Think Thin Tuesday: A Molar Eclipse of your stomach

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NERD ALERT NERD ALERT NERD ALERT: Do you know what today is? It’s MOLE Day.

Oh moliest of days – when the number of elementary particles coincide with a chemistry teacher’s calendar on October 23rd nerds can rejoice.  Today is a day to sit around the Bunsen burner, telling ghost stories of days of dark days before a standard unit of measurement was introduced as we watch our marshmallows roast with a shell of toasty carbon.  Turn to one another and say things like “What does Avogadro like in his hot chocolate?”  Answer: Marsh-mole-ows! Oh to be nerd on this moliest of days.

Celebrated annually on October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., Mole Day commemorates Avogadro’s Number (6.02 x 10^23), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry.  Each year has a theme and this year it’s a “Molar Eclipse” which is why my title is so puntastic today.  For those of you who aren’t [chemistry] nerds I’m sure this might be a little confusing.  High School science classes are a thing long past and while algebra is still something most of us need on a daily basis, a whine of “but I’m never going to need this” probably was true for most of you with respect to the mole.  Oh sure it’s a part of your daily life since chemistry IS life but it’s not anything the average person is sitting around contemplating. Still would you like a little refresher so you can feel like a smarty pants this morning?  You would?  Excellent!

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Q: How would you describe a sulfur-ically, stinky chemist?
A: Quite Mole-odorous.

Basically imagine the unit of a mole like zeroing out a scale.  In order to measure anything you need a standard to weight it against right?  Like telling me how much an apple weighs doesn’t mean anything to me if I have no concept of weight.  Whereas if you hand me a five pound brick I can then scale anything else I’m given to hold relative to the brick.  One object may be half a brick or another may weigh the equivalent of two bricks.  Simple enough right?  Well in chemistry as you know all the elements are made up of smaller components called atoms.  Those atoms are a mess of protons, neutrons and electrons.  Each element is going to have a different ratio of these components.  Chemists wanted a handy unit, a “brick” or in this case a “mole” by which to standardize all the elements relative to one another.

Carbon being one the most abundant and important molecules to life was set as this standard; the Carbon-12 isotope specifically which composed of 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons.  Okay I just threw a bunch of words at you so let’s rewind.  Carbon-12 is an isotope that is it’s one potential configuration of carbon.  See these molecules can be arranged in different ways, like legos, and so there are different forms of them.  Carbon-12 refers to the atomic mass 12 and where does this number come from?  Answer: The number of particles in the nucleus (center) of the atom.  The nucleus is composed of the protons and the neutrons so 6 + 6 = 12.

Okay great we have our element to use as a standard, Carbon, now how much of it should be 1 mole?  We want to evaluate weight remember so we’re going to be talking grams.  Well why not make it simple: Carbon-12 has an atomic mass of 12 so the number of grams set to 1 mole was also 12.  All that was left was to establish how many particles were present.  Answer: 6.02214X×1023    Yikes!  What to name that number?  It’s kind of a mounthful.  Enter Amadeo Avogadro – an Italian chemist and savant from the 18th century.  Avogadro didn’t actually set the constant used in chemistry today but he was the first to theorize that relative masses could correspond to molecular weights and be used to calculate the mass of a gas from a known volume.  I know mumbo jumbo right?  Suffice to say he was largely influential in chemistry and so the constant was named in his honor.  Though I’m not sure Avogadro is any less difficult for folks to say.  

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Anyway that sums it up for now.  I hope I managed to be somewhat clear and I didn’t bore the pants off people who may have already known this stuff.  In honor of the holiday I decided to try out this recipe for a Chili Mole.  I beefed it up a bit with buffalo meat, it was initially a vegetarian recipe, but even with the addition of some ground beef and a minor tweak here or there, it’s still a fantastically skinny recipe and extremely delicious.  You get tons of flavor from the spices, the chocolate and the meat but tons of nutrition from the pinto beans, squash and KALE.  Oh the kale is so nice in this–not at all bitter or unpleasant.  You’ll love it and feel so good about yourself for eating it.   Perfect for summer or fall since you can use summer squash or autumn squash in it though I do think I prefer the autumn varieties.  I went with a “delicata” squash which was similar in flavor to acorn squash if you can’t find it.  Now that the weather is FINALLY chilling down I have to say it is a really great blend of spice and warmth for a cool night.  Leftovers went quickly too.  Hip Hip Hooray for Mole Day! 

Pinto & Buffalo Chili Mole
adapted from Gourmet Magazine Nov 2007
makes 6 generous servings – photos are of half a serving 

• 2 medium dried ancho chiles, wiped clean
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  Q: How much does Avogadro exaggerate?
  A: He makes mountains out of mole hills.

• 1 dried chipotle chile, wiped clean
• 1 tsp toasted cumin seeds
• 1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 lb ground buffalo meat – 90% lean
• 3 medium delicata squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• ¾ pound kale, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
•  ⅛ tsp sugar
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 3 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed 

Slit chiles lengthwise, then stem and seed. Heat a dry heavy medium skillet over medium heat until hot, then toast chiles, opened flat, turning and pressing with tongs, until pliable and slightly changed in color, about 30 seconds. Tear into small pieces.

Pulse cumin seeds and chiles in grinder until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in oregano, cinnamon, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.

Cook onions in oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute, then add chile mixture and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.  Add in the ground buffalo and cook until heated through.

Stir in zucchini and kale and cook, covered, 5 minutes. Add zest, sugar, chocolate, tomatoes with their juice, and water and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in beans and simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt.

Per serving: 412 calories, 17 g fat, 6 g saturated, 33 mg cholesterol, 459 mg sodium, 434g carbohydrate, 13.5 g fiber, 26.5 g protein
Shown: half a serving.

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