Latest / Family Tree Food Stories / Native American Foods the Hidden Roots to What We Eat Today: Secrets Revealed!

Transcript

Native American Foods the Hidden Roots to What We Eat Today: Secrets Revealed! · Family Tree Food Stories

0:01
Hey everybody, it's Nancy from Family Tree Food and Stories,
0:04
and I'm here with my cohost.
0:07
Hello Sylvia.
0:09
Hello there.
0:10
Why don't we talk a little bit about Native American Traditions
0:14
. I am ready to dig in and start eating.
0:16
You know, Nancy, I think one of the things that we ought to
0:19
chat just a tiny bit about is.
0:22
Why is this important to kitchens today and to our audience today?
0:27
And I think, the traditions, like of the Native Americans and the histories
0:32
and all of that stuff, they really have made us what we are today.
0:35
And we'll talk about some of that later on.
0:37
And, what you read about is ways that people brought community
0:41
together and the way they were resilient, despite challenges that
0:45
maybe different eras brought with it.
0:47
So I think it's really important that we understand these traditions.
0:51
'cause you might find out you have some in your own repertoire
0:55
and you don't even know it.
0:56
It's interesting as we talk about Native Americans or any.
0:59
Sort of indigenous people.
1:01
Ultimately our own relatives were indigenous of some shape or form elsewhere
1:07
if we weren't part of those natives here in the United States or in North America.
1:12
But you're absolutely right.
1:13
So let's look at some of these native food waste, because I think there's so much.
1:17
Interesting things that have happened over the course of time, like,
1:21
the Lakota ancestors who gave us some insights, and of course the
1:24
tribes of their own traditions, but it's hunting, it's forging, it's.
1:28
the old ways of doing things.
1:30
And they were the people who allowed us, who came over via
1:34
boat or however we got here.
1:36
I'm presumably didn't swim across the ocean, but anyway, they were
1:41
the ones who helped the rest of us or the rest of our ancestors really
1:45
survive in this rare and hostile land that we weren't used to well before.
1:51
The colonization of everything.
1:52
Yeah, and I think maybe take it kind of generally in three parts.
1:56
One about food traditions among natives native Americans, second kind of
2:00
family meals and how we have shaped our meals and maybe not even knowing it.
2:05
I think that'll be very enlightening.
2:06
It was to me when I looked into it.
2:08
And finally, I think very importantly is the spiritual nature of food.
2:12
Mm-hmm.
2:13
You know, from the first, to the last supper to today, food has
2:18
always been symbolic of bringing people together . , We are humans.
2:22
We need each other, and it's so
2:25
don't eat alone.
2:26
I mean we do in the car and everything else, but if you ate alone in that
2:30
day and age, then you are an outcast.
2:32
And so there's something that.
2:35
Food is beyond a survival mechanism for us to live, but it's also a way to
2:40
celebrate we are and where we came from.
2:43
And yeah, so we'll get, those are three things that we'll cover here today,
2:47
So let's start digging up some stuff, pun intended.
2:51
Let's talk about wild turnips and of course, just cultivating
2:55
the crops we're talking about.
2:57
Originally, the three sisters, I think most of us have learned as
3:00
kids, corn, beans, and squash.
3:02
How that actually brought our communities, or the native communities or indigenous
3:07
communities together, because that was something, , let's say each one
3:10
was something that could be preserved over a longer period of time, so
3:14
Well before colonization, there's like two eras of Native American food
3:18
and one was before we all came over.
3:20
Right.
3:21
Northern Europeans or Europeans in general.
3:23
And , Most of the tribes, but not all.
3:26
like I was looking at Cherokee, for instance, Iroquois, they would actually
3:29
establish base camps, let's call 'em base camps, where then the warriors
3:33
and such would go out and do all the hunting and bringing those things in.
3:37
But before colonization, I'd say a lot of it was nomadic in terms of their
3:42
lifestyle and their food had to be really nutrient dense and adaptable.
3:47
To different kinds of places that they were, predators,
3:50
all of that kind of stuff.
