Christie C. An interviewer asked Alfred Hitchcock, “…what is your definition of happiness?”
“A clear horizon ― nothing to worry about on your plate, only things that are creative and not destructive…” ―
Alfred Hitchcock
When attempting this journey into Indigenous cooking, the first thought I had was: where the heck do I start?
The United States is notorious for its corporate food structure where small local farm economies are suppressed in favor of corporate farms that use inefficient methods and profit driven models. That combined with our strange urban layouts that require a car for almost everything and food deserts make it difficult for us to find local food.
After being inspired by urban foraging groups, I found that my small city is not so parched in wild foods. I started exploring my local woods, parks, and neighborhood, and was surprised with what I discovered. To enhance my knowledge, I added some good botany literature.
Wild Foods Literature
This summer of 2024, I have been experimenting cooking with invasive foreign plants as well as foods indigenous to North America. There’s so much here that counts as food and we don’t take advantage of it to keep us healthy and happy.
I started researching locations for plants and animals in the spring while trying to source ingredients for recipes. I managed to create a small directory for indigenous ingredients because, truth be told, many foods native to the United States aren’t even available to the average person.
My Indigenous American Food Directory is incomplete, but I will update it as more information arrives.
Using one of my favorite books, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman, as well as Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods by Thomas Elias and Botanica North America: An Illustrated Guide to Native Plants: Their Botany, Their History, and the Way They Have Shaped Our World by Marjorie Harris, I have started the very slow journey of self-taught botany.
Practicing Plant Identification in My Neighborhood
While on one of my many forest bathing walks, I came across some wild indigenous plants with budding fruits. I had no idea that there were blackberry bushes and mulberry trees near me! One day when I’m not feeling like a chicken (because the wasps and bees are REAL in this area), I’ll run outside with a bag or basket and pick as many of them as I can.
Other plants I came across were several sowthistle, dandelion, and pink sorrel plants. These are not native to North America, but they have been naturalized into the environment, and are edible options for foraged salads.
All hyper local foods that I cannot find in the eastern United States had to be sourced through small specialty farms and shops. Fortunately, they can be shipped frozen to your door.
What I Made So Far…
I made strawberry mint kombucha, cedar maple tea AND cedar maple kombucha, and I made sautéed venison meatballs and chokecherry wojape, which is a tart and sweet berry sauce.
Other dishes include a huckleberry compote, duck eggs with corn mash, and a smoked trout salad.
The maple cedar kombucha was surprisingly delicious! It had this rich, sweet forest flavor and a lovely amount of fizz.
