Native Supper

A simple dinner tonight, taking our foods from the First Peoples in the western hemisphere. From the Táino peoples of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean, we have the origins of the sweet potato. Also, from the plains we have the Great American Bison.

And finally from the Four Corners area, we have Anasazi beans and the three sisters of beans, squash and corn. Before the Navajo, there were the Anasazi, who somewhere around the 8th century began to rely more and more on cultivated crops. These included squash, maize (corn) and beans. Although their civilization mysteriously vanished in the 12th and 13th centuries, their food heritage has not.

I baked the sweet potato just like you would a regular potato - you can use either the oven or a microwave, just don't over cook. I also put together a Three Sisters Succotash, and grilled up some bison filets on the super-hot rocket grill. We had a simple, easy to prepare and nutritious Native American supper, with about as few artificial ingredients as there can be in a meal.

Yá'át'ééh, shik'is.