3:51
So you think about dried bison, elk, deer, wild Turkey, all
3:56
things that were portable that you could carry with you and fish.
3:59
and of course, as you mentioned, the three sisters, and that
4:02
was corn, beans and squash.
4:04
And so that was a cultivated crop.
4:06
And so I was like, well cultivated.
4:08
If, if they were nomadic, how did they cultivate?
4:11
Well, those were those base camps, for certain tribes, Cherokee and I
4:15
have some tiny bit of that in me.
4:16
Again, going back to who we really are, you know, we can reach back
4:19
to a lot of different things.
4:21
I always say I'm a Heinz 57 kind of, I'm mostly Irish and Scotch,
4:25
but I got some Cherokee there too.
4:27
I did.
4:28
I, but our family doesn't have any of that, that I know of.
4:31
So we were the ones that came in and caused the problems.
4:34
But it's interesting you mentioned the corns, beans, corn, bean, and squash.
4:38
They had to stay in one location for a pretty long period of time
4:42
for those things to, to grow the crops to grow, versus a more
4:46
nomadic tribe that are dealing with.
4:48
Higher level of proteins and hunter gatherer type of things.
4:52
But, you mentioned the, the Cherokee, which I thought was interesting
4:55
looking at, I had heard about a type of meatloaf that they made.
4:59
Now I don't think of Indians and meatloaf, do you?
5:02
No.
5:02
No.
5:03
'cause you think of, ' cause , if you think about it, and it'd be interesting
5:05
to hear about that because they didn't have pigs and this is pre colonization.
5:09
they didn't have pigs, beef, chicken, dairy, wheat, or cane sugar to work with.
5:14
They did all, sort of natural stuff.
5:16
So, . What'd they make?
5:17
They had some kind of grains and I guess that was either through a crop
5:21
that they had or, or foraging, but it's called Poya, P-O-H-Y-A, which is a
5:27
name for meatloaf, it was made with.
5:29
Venison predominantly, and then other sorts of meats and
5:32
vegetables to put it together.
5:34
And then you cooked it in the over a
5:35
fire, they didn't have microwaves by the way.
5:38
or they cooked it in clay pots.
5:40
I love that.
5:41
, How they cooked.
5:42
They would put it in the dirt, put hot coals over it.
5:45
a
5:45
a Dutch oven.
5:46
Yeah.
5:47
And, they also cooked with that too open from fire.
5:50
That, and probably many, many ways.
5:52
So, you know what I also love is hearing the stories about how
5:55
the entire family got involved.
5:57
Kids.
5:58
For one year, Bob and I went up to Plymouth, Massachusetts, and
6:02
there's the Indian side, and then there's , the colonial side.
6:06
The people that came in and to listen and talk and see how the.
6:11
Tribe, people recreated, or some of them actually were of descendants.
6:15
How they recreated that environment and the family and the importance of that.
6:20
Honestly, even more so than the pilgrims.
6:23
It was really fascinating to see how that community worked together.
6:27
and although this is not Thanksgiving, I have to laugh.
6:30
They shared, we always think that, , the Indians came to help and
6:33
rescue pilgrims during Thanksgiving and then they had this celebration.
6:37
No, apparently it was a bunch of drunken pilgrims that were just
6:40
gotten a little too crazy and were shooting off these guns.
6:44
The Indians always told them that they should shoot off
6:46
their guns if they needed help.
6:48
Well, they were just a bunch of drunken jerks.
6:51
So we'll chalk one up for the natives saying you were
6:55
good guys to go and help out.
6:56
But that's for another story.
6:57
Yeah, but that, that was, it wasn't called Thanksgiving at
7:00
the time, but that was in 1621.
7:02
In the Plymouth colonists there were estimated, I don't know where,
7:05
these records are, but 50 to 53 of them and there were 90 and
7:10
it was I'll brutalize this name.
7:11
The , Wampanoag Tribe and there were 90 of them and they brought
7:16
five deer to the celebration.
