“Cooking
and eating in a foreign country may be the surest, truest way to its soul.” –
Travel & Leisure Magazine.
Part
of the fun of traveling is sharing your trip with others. Of course, you can
show pictures and/or videos, display your souvenirs, and regale unwary persons
with your travel stories and adventures. I like to take it one step further and
share the culture of a country or region with my family through food. Since I
can’t always take my family with me when I travel, on Christmas I like to bring
a small part of the world to my family at a themed dinner. You never know what
you’re going to eat at my house on Christmas, but rest assured there will be
plenty of it! Bring your appetite, your sense of adventure, and some Tupperware
for carry-out.
The
tradition began 10 years ago, when I was contemplating what to make for a
special Christmas dinner for my family. I didn’t want to subject them to yet
another ham or turkey dinner, and you know I hate anything ordinary! I had
taken a class at WIU to study agriculture in China in 2005, where I enjoyed
authentic Chinese food - which is worlds apart from the Chinese food we
typically find here in the US. So, one thing led to another, and before I knew
it I was planning a Chinese Christmas dinner. A tradition was born, and since
that time we have enjoyed holiday dinners from Russia (2006), Costa Rica
(2007), the Florida Keys (2008), Australia (2009), Jamaica (2010), Germany
(2011), Hogwarts Castle (2012), the fantasy world of Dr. Seuss (2013), and
Scotland (2014).
Which
bring us to 2015. I started the year with a delightful trip to sunny Arizona,
had an amazing time in Jamaica in March, thoroughly enjoyed some long weekends
in Petersburg MI, St. Louis MO, Chicago IL, and Pittsburgh PA, and loved every hilarious
minute of a wild and woolly western adventure to the buffalo roundup in Custer,
SD! So I had a few options to choose from, and finally settled on a theme of
“Wild Wild West” to encompass both the Arizona and South Dakota trips.
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| Appetizer Buffet |
I
wanted to work with foods indigenous to Arizona and South Dakota that were
available to Native Americans and early settlers. This included staples that
the emigrants would have carried with them, though I did take some liberties
just for fun. This is the final menu:
APPETIZERS: Pickled Eggs
Elk Summer
Sausage
Assorted
Cheeses
Sunflower
Crackers
Cowboy
Boot Cheese Ball
Candied
Walnuts
MAINS: Buffalo Ravioli
Venison
Fajitas on Indian Fry Bread
Wild Game
Stew
SIDES: Hominy
Casserole
Fart ‘N
Dart Beans
Southwest
Chopped Salad
Cornbread w/
Buffalo Berry Jelly and Honey
DESSERT: Mixed Fruit Cobbler
Plum Kuchen
Buffalo and Cactus Shaped Sugar
Cookies
Popcorn Balls
BEVERAGES: Apple Juice
Apple Cider
Milk
Spring Water
If
you’re interested in the research that helped me plan the menu, read on. I find
the planning phase fascinating, and sometimes have to force myself to stop
studying and start cooking!
 |
| Homemade Buffalo Ravioli |
I
began by looking at which edible plants and animals are indigenous to Arizona
and South Dakota. For South Dakota, this came partly from a list of plants and
animals recorded and described by the Lewis and Clark expedition. Some were new
to science; some were previously known species. The list included: Ramps (Wild
Onion), Pin Cherry, Prairie Apple, Prickly Pear Cactus, Buffaloberry, Straggly
Gooseberry, Wild Ginger, Desert Cottontail, Mule Deer, White-Tailed Deer,
Bison, Eastern Cottontail, and Elk. Also native to South Dakota are: Bullfrog, Crabapple,
Black Walnut, Indian Celery, Common Chokecherry, Wild Plum, Wild Garlic,
Sunflower, Red and Black Raspberry, and Blackberry.
The
arid state of Arizona’s indigenous species included Arizona Elk, Jackrabbit,
White-tailed Deer, American Wild Carrot, Common Sunflower, Arizona Black
Walnut, Jicama, and Prickly Pear Cactus. These are not complete lists of the
animals and plants in these states, just the ones that made my short list of
potential ingredients.
 |
| Cheese and Elk Summer Sausage |
The
next step was looking at what Native Indians in these areas ate. The plains
Indians were nomadic, following the buffalo herds which provided them with
their chief source of meat. They supplemented their diet with other game and
fish, as well as eggs, honey, nuts, seeds, berries, fruits, greens, and roots
gathered by tribal women.
The
Southwest appears to be less abundant with food than other parts of the
country, but to those who knew where and how to look, the harsh environment
supplied a variety of foods. Natives hunted game and foraged for berries,
seeds, roots, and cactus. Cacti were an integral part of the diet for those who
lived near the Sonoran Desert.
 |
Cornbread, Venison Fajitas, Indian Fry Bread,
& Southwest Chopped Salad |
Many
southwestern tribes developed sedentary cultures based on agriculture. Maize (corn)
was the dominant crop, and was first cultivated in the Southwest between 5,000
and 10,000 years ago. Corn was eaten in many different ways, including
corn-on-the-cob, popcorn, hominy, tortillas and corn bread baked in clay ovens.
