Tucson CSA

Mole Spiced Dark Chocolate Sablé Cookies

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Do you like dark chocolate with a hint of spice?

How about not too sweet but buttery rich cookies that are cute and easy to make?

Hello friends, Amy here today with a cookie perfect for Easter from my friend Joy Vargo.

Yes, that Joy from Tucson CSA. She also is a chef and AMAZING caterer. She brought these cookies into CSA, spiced with Mano Y Metate Mole Dulce. The texture is delicate and crumbly, and Joy said that the French name Sablé translates as sandy.

Joy is a trained baker, so her original measurements are the weights listed in the recipe. If you have a kitchen scale at home, please use those instead of my approximations for the volumes.

I made both the logs sliced thinly and the roll and cut method. Since the rolled were thinner, I preferred those. The sugar sprinkled on top of the unbaked cookie was a nice touch. The sea salt I used was too fine and dissolved on the surface, but tasted good. However, the combination of salt AND sugar on the top of the cookie was a hit!!!! If I had saved any Mole Dulce powder I would have tried that as a sprinkle as well, like on these brownies.

They don’t rise at all, so this is a great recipe to use those cookie cutters with intricate designs. Also, they can be crammed close on the baking sheet. That is good because this recipe makes a big batch, of course depending on the size and thickness of the cookies. I froze some of the dough to defrost and roll fresh for Sunday.

 

Mole Spiced Dark Chocolate Sablé Cookies

By Joy Vargo

 

2 sticks Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature (7.5 oz)

½ cup Sugar (3 oz)

2 Eggs, Beaten (3 oz)

1 tablespoon Vanilla

1 tin Mole Dulce, Mano y Metate (2.2oz)

1 cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder (4.5 oz)

2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour (10.5 oz)

Pinch Sea Salt

 

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sea salt, and Mole Dulce. Set aside.

 

In stand mixer bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs, about half at a time, making sure to incorporate fully into the batter before each addition. Scrape down bowl frequently to help fully incorporate all ingredients. Add vanilla. Mix. Add flour mixture all at once and very slowly mix until a soft dough forms. If dough is still too wet and sticky add a few pinches more flour. If dough is too dry add just a couple drops of water. The goal is to have a smooth soft dough that can be rolled/shaped easily, but also take care to not overwork the dough.

 

At this point, form the dough into either patties that can later be rolled out, cut and baked OR roll the dough into the desired size of logs that can be cut and baked. Cover dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

 

When ready to bake, Preheat oven to 350F.

 

If dough has been shaped into patties then gently roll to desired thickness, cut desired shapes. If dough was rolled into logs then gently cut to desired thickness with a sharp knife to avoid crushing the logs.

 

Place evenly on parchment lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle tops of cookies with a bit of sugar, a sprinkle of sea salt or both.

 

Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes, or until just set. Cookies should still be slightly soft to the touch as they will firm when cooled. Let cool completely before serving.

 

Pollo Milanesa

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Hello friends, Amy here today making a dish my mom imagined, and I’m so happy to report that it’s a keeper. Chicken Milanesa is a crunchy breaded cutlet of breast meat. Beef Milanesa in a torta (sandwich) is a Mexican favorite! My mom makes excellent Pollo Milanesa with panko, Japanese bread crumbs, which she plates as a main course. She had the idea to season the crumbs with Mano Y Metate Pipian Rojo powder. Another day I’ll try it with other varieties of mole powder. The flavor of the Pipian really came through in the finished dish.

Start with a whole chicken breast in a heavy duty plastic bag.

Then pound gently until the meat is very thin.

I cut the breast in a few pieces. This time, I forgot to dredge in flour first, which makes a thicker coating. Then dip the meat in a beaten egg.

I seasoned panko bread crumbs with Pipian Rojo powder. Salt to taste, if you like.

The seasoned crumbs stick to the egg coated chicken, but I pressed extra on to the meat.

Use one hand for the wet egg and the other for the dry crumbs, keeping your hands a little less messy…

Place the meat in a medium hot skillet with small amount of neutral frying oil.

It only takes a few minutes per side for the crumbs to brown and the inside to cook.

Spicy, juicy and tender. It would be perfect served with rice, beans and a salad, but I just ate them as quickly as I made them. Thanks for the idea Mom!

Update: Then I made a torta with homemade mayo, home pickled jalapenos, lettuce from Tucson CSA, tomato and avocado on a bolillo. YUM!

 

 

Holiday Brunch: Enchiladas with Sweet Winter Squash and Mole Negro

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Merry Christmas from Amy and family! We celebrated with a brunch of enchiladas with Mano Y Metate Mole Negro, filled with sweet winter squash, and served with beans and eggs. Hearty and healthful, to offset the cookies and sweets.

I started with a giant ha:l, a Tohono O’odham sweet orange fleshed winter squash. I got this one from Crooked Sky Farms via Tucson CSA. The safest way to open it is dropping it on the hard floor!

