Hi all, Greetings from sunny Tucson! Amy here, at my new urban homestead. Taking out a wall left me a pile of old bricks to re-purpose, so I made a little outdoor hearth. This bucket of rainwater helped me level the cooking rack, sturdy enough for my over-sized, seldom used, cast iron cookware.
Making dinner for myself outside to admire the newly cleared yard, I cooked what was on hand from my Tucson CSA share: a butternut squash, Yukon gold potato, yellow onion, and French breakfast radishes. I decided to make a dish from my camping childhood, a foil meal cooked on the fire!
I cut the veggies into bite sized pieces, added a sprinkle of salt, and doused with olive oil and Mano Y Metate Mole Verde powder.
Then I sealed the foil seams very well and made a mesquite fire.
When the fire was almost down to coals, I put the sealed packet on the grill.
After about 45 minutes, the potatoes were perfectly tender and the embers glowing more dimly.
The steam from the veggies and the Mole Verde powder made a slight bit of sauce in the packet. It was mildly spicy and herbaceous from the cilantro, parsley and epazote in the mole powder. Of course, this would work with many other veggie and meat combinations, and any of the mole powder varieties.
I ate my dinner by the fire and dreamed of what might come next on this old urban lot.
Buenas noches, Amy
Savor the Southwest: 
You know, I work with hundreds of species of trees, but have never worked with a mesquite tree. I know I drove through their native range on the way to Oklahoma, but never stopped to see any.
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Hello Tony, Mesquites can grow to be huge trees in the riparian areas, but in the fire adapted grasslands they are often more like shrubs and it is possible that from the interstate that they looked like several other thorny shrubs. Please come to southern Arizona and visit the mesquites!
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Hello Tony, Mesquites can grow to huge trees in the riparian, but otherwise are shrubs, difficult to distinguish from the other thorny, little leafed shrubs at 75 miles per hour. Please come to southern Arizona and meet mesquites! Amy
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The old Blazer would not go that fast, but unfortunately, we did not stop enough on the way. I intend to make the trip again, and take my time doing so.
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How lovely. Takes me back to Girl Scouts. We’d dig a trench, build a long fire, and then when we had coals line our packets up one after the other.
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Carolyn, that sounds so cute! Amy
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