cruising the web for mole enchilada recipes, i didn’t find vegetarian versions which sounded remotely tempting. my non-veg mexican comrades, particularly paulina and roberto, are probably chuckling at my vain search, but i’m coming right back at them with a simple little recipe i wrote, playing with various recipes and adapting:

mole poblano enchiladas

• mole paste (i don’t know how to make mole from scratch. when i once asked amal’s roommate, carlos, how to make mole, he said his mama always bought it in a jar. i think the brand i like is called sabores aztecas. do you know how to make mole? will you teach me, please?)

• vegetable broth

• corn tortillas (roberto was sorely disappointed with our tortilla options at kroger in
  knoxville, but the tienda was closed)

• garlicky sautéed vegetables: red onion, scallions, corn kernels scraped off the cob, spinach, roma tomato, green and yellow bell peppers, maybe zucchini, parsley or cilantro. at the end, a pinch of mexican oregano, pinch of cumin, pinch of cayenne pepper.

• scrambled eggs (only if there are eggs left over after baking tonio’s birthday cake)

• mexican cheeses

in a saucepan on medium heat heat a large dollop of mole paste until it bubbles. add broth and whisk. add a bit more mole paste and broth in turns, stirring and simmering and drinking in the spicy chocolaty wondrous fragrance. turn the heat to low. fry the tortillas on both sides one at a time in a ¼” of oil. the crisper side will be on the outside of the enchilada. immerse the happily fried tortilla in the mole sauce while you slide its unfried friend into the frying pan. mole-coated tortilla lies down on a plate and you fill it with vegetables, scrambled eggs, cheese and roll it up. mmm… messy. i vaguely recall that rajeev’s opera-singing sweetie, cecilia, sticks a toothpick in each enchilada to hold it in rolled-position while it waits for the others to help fill the baking dish, but i may be making that up. she and her classical guitarist sister, flame, made yummy spinach enchiladas for our family once. pour the remaining warm mole sauce over the enchiladas and top with more queso. to be ridiculous like me, put a smidge of sour cream and a sprig of parsley on each serving.

i’m listening to meshell ndegeocello’s ‘bitter’ and the coup’s ‘pick a bigger weapon’ as i write tonight. i can’t get over the lush brilliance of these two albums. it’s good to be back at highlander this evening. quiet. for the last three days i’ve been in atlanta for the u.s. social forum planning meeting with my co-worker, roberto. if you and everyone you love aren’t registered yet for the u.s. social forum (june 27- july 1 in atlanta, georgia), do it now! i returned from the meeting feeling ecstatically hopeful about this opportunity to party, mingle, learn, and strategize with tens of thousands of people from across the country, and maybe the world.

friday morning, i finally washed my laundry and (bam!) unpacked my things. i’ve been balking, continuing to live out of a suitcase. i’ve been unwilling to admit i’ve left durham, even for a few years, even for a few weeks. i had to unpack, or i was going to pick up my things and board a greyhound to durham. kim diehl sent me a heartening postcard today:

Hey there! Been thinking of you & wanted to send a big hug all the way from the tropics [she lives in Miami] up to the mountains of Tennessee. I know you’re going to be a kick ass asset to the Highlander & will be rockin’ with your New Market neighbors in no time. Feel free to give me a holler anytime. I’m here. Much ♥, Kim

 

kim and i used to work together at southerners on new ground (SONG) back when she was the co-director with pam mcmichael (highlander’s current director). kim works with critical resistance and the women’s fund of miami-dade county. she’s the best tennis player i know. she wrote a piece in the last issue of left turn mag about black labor (look in the same issue for the piece isabell and i wrote about intergenerational organizing in the south) and she has a piece in the book outsiders within: about transracial adoption.

 

roberto and i enjoyed our drive to atlanta. after checking into the hotel, we met up with paulina and had a long, delicious dinner at the vortex in midtown. i had a black-bean burger, soaked in hot buffalo wings sauce and spotted with jalapeno sour cream. paulina and roberto get so hilariously giggly when they’re together. robert-john, coya and brandon arrived late to the hotel.

the meeting was long and productive. about 30 folks from incredible southern grassroots organizations, with a sprinkling of folks from regional groups like highlander and project south, as well as a handful from the national u.s. social forum committee. steph guilloud is an awesome facilitator and she moved us adeptly through consensus decision-making about vision, and how to engage the southeast region in the u.s. social forum. my role was primarily to represent highlander and future 5000’s involvement in mobilizing youth towards the forum.

after the meeting, deepali, will and will’s boyfriend jonathan took us to a dinner spot where i could devour tilapia tacos. saturday night, we went to the sex workers art show and witnessed a fantastic, deep, scandalous, humorous series of performances. i ran into bree carlson, an old friend who used to live in durham. she’s a dismantling racism trainer. i had hoped cara page and her partner kai would be there, too. i skipped out on dancing (this is rare) and headed to the hotel for a steaming bubble bath. 

the next morning, we met for a few more hours, set up a process for further decision-making, outlined our tasks, took pictures and bid farewell. paulina took our crew to beaufort highway where the immigrant groceries and small businesses are. we went to a latin@ mall called plaza fiesta and ate delicious things in their food court.

i drove the whole way back to knoxville. i talked with joseph, my first sweetheart, for the first time in a long time. something i’ve been longing for, but nervous about.

when roberto woke up, we planned tonio’s birthday dinner (probably mole poblano enchiladas; calabaza; salad; something involving kumquats and strawberries; juice; pina colada; and mexican chocolate with peppermint schnapps). we topped off our plan with sparklers and little firework lanterns. i stayed at roberto’s big beautiful collective- the chickamauga house- and woke up cold, even in my down sleeping bag.

today elandria, susan, tufara and i met over the phone with people from SOUL, CJNY, and reflect and strengthen about the national youth organizing training institute.

tonio ended up going to asheville for dinner with another buddy for his birthday, so we’ll fix dinner for him on thursday instead.

great news! my little brother rajeev is a semifinalist for the unc thomas wolfe scholarship. i’m awful proud and keeping my fingers crossed that the judges will be the sort who can recognize literary genius.

i miss him! i remain tired, homesick, and disconsolate. maybe sit-ups will get me to chin up. or baking a mango buttercream cake for tonio. or watching hema malini dance. sad about her joining the fascist BJP. my girl monica, the one who dances bollywood-style with me, the one with the dazzling smile and the dumpster-diving spunk, she has drawn an image of an equation: broken heart plus lightning equals whole heart. the lightning is her.

around these parts, i am still searching for:

1. a house to move into in three months close to or on the mountain
2. a car
3. an old-time fiddle teacher
4. a radical therapist, like my friend stephen hawthorne back home
5. a good massage
6. the nearest farmer’s market
7. some friends
8. a trustworthy can-opener
9. capoeira