with dinner, I rounded up these ingredients and made what I found to be a beautiful and successful salad. The bright red of the pear cactus contrasted with the dark green crispness of the