It's used mostly as a flavoring. According to the experts, you can replace up to 17% of the flour in your recipe with mesquite flour.

It has a strong fragrance that's reminiscent of cocoa and cinnamon with hints of mesquite wood. It smells heavenly. It is also naturally sweet and can replace part of the sweetener in a recipe.

Some people have created recipes that involve dredging a chicken breast in mesquite flour, but most just add it to their cookies, cakes, pancakes, and other things that none of us should eat anyway. Like all baked goods from non-gluten flours, things made from mesquite flour crumble and fall to bits when you look at them.

I've made muffins and pancakes of mostly egg, a little almond meal, and a little mesquite. They're good, but not brilliant. I think I just like opening the Tupperware it's in and smelling it best of all. Maybe I should put it out as little bowls of potpourri but it might make me crave cookies or something.

You can get a flour mill at kingarthurflour.com . I don't think they separate the seeds from the pods. I think they grind both together.

ETA: I think a coffee grinder would work better than a cuisinart.