On my quest for simplicity and health in eating, I’m experimenting with a different healthy diet every month for this year. Not weight-loss diets but diets in the original sense of the word – as in what we eat on a daily basis regularly. The past month, eating Tarahumara fare has been interesting, often yummy, and sometimes difficult to stick to. Tarahumara Indians live in the Sierra Madres of northern Mexico and most still live a very physically active life amidst the rugged mountainous terrain – they’re well known for their endurance running skills. They have basically no health problems (except people who are now eating a more Western diet since those foods have made inroads into Tarahumara communities). They like to party with lots of corn beer, they drink a lot of coffee, and they like to smoke – it’s the Tarahumara paradox. Tarahumara food isn’t much different from other Native American food in Southwestern areas – corn, beans, squash – though they do have some different treasures available to them, namely the chia seed. Chia seeds are the seed used to make chia pets (Ch-ch-ch-chia…), but have a long history as one of the greatest foods, especially with the Aztecs who once used them as legal tender. They make a gooey little snack – mix with water, lime, agave nectar or honey and let it sit in the fridge overnight; it becomes the consistency of tapioca pudding. The Tarahumara do have some animals the Spanish introduced awhile ago – goats, chickens, cows – but most meat is eaten only at party-time. The Tarahumara basically eat a vegetarian diet that includes fish, a little milk and eggs and maybe a barbecued mouse, lizard, grub or grasshopper here and there. While the first day of homemade tortillas and pinto beans was delicious, I had lost five pounds after the first week. Perhaps the diet lost its original sparkle and I wasn’t eating enough. It might’ve also been that sudden shift away from having cereal most meals of the day. Regardless, I had to figure out different ways to prepare corn and beans. Thick, usually burnt-ish, always unbending tortillas weren’t doing the trick at all anymore. That’s when steamed cornballs with red sauce (ancho chilies with ground chia to thicken) emerged in my mind during one hungry ride home. Much of the following week was spent perfecting my technique on steaming cornballs and making different sauces to go with it. I still needed to expand the Tarahumara menu. I began to include more avocados, cherries, oranges, limes, apples, oregano, fresh nopales, and eggs. Different fruit is available at various times during the year and at different elevations in the Sierra Madres. They also eat a lot of native grasses, herbs and nuts. Tarahumara squash, according to a native seeds website is all but extinct, so I used butternut bon bon and acorn squash. (One of my acorn squashes took a trip all the way from somewhere in Mexico to Portland to be distributed to Santa Fe! Seems a waste.) The seeds of these squash are very tasty and protein packed. I tried making corn flour with frozen sweet corn since I wanted to process it from start to finish. The Tarahumara and other Native Americans nixtamalize corn – a liming process that originally started because people were grinding corn on limestone. Nixtamalizing adds a significant amount of calcium to the corn, makes thiamin available, and removes the indigestible hull of the kernel. Because the hull is gone, the corn meal is doughier – good for making tortillas. This process is now done on a mass scale in processing plants to make masa harina – one of those amazing old world practices that make a lot of sense still today. It didn’t work out as well as I had planned. Drying the corn alone took a whole two days using space heaters overnight, the sun in my car window during the day, and finally the oven. All that just to soak them again for the liming process. The hull never came off of the kernels, so I dried then ground them hull and all. The final result ended up being more like pinole, which is something the Tarahumara eat regularly – a snack that can be carried anywhere, and it can be tasty I hear. Pinole would be the answer to the lack of snack food when out and about, except that this particular batch was far less than edible. If the study I’d read about Tarahumara Indians was any indication, my blood lipid level was probably down by the second week. To be sure, my giant chocolate, chocolate chip cookie from Whole Foods level had reached an all-time low of 0%, though it occupied my mind completely at times. The third week of my diet was when a family emergency and finally the death of a loved one became