One of my splurge buys at the Living Light Marketplace was mesquite powder, something I’ve never worked with before and didn’t know much about.
It looks and smells a lot like raw cacao powder with a rich, chocolaty smell. And it seems like it’s used in a lot of raw chocolate desserts and savory chili recipes.
So I got experimental to create a raw chili noodle salad.
Mesquite Noodle Salad
- 1 large or 2 medium cucumbers, spiralized
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne (optional)
- 1 tsp. raw cacao powder
- 1 tsp. mesquite powder
- 1 tsp. chili powder
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and enjoy. Makes about 4 servings.
Cucumbers spiralize very well, but tend to be moist and produce a lot of liquid in salads which is great for tossing with dry seasonings.
And makes a pretty presentation for a noodle salad.
The flavors worked great together, like a fresh and cool chili mac salad with a hefty amount of kick. You can skip the cayenne pepper if you’re not a fan of a lot of spice.
Veggie noodles are just fun to eat, my World Cuisine Spiralizer is probably one of my favorite summertime kitchen gadgets. And Smokey’s too since she’s obsessed with veggie noodles, like dental floss, watching me eat intently looking for an attack opportunity.
Thankfully, she hasn’t gone after them yet. But those little wheels are turning.
yay for mesquite! we love that stuff. glad you had the chance to play around with it and like it!!!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I’m looking forward to trying dessert recipes with it next and I’ve gotta try some of the Irish Moss recipes from your site too!
raw chili noodle salad sounds great and good point “Cucumbers spiralize very well, but tend to be moist and produce a lot of liquid in salads which is great for tossing with dry seasonings.”
mesquite + a kick…perfect!
and your food photography is growing. I love seeing the images get better and better looking!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Thanks on the salad, can’t wait to try dessert recipes with mesquite next.
I’ve been playing with LR3 and PS CS5.1 for the pictures, still learning because PS has changed a lot from my college days. But having a blast, you’d love PS because the auto-correct tool is awesome just for cutting unwanted stuff or people out of photos. :-P
I agree with Averie, your photos are getting more amazing! New lens?!
Smokey is so cute! I have never had mesquite powder, there is always something new out there in the foodie world!
Hope your weekend was great! xoxo <3
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Thanks on the photos, I’ve been working with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
True on foodie ingredients, I could drop a lot of money on exotic foods! I’ve gotta tray a dessert recipe with mesquite next.
Hope you’re having an awesome weekend too!
You outdid yourself on this recipe! It’s looks incredible — and demonstrates that raw meals can be quick and packed with flavor! YUMMY!
oh i have wanted to try mesquite powder for sure! love the raw noodles too :)
I still haven’t tried veggie pasta – can I make it sans spiralizer?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Sure, you could used a peeler or julienne veggies.
That does look good! Funnily enough, my friends have just discovered my spiralizer and for some reason I have been constantly asked if one can spiralize cucumber…. I always thought that an odd question. I didn’t think of the releasing of liquid thing going well with dry ingredients, so that is definitely helpful!