INDIAN GARDENING AND COOKING Corn, beans, and squash. Corn, beans, and squash. Whenever the first European explorers of the North American continent encountered farming Indians they found the gardens full of corn, beans, and squash. In many places gardens also contained sunflowers and, of course, most seemed to have grown tobacco, but it was Zea, Phaseolus, and Cucurbita in Virginia, and New York and Indiana and North Dakota and Arizona and wherever crops were grown--which was pretty much that part of the country east of the Mississippi/Missouri rivers and what we today refer to as the Southwest--Arizona and New Mexico and parts of Colorado and Utah.
The beginning of all this goes back between 7000-9000 years ago in Mexico (the actual origins of agriculture in the Western Hemisphere are far from agreed upon, however the following account is fairly well substantiated). As the Ice Age ended in the north the environment elsewhere underwent changes as well and human populations were increasing. In other words--with more people living on the land and its resources and the land base staying the same size-- making a living tended to become increasingly difficult. Literally to make ends meet people had to work harder at the old pattern of hunting and gathering. This population/ resource squeeze forced people not only to intensify their efforts but also to try new approaches. One such approach was to begin to control the growth of one's own food. At first this was but a minor contribution to the total diet but as time went on and populations increased home grown food came to dominate the diet--corn, beans, and squash were the most important items in that diet in central Mexico. North of Mexico American Indian populations domesticated plants like sunflowers, marsh elder, lambs quarters, and several other species which produced large quantities of nutitious seeds.
Corn, in particular, underwent considerable change from the first recognizable varieties of 5000 to7000 years ago when "ears" were less than half the size of one's little finger. Between 3000 and 4000 years ago people were successful enough to settle in permanent villages and from that point on society rapidly became more complex. The Maya, Aztec, Zapotec, and other high civilizations of Mexico and Guatemala were all created on the energy generated by the corn plant with beans for protein and squash, avocado, chile peppers and dozens of other species added to the pot for variety--both nutritional and gastronomical.
And how did the core of this agricultural complex come to what is now the United States? Would that we knew. There is still plenty of mystery left in archaeology and this is one of the big ones. Many theories have been advanced but all suffer from the same shortcoming--there is, as of now, no archaeological proof. What seems to have happened is this...
Possibly 5000 years ago people living in the Ohio River Valley turned their attentions to harvesting larger and ever larger crops of plants we today identify mainly as weeds--giant rag weed, marsh elder or sump weed, lambsquarters, and (somewhere) sunflowers. Why? Probably for the very same reasons the ancient Mexicans started to experiment with growing their own corn--higher populations and increased competition for scarce resources ( a not unfamiliar theme in this day and age). Weeds, almost by definition, produce great quantities of seeds and grow in concentrations which would facilitate harvesting. There is ample evidence that some Indians, at about this time were growing--or at least encouraging--some of these weedy species. At any rate large quantities of these seeds have been recovered from sites occupied during this period.
The first of the Mexican domesticates to turn up north of Mexico are the squash, pumpkin, and gourd. The distinctions between a squash, a pumpkin, and a gourd are not at all agreed upon, and sometimes, rather than being different kinds of plants they are simply different stages in the growth and maturity of the same plant. A squash is not only edible at any stage of its life cycle, but can also be used, when matured and dried, as a container and rattle. These plants may have been domesticated as early as 3500 BC and corn seems to have lagged by almost 2000 years. Even then it was not exactly received with great enthusiasm. Although corn was grown before 500 AD none of the Indian groups seem to have made any dramatic conversion to maize and between 400 and 500 AD the climate of the Midwest apparently took a turn for the worse (colder and damper) which may explain why the corn, beans, and squash triumverate never really became established at this time. It was, in a sense, a false start. However between 800 and 900 AD the climate improved ( improved to such an extent that the Vikings settled Greenland and established a settlement in "Vinland" during this period).
