Traditional and Contemporary Foods

[Meat] [Fish] [Poultry] [Vegetables] [Legumes] [Rice] [Bread] [Fruit] [Desserts] [Beverages]

 

Meat

 

Meat Pies

2 pounds ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste
Indian fry bread

Brown meat, pour off fat. Add onion and pepper, saute 5 minutes. Drain. Pinch off enough fry bread to make 16 patties, 6 inches in diameter. (Don’t have very thick.) Fill each patty with 2 tablespoons of meat mixture, fold over and seal edges with tines of a fork dipped in flour. Fry, turning once, to a light brown. Drain on paper towels. Makes about 16 meat patties.

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Fish

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Poultry

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Vegetables

 

Squash-Potato-Corn Casserole

1 lb. bacon, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
5 zucchini squash, sliced
5 yellow squash, sliced
1 lb. bag of frozen corn (or fresh cut off the cob)
1 roasted, peeled and chopped New Mexico Green Chile (optional)
salt & pepper to tasteFry bacon in a large cast iron frying pan, add onions when bacon is nearly done. When bacon & onions are done, pour off excess oil into container for later use. Take bacon and onions out, and place aside.

Pour potatoes into frying pan and brown until tender, adding extra bacon grease, if required. When potatoes are nearly done, add zucchini and yellow squash. Once squash is translucent, add corn. Return the bacon & onions, and continue to cook until corn is warmed from the rest of the mixture.

 

Corn Fritters

1 large can of whole kernal corn, drain and save liquid
1 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup corn liquid
cooking oil
powdered sugar

Mix all dry ingredients, add milk, corn and corn liquid, beaten egg, and mix well. Drop by teaspoonful into Hot oil, cook until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels, then roll in powdered sugar.

 

Traditional Indian Corn Soup

Recipe by:
Loren (Lolly) Greene
1928 - 1999 Before Indian Corn can be used for Corn Soup it must be thoroughly dried. The corn is picked in the late fall, the husk pulled back, then braided into three foot long bunches and hung up in the barn so the crows can't get at it. Before Indian Corn (which is white) can be cooked into corn soup, it must first be put through a process called "lying:. Lye is an extremely strong acid found in hardwood ashes. This is what the traditional Indians used as it was abundant from their campfires. This lying process softens the outer shell somewhat and allows the two black eyes found on each kernel of corn to be washed off after cooking. There are very few Indians adept at preparing the dried white corn in this manner. The amount of wood ashes to be boiled with the corn is a very tricky task to accomplish properly. Too much lye will destroy the corn and too little will not do the job. Therefore we leave this to the "lyers" of the tribe. The corn is boiled with the hardwood ashes and water for about two hours. Then it is washed to remove the eyes or hulls and to rinse the corn free of lye. The Tuscarora reservation has three or four "lyers" who perform the difficult and messy task of "lying". A "lyer" will do a large amount of corn in a day depending on how many orders she has to do for the tribal members. I get my "lyed" corn from Mrs. Norton Rickard of Blacknose Spring Road. Usually I order five quarts at $3.00 per quart. I then divide it into three parts. I will freeze two of them and cook one part...about a quart and one half. Traditional Indian Corn Soup Wash and put 1 1/2 quarts of "lyed" Indian White Corn in an 8 quart pot. Fill with water 3/4 full and cover. Bring to a boil and keep at a rolling boil for 1 1/2 hours, corn should open full. You may want to cook corn a while longer . If the corn is not fully open, stir occasionally. Do not let it stick to the bottom of the pan. While the corn is cooking, cut up 1 1/2 lbs of pork shoulder butt steaks into 3/4" square pieces. Do the same with 3/4 lbs of salt pork. Place meat in a separate pan and boil for 1 hour. Water should cover pork 4" or so. Add if necessary...you will need this for stock. After the corn opens to your satisfaction or two hours maximum, remove from stove and pour through strainer. Do not rinse corn. Rinse out pot and put corn back into pot. Add the cooked pork along with the stock. Open three 1 lb cans of dark red kidney beans and add. Rinse cans, add water to cover mixture 3 inches or so. Boil mixture for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding water in necessary. Stir occasionally, do not let it stick to the bottom of the pot.

Serve in individual bowls, season with salt and pepper after serving. Best if eaten with homemade, warm yeast bread and freshly churned butter.

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Legumes

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Rice

 

Wildest Rice Casserole

Take 1 lb. of Northern Wild Rice Soak over night. Gather Shitaki Mushrooms from the great Boreal Forest Floor and gently wash and pat dry. If not availble a can of canned mushrooms from your local store will work. Peal and cut one onion, three stalks of celery, put aside for now. Hunt and field dress a 1/2Ton Moose for ground moose meat. You need 1lb. of ground Moose. Or you can always go the corner grocer and buy lean ground beef. Fry the meat and the veggies and put in casserole dish for now, set aside. Take the Wild Rice and boil till aladenta {par cooked}. Place Wild Rice with Veggies and Meat in the casserole and pour in a can of tomatoes. Place in oven for 1 1/2 hours at 350F. Serve with the rest of the Moose if available. If not, serve with Roast Chicken or Steak. Serves 4

Jacqueline "Cloudy" Ballantyne

 

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Bread

 

Fry Bread

8 cups plain flour
8 heaping teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt, water & shortening

Sift flour and baking powder together, adding just enough water to make a dough. Knead about 3 minutes. Pinch off enough dough to make a round patty (face sized fry breads are the best), flatten with hand and punch a hole in the center. Drop into skillet of hot shortening and fry until light brown, turning once. Remove, drain on paper towels. Can be served hot with honey, jelly, or powdered sugar. Use it as a bun for hamburgers or hotdogs. Put taco fixings on top and make Indian Tacos. Rub on body as a cure for dry skin -- aaayyyyeee.

 

Low-Fat Fry Bread (for you health conscious people)

2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 cups white flour
4 level tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegtable oil
1 cup warm water

Mix together both flours, baking powder, and salt. Add vegetable oil a little at a time, only enough to make the mixture look like corn meal. Slowly add 1 cup warm water, only enough to make dough stick together. Roll into fist-sized balls. Cover the bowl with a towel for 10 minutes. Pat dough out with your hands to size of large pancakes. Fry in hot vegetable oil (375 degrees) until golden brown on both sides. Lower fat because: animal fat is customarily used.

 

Corn Sticks

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons lard, melted

Mix cornmeal, flour and salt. Add, milk, egg and lard; beat until smooth. "Fill well-greased cornstick" pans almost to the top. Bake in a preheated 425 degree F. oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 10 - 12.

 

Sagamite

Three parts of corn meal and one of brown sugar, mixed and browned over the fire was the food known as Sagamite.

 

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Fruit

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Desserts

 

Indian Pudding

3 cups milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger & cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter

In saucepan, mix milk and molasses; stir in cornmeal, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Cook and stir till thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in butter. Turn into a 1 quart casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 300 degrees F. for about 1 hour. Serves 6

 

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Beverages

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