Don’t you love the smell vanilla beans! Vanilla is such a versatile spice you can use it in ice cream, baking and even perfume. Here are a couple fun facts about vanilla! – The Totonac people, who inhabit the East coast of Mexico in present-day state of Veracruz were the first to cultivate vanilla. – … More Vanilla, a fragrant orchid from Mesoamerica

Corn has always been a central part of me and my family’s life. Growing up on a farm in the Sierra Nevada Foothills of CA, we have always grown a couple of different varieties of heirloom corn every season. Some of my favorite varieties are Strawberry Popcorn, Mohawk Red Bread Flour Corn, Navajo Robins Egg … More Corn Mother’s Gifts

Two days ago I had a wonderful indigenous drink called Atole.  Our friend Clayton, a farmer at Tesuque Pueblo in northern NM,  made this Atole with finely ground blue corn meal and granulated maple sugar from Gun Lake Potawatami. In the Pueblos of NM this drink is called ah-geh. Atole is a hot corn drink … More Atole, a delicious indigenous drink

Two weeks ago I had the great pleasure of teaching an interactive cooking demo to a group of children at my local homeschool charter, Twin Ridges Homestudy. I got to teach ages 5-9 how to prepare healthy indigenous food that’s also really simple! Together we made a wild rice and roasted squash pilaf (which you … More Healthy Cooking Class