Your Guide To Green

Charcoal made from mesquite wood gives grilled meats a unique, rather western flavor, but the seedpods from this common Arizona tree are a culinary treat as well.

For centuries, native desert dwellers have made nutritious flour from the dried mesquite pods. For some groups, such as the ancient Hohokam tribes, it was a very important part of the diet. With food activists encouraging us to rediscover the foods that grow all around us, it’s time for modern desert dwellers to experiment with mesquite.

Although mesquite flour (also called mesquite meal) is available commercially, it’s a fun and only slightly tricky project to produce it at home.

Mesquite trees populate desert washes and are a popular landscape tree, as they generally don’t need to be watered. There are three native mesquites with edible pods: velvet mesquite, the distinctive screw bean mesquite and honey mesquite. The nursery trade has introduced faster-growing species from South America, with pods that are not as sweet and taste chalkier. If you are looking for a tree to plant, choose one of the natives. Native mesquite trees last longer, have better tasting pods and provide better habitant for our native birds.

Mesquite’s many small olive-green leaves provide dappled shade. Throughout summer the tree’s hundreds of fuzzy yellow catkins (a sprig of flowers) become thin green pods. Mature pods are tan and brittle and can be easily pulled off the branch. The taste varies widely from species to species and from tree to tree, so experienced harvesters sample the pods before collecting them.

A full grocery sack of mesquite pods will grind down to about 2 cups of flour. Dry the pods thoroughly by toasting them briefly in the oven, heating them in a microwave or cooking them in a solar oven. Otherwise the sugar-rich flour will get sticky by absorbing moisture from the air. Then immediately grind the dried pods in a coffee grinder or blender. You might have to break the pods into smaller pieces to get started. If it’s too humid, the process may gum up your blender (and you can resume on another, drier day). The hard seeds and parts of the hull that do not grind should be sifted out of the flour.

Mesquite flour has been identified as a good food for diabetics. Full of water-soluble fiber, it has a low glycemic index despite its sweet taste. Traditionally mesquite flour was mixed with a little water for a refreshing drink called Pinole, or baked into cakes. Today cooks often mix it with wheat flour (as mesquite doesn’t contain gluten) to make hundreds of delicious baked goods. In any recipe, one quarter of the wheat flour can be replaced with mesquite flour. The caramel-like sweetness of the mesquite can also replace some of the sugar in baked goods and other recipes.

ANASTASIA'S MESQUITE PANCAKES

By Anastasia Rabin

DRY MIX:

• 2 cups mesquite flour
• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Make as much dry mix as you like and store in a cool dry place for later use.

To make pancakes for two people, mix the following:

WET INGREDIENTS:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups of liquid (milk, buttermilk, or a milk substitute)

Beat the wet ingredients together, then add 1 cup of dry mix. Add liquid or dry mix as needed to get the desired consistency. I like to make my batter thick for extra hearty pancakes. Mesquite burns easily, so be careful when cooking. Lowering the temperature of your griddle can help.

Additional mesquite recipes can be found at www.DesertHarvesters.org