Receta Blue Corn Cake and Juniper Ash.
There I was, scrolling
through my Facebook newsfeed, attempting to find posts of interest. Share a positive quote or two, the heart
toughing moment of an animal being rescued, and that post that gives you
laughter right from the belly. Of course
I enjoy reading the foodie posts, recipes that I would not touch with a fork,
literally, and desserts that make my sugar soar just looking at the photos. One popped up from the admin, Pauline Haines,
from a favorite page, Navajo and Pueblo
Cooking; blue corn cakes which included juniper ash. Ash, in a cake? Oh, I had to know more about this. She, and several others, explained how the
branches from junipers (trees or shrubs dependent on the altitude) are burned,
shifted and the ash collected. The ash
adds calcium, magnesium and Vitamin A to the diet; mainly used for baking, it
intensifies the coloring of blue corn meal.
The book Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four
Corners, by William W. Dunmire and Gail D. Tierney, have a section on the
juniper. Found among the pinion pines of
the Colorado Plateau is the juniper which happens to be of the Cypress
family. An evergreen whose needles
(leaves), branches and berries have various uses – medicinal, culinary,
household and ceremonial. Traditional
sweathouses were constructed with juniper wood, and the bark was floor
covering. Now I have used sage myself
for indigestion, but the Hopi added juniper.
This mixture dates back to Ancestral Puebloan times, proven with residue
found in coprolites (that is poop in layman’s terms). For creating dye, the Navajo boiled together
leaves, twigs and berries to produce a yellow, orange or tan coloring. Juniper leaf ash was used to fix (mordant)
other colors, so they would not run or fade.
Oh, I could go on and on about the uses for juniper, but I have a better
idea, buy the book!
I just happened to have
all the ingredients for the cake, except for the juniper ash. Looking online, I found Shima (https://shimaofnavajoland.com/)
and here is their mission statement: “We are artists, farmers, protectors of
our precious and sacred way of life on the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners of
the Southwest and the land of our ancestors. The land of our shimas. We are
growing sovereignty and self-reliance with each bar of soap, every bag of
stone-ground cornmeal, every spoon of juniper ash and every jar of honey. Help
us protect the precious. Share in the sacred with us.” Part of Good Shepherd Mission, and the
Episcopal Church, Shima is associated locally with San Juan County – St.
Christopher’s Mission in Bluff. Receiving my order very
quickly, happily off to the kitchen I went to play. The recipe can give you two – 8” x 8” cakes,
or one – 9” x 13”; I chose the latter, and frosted half of it with cream cheese
frosting. One of the Facebook members
suggested adding cinnamon to the mix; the smell, while baking, was intoxicating! After cooling came the tasting; slightly
moist, yet tender, very akin to red velvet cake, but blue in color. The half with frosting was very good also,
but I suggest just a smear of frosting, or the cake itself gets drowned out. “Seriously”, you’re asking, “how can a cake
made with blue corn meal be as good as red velvet?” Let me put it this way, “Hunny, put down the
fork. Hunny, hunny, stop eating the
cake. Hunny, you’re going to get
sick. Yes, I know it’s good, but
stop!” That was me talking with my
husband, and he’s not a huge fan of cake.
Recipe time!
Blue Corn Cake
(Recipe by Pauline Haines
– Navajo and Pueblo Cooking Facebook
Admin)
Ingredients:
1 and ½ cups flour (Blue
Bird, of course)
1 cup roasted blue corn
meal
1 and ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. juniper ash
1 cup sugar (Truvia Baking
Blend works too)
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 cup milk
Option: Add 1 and ½ tsp.
ground cinnamon (thanks for the suggestion Lisa Bellison)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400F. (I
used a non-stick baking pan, or spray with nonstick baking spray)
Mix together all
ingredients until smooth, pour into baking pan.
Bake for 20 minutes. (Did the toothpick test and it is perfectly timed)
(Personal Note here: I shifted all the dry ingredients into a
large bowl. Otherwise my cakes come out with floury lumps, so it has become a
habit to shift all the dry first. Then whisked the oil, eggs and milk in a
small bowl, before adding to the dry ingredients.) Fully Baked After 20 Minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting (this is a basic recipe)
Ingredients:
8 oz. heavy whipping cream
8 oz. cream cheese,
softened
½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
Preparation:
In a cold, metal bowl,
whip the cream until firm. Add cream
cheese and whip until smooth. Add
vanilla and powdered sugar, whip until thoroughly incorporated.
Makes enough frosting for
2 – 8” x 8” cakes, or 1 – 9” x 13” cake.
Going to a social
gathering, potluck, or any event that you want to bring a dessert to? Make this cake, but do not tell anyone what
it is until it is all gone. It will be
all gone, and everyone will be pleasantly surprised at what your creation
was. Be prepared to give out the
recipe. Enjoy!
Pile of dried juniper berries found at Mule Canyon's Cave Towers.
http://www.southwestbrowneyes.com/2017/01/return-to-mule-canyon-cave-towers.html
Mary Cokenour