Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian Cooking

by Beverly Cox, Martin Jacobs

Description

Before Columbus, before the Pilgrims, Native Americans used indigenous plants, seafood, and game in cooking traditions that are still very much alive. This carefully researched cookbook presents 150 authentic recipes from across the United Sates incorporating many indigenous ingredients hailed today for their healthfulness and flavor--wild rice, corn, beans, sunflower seeds, venison, buffalo, fowl, and fish. Spirit of the Harvest features traditional dishes from the Cherokee, Chippewa, show more Navajo, Sioux, Mohegan, Iroquois, Comanche, Hopi, Haida, and many other North American tribes. Among them are recipes for such varied dishes as Cherokee Red and Green Mixit, Choctaw File-Crawfish Stew, Wild Rice and Venison Stuffed Pumpkin, Indian Tacos, Navajo Peach Crisp, Roast Duck Stuffed with Wild Rice and Wild Muschrooms, Elk Stew with Acorn Dumplings, Smoked Salmon soup, Ember Roasted Buffalo, Skokomish Steamed Seafood, Mohegan Succotash, Iroquois Leaf Bread, and Whipped Raspberries and Honey. Many recipes come from noted cooks who are members of the different tribes, and all recipes can be easily prepared using modern kitchen techniques. Fifty full-color photographs featuring an array of historic Indian artifacts illustrate these recipes, which originated in points across the United States from Cape Cod to Puget sound, from the Missouri River to the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande. A specially created map places the tribes and their principal foods in geographical context. Each chapter is introduced by an expert on the Indians of the region, and discusses the cultures of major tribal groups, their diets, their ceremonial use of food, and the historic dishes they developed. show less

Recommendations

Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations by Lois Ellen Frank

Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations

Lois Ellen Frank

The Art of American Indian Cooking by Yeffe Kimball

The Art of American Indian Cooking

Yeffe Kimball

Blue corn and chocolate by Elisabeth Rozin

Blue corn and chocolate

Elisabeth Rozin

Native American Cooking: Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations by Lois Ellen Frank

Native American Cooking: Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations

Lois Ellen Frank

The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American by Jeff Smith

The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American

Jeff Smith

Pueblo Indian Cookbook: Recipes from the Pueblos of the American Southwest by Phyllis Hughes

Pueblo Indian Cookbook: Recipes from the Pueblos of the American Southwest

Phyllis Hughes

More-with-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre

More-with-Less Cookbook

Doris Janzen Longacre

Southwest Indian Cookbook by Marcia Keegan

Southwest Indian Cookbook

Marcia Keegan

Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories, and Recipes from the Upper Midwest by Heid E. Erdrich

Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories, and Recipes from the Upper Midwest

Heid E. Erdrich

Native Harvests: American Indian Wild Foods and Recipes by E. Barrie Kavasch

Native Harvests: American Indian Wild Foods and Recipes

E. Barrie Kavasch

Hopi Cookery by Juanita Tiger Kavena

Hopi Cookery

Juanita Tiger Kavena

Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook by Anya Von Bremzen

Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook

Anya Von Bremzen

Italian Food by Elizabeth David

Italian Food

Elizabeth David

Joy of Cooking [1951-1974] by Irma S. Rombauer

Joy of Cooking [1951-1974]

Irma S. Rombauer

French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David

French Provincial Cooking

Elizabeth David

The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean: 215 Healthy, Vibrant, and Inspired Recipes by Paula Wolfert

The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean: 215 Healthy, Vibrant, and Inspired Recipes

Paula Wolfert

The New Orleans Cookbook by Rima Collin

The New Orleans Cookbook

Rima Collin

The Mitsitam Café Cookbook: Recipes from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian by Richard Hetzler

The Mitsitam Café Cookbook: Recipes from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

Richard Hetzler

The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater by Nigel Slater

The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater

Nigel Slater

The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman

The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen

Sean Sherman

Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery by Madhur Jaffrey

Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery

Madhur Jaffrey

Martin Yan's Chinatown Cooking: 200 Traditional Recipes from 11 Chinatowns Around the World by Martin Yan

Martin Yan's Chinatown Cooking: 200 Traditional Recipes from 11 Chinatowns Around the World

