Honoring The Indigenous

We don't give enough credit to the first Americans - the indigenous tribes who introduced the Europeans to their foods. We should and hopefully we will. Sean Sherman , a Lakota chef is making sure modern Americans are tasting the foods of the first Americans.

 Lakota Chef Sherman and his story was the highlight of today's New York Times Food section.It's part of a series of honoring different chefs and their culinary backgrounds. Funny that native foods are never really covered in the Times, when they should be. They are varied, echoing the elaborate rituals of all the tribes. Chef Sherman , with the help of Beth Dooley, recreated dishes from all over  the pre-Columbian US. He is the creator of the cleverly named Sioux Chef, which brings native influenced dishes to the entire country.  He didn't want the recipes he developed for today's article to  ones from 1491; rather he hopes to celebrate the diversity that defines our communities now. It's a look into what Indigenous chefs are making now and highlighting the ingredients from the regions they reflect. Chef Sherman's team connected with other Indigenous chefs along with farmers, seed keepers, academics and leaders to create original fare from Mexico to Alaska. There is none of the colonial ingredients that are part of European cooking. You won't see wheat flour, dairy, cane sugar and various meats such as beef, chicken and pork.  The palate is still bright and inventive yet traditional. Many tribal elders said they haven't tasted these pure flavors like cedar roasted venison and seaweed flavored oysters. since childhood.

Chef Sherman also highlights his own Lakota heritage. He offers a stew of roasted turnips and winter squash with an agave glaze.The original recipe calls for timpsula, the wild turnip that grows on the plains of his native South Dakota Black Hills. Still, it would be a great side to any fall dinner. The veggies are tossed in sunflower oil then roasted. Agave syrup is layered on and the dish is finished with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds.There is also a bison pot roast , cooked with hominy and flavored with juniper berries and sage.Other regions are also represented.There is heritage turkey from the Onondaga Tribe from the northern New York State which are raised outside. They're not the hormone laced birds we're used to eating. They have meatier thighs and smaller breasts, along with a higher ratio of dark to white meat. Chef Sherman's turkey is served with a berry-mint sauce and walnuts. It can be served with another recipe, this one from the Great Lakes region.It's wild rice and berries with popped rice. The last is made similar to how we used to pop corn, but in a dry , hot skillet. Hazelnuts and different berries such cranberries and blue berries along with sour cherries give it more flavor. The Pacific Northwest  Muckleshoot tribe is also represented with salmon. It's briny tang is offset with crushed blackberries and seaweed.

 Indigenous cooking is truly American cuisine. Chef Sherman is making sure we know that and start enjoying native dishes. It's much much more than inclusiveness. It's this country's heritage.

The Bing Cherry - The Perfect Fruit

Everyone associates summer fruits as peaches or watermelon but there's another one it;'s also sweet and juicy and fun to eat. What is it? The Bing cherry The season is here to enjoy them. have them plain after a barbecue or pitted and sliced over vanilla ice cream.

The season for these is usually June or July but I've only recently noticed them in my local A&P. They come from the Pacific Northwest where they were first cultivated in the 1870's. Their "inventor " (if that;s the right word for him) was Seth Lewelling and his foreman, a man only known as Ah Bing.It was Bing, a Manchurian immigrant, who cultivated them and perhaps even invented this hybrid cross. Bing cherries are plump and firm when ripe but can spoil easily. Try to eat them within a couple of days of buying otherwise you'll have dry rotty, cherries in the fridge. Their skins are also delicate and they can burst almost upon touching They are helpful in lessening arthritis and gout pains. A cup is only fifty seven calories. Bing cherries as are very low in sodium but high in Vitamins A and C. They're the perfect snack if you're fighting off a summer cold or sniffles.

Bing cherries are a good dessert or snack just by themselves (although be careful, too many of them can cause a wicked stomach ache). They have a sweetness that just seems to envelope the mouth and leave a lovely aftertaste.I always feel that they should be left on their own and not paired with anything else. However you can mix pitted and sliced ones into your vanilla ice cream or use them in a decadent cherries jubilee. There's also Bing Cherry lemonade where they're crushed and added to fresh squeezed lemons , sugar syrup and ice water.They also are good cooked with duck, melding with the meats' sweet, gamy taste. Another use is sliced cherries in a melon or fruit salad, or even in a regular salad with chicken, and walnuts. You can also make a cherry vinegar adding a few Bings to red wine vinegar.


Take advantage of the short seasonthat produces htese amazing fruits. They're the perfect summer treat after a hearty barbecue or as a snack on a lazy hot afternoon. Enjoy one of the best fruits of the season.