I found out that corn in Colorado can be traced to the ancient Anasazi. They farmed at Mesa Verde in Cortez, Colorado. Corn, along with squash and beans, served as their staple foods (Source: Corn is King in Colorado).
Mesquite grows wildly in Colorado. Native's in the Southwest depended on mesquite. Mesquite provided food, fuel, shelter, weapons, medicine, and cosmetics. As time went on, the dependency on mesquite diminished as refined sugar and wheat flour became staples (Source: Mesquite as a food).
Butternut Squash Soup:
1 medium to large butternut squash (peel with knife and chop into pieces)
2 large yellow onions
3 carrots
1 large potato
4 stalks of celery
1 leek (optional)
Chop veggies, add to a soup pot and sauté in olive oil
Add your preferable amount of Herbamare
1 tablespoon dried chives
1 teaspoon fenugreek
2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seed
Continue to sauté for another few minutes.
Add water to cover 2 inches above vegetables. Cook with lid on. Simmer for about 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Cool soup and then blend until creamy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Heat and serve topped with chives. This soup is decadently creamy and warms the soul. I hope you try it!
Products I used:
Bioforce Herbamare Seasoning
Mesquite Corn Cake: (Adapted from Mesquite Cornbread)
3/4 cup corn meal
3/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour mix
3/8 cup mesquite flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup of coconut milk mixed with 1 tbls. apple cider vinegar (replaces yogurt)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
4-6 tablespoons of water
1/4 cup rice milk
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add egg replacing ingredients to the wet and slowly combine the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing well.
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egg replacing ingredients: (or use 1 egg)
3 tbls. apple sauce
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. egg replacer
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Transfer to a 8 X 8 greased glass baking dish (grease with coconut oil or your preferred oil)
Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes or until done.
Mesquite has a somewhat nutty and chocolate like flavor. Its aroma even resembles cocoa. This dish came out almost like chocolate cake. And while it would be good along side the Butternut Squash Soup, it is also fantastic drizzled with blueberry syrup. We made this blueberry syrup for our pancakes and I hadn't anticipated pouring it onto the cake. I don't have the recipe for the syrup exactly, but I can tell you that we basically cooked down organic blueberries with a little bit of maple syrup and apple juice.
Enjoy!
-heather
