Heart of the Home: Creating memories through cooking!  -by Jana Pfeiffer 

Food has always been the center of every Indigenous culture. As a Diné woman, we are referred as the heart of the home and I take that role on very happily with my own children. I have many joyous memories of my own mother, aunties and grandmother, cooking by the hot stove in the winter months. Just to stay warm and productive as a child, I would help them cook meals for 20 + people in the kitchen.

This time of the year, I reflect back on those amazing secret receipts and times well-spent with the strong women in my family! The other day, I found myself cooking with my only daughter! She had a smile ear-to-ear about cooking and baking a chocolate cake for her gymnastic class. There are many creative ways to connect with our kids to invoke those childhood memories of cooking, we as parents still have. Let us celebrate this season of togetherness, community, family and creating awesome childhood memories for our own children. I would like to share a receipt from a pueblo book titled, “The Pueblo Food Experience Cookbook -Whole Food of Our Ancestors” given to CSVANW by Roxanne Swentzell and Patrica M. Perea.

So bake on and share your photos of your favorite traditional recipe with CSVANW! Happy Holidays and happy cooking!

#IndigenousKitchen #HomeandFood #CSVANWpotluck #HealthyFamilies #ViolenceisNOTourTradition 

Roxanne photo credit: http://www.roxanneswentzell.net/roxanne_swentzell_bio.htm