Day 251 - Guacamole, Chili-Chocolate Mole, Seitan in Mole Sauce, andStrawberry-Plum Crisp

Guacamole

This may be the easiest, clearest, most customizable guac recipe I've ever made. I like how I&T start with the most basic, mandatory ingredients and list the other items as add ins. Of course, Ryan is here, so there will be no cilantro. Instead, I went with jalapeño, diced tomato, cumin, and garlic, i.e. everything else.

It's interestingly light in color... maybe because it's so fresh?

SFO: 10

Chili-Chocolate Mole

Mole is one of those things I'm not sure I understand. People speak of it with a kind of reverence, but I suspect that even if I were in the presence of a spectacular mole, I might not have the ability to know why. I remember hearing on some food program that a mole sauce should taste like its own flavor, i.e. not like any one of its ingredients, which is definitely not the case here. This mole really tastes like peanut butter to me. But I'm not complaining - I love peanut butter!

What an interesting ingredient list: crushed tortilla chips, almonds, sesame seeds, anise seeds, chile powders, cinnamon, marjoram, allspice, cumin, tomatoes, chocolate, of course garlic and onions, and the aforementioned peanut butter. I couldn't wait to see what this would taste like...

And it tasted great! A lot of those strong flavors did disappear, most notably the anise seeds, chocolate, and surprisingly the tomatoes, but the peanut butter definitely held court. And again, I found this to be undersalted. But when all is said and done, I'm very happy to eat this!

SFO: 10

Seitan in Mole Sauce

I'm even happier to eat this over some homemade seitan. This seitan/mole comba makes for a nice, chunky stew! This would be a perfect, wintry comfort-food dinner! I served it over a plain white rice, which tasted great! Again, the peanut butter ruled, but hey, I'm the one always ordering things in peanut sauce at Thai restaurants so I'm in!

SFO: 9
This all hinges on your acceptance of seitan as a protein. So I took a point off for potential seitan-a-phobia.

Strawberry-Plum Crisp

This is almost a great, quick, easy dessert recipe to throw together for a homemade summer dinner! 

As I&T speculate, yes, plums and strawberries make great buddies here. The end product features a nice gluey red shlar filling, and I mean that in the best way possible. 

As far as I'm concerned, a crisp's top can't be crispy enough, and this one wasn't quite fulfilling on its promise. I think it could've used more topping, and it might've helped to bake it a little longer.

Also, not sure why, but this crisp had an overall off taste. Was my oil not quite good? Or was it the cloves in the filling? Something was just... off.
 
SFO: 8
Points off for a subpar version of something that should've been nailing it.