Indigenous Community Garden Cookbook

The corn cakes are indigenous to the Native people and are prepared and eaten by the peoples of Newfoundland to Jamaica. The Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Choctaw, and Seminole) used corn cakes as a staple to their diet. Starting with the idea of corn cakes the Alqonquians would soak their corn in water with wood ash, lime, or any source of alkaline. The solution breaks down the hard cell walls of corn and releases the pectin inside. This makes it possible for the masa to form a strong bond and prevents it from cracking when handled and cooked. The color, taste, and scent of the maize likewise deepen and intensify. This procedure is known as nixtamalization and is attributed to the Aztec and Mayan cultures. That masa was used by the Alqonquians to bake cakes.

Chia, Salvia Hispanica, is a flowering mint plant native to Central America and commonly found in the Southwest of the United States. Chia is derived from the Nahuatl word chian, meaning 'oily'. Chia is a great substitute for baking with eggs and cooking jams with pectin. With soaking in water, Chia seeds can thicken and create a gummy binder for cakes and breads. 

¼ cup of chia seeds

2 cups of corn masa (recommend using CornMafia Longhouse Masa)

⅛ cup of maple syrup or molasses 

1 teaspoon of salt 

¼ cup of sugar or (added more maple syrup preferably 3 tablespoons of maple syrup)

1 tablespoon of nutmeg 

1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

2 teaspoons of Baking soda 

2 teaspoons of Baking powder 

½ cup of coconut oil or any cooking oil of your choice

½ cup of any plant milk alternative milk (oat, almond, soy, or even hickory milk)

Start off with placing the chia seeds into a cup of water. Stir the chia seeds thoroughly in the water, then set the mixture aside.

In a mixing bowl, add corn masa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar. Then stir until all the dry ingredients are combined. 

In the mixing bowl, add the chia seeds to the mixture alongside the maple syrup or molasses and the plant milk option. Then stir the mixture until it is a thick batter. 

In a frying pan or skillet, add two tablespoons of oil to the skillet to heat up. Scoop two tablespoons of the batter and pat the batter into a small cake. 

With a spatula, place the cake on the frying pan/skillet. Cook until the tops of the pancakes begin to bubble around the edges and the bottom is golden brown. Flip the pancakes and cook until the bottom is golden brown. Continue the process until the batter is used up. 

Have the cakes cool down and serve them with a sauce, jam, maple syrup, or beans. 

Alegría sweets refers to the ceremonial and celebratory pre-Hispanic era. Dried fruits, honey, and popped amaranth combine to make this confection. The Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés,  banned the cultivation of this amaranth, alongside many other ceremonial and medicinal plants tied to Aztec culture. Alegría was made for offerings for ceremonies intended to guarantee bountiful crops and harvests. The name Huautli, which refers to the amaranth plant, is the source of the translation of "Alegría," a word associated with Spanish colonization.

Huautli (Amaranth), is a herbaceous plant that is cultivated for culinary, ceremonial, and cosmopolitan purposes. Depending on the species, the entire plant can be consumed; the stems are brewed into soups, the leaves are used in salads and greens, and the seeds are utilized as cereal grains. Huautli stems, flowers, and seeds are used for extracting dyes. Huautli is high in vitamins like calcium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, and Vitamin C. Huautli has trace levels of sucrose and raffinose but is high in fatty acids. Huautli is another example of resistance due to its perennial nature, resistance to frost and diseases, and the prevalence of its seed distribution. 

2 cup of popped amaranth 

½ cup of toasted pumpkin seeds

½ cup of toasted almonds

¼ cup of maple syrup 

¼ cup of honey or agave 

1 tablespoon of molasses

½ cup of dried fruits (recommend cranberries or raisins) 

Marigolds for garnishing 

Heat a wide-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add the popped amaranth to the pan and toast them. Once you start seeing the amaranth getting light brown, that is when you know they are ready. Turn the heat off and remove the toasted popped amaranth from the pan. Place the toasted popped amaranth on the side.

Reheat the pan back to medium-high heat. Combine water, maple syrup, honey (or agave), and molasses in a pan. Let everything dissolve and be heated up to a thick syrup. 

Incorporate the popped amaranth, roasted nuts, toasted pumpkin seeds, and dried fruits into the pan at that point. As soon as you can, combine them into a sticky mixture. The syrup should cover all of the amaranth, roasted seeds, and nuts. 

Once everything is coated, immediately pour the amaranth on a lined sheet tray and start compressing it with your hands. The amaranth should be compacted in the tray. 

Before it totally cools and gets hard, cut it while it is still warm and pliable. You may use cookie cutters to mold it into shapes or cut it into squares.

(For Dia De Los Muertos, you can cut them into skull shapes and then use marigold petals on the skull shape’s eyes.)

Once it gets cool and hardens, then it is ready to be served.

Pvlvska Bvnana Chahta (Choctaw Bean Bread)