Enduring Harvests: Native American Foods and Festivals for Every Season [Paperback]

E. Barrie Kavasch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2001

More than 150 tempting Native American recipes here have been adapted for the modern kitchen, making use of vegetables, fruits, fish, and game indigenous to the Americas. Delve into the delicious worlds of American Indian cookery and glimpse the cultures who made food preparation an art as well as a prayer for health and peace. Countless celebrations will charm you with a deeper respect for Native American foods and spiritual life honoring nature and the earth in every month of the year. Come journey from the Arctic Circle to Peru, and feel deliciously at home in Indian America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Food historian and native plants expert Kavasch (Native Harvests) describes more than 70 time-honored festivals celebrated by Native Americans, lacing the narrative with 150-plus recipes for dishes traditionally served at these events. Beginning with September feasts, she offers an eclectic, somewhat rambling look at cultures and corresponding festivals many readers may know little about. Celebrations include Schemitzun, the feast of green corn celebrated in Connecticut by the Mashantucket Pequot Indians, with Savory Venison Stew and Algonquian Three Sisters Rice; the O'Odham Tash Days in mid-February in the dry Southwest, with Barbecued Pork Spareribs; the Buffalo Days Pow Wow in July in Alberta, Canada, with Grilled Rack of Buffalo Ribs. Such recipes as Grape Dumplings, Halibut Steaks with Raspberry-Juniper Sauce and Seminole Pumpkin Fry Bread will likely be new to many. Kavasch's short, colorful accounts of the festivities are informative and engaging; a resource directory is provided.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Kavasch, a food historian and writer, is an authority on Native American culture and foods and author of several other books on the subject, including Native Harvests (1979). Here she describes dozens of different celebrations and ceremonies, from the Pueblo Feast Days to the Seminole Tribal Fair to the Plains Wild Moon Celebration, and presents recipes for the dishes that are part of these annual festivals. Beginning with harvest time, the festivals are organized by season, and Kavasch provides cultural history and lore about each one, as well as Native American recipes, both traditional and contemporary. With its informative text and unusual recipes, this is a unique work, recommended for most collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (July 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595195172
• ISBN-13: 978-0595195176
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,492,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Native American

More About the Author

E. Barrie Kavasch was born in MoundBuilders territory in Ohio more than half a century ago. She honors both European and American Indian bloodlines, and is a direct descendant back through 16 generations to Pocahontas. Barrie has written a variety of natural history books especially on the cultures and cuisines of American Indians. She is an herbalist and ethnobotanist with more than 25 books in print. She has recently published her fifth book of poetry, HAIKU MOMENTS (2009). Barrie teaches creative writing, poetry, and American Indian ethnobotany; her home and studio are in the Northwest Hills of Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FABULOUS FESTIVALS, FOODS, & STORIES!!!, August 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Enduring Harvests (Paperback)

This is a delightful, delicious book filled with special grace & insights & voices of many special individuals. We have used so many of these fine recipes over & over again, & always think of the sources & festivals from which they've come to us. Here are deep insights into the Native American cultures & their cuisines - deliciously shared & reverently presented! Wow!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an amazing cookbook!, July 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Enduring Harvests (Paperback)

Because this cookbook is presented almost as a calendar, the recipes are not only cultural but seasonal. I have tried many of the recipes and they are delicious--try it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two In One Bonanza, January 4, 2004

By 

"redhead457" (Stockton, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enduring Harvests (Paperback)

Enduring Harvest boasts not just a collection of interesting Native American recipes that can be prepared in anyone's kitchen, it also offers lists and descriptions of Native American festivals.

This is a good resource for seeing what the foods all year around were like 100 years ago in various tribes. The recipes are good today too. The book describes the seasonal festivals that accompany the foods. Many of these dishes are comfort food for Native Americans -- ones that grandma and mama makes. This book is a must in your kitchen if you are interested in cooking seasonal foods in the time-honored ways of various North American tribes.

I highly recommend this well-written, expansive, and useful book. It's one I treasure and one I like to give to special friends as a gift.