www.desertharvesters.org
On November 6, the 8th Annual Desert Harvesters Mesquite Milling Fiesta and Mesquite Pancake Breakfast will give Tucsonans the opportunity of participating in an event that highlights a food source that has provided sustenance to local populations for hundreds of years.
The Velvet Mesquite, Tucson’s only native mesquite, will be featured in the breakfast hosted by the Dunbar/Spring neighborhood. Desert Harvesters will be milling the pods for a nominal fee for those who were prescient enough to gather this crop and pancakes will be on the griddle made from the flour produced from the pods.
For those of us who do not know the difference between a Velvet Mesquite a Screw bean or Chilean this is the perfect event to become more aware of what can feed you in our local environment. A tree with a ten-foot canopy can provide over five gallons of harvested pods that can be milled into a pound of flour. Harvesting is over for this year but one can learn about this wonderful food source in our community.
Native Americans have used the sweet beans for years as a staple creating syrup, tea and Pinole, a ground meal. The ground flour is extremely effective in controlling blood sugar levels. The beans are filled with fructose, which the body can process without insulin.
This, in combination with the copious amount of fiber in the pod, allow for a lengthened absorption of nutrients creating a slow rise in blood sugar compared with other flours such as wheat flour or corn meal.
Pancakes will be on sale for a dollar apiece and there will be live music and a playground for the kids.
For more on the milling fiesta and pancake breakfast, visit DesertHarvesters.org.
