By Donna Johnston

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

1 C. Sunflower Butter
1/4 C. Honey
3/4 C. Sugar
1 Egg
1 C. Acorn Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder

Cream together first four ingredients. Add Acorn flour mixed with baking powder. Mixture may become heavy and sticky so you will have to use your hands. Best way to bake it is to make small pingpong sized balls and flatten them on top a little. They can also be rolled out and cut into shapes.
Bake at 375 degrees F. 8 minutes if rolled into balls, 7 if cut out into shapes. Watch carefully as they will get very hard if overbaked.

Frost if desired with Maple Glaze:
1/4 C. Maple Syrup
1C. Powdered Sugar
1/4 tsp. Vanilla (optional)
Mix ingredients well, thin with water one tsp. at a time until desired consistancy. Paint onto cooled cookies with pastry brush.
Enjoy!

This recipe is completely Gluten-Free. Other nut butters can be used. At 5000 feet altitude I use about 1/4 tsp. less Baking Powder. The sugar can be reduced by about 1/4 Cup and possibly replaced by more honey. If someone can make it work with NO sugar please send me some feedback. As a life long baker I never follow a recipe exactly anyway and usually fiddle with it until it suits my tastes.

Saturday, November 1, 2008
8am to noon
Downtown Phoenix Public Market – 721 N Central Ave
SE Corner of Central Ave. & McKinley St.
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
Website or Map: http://maps.google.com/?q=7…
Contact Info: 602-252-8977
Organized By: Jennifer and the Phoenix Permaculture Guild

Mesquite and Carob Milling and Slow Foods Mesquite Bake Sale
Sat Nov 1st from 8 AM to Noon
Requested Donation:
–Milling – $5 for each 5 gal bucket of beans milled

Also see: How We Run Mesquite Millings from Desert Harvesters

Join the Phoenix Permaculture Guild and Slow Foods Phoenix as they host a mesquite bean (and carob bean) milling and mesquite bake sale at the Market.

Bring your carob and mesquite pods for milling and enjoy samples of mesquite products, purchase mesquite baked goods and cookbooks.

Note on pods – be sure they are dry and free of leaves, twigs, stones and other debris that might clog the mill or impact the quality of the flour.

The mill will be located in the NE corner of the parking lot off of McKinley St. Look for the mill and milling tent next to it.

Saturday, July 13, 2008
10am to 1pm

At the home of Laurie Melrood, 1991 W. Calle Campana de Plata, between Speedway and Grant, off Silverbell

MESQUITE is a life giving tree for desert people and a veritable wealth of medicines and food can be found in all its parts. Now is about the time to harvest and use mesquite pods. We will harvest and
quick-dry the pods to grind a small amount of flour.
We will make a brunch using mesquite-based foods, prepare a dye and an eyewash from the pitch and leaves.
Bring gloves, a hat and container of water, wear long sleeves and covered shoes.

Cost: $40, includes all materials and foods, scholarships available

TO REGISTER, CALL LAURIE MELROOD AT 884-5202 OR EMAIL: lamidbar@gmail.com.

Saturday, June 28, 2008
10am to 1pm

At the home of Susan Lobo, in the middle of a wonderful mesquite grove
1415 E. Prince —west of Campbell, north side of street, light blue stand-up
mailbox, and sign saying “Rancho Prince” drive in, park and walk back to the
site about 100 yards. We will be in the shade

MESQUITE is a life giving tree for desert people and a veritable wealth of medicines and food can be found in all its parts. Now is about the time to harvest and use mesquite pods. We will harvest and
quick-dry the pods to grind a small amount of flour.
We will make a brunch using mesquite-based foods, prepare a dye and an eyewash from the pitch and leaves.
Bring gloves, a hat and container of water, wear long sleeves and covered shoes.

Cost: $40, includes all materials and foods, scholarships available

TO REGISTER, CALL LAURIE MELROOD AT 884-5202 OR EMAIL: lamidbar@gmail.com.

Noon to 4pm
Main Library courtyard
Downtown Tucson

Desert Harvesters staff and hammermill will be on hand to grind mesquite pods in delicious flour at this wonderful event – the greatest annual feast in Tucson
www.tucsonmeetyourself.org

from Lori Ladkison

2 1/2 cups cashews
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 1/2 cups fresh saguaro fruit

Blend cashews with sweeteners until smooth (vita-mix blenders do the
best job…others leave the cashews gritty), add saguaro fruit and blend
briefly until incorporated, but not long enough to break up too many of
the seeds.
If the mixture has gotten warm from blending, refrigerate until cool.
Put mixture into an ice cream maker and follow instructions. Add chunks
of saguaro fruit once mixture has begun to thicken but before completely
frozen.

Rita Gibbs

3/4 C butter, softened
1/4 C maple syrup (optional-use for a sweeter cookie)
1/8 C ground flax seed
1/8 C oat bran (or use ground up oats or flour if you don’t have this handy)
1/4 C chopped pecans or walnuts
pinch salt
1/2 C mesquite meal-any variety
3/4 C flour-white, wheat, spelt, etc.
*I use a wheat-free baking mix. It makes the cookies very light.

Roll out 1/4″ thick and cut with a cookie or biscuit cutter.
Bake at 300 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

Courtesy Desert Tropicals, www.desert-tropicals.com

Mesquite flour will give a delicate and distinctive flavor to your cakes.

2 1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. mesquite flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tbsp. salt
3/4 c. oil or non-dairy margarine
1 1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 c. milk

1. Sift the flours, salt, and baking powder in a bowl
2. Beat the sugar, vanilla, and oil or margarine in a separate bowl
3. Mix slowly the content of the 2 bowls, and the milk. Beat until smooth.
4. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9-inch round cake pans.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in a pre-heated, 350 degrees F oven.

BRAD LANCASTER
These recipes work best with cultivated prickly pear such as Opuntia ficus-indica. Young pad growth kicks in with the summer and late winter rains.

In the hotter months I love to eat the young pads raw in a very simple and refreshing dish Bill and Athena Steen showed me. Harvest small, young pads from this season. Slice off the small thorns (glochids), wash the pads, and then cut into strips. Salt them up, sprinkle with lime juice, and if you like (I do) splash with chile sauce. Eat ‘em up quick, as they will get a bit slimier with time.

To cook the dethorned, washed and cubed pads sauté them, watch for slime to appear, continue cooking, and when slime disappears the cooked cactus is ready to be seasoned or added to any dish you can imagine. If you don’t want to sauté them boil ‘em. Watch for foam to appear, and when the foam dies down the cactus cubes are done and ready for seasoning and mixing.

BRAD LANCASTER
This is a great way to enjoy mesquite without having to grind the pods. Boil mesquite pods in a volume of water twice the volume of mesquite beans along with a cinnamon stick for two hours, let it sit overnight, strain out the solids, then you’ve got one tasty drink which I usually serve chilled!

You can also prepare this like a sun tea, just put all ingredients in a glass jar with lid and set out in the hot sun for a day.