| Ruins & Ancient Foods! |
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Introduction The page here is meant more for information, than for realistic use of the recipes. As you move around park museums, you see pretty pots, jars, baskets, and other utility items. But, as you strolled among the ruins, did you imagine making dinner 'tonight'? Collecting necessary food? Worrying about your children's tummies? Imagining a more basic life isn't easy, unless you've spent some time 'living off the land'. And even then, you knew at worst, you could return to 'civilization'. Right? |
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What We Know
BEST COOK BOOK?
We recommend 'Food of the Southwest Indian Nations' by Lois Frank (2002). First published in 1991, it's a gorgeous book, caring, and contains very practical and yummy recipes. You'll likely run into it at a museum shop. And you won't leave without it! In hidden areas of the cliffs, and sometimes in the back of cliff-pueblos, archeologists have found stored corn and collected foodstuffs. In a mogollon pueblo southeast of Pheonix, a burned-out section was filled with literally bushels of burnt corn, obviously just following harvest. They say that native diets were by necessity a combination of local agriculture (if developed), and collecting from the wild. You didn't just eat corn! And as you 'collected' (likely by women), unless it was springtime, you had to range further and further from the pueblo, always competing with other clans and nearby pueblos. If drought became a problem, the issue was whether to leave (with your pots/baskets?), or encourage someone else to leave. Not an easy decision. Where would they go? Would they die? The apache, in contrast, moved whenever collecting food became difficult or game animals few. Compare that to the pueblos. One of the great success stories of the period was the introduction of corn, very likely much earlier than the ruins you are visiting. Several varieties have been found, but the most successful could survive long periods without rain. In the southwest, winter rains come in from the pacific, and summer rains from the gulf. In between, are about four months (Mar-Jun, Sept-Dec), where everything slowly dries to a crisp. The corn variety could be planted up to 18" deep in the sand, where moisture was available. But the time the summer days were getting hot, the corn was about ready for harvest. In more rainy periods, they also stored the water, irrigating their plots. And in general, they would try to keep two years worth of corn in storage, in case of a drought the following year. Another issue you don't think too much about is 'having food'. If per chance, you had food and your neighbor didn't, would you share? For how long? And if your pueblo had food, but starving clans were coming down from the north San Juan, would you share? These were their problems. |
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Roasting Corn The method here is surprisingly (or not) similar to the method for cooking agave/mescal (below). It comes from the author cited above. You won't likely follow the steps here, but when you're visiting the various ruins, you might think about the process, and their daily life. First, dig a large pit, about 5' deep x 4' wide, and cover the bottom with rocks, followed by dry wood. In the southwest, this would normally be pinon pine (kind of a stunted pine tree), or juniper (known as cedar further east). Fire the wood, and let it burn until you have embers, with the walls warm. You'll need to get started in the morning, so the pit will be ready later. Next, put a layer of residual green corn husks and stalks/leaves on top of the embers, and then a layer of corn ears still in their husks. You'll need to fill the pit with the ears (about 75). Then, cover this with another layer of husks/stalks/leaves. Lastly, pour two buckets of water over the ears and cover everything with large burlap bags plus some dirt. Cook overnight. The next morning, take out the corn, let it cool, and then shuck the ears. At this point, you can eat it (almost a meal), or dry it several days. The above process is what you find these days (still). In ancient less prosperous times, you would more than likely dry the corn, shuck it, let it dry again, and then grind it in metates (usually basalt/volcanic stones). Some of the ruins have 'metate' rooms, where women would grind the corn and chat. Metates are interesting, since they're so purvasive. |
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Roasting Mescal/Agave This section is copied from our 'Nature' section ... read up and learn about many of the cactus in the southwest! Agave looks a lot like cactus but is different. You might know it as the 'century plant', since it takes a long time to bloom, and then dies. As little Arizonians, we knew what agave was for ... pin custions for mother's day! 'Wandering' type indian groups made considerable use of natural vegetation, and knew when the best times for harvesting (contrasting with the early pueblo indians who both farmed, and gathered). Agave (here) and mesquite beans were critical to their diet, because both could be stored for winter consumption, when there was not much else. Look at the agave or 'mescal' plant, and imagine how they figured out how to eat it! Get out that cookbook! First, there's two major agave groups here in AZ: agave palmeri, and agave parryi. 'Palmeri' is the larger type and generally grows in open grassy foothills and oak woodlands up to 6,500ft. If you've been southeast of Tucson, that would be pretty typical. Ours, or 'Parryi' is smaller with wide, foot-long leaves; it grows in clusters among oak and juniper up to 8,000ft. Collecting can be anytime, but the juiciest is in May right before blooming. As an 'ancient', to harvest, first you cut the plant at ground level with your sharpened stick (you'll need that when you go agave hunting). Next, you chop off the leaves with your broad-bladed stone knife (you do have one, right?). Then, dig a pit about 3ft deep and 7-8ft across and line it with stones. Fill the pit with firewood burned to charcoal, and cover the stones with green grass and the mescal on top of that. Cover this with excess leaves and then the dirt from the pit. Let cook for two nights. Mmmm, smell that agave! Early in the morning, open the pit and retrieve the mescal (agave) ... trim off the blackened part. Then sample the hearts, now brown with natural sugar. Heaven! Lastly, 'slice' off sections and pound them into 'cakes'. Spread them out for drying and storage. Now, if you're wondering, this required BOTH genders, illustrating how important it was. |
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Hominy Corn Growing up in Flagstaff, we 'lived' on hominy. Apparently it's mainly common in the south and southwest. The process here is from the author cited above. First, take a 3 to 1 ratio of water to dried corn kernals, and soak the corn overnight. Use an enamaled pot, since later cooking will react with metal. The next day, bring the corn to a boil over high heat, and then stir in a cup of 'culinary ash'. This ash comes from burning various green trees; navajo use juniper(cedar), while hopi use chamisa bushes. The resulting ash has a high mineral content, and when cooked, increase the color intensity while cooking. If you don't have ash, two tablespoons of baking soda will work. After stirring in the ash or soda, cover, decrease the heat, and let simmer for about 5 1/2 hours, until the hulls are loose. Periodically stir, and replace water as needed (don't let dry out!). When cooked, under cold running water, rub the kernals between your fingers to remove the hulls. To dry the hominy in a traditional way, lay the kernals out on a screen or basket in the sun, turning them every few hours. Else, stick them in your oven at the very lowest heat setting. |
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Posole or Hominy Mutton Stew If you visit the Hopi Cultural Center (recommended), they have a small restaurant with 'western' foods, plus several simple hopi dishes. This is one of them, with the recipe adapted from the author cited above. Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups of dried hominy (see above) 6 quarts of water About 1 1/2 lbs of cubed mutton (or 2 ham hocks) 1 small onion chopped 1 teaspoon oregano leaves, finely chopped 1 teaspoon azafran or 'saffron' (from hispanic stores) Soak the hominy overnight in a quart of water. The next day, drain and place the hominy in a pot with 5 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 4 hours, until the kernals are puffy and tender. Add more water, to cover the kernals, and then add the meat, and onions. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is tender. Lastely, add the azafran and cook another 15 min. Serve hot. Hopi food tends to be a little 'bland', but they do serve it with a cooked green chili, and fry-bread. |
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Piki Bread When we were small, the Museum of Northern Arizona, in Flagstaff, hosted a 'hopi' day, highlighting, the art, jewelry, culture and food of the hopi. In the small center courtyard, an older lady would sit in front of a HOT stone griddle, and make piki bread. We were amazed, since she never seemed to burn her hand. Our mom would always buy some for our pottery display at home. And as the year passed, the piki would slowly disappear. Mmmmm! Making piki is an art and ritual, and a young bride was not suitable until she had mastered the art. Some pueblos even had special piki-making rooms. You're not likely to make it, but you can get it at the Hopi Cultural Center (restaurant, or gift shop). Essentially, you make a real thin paste of finely ground blue or yellow cornmeal. Step-wise, first create a dough with hot water, and knead it until it is smooth and all lumps removed. Let it sit for about 10 min. Next, build a fire under a 'piki' stone (we use a high-quality pizza stone). While the stone is heating, add a mix of water and culinary ash (see above; 3 tbs of ash per 8 cups of water), until you have a very thin batter, similar to cream. OK, here's the part us little kiddos couldn't believe. Grease the hot stone. They used watermelon seeds. You'll need to re-grease every 2-3 piki. Dip your hand in the batter, and quickly spead it across the stone, moving left to right and then back again. Continue doing this to cover the stone, overlapping the passes. You need to do this pretty quickly. When the piki is done, the edges will separate from the stone. Carefully pull it up and set it temporarilty aside in your 'piki tray' (basket). Make another piki, but as soon as the batter is dry, place your previous piki on top (prevents cracking). When the bottom is ready, pull both up, half-fold, and then roll, placing it on a tray. Repeat until you burn your hands! (joking). More seriously, if you do this, be very careful. Height-wise, it's easiest, if you're sitting on a stool near the fire, and the stone is just below your knees, almost to your side. |
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Collected Greens It's a little different when native-americans are collecting on their reservation, and you're collecting (usually) on federal land. The rules are different, so please check with your friendly ranger! Here's some ideas of greens you can add to your meals, listed from the author cited above. They're harvested usually in the springtime. Lamb's quarter (chenopodium album) Dandelion greens (taraxacum officinale) Mustard (descurainia pinnata) Wild mint (mentha arvensis) Purslane (portulaca oleracea) Also interesting: White sage (artemisia tridentata) Yucca blossoms (yucca baccata or elata) Prickly Pear (opuntia engelmannii) (usually harvested late-summer) Delicious recipes for the above are included in 'Foods of the Southwest' above. Recommended. |
| Copyright ©, 2008, dmbarnhart |
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