Huckleberry-Honey Cake

This is a wonderful Cherokee recipe.
Blueberries may be
substituted for the huckleberries.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh huckleberries or blueberries, or
frozen or canned berries, well drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and honey.
Beat
in eggs and milk.
Sift in 1 1/2 cups of the flour, baking powder
and salt.
Combine thoroughly.

In a small bowl, toss berries with remaining flour.
Gently fold
berries into batter.
Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Bake
for about 1 hour, until the cake is golden brown and a wooden pick
inserted in the center comes out clean.

Paper Bread (Piki)

5 tablespoons Masa HarinaÂ
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Pour in the hot water and whisk
the batter for a few seconds until it is smooth.
Heat a nonstick
skillet over low heat until it is warm.
Remove the skillet from the
heat.
With a pastry brush, brush on a layer of batter, using broad
strokes all in one direction.
Immediately apply a second layer of
batter at right angles to the first layer.
Return the skillet to
the heat source and cook for about 1 minute.
The batter will sizzle
and evaporate all moisture before it is done.
As soon as the
hissing stops and the surface of the bread looks dry and crinkly,
peel it off with your fingers by starting up one edge with a table
knife, then grasping it by hand and pulling up gently.
The layer
will peel away easily.
Lay it on paper toweling or a baking rack to
dry completely and proceed to make 3 more pikis to lay on top.
Do
not place the piki on a plate once baked, since it will further
steam them and cause them to become sticky.
Once you have 4 layers,
roll them loosely into a scroll and set aside.
Serve slightly
re-warmed or at room temperature with salsa and a main course.

Blue Piki
Make batter from 3 tablespoons blue cornmeal, 2 tablespoons Masa
Harina and 3 tablespoons cornstarch plus the salt and
water in the basic recipe.

Pink or Yellow Piki
Add a few drops of food coloring to the basic batter as you whisk
it up.

Popped Corn

1 tablespoon corn oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup corn kernels
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons butter
1/2 to 1 teaspoon pure ground chile

Use a heavy cast-iron skillet with a lid.
Fill the skillet with
a single layer of kernels, and heat the oil before you add the
corn.
Use the smaller ingredients for a 9-inch skillet, and use the
larger ingredients for a 14-inch skillet.

Heat oil in skillet over high heat until a test kernel pops.
Shake in the kernels, cover with a lid, and when you hear the
kernels begin to pop, turn down heat and shake pan gently back and
forth to keep the kernels moving.
When popping sounds cease, the
corn is done.

Pour corn into a large bowl and sprinkle with salt.
Melt butter
with the chile and pour over the corn.
Mix with your hands.

Makes 2 to 4 cups, depending on size of skillet used.

Native American Pudding

4 cups milk
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups raisins or dried currants

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Butter a 2-quart casserole.

In a saucepan, combine 3 cups of the milk and all the maple
syrup over medium heat.
Heat until just boiling and add
butter.

In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal, ginger and nutmeg.
Gradually stir cornmeal mixture into hot milk.
Reduce heat to low
and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Fold in raisins or currants.
Spoon mixture into the casserole.
Pour remaining milk over pudding; do not stir.
Bake pudding 2 1/2
hours or until all of the milk has been absorbed and top is golden
brown.
Serve warm, topped with ice cream, if desired.

Bannock

The Chippewa took these fried cakes along when the tribe was
moving or warriors were hunting.
They are, however, best eaten
hot.

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons melted butter or bacon drippings
4 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 to 4 tablespoons cooking oil (for frying)

In a bowl, combine cornmeal, water, butter or bacon drippings,
syrup and salt.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high
heat.
Drop batter by tablespoonsful into hot oil.
Flatten with
spatula and fry cakes until crisp and browned on both sides.
Add
more oil as needed.

Serves 4 to 6.

Native American Tacos

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
2 to 3 tablespoons New Mexico chile powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
3 cups Frijoles de Olla, drained
4 Navajo Tacos*
2 cups mild Cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, chopped

In a Dutch oven heat olive oil over medium heat; add ground beef
and cook until just browned.

Meanwhile, grind garlic, cumin and oregano to a paste in a
molcajete or mortar and pestle.
Add chile powder, garlic paste and
salt to the meat and cook about 1 minute.
Next, add 1 cup water and
stir to make certain the meat is well broken up.
Add beans, bring
the chile mixture to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until most but
not all the moisture has evaporated.

Place the fry breads on serving plates and ladle the chile
mixture over them.
Top with the cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.