Dust-Devil Pumpkin Mole Bowl with Tepary Beans

When the wind rearranges your patio furniture and your appetite at the same time, this mole bowl answers with cocoa depth, gentle heat, and tepary beans that refuse to be rushed. It’s autumn logic in a summer that forgot to read the calendar.

Fiction for the Club kitchen. Buy dried chiles and beans from folks who label the heat level. No dust devils were harmed.

What you'll need

• 2 cups cooked tepary beans (or black beans if the feed store is out of poetry)
• 1 cup pumpkin purée, 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed; 1 chipotle in adobo, minced
• 1 onion, 4 garlic cloves, cumin, cinnamon pinch, mesquite honey to finish
• Rice, cilantro, sesame seeds, lime wedges for serving

How it comes together

1. Toast anchos 30 seconds; soak in hot water 15 minutes. Blend with onion, garlic, chipotle, and a splash of soak water.
2. Simmer purée in oiled pot 5 minutes; whisk in pumpkin, broth, cocoa, spices. Stir 20 minutes till velvet.
3. Fold in beans; simmer 10 more. Sweeten with honey; salt until the bowl tastes like a welcome mat.
4. Serve over rice with cilantro, sesame, and lime — eat before the dust devil asks for leftovers.

Carl says: Leftovers improve overnight, like most honest stories.