Black Mesa Ranch

Summer fruit: pickled figs, grape salad

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Hi, Amy here today, giddy with a pile of fresh figs and fresh grapes! The Black Mission figs are from a very old tree in my mom’s yard.

My mom dries them in a hot car and freezes them to preserve. This year I decided to try pickling some. I poured about one cup red wine vinegar into a pan, along with two tablespoons sugar and a teaspoon salt. Then I tossed in about a dozen fresh but firm figs and brought them to a simmer. I’m sure honey instead of sugar is fine, and any vinegar would work as well. You could add more or less sweet or salt to suit your taste. Quick pickles are as forgiving as they are delicious.

After simmering for a few minutes, I let them cool in the liquid. I refrigerated the figs and brine together, where they softened and darkened a little more. Perfect.

A few days later, a friend shared some seedless grapes from her garden. Amazing!!!! You can see some turning to raisins on the vine.

For a fresh, light meal, I put stemmed grapes with some tart Greek yogurt.

I sprinkled some sea salt thyme blend and called it a salad. Of course, any salt and herbs would be wonderful here.

For a sandwich, I spread Black Mesa Ranch goat cheese with herbs on a slice of Barrio Bread whole wheat levain (both from Tucson CSA) and topped with halved figs. Dinner to eat while watching the clouds and sunset.

Here’s to hoping for more summer rains in the desert!

Mole Pecan Crackers and Goat Cheese

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Happy spring! Amy here, riding the waves of rushing spring activity. At Tucson CSA this week, we saw the first fresh chevre of the season from Black Mesa Ranch.

Later in the season, David will send us cheese rolled in herbs, or green chile, or chipotle. Since this chevre was plain, I decided to roll some in Mano Y Metate Mole Verde powder and some in Pipian Picante.

To accompany it, I wanted to make something special. Pecan crackers are delicious yet easy, and can be made with entirely local ingredients. Green Valley Pecan Company in Saguarita, just south of Tucson, sells finely ground pecans, which I use in the Mole Negro. Almond meal works just as well as pecan in this recipe. In other batches, I’ve added some mesquite meal, acorn meal, barrel cactus seed, chia seed, sesame seed, amaranth seed, and/or cracked wheat. Use what you collect!

For this batch, I mixed 2 cups pecan meal with an egg and a tablespoon of olive oil. No need to measure; as long as it comes together into a dough that can be rolled, it works. Normally I add salt, but this time I added 2 teaspoons mole powder.

Roll the dough onto a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet as thin as possible, and cut into squares with a pizza cutter.

 

Top with salt, seasonings, or Mole Powder and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to15 minutes, depending on thickness. I usually let them get a little brown, so they will be crispy. Towards the end, they can burn quickly.

After baking, re-cut and separate the crackers. Cool and enjoy! Store any left in a dry place.