Mesquite Treats…On The Air

Peggy Sue demonstrating the grinding and sifting of Mesquite pods at a workshop

On Tuesday, September 18, 2018, I got an email from Annika Cline. She introduced herself as the producer at the NPR station in Phoenix (KJZZ) . She said they were interested in speaking with me about the many uses of mesquite - as a fun Friday segment on the radio program called The Show. It would also promote the workshop I would be giving the next day at the farmer's market.

Annika asked me to give a small demo in addition to the interview.  My nerves were so rattled at the thought of speaking on the radio! My first reaction was to decline the invitation but I shared my anxiety with her and she said  to just ignore the microphones and pretend that I was having a casual conversation with someone. She said once I started speaking about my passion, she was sure I would be great. After I thought about it for a couple of hours and my nerves calmed down, I decided I would do it. 

As I got my thoughts together, I packed up a basket with some Mesquite pods, a coffee grinder, a sifter and a couple of treats that I had made for the workshop, Mesquite truffles and nectar.  I’ve never been comfortable with public speaking but I love to show and tell about the edible desert plants that grow all around us but most people don’t identify them as food. It’s great when people can see and taste one of these wonderful plants!

I went to the radio station in Tempe, AZ Thursday afternoon, the day before the show was scheduled to air. I met with Annika and Steve Goldstein, the host of The Show. They were so nice and they made me feel very comfortable. They took me into the recording studio and I set out the items I brought.

When I was ready, the three of us stood closely around the display and Steve started asking me about Mesquite. I showed them how to taste a bean pod, then I broke up some pods and Annika held a microphone close to the coffee grinder as I processed it. They also tasted the truffles and nectar and were really impressed with how good it all tasted.

It was truly a wonderful experience.  I’m very thankful for the opportunity to spread the word about Mesquite to so many more people than I would ever be able to reach through my workshops.

You can listen to the short segment by clicking the link below. 

https://theshow.kjzz.org/content/702504/arizona-woman-turns-mesquite-pods-tasty-treats

RECIPES: 

Mesquite Truffles     

Mesquite Truffles rolled in extra mesquite flour and cacao powder

Mix 1 cup of Mesquite flour into 1 cup of any nut butter.

Optional: Add any spices, herbs, nuts, seeds, dried fruit (example: salt, cinnamon, ginger, mint, sesame seeds, dates)

Form into bite-sized balls and roll in extra mesquite flour, cacao powder, coconut flakes or sesame seeds.

Or simply put it back into the nut butter jar and use it as a spread on bread or crackers or eat it by the spoonful.

Mesquite Nectar

Mesquite Nectar: rich, sweet goodness in a glass

4 cups of water

2 cups of broken pods (use the sweetest pods you can find)

Boil pods for 15 minutes, then cover the pot and let it sit until the water cools.

Transfer the pods and water to a blender and blend the pods up

Pour the mash into a strainer and capture the liquid, then squeeze the remaining liquid out of the pod mash.

Taste it and drink as a nectar or simmer it down into a simple syrup.

Enjoy!

Remember to listen to “Arizona woman Turns Mesquite Pods Into Tasty Treats”

https://theshow.kjzz.org/content/702504/arizona-woman-turns-mesquite-pods-tasty-treats

Harvesting Carob Pods

I first learned about carob in the early 1980's when we bought some nutritional bars that contained a healthy chocolate substitute called carob; they tasted really good. A couple of years later I bought some carob powder and made a simple treat from a recipe in the La Leche League cookbook. (See recipe below)

I never knew carob was a bean pod that grew on a tree until I went on a harvesting event with the Valley Permaculture Alliance at someone's home. They had already collected a lot of pods so they invited us over to gather the rest. Right away we tasted the pods and they were oh-so good! We chewed them carefully and discarded the seeds. Some of the pods were still a little moist and chewy like a candy bar. Randy said it reminded him of a Tootsie Roll. 

I wanted so badly to plant a carob tree but my neighbor said no way! She had a carob tree on her previous property and the flowers smelled awful, so I never bought one. Perhaps that's the reason most trees are found in older neighborhoods and parks and they're not easy to find in nurseries. However, not everyone I've talked to recently dislikes the odor.

Every year I have a goal to harvest the carob as soon as it's ripe so that I can eat them when they're really moist and chewy. However, every year I'm so busy harvesting mesquite, palo verde and ironwood beans as well as saguaro fruit that I almost miss the carob harvest; this year was no different. Sometimes I need a push. I finally felt an urgency to go harvest last week when I learned that a storm may be approaching.

Randy agreed to go with me so we jumped in his truck with a bucket and a tarp and headed to a park in north Phoenix. There were a lot of pods that had already fallen on the ground but we could see many that were still hanging. Although most were out of reach, we found a long stick (I forgot to bring my extension pole) and Randy climbed up (very carefully) and knocked the pods onto the tarp. I think he did pretty good for a 67 year old!

We gathered up a 5 gallon bucket full of thick, beautiful carob pods from two trees. We would have gotten at least twice that if we had a longer pole. It's not recommended to harvest from the ground but if we had harvested before they fell to the ground, we would have gotten so much more! There was enough to feed an entire neighborhood. It's really sad to see so much wasted food, especially in times like these.

I really enjoy eating carob pods in its whole form as a snack. If you want carob powder, it's easiest to have the pods processed with a hammermill. If you don't have access to a mill, you need to remove the seeds before grinding in a blender. If the pods are dry and hard, it can be very difficult to remove the seeds. Perhaps you could soak the pods, cut it open along the sides and remove them, then dry the pods before grinding, but I have never tried it since I have plenty of carob flour from a previous hammermill event.

If you have some flour, give this simple recipe a try:

1 cup of carob flour

1 cup of peanut butter or any nut butter

1/2 - 1 cup of honey (the original recipe called for 1 cup of honey but I use much less now)

Blend all ingredients together and either roll it into balls, use it as a sandwich spread or spread it into a rectangle Tupperware container and refrigerate, then cut into squares. You may want to roll the balls in extra carob flour, sesame seeds or coconut if they're too sticky.

I have varied the recipe throughout the years to include powdered herbs and to make medicine balls. You can add ginger, mint essential oil or a variety of healthy ingredients. Comment below and tell us how you like to eat carob!

Welcome!

Last Friday, July 17, 2020, we went live with my website DesertKitchen.net. That was a big milestone and the culmination of a lot of hard work! We still have a few things we need to tweak but we’re off and running. That includes this blog, where I’ll keep you up to date with things I’m doing as well as the things I’m interested in. So be sure to check back here regularly!