the primary focus of my life. My dear sister who has struggled with alcohol addiction for the past 20 years died from an alcohol overdose. She was 35. I am at peace knowing my sister doesn’t have to suffer anymore. Food becomes central during this sort of tragedy. It’s a means of communicating and being with others. All different kinds of food were passed lovingly in my direction during the days in and out of the hospital. I sat with my family and we ate, remembering my sister in her better days. I didn’t refuse homemade carrot raisin bread my cousin made, cheese quesadillas and flan from Felipe’s Tacos, brie, M&Ms, airplane crackers (crackers shaped like an airplane), sweet potato fries, someone’s half-eaten Rueben, raspberry rugalahs. I think I even had a piece of Chocolate Maven cherry pie with cream on top. All of that accompanied by enormous quantities of coffee. I certainly didn’t decline my aunt’s offer to buy dinner for all of us. The Shed made eating like a Native American slightly easier. I still indulged in cheese on my tacos and sopaipillas with honey for dessert. Sharing food is how people share each other, whether in grief or celebration – or an odd mixture of both. This was a time for letting go, not gripping on. While I’m pretty sure Tarahumara don’t get any of their coffee from Starbucks, chia seeds online, or 4-lb bags of masa harina at the store, I did my best to stick to the basics. I’m sure they also don’t have the luxury of burning half their food while getting used to being in the kitchen again. (Big apologies to my roommates who endured several weeks of lingering smoke stench in the house). With practice, though, this sort of diet is one that we could all use a little of now and again. Here are two recipes I came up with. Experiment with different measurements for yourself. Word to the wise: only chop hot peppers after putting in or taking out your contacts.
Tamales with red sauce
These tamales are an easier version than what most of us are used to – ones with a filling – and it’s totally vegan. • Acorn Squash • Masa Harina • Salt • Water • Green Chili pepper to taste (chiltipin, jalepeno, or Serrano) • Red chili pepper (Ancho, or chipotle etc.) • Chia seeds Tamales: Chop the acorn squash into about 2-inch thick pieces (small enough to go into a blender). Blend until smooth: acorn squash, green chili peppers, enough water to do the job and salt. Pour that mix into a bowl. Add one cup at a time of masa harina to the mix, stirring in slowly. Once it’s a thick dough that’s moldable, roll pieces of dough into 2-inch thick by 4-inch thick (approximately) pieces and then wrap into a corn husk and tie the ends tight with a strip of corn husk. Corn husks should sit in hot water for about a half an hour before using to wrap. Stack the tamales on a vegetable steamer in a large pot and steam for an hour. Sauce: Grind the red chili pepper and chia seeds in a coffee grinder. Add to small saucepan of boiling water. Reduce till thick. Use to smother the tamales. Serve with side of pinto beans. To make steamed corn balls, roll smaller portions of the dough into balls and steam without the cornhusk. This way, steaming for 15 to 20 minutes is enough.
Corn Beer
According to one anthropologist’s account, Tarahumara spend approximately a quarter of their lives thinking about, preparing and drinking corn beer (tesgüino). It’s a huge part of their lives. • 1 cup of corn meal or masa harina • 1/2 cup of wheat berries • Yeast (regular bread yeast works) • Water • Cheesecloth • Gallon milk/water container • 3 T honey Puree corn and wheat berries with warm water. Transfer contents to the gallon jug and add one quart of warm water plus the yeast to the mixture. Cover the mixture – put saran wrap and a rubber band to seal more tightly – and place in a warm, dark area such as the bottom of a cupboard for at least 24 hours. Strain the mixture through two layers of cheesecloth or scarf to remove any clumps. Pour the mixture back into the milk jug, add honey, and securely tighten the bottle top. Allow the mixture to ferment, and release air as needed (at least once a day). Fermentation to alcohol can take a few days. You’ll end up with a fizzy, refreshing drink with very low alcohol content if you only ferment it for a few days.
Contact me:
anna@sagebodybalance.com
Born to Run The food and nutrient intakes of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, download at www.ajcn.com My sister: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/santafenewmexican/obituary.aspx?n=rachel-eve-carvlin&pid=148073438&sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d3ee88b28d80d4e%2C0