This time corn was the major crop and a whole new technology and social order developed in a very short period of time. Archaeologists refer to this time as the Mississippian. Large towns and even a sizable city evolved during this time--roughly 900-1400 AD. The city was located on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from present day St.Louis (which had a substantial Indian population in those days) and had a population of 20-30,000. This city , now known as Cahokia (after the historic Indians who lived in the area), had at least one hundred mounds the largest of which--Monk's Mound-- is one of the largest mounds in the world (it was 700 by 1000 feet--about 16 acres--and 100 feet tall). All those people ate a lot of corn. If historic accounts are applicable then it can be calculated that it took about one eighth of an acre of corn to support one adult. An acre would generally yield from twenty to forty bushels. Inasmuch as Cahokia was but one of the several settlements in that area. It is safe to assume that each of these settlements must have been surrounded be miles of corn fields. Thirty thousand people would probably eat 20,000 or more pounds of corn per day
It was during this time (500 to 1000 years ago) that Indian agriculture became firmly established in the form observed by the first Europeans to arrive in the New World. Gardening tools were relatively simple. The basic tool was the digging stick- simply a sharpened stick which might be hardened by holding the tip in a fire. This was used to break up the ground after the cover of brush and forest had been cut and burned. Hoes were made of various materials including clam shells, stone, and the shoulder blades of elk and buffalo. In the Midwest it was the buffalo shoulder blade hoe which was the earmark of the agriculturalist. Rakes of wood or antler filled out the inventory. A system like that required considerable inputs of long, hard, and tedious work- virtually all of it done by women. Men helped clear land and assisted with the harvest. Women worked the soil, planted the crops, weeded, did much of the harvesting, and virtually all of the food preparation. They also gathered wild fruits, nuts, and grains in their respective seasons. Certainly not the least of their tasks involved the storage of the dried produce, and in this part of the country ( and other parts as well) "bell shaped" pits four to six feet deep and four or five feet wide at the bottom were dug and lined with grass and used as storage facilities primarily for corn but for other produce as well.
Gardens were located where lighter soils, soils which could be worked with the available technology, prevailed. Such areas were frequently along rivers- particularly here in the Midwest. Prairie soils were heavy and packed with fibrous roots. Despite the hard work involved in clearing wooded lands, forest soils were both fertile and workable an were therefore preferred. Every two, three, or four years the garden was moved to a new spot and the soil allowed to restore itself. Indian gardens were not tidy rectangular plots but tended to follow the pattern of the land. Within the plot itself (and a family might have several) hills were laid out on approximately four foot centers-- wider if beans were to be grown between the rows-- and each hill supported five to seven or eight corn plants. The purpose of hilling remains obscure, but my own experience suggested that they served several purposes. Probably the most important function is water control-- less water is apt to run off from brief summer storms and less water is apt to evaporate because the loose soil of the hill acts as a mulch of soil to keep roots and surrounding soil cool. Hilling, of course, kills weeds and because corn plants produce "prop roots" the hilled earth also serves to cover these and stabilize the plant. Indian corn varieties are generally short and have the ears located near the base of the plant so they tend to be more stable than modern varieties. Suggestions that the hills served somehow to protect the crop from frost seem far fetched.
Corn was planted in late April or early May-- after sunflowers. Beans and squash and pumpkins were planted shortly thereafter. Different varieties of corn were planted in different fields because, as the Indians well knew, "corn travels" and varieties will mix. Many tribes had six, eight or even a dozen different varieties and each variety had its particular characteristics-- corn for flour or meal, corn for parching, corn for hominy, and corn which was particularly good to eat while green. Here in the north the corn matured in less than 100 days-- even in as little as 75 days in some varieties.
Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) varieties were numerous but the uses were not as diverse. Beans might be planted in small hills between the rows of corn hills or they might be planted separately. Some beans would be eaten as "green beans" but most would be allowed to mature and the entire plant was pulled and threshed by beating it with a stick. Beans seem to have come into this part of the country after 1100 AD. Historically there were (and still are) literally dozens of varieties of beans differing more in color than in content although each variety seems to have its partisans. Interplanting of beans with corn probably did produce some residual nitrogen and beans will tend to climb corn stalks, but in my opinion the combination probably was most useful in providing maximal ground cover thereby reducing both weed growth and, most importantly, keeping soil temperatures down by shading the soil.
The squashes raised in this part of the country were all varieties of Cucurbita pepo. Or, to put it another way, all of the squashes were pumpkins-- which is not to say they were all orange-- they were exceedingly variable in size, shape and coloration-- as well as flavor. Squashes were very frequently eaten at the three or four day stage of development-- at which time they are very succulent and cook very quickly. At this stage they were simply boiled (zucchini are pumpkins-- or at least Cucurbita pepo-- as are the patapan or scalloped squash). Those squashes which were allowed to reach a greater degree of maturity were often dired by slicing them into thin slices and skewering them on a slender stick. The sticks were then placed on a drying rack and carefully tended until dry enough to pack away with the corn and beans. Fully matured squash will, of course, keep for long periods of time with minimal care. I have had the last six months just sitting in my office on the window sill. Many Indians enjoyed the roasted seeds (and some simply ate the dried seeds). Squashes, because the tend to take over, were planted between areas planted to corn.
Sunflowers (Helianthus anuus) were raised because of their oil which was extracted by mashing the seeds and boiling the resulting paste. Ground sunflower seeds were also mixed with corn meal to make a highly nutritious concentrate for travelers and hungers. Many Indians also ate the tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke which, once started in an area, needs only to be controlled-- not cared for. These are good raw, roasted, or boiled.
Corn (Zea mays) was, however, the staff of life, and preparations were most varied and most elaborate. In fact, most other vegetable foods were seen as being additives to various corn dishes. Different varieties of corn were raised with very specific purposes in mind-- making hominy for instance. Preparation of hominy involves soaking the corn in a lye solution (obtained from ashes), through rinsing, and then stewing-- although it might also be pulverized and used in other ways. Flour corns were ground on flat stones (the manos and metates of Mexico) in many parts of the country including Iowa and southern Minnesota. Elsewhere tribes like the Iroquois of New York and the Mandan and Hidatsa of North Dakota tended to use wood motars and pestles to pulverize the grain. Special corn was raised for parching (in sand in a ceramic pot) and there were pop corns and sweet or "gummy" corns.
The recipes which follow were collected from three sources: The Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians: An Indian Interpretation by Gilbert L. Wilson (Studies in the Social Sciences, Number 9, The University of Minnesota. 1917), Iroquois Uses of Maize and Other Food Plants by Arthur C. Parker (New York State Museum Bull. 144. 1910), and Iroquois Foods and Food Preparation by F.W. Waugh (Canada Department of Mines, Geological Survey, Memoir 86, No. 12, Anthropological Series. 1916).Wilson's paper is an extensive interview with an elderly Hidatsa woman by the name of Buffalobird- Woman on traditional gardening techniques. Her recipies are indicated by (BBW). Parker was an Iroquois who became an anthropologist and museologist and, as an Indian, had an insider's advantage. His material is indicated by (P). Waugh's collection is the result of fieldwork done between 1912 and 1915. He is indicated by a (W).
These recipes are not kitchen tested, tried and true, but are simply guides to experimentation. None of the Indians had precise measuring system and thus a pinch of this and a dab of that was the order of the day. Recipes expanded and contracted to cope with households which might vary in size from day to day and thus inspiration and desperation probably figured in about equal amounts.
Roasting Ears Green ears were sometimes roasted, usually by an individual member of the family who wanted a little change of diet. The women of my father's family never prepared a full meal of roasted ears that I remember; if any one wanted roasted, fresh, green corn, he prepared it himself. When I wanted to roast green corn I made a fire of cottonwood and prepared a bed of coals. I laid the fresh ear on the coals with the husk removed. As the corn roasted, I rolled the ear gently to and fro over the coals. When properly cooked I removed the ear and laid on another.
As the ear roasted, the green kernels would pop sometimes with quite a sharp sound. If this popping noise was very loud, we would laugh and say to the one roasting the ear, "Ah, we see you have stolen that ear from some other family's garden!" Green corn was regularly taken out of the garden to roast until frost came, when it lost its fragrance and fresh taste. To restore its freshness, we would take the green corn silk of the same plucked ear and rub the silk well into the kernels of the ear as they stood in the cob. This measurably restored the fresh taste and smell. We did not do this if the ear was to be boiled, only if we intended to roast it. (BBW).
Roasted Corn Hominy The ripe corn was husked by the harvesters and stood "nose" upward against the top pole of a roasting pit. This pit was a long narrow trench a foot or more deep with Y-shaped sticks at either end as supporters for the top pole, which was placed horizontally in the crotches, after a fire of saplings and sticks had been reduced to a mass of glowing embers. The ears were then leaned at an angle against the pole, drawn out and roasted. Watchers turned them as they were parched sufficiently while other helpers gathered them up when done and shelled the kernels into a bark barrel. (P).
Fried Green Corn This dish was prepared by scraping the green corn, in the milk, from the cob, mashing it in a mortar and either patting it into cakes or tossing it in a basket to make a loose light mass. The corn was then ready for frying. The older Indians say that the frying could be done in a clay kettle and that corn so prepared was especially good if cooked in bear oil. (P).
Matu'a-la'kapa
A common dish made from green corn was matu'a-la'kapa, from matu'a, green corn; and la'kapa, mush, or something mushy; thus, wheat flour mixed with water to a thick paste we call la'kapa, even if unboiled. Ripening green corn, with the grain still soft, was shelled off the cob with the tip of the thumb or with the thumb nail. The shelled corn was pounded in a mortar and boiled with beans; it was flavored with spring salt. (BBW)
Green Corn Baked A way of preparing green corn that is much enjoyed is to scrape the green corn off with the deer's jaw scraper, place it in a pan, and bake it into a cake, somewhat of the consistency of corn bread. This is said to be excellent with hot bread and butter. This dish has been thought to be of comparatively modern invention although it could have been quite readily baked in earthenware vessels, on flat stones, or in the embers. (W)
Baked Scraped Corn The green corn is scraped from the cob with a deer's jaw or knife, pounded in a mortar or mashed in a wooden bowl with a stone, patted into cakes, sprinkled with dry meal and baked in small dishes. For baking in the ashes the cakes are wrapped in husk and covered with ashes. Embers are heaped over and a brisk fire built, this being kept going until the cakes were considered baked. (P)
Early Hominy This is a favourite dish about the time the flint or hominy corn has ripened, but has not yet been dried. The grain is shelled, placed in the mortar, pounded lightly so as to crush it a little, then thrown into boiling water. Whole beans not quite ripe are added; the boiling is continued until the hominy is cooked. It is then seasoned to suit with butter and salt. A second way is to put in milk or cream and sugar instead of other seasoning materials. This makes a sweet soup. Another way is to slightly crush a suitable quantity of the corn and beans and boil these with beef, venison, or any kind of game. Salt and pepper are used for seasonings. (W)
Boiled Corn Bread After the corn has been hulled and washed, it is placed in the mortar and pounded to a meal or flour. As the pounding progresses the fine sifting basket is frequently brought into requisition. The hand is used to dip the meal out of the mortar into the sifter. The large bread pan is often set on top of the mortar and the sifter shaken in both hands. The coarser particles are thrown into a second bowl or tray and are finally dumped back into the mortar to be repounded. A hollow is next made in the flour and enough boiling water poured into it to make a stiff paste. Usage differs somewhat in this respect, cold water being used by some for mixing. The stirring paddle is often employed a t first, after which the paste is kneaded with the hands. Dried huckleberries, blackberries, elderberries, strawberries, or beans may be incorporated in the mixture, beans apparently enjoying the greatest favour. The latter are previously cooked just so that they will remain whole or nearly so. Currants or raisins are sometimes used at present. Formerly the kernels of walnuts and butternuts were employed in the same way.
A lump of paste is next broken off, or about a double handful. This is tossed in the hands, which are kept moistened with cold water, until it becomes rounded in form; the surplus material forms a core at one side, usually the right, and is finally broken off. The lump is now slapped back and forth between the palms, though resting rather more on the left hand; and is at the same time given a rotary motion until a disk is formed about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches thick and about 7 inches in diameter. Boiling water for mixing is stated to make the cakes firmer and better to handle. No salt nor other such ingredients are used. The loaves are immediately slid into a pot of boiling water from the paddle or from between the hands and are supported on edge by placing the paddle against them until all are in. The bread paddle or sometimes a special circular turning paddle, is used to rotate the cakes a little when partly done, so as to cook all parts alike.
An hour is usually required for cooking, though the completion of the operation is indicated when the cakes show a tendency to float, or when the steam is given out equally all over when a cake is lifted out. The bread paddle is also employed in removing the bread from the pot. When a batch is too large for the pot, some of the cakes are boiled for five or six minutes, then removed and baked in a pan in the oven. Boiled corn bread, while not light in the ordinary sense, is decidedly tasty when newly made. It may be sliced and eaten either hot or cold with butter, gravy, or maple syrup. An Oneidatown informant states that it is often sliced and fried in butter as we fry cornmeal or oatmeal mush. (W)
Corn Bread
We also make a kind of corn bread from green corn. Green ears were plucked and the corn shelled off with the thumb nail, so as not to break open the kernels. Boiled green corn could be shelled with a mussel shell because boiling toughened the kernels; but unboiled green corn was shelled with the thumb nail. Two or three women often worked at shelling the corn as it was rather tedious work.When enough of the corn had been shelled, it was put in a corn mortar and pounded.
Some of the ears were naturally longer than other: a number of these had been selected and their husks removed. Some of these husks were now laid down side by side, but overlapping like shingles, until a sheet was made about ten inches wide. Another row of husks was laid over the first, transversely to them; and so until four or five layers of the green husks were made, each lying transversely to the layer of husks beneath. The shelled corn, pounded almost to a pulp, was poured out on this husk sheet, and patted down with the hand to a loaf about seven or eight inches square, and an inch or two thick. However, this varied; a girl would make a much smaller loaf than would a woman preparing a mess for her family.
The ends of the upper most layer of husks were now folded over the top of the loaf, leaf by leaf; then the next layer of husks beneath; and so until the ends of all the husks were folded over the top of the loaf, quite hiding it. Two or three husk leaves had been split into strips half an inch to three quarters of an inch in width. These strips were tied together to make bands to bind the loaf. Three bands passed around the loaf each way, or six bands in all. No grease nor fat, nor any seasoning, had been added to the loaf; the pounded green corn pulp was all that entered into it.
The loaf made, now came the baking. The ashes in the fire place in an earth lodge lay quite deep. A cavity was dug into these ashes about as deep s my hand is long. Into the bottom of this cavity live coals and hot ashes were raked, and upon these the loaf was laid; a few ashes were raked over the top, and upon these ashes live coals were heaped. The loaf baked in about two hours. We called this loaf naktsi'' or buried-in-ashes-and -baked. Soft white and soft yellow corn were good varieties from which to make this buried-and baked-corn, as we called it. (BBW)
Green Corn Leaf Bread
According to Chief Gibson, the leaves are sometimes folded on the midrib, then doubled over at each end to form an oblong envelope or pocket some 4 or 5 inches long. This is filled with green corn scraped from the cob with a knife or the deer's jaw scraper. Another envelope a little longer is slipped over the first so as to make a closed package, which is tied once around the middle with basswood bark. The corn is frequently pounded to a paste in the mortar before using, though this is considered unnecessary when the scraper is employed. The packages are cooked for about three-quarters of an hour. Another method of making into packages was given by a Tonawanda Seneca. This consisted of filling a small quantity of the past to a corn leaf bent double, then covering it around in the same way with other leaves, a sufficient number being used to prevent the contents from escaping. A string of bark is then wrapped several times around the leaves just above the ball of past and tied. Cooked and shelled green beans are often added to the paste. Berries are used for the same purpose; also apples cut up small; or meat, such as that of the deer. (W)
Leaf Bread Tamales This is prepared from green corn. The kernels are cut or scraped from the cob and beaten to a milky paste in a mortar. The corn used for leaf cake tamales should be too hard for green corn good for boiling and eating on the cob. The paste is patted into shape and laid in a strip on one end of a broad corn leaf, the free half being doubled over the paste Other leaves are folded over the first, the ends all projecting uniformaly from one end for typing. This was then tied three times laterally and once transversely and dropped into boiling water. When cooked- cooking requires about 45 minutes- the wrappings are removed and the cake is eaten with sunflower or bear oil, though in these modern days bacon grease or butter are more in vogue. Oftentimes cooked beans are mixed with the mass before wrapping in the leaves. These impart their flavor and give variety. Leaf cakes may be dried for winter's use if no beans have been used with the corn. In wrapping the leaf bread a bulbous shaped bundle is made resembling a large braid of hair doubled and tied. (P)
Dumplings Moisten a mass of corn meal with boiling water and quickly mold it into cakes in the closed hand moistened in cold water. Drop the dumplings one by one into boiling water and boil for a half hour. Dumplings were the favorite thing to cook with boiling meats, especially game birds. To fish the dumplings from the pot every one had a sharpened stick or bone. The dumplings were speared and held on the stick to cool and nibbled with the meat as it was eaten. The sticks after use were wiped off and stuck between the logs or bark of the wall for future use. (P)
Ata'ki This is a soft, or as you call it, a flour corn, and was perhaps the favorite variety grown by us. The word ata'ki means white; but when applied to corn we translate soft white, to distinguish from ata'ki tso'ki, or hard white. The use of ata'ki, or soft white, was very general, since it could be made into almost every kind of corn food used by us. "It is the one variety," we used to say, "that can be used in any and every way." Soft white corn, parched and pounded into a meal, was boiled with squash and beans to make mapi' nakapa'. The unparched grain was pounded for meal to make ma' nakapa'; but although good, we did not think the mush made from soft white meal was as good as that from the hard white corn meal. "Boiled Corn Ball". A less frequent dish made from soft white corn was boiled corn balls; it was made only from the dried ripe grain.
I pounded quantity of grain into meal, and poured the meal into a pot having hot water - but not too much water- stirring it well about. I now lifted out some of the mass into my left palm and patted it down with my right, making a cake about as big around as a baking powder biscuit, but not so thick. This cake I dropped into a pot of boiling water, where it sank to the bottom. I continued until the pot was full, or until I had all I wished to cook. No salt or other seasoning was added. As the pot boiled, one could see the corn cakes move around in the water; but they never floated, nor did they break apart. The boiling lasted about an hour. In older days we ate these corn balls alone; now we more often eat them with coffee. (BBW)
Hulled Corn Soup The name for this may be translated as "corn not quite ripe yet soup." This is a favourite dish with the Iroquois both at the longhouse and at social gatherings. The corn is taken when it has become quite firm, but not yet perfectly ripe; it is then boiled with ashes, hulled and washed, boiled for half an hour and washed again, much the same as for corn bread. Next, according to one popular recipe, it is placed along with meat, game, or with green beans in the pod, boiled slowly for about two hours, then seasoned to taste. Mrs. John Williams of Caughnawaga mentioned the use of hulled corn boiled with beans and meat. A Mohawk name for this is ona'sdo.
By another method, the hulled corn, after being duly prepared is thrown into the mortar along with a little water and crushed slightly. It is then placed in a pot or kettle, some water added, also berries and a little sugar, after which it is boiled until done. With the berries added it makes a very palatable dish. It is frequently used at festivals, such as the Big Green Corn Dance.
Corn Soup with Nut Meats Nut meats of various kinds may be added to corn soup. Beechnuts were given by a Tonawanda informant as a popular ingredient there, also dried apples. The kernels are pounded in the mortar, sifted, and added to the soup, which is stirred from time to time and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Corn Soup with Nut Meats Sunflower seeds are pounded and sifted to fine meal. Soup of ripe corn and beans is prepared in the usual way. The sunflower meal is added, forming a very rich soup. This is also seasoned according to taste. (W)
There were two chief dishes chiefly prepared from hard white corn; these I will now describe.
Napi' Nakapa'
I put water in a pot, and in this I dropped a section of a string of dried squash, with some beans. Dried squash was always strung on a long grass strings; and having , from one of these strings cut off a piece I tied the ends together, making a wreath, or a ring, four or five inches in diameter. It was this ring of dried squash slices that I dropped into the pot. When well boiled, I lifted the squash slices out by the string and dropped them into a wooden bowl, where I mashed them and chopped them fine with a horn spoon. The mashed squash I dropped back into the kettle again, with the beans; the now empty string I threw away.
Meanwhile corn had been parched, and some buffalo fats had been held over the coals on a stick, to roast. The parched corn and roast fats I pounded together in the corn mortar; and the pounded mass I stirred into the kettle. The mess was now ready to be eaten. This dish we called mapi'-nakapa' , or pounded-meal mush; from mapi', something pounded , and nakapa', mush, sometimes mushy. The dish was especially a morning meal; after eating it we started to work.Ma'nakapa. A second way of preparing hard white corn was as follows: I pounded the corn in a mortar meal, but without first parching it. Most of this meal was fine, but there were many coarser bits in it, some of them as big as quarter grains of corn. Water was put in a kettle; I added the pounded meal, and when it boiled put in beans. No fats were added. As the mess boiled I stirred it with a wooden paddle to prevent scorching; I did not stir with a horn spoon as the hot water softened and spoiled the horn. When boiled, the mess was served. We called this dish ma'nakapa'. (BBW)
Pop Corn Pudding Corn was popped in a metal or clay kettle and then pulverized in a mortar and mixed with oil or syrup. The writer has often seen the modern Iroquois run their corn popped in a modern popper through a chopping machine and eat the light white meal with sugar and milk or cream. (P)
Parched Corn Coffee Corn was well burnt and parched on the coals, scraped from the cob and thrown in a dish. Upon this boiling water was thrown and the dish or kettle placed over the fire again. To produce the burnt corn drink the boiling was continued for about five minutes. (P)
Beans Mixed with Bread Beans are very frequently- in fact, usually- mixed with corn bread, although other materials are occasionally used. The beans are first cooked just so that they are a little firm and will remain whole. They are then mixed with corn bread paste and again cooked in the making of the bread. (W)
Pumpkin with Beans Cut the pumpkins, when fresh, into pieces; boil, adding green beans shelled and cooking them along with it: add butter and salt. (W)
Squash Blossoms Besides basketfuls at a picking; we also gathered squash blossoms, three to five basketfuls at a picking; and they were a recognized part of our squash harvest. On every squash vine are blossoms of two kinds; one kind bears a squash, but the other never bears any fruit, for it grows, as we Indians say, at the wrong place among the leaves. We Indians knew this, and gathered only these barren blossoms; if we did not they dried up anyway and became a dead loss, so we always gathered them. These blossoms we picked in early morning while they were fresh, but not if rain had fallen in the night as the rain splashed dirt and sand into the blossoms, making them unfit for food.
The blossoms we took home in baskets. On the prairie there is a kind of grass which we Indians call "antelope hair." We chose a place where this grass grew thick and was two or three inches high, to dry the blossoms on. They were taken out of the basket one by one; the green calyx leaves were stripped off and the blossom was pinched flat, opened, and spread on the grass, with the inside of the blossom upward, thus exposing it to the sun and air. A second blossom was split on on side, opened, and laid upon the first, upon the pedal end, so that the thicker, bulbous part of the first - the part indeed that had been pinched flat - remained exposed to dry. This was continued until quite a space on the grass was covered with the blossoms.
They remained all day drying. In the evening I would go out and gather them, pulling them up in whole sheets. Splitting them open and laying them down one upon another, caused them to adhere as they dried, so that they lay on the grass in a kind of thin matting. I always began pulling up the blossoms from one side of this matting, and as I say, they came away in whole sheets. We put away the dried blossoms in bags, like those used for corn. These bags were made with round bottom and soft-skin mouth that tied easily. Bags were usually made of calf skin. In my father's family we always put away one sack full of dried squash blossoms for winter. (BBW)
Cooking the Ripe Squashes
When now we wanted to have squash for a meal, I went over to this heap of ripe seed squashes and brought a number over near the fire. There I broke them open, carefully saving the seeds. i would lay a squash on the floor of the lodge; with an elk horn scraper I would strike the squash smart blows on the side, splitting it open. The broken half rinds I piled up one above another, concave side down, until ready to put them in the pot. Ripe squashes were less delicate than green four-days-old squashes, and did not spoil so quickly. I was able to boil about ten ripe squashes in our family pot; but it took three such cookings of ten squashes each to make a mess for out family, which I have said was a large one. We boiled these ripe squashes like the four-days-old, in a very little water. (BBW)
Dried Squash In the autumn, among the Canadian Onondaga, squashes are frequently cut into narrow pieces lengthwise, then dried over the stove in flat evaporating trays or baskets. In preparing them for use, the dried strips are washed in warm water, soaked, then boiled and eaten with butter. (W)
Michael Scullin, 1981
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