After prying it open, I removed the seeds, carefully removed the thick peel with a big knife, chopped it into bite sized pieces and simmered just until tender in vegetable broth.

Then I made the Mole Negro using a tin of Mano y Metate mole powder, oil and the squash cooking liquid.

Corn tortillas fried in oil until leathery are the backbone of rolled echiladas.

After dipping the tortillas in the mole, I filled with a squash and crumbled queso fresco.

These enchiladas are rolled and baked uncovered at 375 degrees F for maybe 20 minutes, or until heated though and bubbly.

Garnish with cilantro and more queso fresco. Perfect for brunch or any special meal of the day. Happy holidays!

Tortilla soup with Mano Y Metate

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Hello all, Amy here on a cold November evening. Lately I’ve been living off soups and here is tonight’s tortilla soup, red and savory from Mano Y Metate Pipian Rojo powder. My soup turned out mild, but you could make it with Pipian Picante to make it medium spicy.

I got the idea from a longtime customer and Desert Botanical Garden staff member last weekend at the annual Chiles and Chocolate Festival in Phoenix. My mom, sister and I had a great time, seeing old friends and talking about food and recipes.

 

Tortilla soup usually starts with tomato, but I had Tucson CSA tomatillos. They all went in the stove top cast iron grill pan, some for the soup and the rest for salsa tomorrow.

Once charred, I coarsely chopped and set them aside. This step makes the tomatillos so much more flavorful and mellow. For red or other colored tomatoes, the charring would be an optional step.

Then I cut the kernels from an ear of sweet corn. The shucked ear could be charred first if you wanted more toasty corn flavor.

Then I browned a chopped white onion, a few cloves of sliced garlic and the corn in a little oil.

To that I added a tablespoon Pipian Rojo powder, about a cup of chicken (or veggie or turkey) broth and chopped tomatillos. After simmering for a few minutes, it smelled great.

Then I fried corn tortilla strips in hot oil until lightly brown and very crispy.

In each bowl, cilantro and green onion from the CSA share went over the soup, as well as a sliced avocado and the crispy tortillas.

I sprinkled on chopped Oaxaca cheese, which melted into the hot broth. Oaxaca cheese is made by stretching, similar to mozzarella, and it melts like it, too. Chicken in bite sized pieces would be very nice, but I’m using it for another soup, and I didn’t miss it here. Finally, a drizzle of cultured crema and a squeeze of ripe lime (or any tart citrus) finishes it. !Buen provecho!

Tortilla soup with Mano Y Metate Pipian Rojo

Quantities of all ingredients are to taste

 

Onion

Garlic

Sweet corn

Pipian Rojo powder (1 tablespoon per 1 cup broth)

Tomatillos

Chicken (or veggie or turkey) broth

Salt to taste

Oil as needed

 

Garnishes:

Tortilla strips, fried crunchy and light brown

Cilantro

Green onion

Avocado

Oaxaca or mozzarella cheese

Crema or sour cream

Lime squeeze

 

 

 

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.

Black Bean Mole Negro

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Hello, Amy here on a cool, rainy day in Tucson! For an upcoming potluck, my classmates have requested I bring a dish with “my spices”. For this group, it needs to be vegetarian, so I’m making my friend Barb’s black bean, sweet potato dish. She says it’s her mix of a couple recipes, a stew and a chili. It is always a hit and I know it will wait patiently in a slow cooker from morning until lunch break.

I started with a collection of veggies from my Tucson CSA share and a tin of Mano Y Metate Mole Negro.

In the fall Crooked Sky Farms sent us dry beans, and roasted chiles that I squirreled away in the freezer. Recently the shares have included Beauregard sweet potatoes, yellow onion, cilantro, I’itoi onion, and bountiful celery! Normally I love celery leaves, but I used very few today because these were so strong. I’ll dry them to use as a seasoning.

Once defrosted, I peeled, stemmed and seeded the chiles, saving all the juice.

I started by cooking the onion in oil. Then went in a clove of garlic and the celery, sweet potato, and chile. After all was soft and starting to brown, I added a tin of Mole Negro.

When all was smelling delicious, I added a can of tomatoes and some water.

Previously, I had sorted and soaked a pound of beans. I cooked them in a slow cooker until tender.

Then into the veggies with the cooked beans and all their broth. Simmer for a bit, salt to taste, and done! Garnish with cilantro and I’itois.

 

Easy Homemade Chorizo, Vegan Cauliflower or Traditional

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Cauliflower chorizo on bean tosdada

Hello, Amy here on a cold sunny day looking for spicy comfort food. I remember my grandfather made huge batches of great homemade chorizo, usually from beef, and froze it in half or quarter pound balls for use later. We had it for breakfast mixed into skillet fried potatoes like hash, or scrambled into eggs and wrapped in hot flour tortillas. Also, he would mix it into mashed pinto beans for tostadas.