Other important American Indian crops were beans, squash, sunflowers, potatoes,
sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and avocados. Anasazi Beans were one of the
crops cultivated by the Anasazi Indians in the four corners area (now Colorado,
Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico). Chiles have been essential elements of both
food and medicine among indigenous peoples in the Southwest for over 9,000
years, and joined corn, beans, and squash to form the “Big Four” staple crops. The
wild sunflower was domesticated by American Indians in present-day Arizona.
Some archaeologist suggest that sunflowers may have been domesticated before
corn.
 |
| Buffalo Ravioli & Game Stew |
Frybread became a staple food
to the Native Americans in the mid-1800s. According to Navajo tradition,
frybread was created using the flour, sugar, salt, and lard that was given to
them by the United States government when they were relocated to reservation
land that could not support their traditional staples of vegetables and beans.
It became common food for many tribes, and can be found at most Pow Wows today.
 |
| Candied Walnuts, Pickled Eggs, & Crackers |
Finally,
I studied the foods brought along by the emigrants during the great westward
migration. The 2,000 mile trek was a long battle to conserve the dwindling
supplies, supplemented by what they could acquire at trading posts along the
way or by hunting. A basic list of provisions for a family of four included 600
pounds of flour, 300 pounds of bacon, 150 pounds of sugar, 100 pounds of cornmeal
(into which eggs could be packed for the rough journey), 100 pounds of
hardtack, and 20 pounds of saleratus (baking soda). Sacks of dried beans, rice,
and dried fruit augmented their diet, and salt, pepper, vinegar, and molasses
added seasoning. Additional food like pickles, canned butter, cheese or pickled
eggs were occasionally carried. Some families took along milk cows, goats, and
chickens (penned in crates tied to the wagons). Milk was churned into butter in
buckets suspended from the bottom of the wagon.
 |
| Fart 'N Dart Beans, Hominy Casserole |
Baking
bread was a daily and necessary activity, so flour was a critical item on the
emigrants’ list. In order to make breads and cakes rise, they packed saleratus.
Hardtack or crackers were eaten at meals when there wasn’t time or fuel for a
fire. While not nearly as important as flour as a survival food, everyone
carried sugar. Pies, cakes, and jams from fresh berries were frequently made on
the trail. Since it was expensive to separate white and brown sugar and remove
all the molasses, the sugar the settlers carried was a lumpy, sticky product.
The hot sun would melt it back into molasses.
Next
to bread, bacon was the food most often eaten – sometimes twice a day. Cornmeal
was a desirable commodity to carry because it was easy to cook and did not
spoil. Beans played an important role in the diet of early explorers and
settlers. They provided protein, and were easy to store, transport, and cook. Cheeses
carried by the emigrants were likely a commodity cheddar cheese commonly sold
in the grocery stores at the time. If they had made cheese at home, it could
vary from a simple soft cheese to an aged European style cheese.
Vast
herds of buffalo provided fresh meat for the trip. Wild game was relished as a
welcome change in a monotonous diet. Travelers could hunt antelope, buffalo,
sage hens, and occasionally elk, bear, deer, ducks, and geese along the trail.
 |
| Desserts |
So
there you have it – a huge list of potential ingredients! Narrowing it down was
the hardest part, and I kept adding and subtracting recipes to the menu. The
shopping was a breeze – since many of the recipes used ‘staples’, I had a lot
of the ingredients in my pantry already. This was old fashioned cooking at its
most basic – fresh and from scratch! The food was cooked and served in antique
graniteware pans and bowls. Doesn’t everyone have four boxes of them stashed in
their basement?!
I
really enjoy this Christmas tradition! The kids laugh at me when it’s time to
eat, because before we can dig in they must hear about each dish and why I
chose it. But the silence that falls as everyone is busy eating, and the groans
that follow when everyone is stuffed - priceless! When even the grandsons request seconds, and
ask for carry-outs on certain dishes, I know the meal is a success.
Always
drink upstream from the herd, and don’t squat with your spurs on!
Recipe Index:
Elk Summer Sausage (From Meatheads in Milan.)
Sunflower Crackers (Organic Sunflower Seed Crackers
from Aldi.)
Venison
Fajitas (I made up my own marinade recipe with honey, brown sugar,
Worcestershire sauce, orange juice, salt and pepper. Just cut the venison into
strips and marinade a couple hours. Then stir-fry until cooked through. Break
open the fry bread and fill with venison. Top with Southwest Chopped Salad and
Sour Cream.)
Indian
Fry Bread (Made with a mix I purchased in South Dakota. Mmmmm good!)
Cornbread
(I cheated a little and used Jiffy mixes – I like them better than homemade!
The Buffaloberry Jelly came back with me from South Dakota.)
Buffalo
and Cactus shaped Sugar Cookies (Just use your own favorite sugar cookie
recipe, and a glaze that has corn syrup
so it remains shiny and dries hard.)
