Three Sisters-- The Native American Legend and the Soup

 

I have been working with my son and his friend as their Indian Lore Merit Badge Counselor.  To meet on of the requirements, we had to make three Native American dishes. I thought this was a great recipe to try out, not only is it traditional, but it has meaning and it's own legend. The soup was delicious, hearty, and healthy.

The Three Sisters - A Native American Legend

A long time ago there were three sisters who lived together in a field. These sisters were quite different from one another in their size and way of dressing. The little sister was so young that she could only crawl at first, and she was dressed in green.
The second sister wore a bright yellow dress, and she had a way of running off by herself when the sun shone and the soft wind blew in her face.
The third was the eldest sister, standing always very straight and tall above the other sisters and trying to protect them. She wore a light green shawl, and she had long, yellow hair that tossed about her head in the breeze.
There was one way the sisters were all alike, though. They loved each other dearly, and they always stayed together. This made them very strong.
One day a stranger came to the field of the Three Sisters - a Mohawk boy. He talked to the birds and other animals - this caught the attention of the three sisters.
Late that summer, the youngest and smallest sister disappeared. Her sisters were sad.
Again the Mohawk boy came to the field to gather reeds at the water's edge. The two sisters who were left watched his moccasin trail, and that night the second sister - the one in the yellow dress - disappeared as well.
Now the Elder Sister was the only one left.
She continued to stand tall in her field. When the Mohawk boy saw that she missed her sisters, he brought them all back together and they became stronger together, again.

Three Sisters Soup Recipe

"Three sisters" refers to the wonderful combination of beans, corn and squash—foods traditionally grown and consumed together by many American Indian tribes.

Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 cup dried pinto (or other) beans, soaked overnight in 4 cups water
1 acorn squash
1 to 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 onion, diced
Pinch sea salt
1 large carrot, diced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 rib celery, diced
3 to 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup frozen corn
1 teaspoon dried or 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Drain and rinse soaked beans. Put them in a pot and cover with water by an inch. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 45 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Add more water if necessary.

2. While beans are cooking, cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Bake squash halves, cut side up, in a 375-degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until tender.

3. Heat butter or oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and a pinch of salt and sauté over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes.

4. Add carrot, garlic and celery, and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for another 5 to 10 minutes.

5. In the meantime, scoop cooked squash out of shell. Add squash to onion mixture and mix well, smoothing out any large lumps. Rinse and drain cooked beans.

6. Add stock and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and add beans, corn and thyme. Simmer, covered, for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot with crusty bread.

Indian Pudding

 

I began working on the Indian Lore Merit Badge yesterday with my son and another Boy Scout. One of the requirements was to make 3 Native American food items. One of the items we made was Indian Pudding. I am not a huge fan of this pudding, mainly because the  molasses  has a strong presence and I really don't care for molasses, but my husband and the kids loved it! It was easy to make, two 12 year old boys made it on their own. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
vanilla ice cream for serving

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350°. In a medium heavy stainless-steel saucepan, bring the milk, cream, molasses, and brown sugar almost to a simmer over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally.
 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the milk mixture, whisking. Bring just to a simmer, whisking. Pour into an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. The batter will be thin and shallow.
 

3. Bake the pudding in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir well. Return the pudding to the oven and continue cooking for 20 minutes. The pudding will still be quite wobbly but will set as it cools. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes and serve warm. Or cool completely and reheat the pudding in a 350° oven for about 5 minutes just before serving. Serve the pudding topped with the ice cream.

*Variations Stir the pudding after it has baked for twenty minutes and then top it with one-third cup of chopped pecans or walnuts. Continue baking as directed for twenty minutes longer.

Make Your Own Native American Indian Medicine Bag

I recently became a Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor for the Indian Lore Merit Badge. I love Native American history and culture and I am 50% Native American, so this should be a lot of fun. My first battle is figuring out what projects we are going to make to satisfy the requirements. One of the projects I am going to make with boys is a Medicine Bag. This is a simple version that does not require sewing and should be easily accomplished by all of the boys. Below, I listed  the materials I used for the bag pictured, I also listed what I plan on using with the boys to keep the cost down and use up some supplies that I already have on hand.
 

 

Native American Indians used medicine bags as a holder or container for various items that they found special or that they thought possessed supernatural powers. Anyone could have one, but usually the medicine man of a tribe that would carry one. They carried items such as special stones, animal furs, teeth, and anything else that meant something to the owner. The contents of the bag were very special and secretive, only the owner of the bag was allowed to look in it. When the owner died, their bag was buried with them.

 

To make this medicine bag you will need:

• a good sized piece of leather, vinyl or other material, I used a piece of leather that I had for my bag, but the boys will be using a "fake" leather vinyl to make theirs.
• circular template, I used a small paper plate
• some kids of cord, I used leather cord that I had left over from another project, but the boys will be using para-cord; you could use a thin ribbon or an entire strand of embroidery floss as well
• Pony Beads, if desired
• scissors
• leather punch, hole punch, or something sharp to poke holes in the leather or material
• pencil or marker, I used a silver Sharpie since I used black leather

Instructions:

Use the template or plate to trace a circle on the backside of the leather or material and cut it out.

Measure out holes evenly around the circle, about an inch apart. **You must have an even number of holes for the medicine bag to cinch closed properly. 

Lace the cord through the holes so that both ends of the cord end on the same side. Add some pony beads to both ends of the cord, you can use the pony beads to push and hold the bag closed. Knot the ends of the cord together and you have yourself a medicine bag!

What will you store in yours?