Three Sisters Harvest Vegetable Soup (from the Iroquois White Corn Projects)
Ingredients:
2 Cups hulled white corn, cooked/prepared ahead
15 oz. cooked kidney or pinto beans (can use canned or fresh)
32 oz. of vegetable broth
30 oz diced tomatoes (can use canned or fresh)
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups winter squash, peeled & cubed
½ cup carrots, diced
1 cup parsnips, cubed
Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
Prepare ahead hulled corn. See directons here.
Warm the oil in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add onions, celery, and garlic. Saute 10 minutes on low heat.
Add basil and cumin, salt & pepper to taste. Add squash, carrots, parsnips, and tomatoes. Simmer until tender. Add beans and corn, simmer for another 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.
A Blessing
When you sit down to enjoy this traditional soup, perhaps you’d like to share this native blessing from the Iroquois tradition around the table, to help remember the Earth nourishes and feeds both our bodies and spirits.
We return thanks to the corn, & to her sisters,
The beans and squashes, which give us life.
We return thanks to the bushes and trees,
Which provide us with fruit.
We return thanks to the Great Spirit,
In who is embodied all goodness,
And who directs all things for the good of his children.