7:18
I thought that was interesting and notable 'cause they probably
7:20
brought other things, but
7:21
It's kind of like a potluck, right?
7:23
Here's my deer.
7:24
Yeah,
7:25
traveling
7:26
yeah.
7:26
I wondered if they carried them over their shoulder and they just come lumbering in.
7:30
I don't
7:31
I wasn't there.
7:32
I.
7:32
But probably somebody in your crew was, 'cause you settled in New England, right?
7:36
Yes, we did settle in New England, so there's definitely some
7:40
interesting backgrounds on that one.
7:41
And I hope they weren't the drunken ones shooting off the guns.
7:45
, And that brings to mind too, there's some.
7:47
As awful as it was.
7:49
And it was, the relocation and that was post colonization.
7:54
they got very little, but it showed their adaptability and their resilience,
7:57
although many, many died on the forced marches and such as that.
8:00
But they got government commodities and that was salt pork , sugar
8:05
coffee and some things.
8:06
And outta that came fry bread, which is an interesting dish, you know,
8:11
We had some of that and , it wasn't here in the States, but we were up in Canada
8:15
and stopped at a roadside restaurant going towards, Calgary one year.
8:20
And the, it was run by the local native tribe and they had fry bread.
8:25
We have a recipe for fry bread that was given to us, which we'll put in
8:29
the show notes by a friend who is part Native American Indian, and her
8:34
family stories are pretty interesting.
8:36
See if I can get some of those we can add later on as well.
8:39
so we do have a recipe for fried bread, and it's kind of like, I
8:42
would say it reminded me of a pita bread, like a puffier pita bread.
8:47
Yeah.
8:47
Yeah.
8:48
it's a, real, it's actually a simple recipe, but you can enhance it with
8:51
cheeses, various things like that.
8:52
I love this one.
8:53
Now I gotta say it.
8:54
Grits, rocka, , homey grits.
8:57
I love that.
8:58
, . , Let's brand that name and go with it.
9:00
It's a corn porridge made from Dried homeny, and it's like
9:03
an early version of grits.
9:05
I mean, rock aho, what's that mean?
9:07
I'm not even
9:08
It sounds like a country Western song rock.
9:13
So, you know,, it was a, a fascinating, , kind of thing.
9:16
So getting more into family meals and traditions.
9:19
Let's talk a little bit about that and what all of that meant.
9:22
So , well family traditions were the celebrations that came together from
9:26
dance and chant, chat and communities and, the powwows and celebration of
9:31
births and deaths and hunts and harvest.
9:34
And it was all focused around food in some way, shape, or form.
9:38
Not unlike our current lives when you think about holidays and celebrations,
9:42
but even the simplest act of daily living seemed to be a celebration of life and
9:48
food and nutrition that brought community together, which I think is really
9:53
something that we miss today, right?
9:55
Then we do.
9:56
And that's what we are all about, right?
9:57
Mm-hmm.
9:57
We grab onto those traditions and bring people together.
10:01
I mean, it's just a lost art.
10:03
, One of the interesting things, you mentioned nutrition.
10:05
were smart Native Americans.
10:07
They figured things out, and one of the things they figured out was how to
10:10
process corn to enhance and save niacin.
10:14
And that's an important, I think it's a b vitamins , to sustain life.
10:19
, And another interesting thing, the three sisters, they are a complete protein.
10:24
You can eat a meal of corn.
10:26
and and squash.
10:27
and you get, you know how all that is.
10:29
I mean, I'm, an amateur nutritionist and I love it, love thinking about it.
10:33
If you put those things together, they have all those amino acid acids.
10:36
They knew what was right for their bodies even before we did, obviously, which was.
10:41
Incredibly fascinating that, , the rest of us have to have a, lab to do
10:44
this and they just did it naturally.
10:46
They just came to it.
10:47
They knew what allowed them to survive so they could survive without meat.
10:51
I think that's kind of interesting 'cause we all know that amino
10:54
acids in a steak are all there.
10:57
Well, we don't, don't necessarily know that you can have, that's what
11:00
vegetarian meals are all about.
