Join Abe Sanchez from Chia Café Collective and TPF for a presentation and cooking demonstration using honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa). Mesquite beans are a nutritious, traditional food that has long been valued by indigenous civilizations from California and other parts of the Americas.
Learn about the history, nutritional benefits, and future potential of this common desert species, and if you like, follow along with Abe through Zoom as he prepares mesquite cookies.
Students can pick up honey mesquite flour from TPF during our normal business hours at no additional cost. All students will receive a copy of the recipe in advance. Or find or find this and recipes using traditional foods in Cooking the Native Way by Chia Café Collective, available for purchase here.
Abe Sanchez (Purepecha) is actively involved in the revival and preservation of Indigenous arts and foods. Two of his specialties are southern California American Indian basket weaving and native foods. His goal is to promote the decolonization of our diets by cooking and consuming native California and southwest plant-based foods. He works with traditional scholars and cultural specialists to learn culinary methods and cultural practices that he combines with his years of research and experience. He is particularly interested in traditional foods that are sustainable and readily available, yet underused. He believes that teaching about these ancient foods and helping people learn ways to gather, prepare, and eat them again will make a significant difference in our health and the health of our environment.