Martin Yan

Simple French Food by Richard Olney

Simple French Food

Richard Olney

The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

The Moosewood Cookbook

Mollie Katzen

Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant by Moosewood Collective

Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant

Moosewood Collective

Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions by Fernando Divina

Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions

Fernando Divina

The Basque Table: Passionate Home Cooking from One of Europe's Great Regional Cuisines by Teresa Barrenechea

The Basque Table: Passionate Home Cooking from One of Europe's Great Regional Cuisines

Teresa Barrenechea

Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe: 140 New Recipes from New York's Acclaimed Restaurant by Danny Meyer

Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe: 140 New Recipes from New York's Acclaimed Restaurant

Danny Meyer

Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook by Betty Crocker

Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook

Betty Crocker

Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity by Eric Ripert

Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity

Eric Ripert

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home by Julia Child

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home

Julia Child

A Book of Mediterranean Food by Elizabeth David

A Book of Mediterranean Food

Elizabeth David

An Invitation to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

An Invitation to Indian Cooking

Madhur Jaffrey

I Hear America Cooking by Betty Fussell

I Hear America Cooking

Betty Fussell

Nigella Express: Good Food Fast by Nigella Lawson

Nigella Express: Good Food Fast

Nigella Lawson

Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson

Forever Summer

Nigella Lawson

The New York Times Cook Book by Craig Claiborne

The New York Times Cook Book

Craig Claiborne

The Cooking of Japan by Rafael Steinberg

The Cooking of Japan

Rafael Steinberg

The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean by Aglaia Kremezi

The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean

Aglaia Kremezi

Food of Portugal by Jean Anderson

Food of Portugal

Jean Anderson

The Williamsburg Cookbook: Traditional and Contemporary Recipes by Letha Booth

The Williamsburg Cookbook: Traditional and Contemporary Recipes

Letha Booth

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook by Deb Perelman

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook

Deb Perelman

Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook by Jamie Oliver

Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook

Jamie Oliver

Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine by Marcus Samuelsson

Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine

Marcus Samuelsson

Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson

Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

The South American Table: The Flavor and Soul of Authentic Home Cooking from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro, with 450 recipes by Maria Baez Kijac

The South American Table: The Flavor and Soul of Authentic Home Cooking from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro, with 450 recipes

Maria Baez Kijac

Beyond Gumbo: Creole Fusion Food from the Atlantic Rim by Jessica B. Harris

Beyond Gumbo: Creole Fusion Food from the Atlantic Rim

Jessica B. Harris

Coyote Cafe: Foods from the Great Southwest, Recipes from Coyote Cafe by Mark Charles Miller

Coyote Cafe: Foods from the Great Southwest, Recipes from Coyote Cafe

Mark Charles Miller

The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso

The New Basics Cookbook

Julee Rosso

Cucina Fresca by Viana La Place

Cucina Fresca

Viana La Place

Complete Recommendations

Member Reviews

Featured Recent Thumbs

All Ratings
4
3
1

3 reviews

vortenjou 4 reviews

One of the best Native cookbooks out there. So many of the others, released around the Lewis and Clark anniversaries, read like "condensed-soup-cooking" updated to include buffalo; but this one features authentic ingredients and cooking methods, grouped by region, with historical details (plus the big glossy photographs that make reading cookbooks so delicious.) Award-winner.

Mar 2, 2008

Lindoula 564 reviews

A very informative book, especially the information about pre-colonial foods. I'd really like to try some of these - perhaps a nice addition to the Thanksgiving table? Some of the ingredients are difficult to source, but in most cases, the authors have provided ideas for alternatives.

Oct 20, 2025

TheKitchenTourist 10 reviews

This was my favorite of the Native American cookbooks I found as I was researching recipes for our Thanksgiving feast. The book's organization makes it easy to find local recipes and learn more about the tribes that prepared the food and the evolution of the recipes. Each recipe is illustrated with a large full-color photograph, so it's a beautiful book to browse as well.This will definitely be going on my wishlist - I'd love to continue trying more of these recipes.

Dec 31, 2009

Ratings

artifact

Jul 29, 2010

fiadhiglas 31 reviews