11:02
It's how people put all those things together and it's one of those traditions
11:06
and
11:06
going out and killing a deer or a buffalo or, finding a rabbit
11:10
. rabbits are not easy to get.
11:11
Yeah,
11:12
dog, my dog knows that one.
11:14
But here's another interesting thing, , have you heard about those
11:17
stories where trees talk to one another?
11:19
Yes.
11:20
There are actually scientists that go under the ground and there's a
11:23
humming noise that, I mean, it's eerie,
11:25
In the roots.
11:26
Yeah, there's a humming noise.
11:27
They, I think it the redwood forest or one of the big old
11:30
tree forests.
11:31
And think about this.
11:32
Let's talk for a minute about the three sisters, the stalks of the corn, the
11:37
beans, climb up the stalks and the squash.
11:41
Big, large leaves, shade the ground and keep the moisture.
11:45
They're best friends, Nancy.
11:47
They're they're best friends.
11:49
Well, let's, hope the sisters don't argue.
11:51
Right.
11:52
And I guess it's when the bugs come into play.
11:55
I, I just love that.
11:56
, But we found some other foods, right?
11:58
succotash?
11:59
We did.
11:59
So , there are actually native, well, I will call them.
12:03
Foods that we eat today that originated in the whole Native
12:07
American or indigenous tribe.
12:09
World Cornbread is one of them for sure, and it's more of a grainy cornbread.
12:14
And then Johnny Cakes, I mean, first of all, I didn't, I've never
12:18
heard of Johnny Cakes up north.
12:19
I guess they were there, but it's not something, it seems like a
12:22
southern thing that people talk about.
12:24
But Johnny Cakes versus pancakes were where pancakes is more of
12:27
a, a flower based, and Johnny Cakes is more of a cornbread.
12:30
Type of thing, and I didn't know that they could be served as a savory meal.
12:34
So it's like a side dish versus pancake that you think of sweet for breakfast.
12:39
Maple syrup.
12:40
Who would've thought, I am really curious as to how they figured maple
12:45
syrup was something that you would cook down and it turn into a sugar.
12:49
If you see the sap coming off a tree, typically up north in, you know,
12:53
well, okay, so I'm, I'm not like.
12:55
Chewing on the bark of a tree.
12:57
Yeah.
12:57
natives did a lot of that stuff for natural medicine, so maybe it came about
13:01
naturally that they figured it out, but I thought that was kind of interesting.
13:05
, And that was the Algonquins, the Eastern Algonquins and the Iroquois,
13:08
which was the northeast type of
13:10
Yeah.
13:11
Yeah.
13:11
Let me ask you a question.
13:12
Up north with the maple syrup, they have almost like little
13:14
faucets in the trees, don't they
13:16
It has gotten a lot more advanced than that.
13:18
So they would do, they used to do the little faucets and you put
13:21
the bucket underneath, and that was, they called having a tree.
13:24
Now, , it, what you do is you'll see.
13:27
Just before the, this maple sugar season, which is when it's warm enough for the
13:32
sap flow in the trees, and then it cools down at night, so it sort of shuts it
13:37
off so you're not bleeding the tree.
13:38
Totally.
13:38
But you'll see these, they look almost like medical hoses that go throughout
13:42
the forest from tree to tree to tree and they all drain into one particular bucket.
13:48
So the trees kind of turn into a, . I'll call it a Frakenstein science
13:53
experiment, it looks like in the woods,
13:55
Ah,
13:56
it's, a lot easier way than chucking or
13:58
Uh.
13:58
hanging around and, and tapping a tree and trucking a bucket.
14:02
Exactly.
14:04
So that's kind of interesting.
14:05
sun Chokes, which is , a Jerusalem artichoke, was also a native.
14:09
Product or a native plant that was more like a potato type of
14:13
thing, a starchy kind of thing.
14:14
' cause a lot in the Northeast that we think about
14:16
Oh.
14:17
and clams,
14:18
let me weigh in.
14:19
Yeah, let me weigh in on this one.
14:20
'cause I love this.
