"Mole. Bloody mole. We aren't supposed to talk about the bloody mole, but there's a bloody mole winking me in the face! I want to c-u-u-u-u-t it off, ch-o-o-o-o-p it off, and make some guacamole!"
This memorable line by the one Austin Powers was the first thing I thought about when today's suggestion presented itself, even though it has absolutely NOTHING to do with what I did. Why? Because of mole. The suggestion by Vikram was to make some mole (pronounced mo-lay), then give it out to people. I know what your thinking, and no I had no clue what it was either until I looked it up. Is it the cousin and or half brother of guaca, the vermin in the ground, or the hit ABC show. No, none of these were right. Not even close. But after some hearty research I found out it was a delicious Mexican sauce good for all things dipping and marinating. Nice, we're cooking today.
Fun food fact #7: There are at least 7 different types of mole that can be made. Fun food fact #6: tigers love pepper, they hate cinnamon. The first thing I had to do to get this kicked off was hit the store and find myself some ingredients, which surprisingly, I could find all at the small grocery place in Harlem near my girlfriend's house. Score. Then came the cooking, and while I often love to be domestic and cook a hearty meal, I was a bit nervous about how this was going to turn out, but you can't try if you don't try.
I set up in our kitchen and went to work. Onions, cumin, garlic, oregano, chili powder, chilis, chicken broth, and cinnamon. I grated the cinnamon by hand. BY HAND! That's dedication homes. Proof:
After about an hour or so, the first batch was ready, and it turned out delicioso. Muy delicioso. So batch two began. Once again perfect despite it looking weird along the way of cooking. After it was all said and done, I had my mole.
Now it was time to distribute my goods (that sounds like I'm dealing illicit things, but I promise mole is completely legal). I made myself a sign and headed over to Union Square because there are always a ton of people hanging around. Why I don't know other than the awesome break dancers that set up there. Does no one have a job in this city?
I set up shop near the subway entrance hoping to get a lot of traffic. I got a lot of traffic, and a
lot of CREEPED out looks. I guess I don't blame them, I mean how many
people sit on the street with a sign that says FREE MOLE? This guy does. I'm sure most people's initial thought was "what's the catch?" Do I have to dance the macarena or safety dance in order to receive such a prize? What the hell is in it? Is there czars flu in this (too soon?) Is this some hidden camera show to see if strangers will eat this random 'mole' that is actually digested lizard feet? No, friends, it's just good 'ole homemade mole. After some time, I found three people willing to take on the treat. Sandy, Mari, and Garrit. Thank you all for trusting in my and my sauce. Hopefully you found it enjoyable, and at the very least, got a nice new tupperware out of the deal. If you liked it please email me and let me know your thoughts so I can tell the world it's greatness.
I even had enough left over to cover my chicken I made for dinner, and I gotta say, it was good. Really good. Successful day.
Side notes here, I got an article written about in the New York Times! It's nuts! Read it here. I got to say it was amusing to read some of the negative comments that people wrote. 'Julie and Julia I think not'. No duh guy, Meryl Streep is not telling me what to do everyday. And even if she was that would be awesome because I would probably go to the Oscar's and she would donate.
Also, I am going to try today to make a 'Blog Friends' tool on the side so you can look at some of my friend's pages, which are pretty awesome, they deserve a look for sure. And as always, tell your friends, send in your suggestions, follow along on twitter, and donate if you can. Stay classy planet Earth. Watch football tonight.
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