It turns out that Mano Y Metate Adobo powder is nearly all you need to season homemade chorizo. I’ve made it with beef, lamb, a mix of pork and beef, or tofu with great success. Extra firm non-silken tofu, squeezed of excess water, was surprisingly realistic when well fried and scrambled into eggs.

But I recently heard of someone making chorizo out of cauliflower, and sure enough, a quick internet search turned up plenty of variations. Cooks added all manner of creative ingredients with cauliflower to simulate a meaty taste and texture. I happened to have a huge beautiful head of cauliflower from Tucson CSA/Crooked Sky Farms, so I simply substituted cauliflower for raw meat to start. YUM! While searching, I also found a dozen places to substitute cauliflower for other traditional ingredients. Potatoes, wheat, rice, look out!

The following measurements are strictly to taste, and you can always spike with some crushed chiltepin or hot crushed red chile.

I put about half a pound of ground beef with a tin of Adobo powder and two teaspoons of vinegar. Yes, the whole tin. If you use less, it could be bland. I did the same with a cup of (packed) cauliflower I had minced in the food processor.

If possible, marinate in the refrigerator for a couple days.

Then fry in a skillet until brown. The cauliflower needed quite a bit of oil to brown, the beef none. Salt to taste.

Then I heaped the cauliflower chorizo on a bean tostada, and garnished with cilantro and I’itois green onion. I’ll be serving that at a vegetarian potluck very soon!

Roasted Veggies with a hint of Pipian

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Happy Thanksgiving week! Amy here, planning the menu with the cooking team, which is pretty much everyone in our family. It’s fun to mix it up and offer something interesting for the big meal, but it can’t stray too far… on Thursday.

A few years ago my sister and I spiced the veggies with a dusting with Mano Y Metate Pipian Picante powder and a splash of Alfonso olive oil before going into the screaming hot oven.

This was a Tucson CSA mix of small Red La Soda potatoes, Glendale Gold onions, a Beauregard Sweet Potato and cubes of this unknown winter squash. If I had carrots or mild turnips, I would have added them, too.

Pipian Picante is medium spicy, but for a mild dish, use Pipain Rojo. The two Pipian are nearly the same recipe, but Pipain Rojo is made with Santa Cruz Mild Chile from Tumacacori, Arizona, while Pipian Picante uses Santa Cruz Hot Chile. This chile is fruity and flavorful. It’s bright red in color and the flavor matches the color. Of all the varieties of mole powder that I make, these two are the only ones that use only one type of chile, because this chile is special enough to stand on its own. By the way, if you’re looking for a fun road trip to take out of town guests, the little Santa Cruz Chili and Spice Sore is fun and right across from the mission.

Both Pipian Rojo and Pipian Picante are made with lots of pepitas, or pumkin seeds, along with almonds and a few sesame seeds. It also features plenty of coriander (cilantro) seeds and canela, the soft, easy to break sticks of Ceylon cinnamon.

Sweet cinnamon, sweet chile, and evaporated cane juice in the Pipian go great with the beautiful winter squash that usually looks sweeter than it is. And the kick in the chile is great on the sweet onion and sweet potato. The finished dish is unquestionably savory and spicy. I hope you like it as much as we do. Add a sprig of rosemary from the garden if you have it, just for fun.

 

Now, for Friday after Thanksgiving, I recommend Enmoladas with Turkey. These are enchiladas made with mole instead of just chile. Please forgive the candlelit photo, but this is all I could take before it was devoured! For the recipe, go to my very first post on this blog, and substitute leftover turkey for the amaranth greens filling.

Thank you to my family that helped me sell mole at the Desert Botanical Garden and Tohono Chul, and my friends that helped me fill and label tins to prepare for the events. Mil Gracias.

Mole Roasted Garbanzos

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Hello, Amy here, sharing an EASY, tasty and very satisfying recipe. My sister Laura made and photographed these, so THANK YOU to her!

Garbanzos have always been a favorite. They are a fun plant in the winter garden in the low desert. Tucson CSA occasionally has them in the shares as well. To start this recipe from dried garbanzos, just soak and cook as normal in the slow cooker, pressure cooker, solar oven or on the stove. However, my sister started with canned beans. So easy! Just rinse and drain thoroughly.

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Laura put the garbanzos on a cookie sheet with a splash of olive oil. Then she sprinkled them liberally with Mano Y Metate Pipian Picante and a dash of salt. Because she likes heat, she also used black pepper and crushed red chile!

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She put the cookie sheet in a screaming hot oven, like 450 degrees! and watched them very carefully so the spices did not burn.

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When they’re crunchy, they’re done!

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They do not keep their crunch the next day, so eat soon after they are cool. Sprinkle on a salad or nibble them plain as a snack. Enjoy!