14:22
And this is Northern Minnesota, but it's in the northern country
14:25
around the Great Lakes Wild rice,
14:28
which actually isn't rice, it's actually grass.
14:31
That's a fascinating story, but they sell it as little rice pellets
14:35
and I, when I go to my son in Duluth, I love going to one of their
14:39
restaurants and having a rice burger.
14:41
A rice burger, so is
14:43
Rice Burger.
14:44
So is this, you say go to a restaurant.
14:46
Is this a Native american restaurant
14:49
Well, no, this is any restaurant.
14:50
Typically every restaurant in Northern Minnesota will have a wild rice
14:55
burger on the menu, and it is so good.
14:58
So I always bring it back.
14:59
I always get one, but they sell it at the gas stations and the
15:02
bag of the rice bring it home.
15:04
And I always try to make a rice burger and for some reason I'm not good at it.
15:08
Well, bringing back the bag.
15:10
Let's put the bag on the table and give it a rest so we can come back with
15:14
more of family tree food and stories.
15:16
Hang tight.
15:17
We'll be right back.
15:20
We are back again.
15:21
Sylvia, it is time to talk.
15:24
, Powwows.
15:25
You ready to dive into the next thing?
15:27
We were talking about?
15:28
Jerkys, which I think is fascinating.
15:30
I am not a fan of jerky.
15:31
It's just a thing that Bob loves.
15:33
I think it's a guy thing.
15:34
I don't know.
15:34
Do you like Jerkey?
15:35
No, but I'll tell you a surprise about jerky.
15:37
I never got any, because I always thought it looked like something
15:40
that was like a snack food, but it's actually quite healthy.
15:43
It's dried meat, it's dried anything fruit can mix in with it.
15:47
And I think there's a, a dish a jerky that is fruit and meat
15:52
Well, think about it.
15:52
It was a port, it was a portable way to bring your steak with you, I
15:55
guess if you were on the
15:56
apparently apparently this is quite good for you.
15:59
And again, getting back to the portability, you could carry
16:01
that jerky with you and it could last through the winter.
16:04
It's a method, as we've talked about in previous shows of preserving
16:07
food and again, very creative ways.
16:11
To have food that you can carry with you.
16:13
If the hunt was down, you didn't get, you didn't get five deer
16:16
this year, you have ways to live.
16:18
Or moving from one region to the other.
16:20
Here in Florida it's, fascinating because the indigenous tribes would
16:24
move from the south in the, wintertime on up to the north in the summertime
16:29
where we are predominantly because.
16:31
Our region is, we're, we're less likely to get hit by hurricanes.
16:34
And so that's what happened.
16:36
My dad actually researched that before they moved to Florida.
16:38
They said this is the Spring Hill Central Ocala.
16:41
Actually, Ocala has never been hit by a hurricane.
16:43
Seriously.
16:44
Right.
16:45
And we, we get a bad rap here in Florida for hurricanes.
16:48
I think you guys up the coast get hit more than we
16:50
We,
16:51
had a hurricane, I think it was Helene came through here and took down trees.
16:56
Not as bad as in Virginia, but it was, , pretty bad.
16:59
You know, one of the interesting things is the cooking tools that were used.
17:03
' cause you think about it, they didn't have,, pretty things
17:06
that we have, they may do with.
17:08
Making it out of stones and sticks and weaving, like the weaving of
17:12
baskets, clay pots, and that's how they made their dutch oven kind of thing.
17:17
A mortar and pests, stone grinding, heating hot coals that would
17:22
keep the food warm if you didn't have the open fire, which was
17:25
I'm gonna stop you there.
17:26
Hold on a second.
17:26
Hot coals.
17:27
We think of hot coals as briquettes.
17:29
It was actually charcoal cause Bob uses charcoal that he
17:32
makes to do his forging work.
17:35
it's interesting how the heat and the coal actually works.
17:38
You make charcoal and.
17:40
, Most people don't even think that you make charcoal, but you can.
17:42
Yeah.
17:43
Fascinating.
17:43
Oh, that is interesting.
