photo courtesy Desert Harvesters
Hungry? That mesquite tree in your yard can make for some seriously tasty treats, and local non-profit Desert Harvesters can help you get started by milling your mesquite pods to make a gluten-free flour.
“We wanted to reconnect people with the abundance of the Sonoran desert, and we wanted to bring it back into the urban core and into their daily lives,” said Brad Lancaster, co-founder of Desert Harvesters.
Desert Harvesters is a volunteer-run organization that formed in 2003 out of an effort to plant food-bearing native trees in the Dunbar Spring neighborhood. For the past nine years they have held a mesquite pancake breakfast fundraiser, inviting members of the community to come down to the Dunbar Spring Organic Community Garden and bring mesquite pods to run through a mill.
This year, they’re aiming to show off the diversity of mesquite by hosting a community bake sale in the community garden on November 20 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost of milling your own mesquite pods is $2 per gallon with a $5 minimum.
“We’re asking the community to come out and to bring some of their favorite mesquite-based treats,” said Amy Valdés Schwemm, a Desert Harvesters volunteer. “I’ve heard some people are bringing mesquite cookies and mesquite shortbread, and we’ll also have mesquite ginger cookies, scones and cookies with mesquite jelly.”
Lancaster said he hopes the bake sale will pleasantly surprise attendees by introducing them to a wider range of things you can do with mesquite.
“I think it’s going to add a lot of diversity to the offerings, so people will be able to try much more than pancakes,” Lancaster said. “But what’s more, it really offers people another opportunity to get involved, and that’s what we want. We want people talking to each other and sharing ideas, and food is one of the best ways we can share and exchange.”
Desert Harvesters will also bring their mill down to the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market at Mercado San Agustin, 100 S. Avenida del Convento at West Congress Street, on November 17 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
If you’re interested in milling your own mesquite pods at the bake sale or the farmer’s market, bring pods that are nice and dry and were collected from the tree, not from the ground, said Valdés Schwemm. Check for black mold spots on the pod, and if none are found, taste to see if the skin of the pod is sweet. If it is, you’ve got yourself a mesquite tree that’s perfect for producing flour to bake with.
“It’s really exciting to cook with,” said Valdés Schwemm. “We make a lot of things with it. At the moment I’m working on a mesquite mole myself.”
Visit DesertHarvesters.org for details and learn more about cooking with mesquite from the organization’s “Eat Mesquite! A Cookbook,” which is available for purchase online. Read Zocalo's review of the cookbook here. The event on Sunday, November 20 also features live music and children’s activities.
