Transcript Museum Entrance - Christy Keeler

Welcome to the
Native American
Food Museum
by Tina Tenenholtz
ENTER
Press
for
Curator
Helpful Cooking
Tools
Native American Food Museum
Museum Entrance
Recipes
How Natives
Get Food
Native American Recipes
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Room 2
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Museum
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Room 3
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How Natives Get Food to Eat
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Helpful Cooking Tools
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Native American
Food Pyramid
Before the Europeans arrived, the Native
Americans had a fairly healthy lifestyle.
Their diets included hunted meat, plants,
berries, and fruits.
After the Europeans came, the food supply
started to deplete. There was less food due
to all of the Pioneers arriving in the New
World. It was beginning to become hard to
hunt because of war, the introduction of
railroads, and the senseless killing of bison
by the Europeans. With all of these factors,
it was hard to stay healthy.
Image acquired at:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/NAmFGP.html
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Ways Native Americans Cooked
Natives had several ways to cook
their food. They cooked food over a
fire or pit. Meat and other foods
were boiled, deep fried, or roasted,
just to name a few.
Image acquired at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbeychristine/1841387
14/
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Hot Rock Cooking
This technique was mainly used to
prepare large amounts of food that required
long, slow cooking.
These underground “ovens” had different
layers to cook foods that were inedible or
even poisonous. Meat can also be roasted
using this method. These “ovens” are still
used today in some areas of the world.
Image acquired at:
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/dinner/
Click here for directions on how to
make an underground oven.
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How to Make an Underground Oven
1.
Dig a shallow hole or pit.
2.
Build a fire in the pit.
3.
Place large rocks like limestone or basalt on top of the burning wood.
After several hours these rocks will be glowing and reach over 750
degrees.
4.
Add a large layer of green plants. Wet grass or prickly pear pads
work best.
5.
Put the food on top of the green plants.
6.
Add another layer of green plants. This will produce steam and it
will keep the food from getting dirty and keep it from burning.
7.
Cover with a thick layer of dirt. This will serve as a lid.
Depending on what is being cooked, some foods would be kept
underground for two or three days.
Image acquired at:
http://www.texasb
eyondhistory.net/k
ids/dinner/
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Winnowing
This trick was used to separate seeds from
stems, husks, or other debris. Native
Americans would place the seeds in a flat
basket or tray. After tossing them in the
air, the wind would blow away unwanted
materials. If it wasn’t windy enough, this
wouldn’t work quite as well. If it was too
windy, the seeds would blow away. The
seeds were then ready to be used.
Image acquired at:
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/dinner/
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Corn Soup
Ingredients
2 cups cooked corn
1/2 lb. salt pork
2 large onions, sliced
3 cups potatoes, boiled and diced
4 cups hot whole milk
2 cups boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Cut pork into 1/2 inch cubes; add onion and cook slowly 5-10
minutes, stirring until transparent but not browned.
Add corn, potatoes, hot milk and boiling water.
Season to taste and serve hot.
Goes well with fry bread.
Image acquired at:
http://www.Amerindian
arts.us/gorman/1995/maizeazul.shtml
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Dipped Squash Blossoms
Ingredients
2 dozen Squash Blossoms gathered early in the morning
3/4 cup of milk
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cooking oil
Directions
Thoroughly mix flour, milk, and salt. Place squash blossoms in
shallow pan and spoon flour mixture over them, coating all sides.
Heat oil in large skillet until at high temperature. Spoon battercoated blossoms into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain on
paper toweling and serve hot. For those with a taste for the spicy,
sprinkle with a little New Mexico style red chili.
Good with a dish of refried pinto beans, pueblo succotash, and
Indian tortillas.
Image acquired at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbeychristine/1841387
14/
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Indian Fry Bread
Ingredients
4 cups white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
Directions
Combine all ingredients. Add about 1 1/2 cups
lukewarm water and knead until dough is soft but
not sticky. Shape dough into balls the size of a
small peach. Shape into patties by hand; dough
should be about l/2 inch thick. Make a small hole
in the center of the round.
Image acquired at:
http://www.cookingpost.com/ProductItem.cfm?Categ
ory=7
Fry one at a time in about l inch of hot lard or
shortening in a heavy pan. Brown on both sides.
Drain on paper towels and serve hot with honey or
jam.
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Sweet Potato Cakes
Ingredients
4 large sweet potatoes
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoon cooking oil
Directions
Parboil sweet potatoes until tender; peel and mash.
Mix in eggs, salt, pepper.
Heat oil on large griddle until a drop of water sizzles.
Drop potato batter from a large spoon; brown on both
sides.
As you turn the pancakes, flatten them with a spatula
slightly.
Add oil on the griddle as needed.
Serve hot with butter or honey.
Image acquired at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cwage/180095534/
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Fishing
Native American tribes that lived near the
coasts also fished for food. They enjoyed
salmon and clams along with other fish and
shellfish. In the summer, Native tribes
could catch enough salmon for an entire
winter.