17:45
Hey, there's another thing that's happening and my son just ate
17:48
there, and that's Sean Sherman.
17:50
I don't know if he's a chef, but it's called Owamni.
17:53
The Sioux chef in Minneapolis, he's reviving all the foods or anything
17:58
pre colonization that the Native Americans used and that says, no
18:02
cane sugar, no dairy, no wheat, and you only get bison and some of
18:07
the native things that they got.
18:09
and I love that my son and daughter-in-law loved it because
18:13
they don't eat cane sugar.
18:14
And so they, sweetened things with probably maple syrup or whatever.
18:18
I hear it's a hard reservation to get, but I'd love to try it sometime.
18:21
And I wonder if they serve No, probably don't serve fry bread either.
18:24
And you're gonna you said you're gonna post that recipe because
18:27
will post, I will post the recipe
18:29
in the, in the chat.
18:31
Well, in the, in the summary.
18:32
But, it's interesting.
18:33
No dairy.
18:34
I'm gonna presume they had goats or something like that to have
18:37
some kind of dairy, but maybe not.
18:39
I don't
18:39
Well, I don't know.
18:40
Yeah, I don't know.
18:41
It just says that's he does not serve any dairy because they didn't
18:44
have domesticated cows, but maybe they captured a few wild goats.
18:48
I don't know.
18:48
That might've been kind of a crazy scene.
18:51
Try to capture a goat
18:53
and
18:53
was certainly a
18:53
healthier way of eating and cooking and, , I am presuming that the colonial
18:57
era had a healthier way of eating except there you talk about utensils.
19:01
So we had mentioned this at one point, that.
19:04
Some of the eating utensils that the colonial or the pilgrims had were
19:08
actually poisonous, like pewter,
19:10
eating off pewter plates has a toxicity to it.
19:13
So something to consider.
19:15
Yeah, and nuts and berries.
19:16
Of course, they were, had lots of nuts and berries and nuts.
19:19
Also have a complete protein profile.
19:22
So again, they found ways.
19:23
So interesting.
19:24
This is sort of a, pre teaser for a show.
19:26
I'm gonna do an interview with a friend of mine Gail Tauber,
19:29
Gail Tauber and her husband Phil.
19:31
first of all, I'm gonna say this is a very rare interview, so
19:34
we're really, really fortunate.
19:36
They are the founders of Kashi Cereal and Kashi Cereal was designed as a very
19:40
high protein breakfast cereal to help them with bulking up, for working out.
19:46
And most of us don't think of grains.
19:47
As a protein,
19:48
Oh, right.
19:49
right?
19:49
So it's, it'll, we'll have a lot more on that one.
19:51
So the Native Americans knew how to do that before the rest of us
19:55
did, but there's more on that one.
19:57
yeah.
19:57
Science, you know, they knew science when,
20:00
Before it was
20:01
just,
20:03
well, it may Bill
20:04
Nye, the science guy, right?
20:06
Might be going outta style a little bit, but it comes and goes, who knows?
20:09
. So then, , you get to all those foods, and then spiritual connections to food.
20:14
And you remember we interviewed Father Jim and he frequently.
20:18
Teaches cooking classes for kids and you know, being a priest, he
20:22
sees the connection and there's so much religion around eating
20:26
and feasts and celebrating and,
20:28
The last supper, right?
20:29
Yeah, the last supper.
20:30
And then, what did we, oh, in a previous show we talked about ghost suppers, where
20:35
the Native Americans would celebrate their ancestors and it was a big deal.
20:39
You didn't go away when you died like you do now, right?
20:41
I mean, kids forget you in six weeks.
20:43
No,
20:44
Well, but, but even the, , Hispanic or the Mexican culture, the Day of the Dead
20:49
where people bring their meals and they celebrate and have picnics in and around
20:53
the burial sites of their ancestors.
20:55
I love the idea of a ghost supper because.
