Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions

From Publishers Weekly
From potted smoked salmon of the Pacific Northwest to Peruvian ceviche, Brazilian cozido and Hawaiian poke, this book tries to cover over 3,000 miles of indigenous food traditions. But while the geographical scope of the book makes it fascinating to browse, it also limits readers’ ability to actually cook several of the recipes without extensive use of mail-ordered ingredients: where fresh cattails are available for Cattail Cakes, limu kohu (a popular Hawaiian seaweed used in Poke Aku) will likely not be. And a wild food guide would be essential to recreate many of the recipes that require foraging for ingredients. Occasionally, helpful substitutions are provided: fennel seed instead of licorice fern in Venison with Juniper and Wild Huckleberry Sauce or rosemary rather than pine needles for Coos-Style Grilled Squab. A few delicious berry and fruit recipes (Fresh Berry Leather, Raw Fresh Berry Jam, Huckleberry Sorbet, Wild Grape Dumplings, etc.) provide multiple substitutions for local berries and are simple to prepare. And though they took three times the water listed in the recipe to make, Wild Mustard Seed and Allium Crackers are quick, spicy and addictive. A long essay, "Reservation Foods," by George P. Horse Capture illuminates the adaptability of traditional cuisines to modern kitchens: his memories of childhood favorites include both scrambled powdered eggs and lard rolled in pemmican. Many of the book’s other essays focus on individual foods—maple syrup, corn, berries—but are too short to provide more than a glimpse of modern culture. But for all its flaws, this book serves as a fine introduction to a much larger project: the influence of native cooking on the modern culinary traditions.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Native American indigenous foods are only rarely celebrated by present-day Americans. Thanks to some thoughtful work by the Divinas, there is now a comprehensive cookbook covering the full range of native cuisine from all the diverse original inhabitants of the Americas. The Divinas offer recipes not just from North American Plains tribes but also from the peoples of Mexico, South America, the Arctic, and even Hawaii. Three different recipes for preparing rabbit illustrate the differences among the Native American cultures: one from Colombia braises the legs and thighs in coconut milk, a Great Basin version uses herbs and peppers, and a Peruvian-style employs garlic and ginger. Rabbit may be easily obtained in many markets, but recipes calling for wild boar or wild goose may be more difficult to reproduce. As befits the region's reputation for sophisticated cooking, the book's most complex dish involves stewing pork in a green mole sauce typical of Oaxaca. This treatise will be a boon for teens studying Native American cultures as well as for anyone curious about this land's first foods. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
The culinary traditions of the native peoples of the Americas are celebrated in this lavish book produced in association with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Written by chef Fernando Divina and Marlene Divina, who is of Chippewa heritage, FOODS OF THE AMERICAS presents 140 modern recipes that incorporate a wide array of foods cultivated by native people throughout North and South America. The book also includes nine illustrated short essays by native writers that provide an American Indian perspective on a variety of indigenous food traditions. Illustrated with food photographs as well as images from the museum’s vast collections, the book is being published to coincide with the opening of the museum’s flagship site on the National Mall on September 21, 2004.

From the Publisher
* A comprehensive, illustrated cookbook with 140 recipes dedicated to the native ingredients and traditions of the Americas. * Includes 24 full-color food photographs and 30 images from the Smithsonian collections.

About the Author
FERNANDO DIVINA has been the executive chef at several acclaimed restaurants. Together with his wife, MARLENE, he owns Divina Restaurant Concepts, which since 1989 has provided restaurant planning services and menu guidelines for a wide array of clients—most notably the National Museum of the American Indian’s Mitsitam Café. The Divinas’ articles and photography have appeared in such publications as The Oregonian, Northwest Indian Magazine, and Arizona Food and Lifestyles Magazine. The Divinas and their son, Zoey, are based in Arizona.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

The National Museum of the American Indian will open in Washington, DC, in September, and the Divinas developed the menu for the on-site caf . Here they present some 150 modern interpretations of traditional native dishes--or variations thereon--from North and South America: Aleutian-Style Dungeness Crab and Scallop Chowder, Avocado and Shrimp Salad by way of Chile, and Colombian-Style Rabbit with Coconut Milk. Many of the recipes are rather sophisticated, yet some of the most contemporary-seeming dishes come with a truly ancient pedigree. Experts in the field have contributed essays on such topics as reservation food and community gardens and the cycle of life, and there are illustrations and period photographs from the museum's archives throughout. For most collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices