Native American Herbal, Plant Knowledge

amount of cheese you used, just roughly by eye and taste. Although "a pint's a

pound, the world around" so 1/2 lb cheese = 1 cup, and try 1/4 cup mayo into it,

first. Note that the amount of cheese sauce should be proportional to number of

diners/squashes. Stir in some mustard--start with 2 tsp--there are many different

kinds, don't use cheap yellow hot-dawg mustard -- and taste for whether it needs

more mayo or mustard.

Most men will complain if you only make them one half-squash. Most kids won't eat

2, though. Don't let teenagers only eat the stuffing. Acorn and other yellow-orange

squashes are high in beta carotene, the vegetable pre-cursor to vitamin A that has

so much protective value, also vitamin C, 100 milligrams of calcium (50 per half)

and considerable dietary fiber. You can mention this to any man that leaves the

squash shell as well as kids.

Pumpkin (or squash) Pumpernickle Bread--3 loaves

1 1/2 cups cold water 1 package yeast

3/4 cup cornmeal 1/4 cup lukewarm water

1/1/2 cups boiling water 2 cups mashed pumpkin

1 1/2 Tbs salt 6 cups rye flour

2 TBS sugar 2 cups whole wheat flour

2 TBS soolid shortening

1 TBS caraway seeds

Stir cold water into cornmeal. Add to boiling water and cook stirring cosntantly

until thick. Add salt, sugar, caraway. Let stand till lukewarm Meanwhile, soften

yeast in lukewarm water. After 15 minutes, stir pumpkin and yeast into cornmeal

dough. Add rye flour and enough whole wheat to make a stiff dough you have to

stir with hands. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead for 10-15 minutes

until it becomes elastic and doesn't stick to the boare. Place dough in large

greased bowl, grease its surface and set in warm place (80-85 degrees) to rise until

doubled (it will take longer than white or whole-wheat breads; set in metal bowl in

dishpan or bigger bowl of hot water to help it along). Punch down and form into 3

cannon-ball loaves. Grease tops of loaves, let rise again until doubled in bulk. Bake

in preheated 375 degree oven about 1 hour.A This bread is orange-brown, not dark

like most bakery pumpernickle, because it uses no molasses.

Pueblo Pumpkin/Squash Piñon Nut Sweetbread, One loaf, serves 6 - 8

Rio Grande Pueblo peoples traditionally served a variant of this sweetbread to

parties of nut-pickers in September when piñon nuts were bing picked from the

mountain slope trees. Families would (and some still do) camp for many weeks in

traditional areas reserved to clans. In the recipe you can use either cooking-type

pumpkin (these have necks and thick, meaty bodies, not like jack o' lantern

Native Foods -- Recipes--Squash, Pumpkin

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