20:58
I think, didn't you mention at one point that Ghost Suppers are not
21:00
necessarily just honoring your ancestors, but it could be a meal or a recipe
21:05
that you've forgotten about and you haven't used in maybe years or all of
21:09
a sudden something triggers a memory that, yeah, mom used to make those
21:12
cookies and I don't make them anymore.
21:14
Maybe I can put my own spin on it.
21:16
So bringing those back in a way that celebrates a life.
21:20
The past and the life of today is a very sort of native thing,
21:24
yeah.
21:24
Let's do that.
21:25
Let's meet in the middle.
21:27
I dunno what the middle between us is.
21:28
I'm in Kentucky.
21:29
You're in Florida
21:30
Well, let's meet, well, like, we're not like on the life
21:35
No, we're gonna celebrate that.
21:37
Okay.
21:37
but another thing that I think you found was a spirit plate.
21:40
Yeah.
21:41
Spirit plate.
21:42
plate.
21:42
Plate with, a little bit of everything is prepared, taken
21:45
outside and left for your ancestors.
21:47
Yes.
21:47
Spirit bite, uh, kind of like leaving the plate for Santa Claus.
21:50
Yeah.
21:51
Cookies, but more serious, like I took it, that, that meant, just little
21:54
bits of the food so that, you know,
21:57
sample, so we'll call it a
21:58
sample
21:59
a sample,
22:00
It's an an appetizer plate for the
22:02
Just tiny.
22:02
Yeah, that's right.
22:04
Maybe they're on a diet or something,
22:05
you know?
22:06
the
22:06
local dogs come by and snatch it at night.
22:09
You know what?
22:09
I think I could have been a really good Native American because what I,
22:12
suspect is they did have big feasts, I'm sure, and lots of food and people
22:18
would be like laying around like, oh my Lord, did I really eat all of that?
22:22
But I'm a nibbler.
22:23
So I would've been so good at nibbling and finding me a berry or finding me
22:28
a nut or, you know, just little tiny things that, well I'm thinking that
22:32
Nancy, 'cause I just had dinner at one of our premier new restaurants in
22:36
Lexington that's like, could be anywhere.
22:37
And, , they served us three appetizers and by the time I got
22:41
to the, through the appetizers.
22:43
I couldn't eat one more bite, and so I brought home the, , chicken dish that I
22:47
had ordered as an entree, but you know, I,
22:49
Three appetizers.
22:50
That's a, that's a lot.
22:51
I, I would say I could make a meal out of that one.
22:53
I ha I have to laugh.
22:54
, On sort of slightly aside, but on, , the appetizer side, a number of years
22:59
back we had gone to or gotten a very.
23:02
Fortunate reservation at a restaurant called Blue Hill at Stone Barnes, which
23:06
is up in Pocantico Hills in Westchester, and it's a super four star restaurant.
23:11
But what I loved is that, and maybe this is kind of back to the Native
23:14
American tribes, is there was no electricity in the lighting in
23:18
the entire place for the guests.
23:20
Everything was done by candlelight.
23:22
Oh
23:22
And I came back from the bathroom and I told Bob.
23:25
I look amazing in candlelight.
23:27
We are cutting electricity from the house,
23:31
yeah, I've heard of that actually.
23:33
Dining and Darkness.
23:34
Yeah.
23:35
right, but, well, it wasn't in darkness.
23:36
There were a lot of candlelight.
23:37
So it was it, but it was a soft sort of a yellow light.
23:40
But was interesting is that all the aspects of this tasting menu were
23:44
small little bites of things, and there was a salad that they brought, or
23:48
lettuce, and it's on a piece of wood.
23:50
So you, I'm thinking Native Americans, except they didn't have
23:52
these and pins, straight pins.
23:54
And the straight pins were done in sort of , a S shape.
23:57
And on each pin was a little baby micro green.
24:01
And that was our first serve.
24:02
And I looked at Bob and I said, how much are we paying for this?
24:05
I'm gonna be hungry.
24:08
Well, at the end, at the end, after everything, it wasn't
24:11
hungry, but they celebrated very much like our Native Americans
24:15
or our native, indigenous people.