Image acquired at:
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0S0205YruVIwGsAaoCjzbkF/S
IG=11nbo65o7/EXP=1223098328/**http%3A//allkids.us/animal-page.html
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Hunting
Native Americans hunted for food any
place they could. They firmly believed
in not wasting food, so if they killed an
animal for any reason, they put a lot of
effort into using every part of it. Favorite
meats included buffalo, elk, caribou,
deer, and rabbit. They also hunted
ducks, geese, and turkeys. It was not
unusual for the Natives to eat porcupines,
monkeys, and snakes. The men would
do the hunting while the women would
gather roots, berries, and nuts.
Image acquired at:
http://www.indigenouspeople.net/images/BuffaloHunt
1.jpg
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Farming
In the Southern part of America, agriculture
was extremely advanced. To improve their
farming, Natives had to use different farming
techniques like crop rotation, irrigation, and
planting windbreaks. The farmers had to use
stone hatchets, pointed sticks, hoes, and bone
shovels to farm on their land. Crops grown
for food included squash, beans, and corn
(also known as maize); these three crops were
also know as the Three Sisters. These three
foods depended on each other, and grow in the
same area. The beans grew up the corn stalks,
with the squash in between, providing the
nitrogen that the soil needs for growth.
Image acquired at:
http://www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/WOO
DS/farming.asp
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Gathering
Collecting of different foods that
grow in the wild is called gathering.
Foods commonly gathered include
blueberries, acorns, and maple
syrup. Depending on where the
tribes lived would determine what
types of foods they would be able to
gather and the types of tools to be
used for gathering. For example, a
tap was needed to get the syrup out
of Maple trees.
Image acquired at:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/48/
True.berries.jpg/400px-True.berries.jpg
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Fishing Spears
Men typically used spears to catch fish.
Spear fishing was considered a man’s job
and done usually in the winter (ice fishing)
or spring. Fishing with a hook and string
was usually a woman’s job.
Spears were made from wood with points
made from bone. After the Europeans
arrived they used metal. Spears would
have single or triple points on them
depending on the size of the fish being
caught.
Image acquired at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilfishstudios/25029579
64/
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The Adobe Oven
Adobe ovens, also known as Hornos in
Spanish, have been around for hundreds of
years. They are outdoor ovens that are made
from natural adobe brick.
Inside you will find a stone base that retains
heat. Before cooking in an horno, a fire should
burn to at least 350 degrees. It will take about
two hours to reach that temperature. If the
horno turns black, it is too hot.
After about 35 minutes, you will have a
delicious, perfectly baked loaf of bread. Of
coarse, the horno can also be used to cook other
foods.
In some parts of the Southwest, Hornos are
still being used in restaurants, hotels, and even
homes.
Image acquired at:
www.sucasamagazine.com/contents/Autumn07/departments/swdesign.html
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Cradle Boards
The cradle board was a typical North
American baby carrier that was used by
women to carry a child. It was a resting
place for the child so the mother can do her
daily chores, including cooking. Babies
were bound and wrapped, feeling safe and
secure. Using cradle boards helped the
mothers move freely about when cooking
daily meals.
Image acquired at:
http://navajoarts.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=58
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Native American Food
Processors
This tool required a lot of human energy
in order to pound, crush, and grind seeds,
grains, or nuts.
A mortar was the “bowl” where the food
was placed to be pounded, crushed…
These were often hollowed-out logs or a
depression in a flat rock. The pestle (a
long rounded stone or wooded stick with
a rounded end) would be used to pound
the food. The Natives would then have
to raise the pestle up and down, resulting
in the food being ground up. This tool
closely resembles a butter churn.
Image acquired at:
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/dinner/kitche
n.html
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Basket for Gathering Berries
This was a typical woven basket. Native
Americans used something like this in
many different ways. Berries or other
fruits, nuts, or roots were collected in
baskets. Children would have them
attached to their belts so they can help with
the chores. Once smaller baskets were
filled, they were dumped into larger ones.
Often children wove their own baskets.
Image acquired at:
http://www.canyonart.com/Images/Baskets/b2X.jpg
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Tina Tenenholtz
Tina Tenenholtz is a 5th Grade Social Studies
Specialist at O’Roarke Elementary School. She
has been working at O’Roarke since it opened in
August of 2008. She has been teaching for the
Clark County School District since 2002. Before
moving to Las Vegas, Mrs. Tenenholtz taught for
six years in Chicago, Illinois.
Mrs. Tenenholtz currently lives in Las Vegas,
Nevada with her husband and two young
daughters. Spending time with her family is one of
her priorities in life. She enjoys taking Mia and
Angeli to the park and cooking different meals for
her family and friends.
You can contact Mrs. Tenenholtz at
[email protected]
Note: Virtual museums were first introduced by educators at Keith Valley Middle School in Horsham,
Pennsylvania. This template was designed by Dr. Christy Keeler based on one of the sample virtual museums
provided by the Keith Valley staff at ISTE’s NECC 2005. Contact Dr. Keeler for more information on using
this template.
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