On a Rampant Raging Chocolate Hunt

I've decided that chocolate is not a tiny, sweet moment of bliss. It is not some sinful bite you sneak while soaking sore feet in a bathtub at the end of a stressful day. It is the main course.

That's why I'm on a quest to make the perfect Mole*. From scratch. (Yes, I can hear all of you Mexicans out there laughing at me right now, "Mole from scratch?!?!?! That's what my bisabuela did! JAJA!!! Just go to the tienda down the corner and buy a paste.")

And that's the reaction I got when, after looking for a good recipe online and discovering that not only are there as many variations in Mexico as there are regions but also as many as there are HOUSEHOLDS, I walked into a tienda and mistakingly asked the 19-year-old clerk, "Have you ever made Mole from scratch?" You would've thought I had walked in with two heads and covered in green slime!

This young clerk replied that Doña Maria was on Aisle 6. "No, I've made it with Doña Maria, but I want to make it from SCRATCH!" was my reply, trying to be as polite as possible. She turned to her manager, standing near, and they gave each other a blank stare. He was kind enough to take me back to the meat department, where he asked the butcher if she had ever made it from scratch. She pointed down the way to yet another brand of mole paste...

Seriously? How hard can it be? Or do we live in such an age of convenience that if we don't have an app for it, we won't do it?

For all of you who have never heard of Mole:  It is a thick, rich, AMAZING Mexican sauce involving more items than I have in my cupboards, fridge, and all my spices put together. It is complicated, sweet, slightly tangy/spicy without the burn, and has just a dash of chocolate thrown in. It is served over chicken or turkey on a plate of rice (more on true home-style Mexican rice sometime soon, too!). It is the heart and soul of Mexican celebrations. It is the national sauce, no contest. It is THE most overlooked and neglected food item in Mexican cuisine this side of the border!!!

I love Mole. It says "Mexico" to me, incapsulating so much of my experience in that land, that when I do get a taste of it, it brings back Inez y su familia, Monte Horeb, Tere, Cerro Colorado, building, sunshine, smog, learning & butchering Spanish, making sweet friends I wish I'd kept up with, and the smell of wood, sawdust, and sweat.

So, I'm going to be making Mole one day this week. Keep watching for my post letting you know whether I mastered it or totally blotched it completely!

*Pronounced: Moh-ley

PS! If you know of any other dish from around the world involving chocolate in a non-dessert way PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!!! Thanks =)