24:17
They celebrated everything that they brought to the table and
24:20
they explained where it came from.
24:22
The name of the chickens, the.
24:23
Unfortunately, the name of the pigs, the name, you know, where the fish was
24:27
brought in and how it was prepared.
24:29
So understanding where food comes from, I think is part of that
24:33
indigenous respect for the land, right?
24:35
Well just think about your candlelight story.
24:37
A lot of times I'd say, I mean, they didn't have electricity.
24:40
They ate my firelight, you
24:41
know, in the, in the campfire.
24:43
And I actually have heard of darkness.
24:46
Total darkness restaurants, because what the idea is, is
24:50
you touch,
24:51
you use your 10 senses, you use your sense of smell.
24:54
I don't think I'd like that.
24:55
'cause I like to see what's in front of
24:56
I think that's a little creepy.
24:57
Yeah, I know.
24:58
Uh, uh, total darkness is too much, but soft candlelight is lovely.
25:02
And speaking of soft candlelight, so , before we go there, a few things
25:04
I just wanna mention that you may not even notice in the grocery store
25:08
that actually all started around.
25:10
Or Native Americans or native, indigenous tribes.
25:13
Think of blue corn chips, right?
25:15
Never thought about that.
25:17
Or smoked or dried salmon, anything like that.
25:20
It's interesting.
25:20
Dad came from the Pacific Northwest.
25:22
the had diatribes and the Sasha types.
25:25
I think I'm probably not doing a very good job of, of recommending these,
25:29
but just even understanding a prickly para cactus, I tried that once out in,
25:34
out west and kind of doesn't have a flavor to me I can do without eating my
25:39
Yeah, there's like,
25:39
there's like a straight line from the natives to the colonies , and
25:44
then we've all blended all that together and we need to parse it
25:47
out and recognize our heritage.
25:50
Isn't that what we're about?
25:52
We kind of forget where we came from, and I think it's important to go back
25:55
to understand that the, the blossoms of the flowers were , the pumpkins and,
25:59
well pumpkins actually have a teeny tiny little flower, but squash the
26:02
squash flowers, they were also used.
26:04
Everything was used.
26:06
And celebrated and not wasted.
26:08
And I think more of us need to come back to, to understanding that one
26:12
thing that I thought was really gross, now this is up in the Alaska area,
26:17
the Arctic with the Inuit and the Aluatte tribes, Eskimo ice cream.
26:21
Now it's non vanilla ice cream with the chocolate on the outside like an
26:25
Oh, I know the answer.
26:27
I know the answer.
26:27
It's disgusting.
26:29
uh.
26:31
that's, That's not a disrespect by any means, but animal fat berries,
26:36
I guess, to make it taste better and fish all mixed together and
26:39
frozen, ugh, somehow doesn't cut it.
26:42
I'd need a lot more than maple syrup on that to make it taste good.
26:47
Well, have you ever thought about how much, just thinking about something
26:50
can influence your taste buds?
26:52
Even before.
26:53
Even before you eat it, right?
26:54
Knowing where it's coming from.
26:56
I know there's a lot of sort of internal organs that people love on critters,
27:00
like, , brains and stomach and.
27:02
Rocky Mountain Oysters and, uh, T-M-I, in my boat.
27:06
So,
27:07
Yeah, this,
27:09
celebrate the love of life and family, and more importantly, understand
27:14
your roots, not just your own roots, but our Native American roots.
27:18
Because after all, it is fall and it's the time of celebration of everything.
27:22
Renewal again.
27:23
So well everything is not renewal again, but the celebration of
27:27
the slowing down of things for
27:28
the wintertime.
27:29
Yeah.
27:29
I
27:30
We'll,
27:30
yeah.
27:30
We'll see you soon and we'll hear you soon and please remember to share like
27:35
and tell others about your stories because we'd like to hear yours too.
27:38
It's Podcast dot family Tree, food and Stories.
27:41
We'll see you soon and we'll hear you soon.
27:42
Take care.
27:43
Bye-bye.
27:44
care.
27:44
Goodbye.