In this recipe, Melanie Kirby (Tortugas Pueblo) and her son use homegrown ingredients to fashion a zesty summer salad. Melanie operates Zia Queenbees, which has apiaries established throughout northern New Mexico. Her home base is nestled at the kiss of the forests, where the Pecos, Santa Fe, and Carson National Forests meet in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range of the southern Rockies.

In this recipe, Chef Andi Murphy, Diné (Navajo), combines fresh vegetables, grains, and herbs to create a wonderful spring or fall salad, accompanied by a tender buffalo steak. The stars of this salad, beets and quinoa, are easily growable by home gardeners in most places in the US.

In this recipe, Chef Ray Naranjo, Santa Clara Pueblo, prepares a simple and delicious combination of corn and buffalo, each complimented by wild herbs, including sweetgrass and fourwing saltbrush.

The ingredients used by Chef Addelina Lucero (Taos Pueblo/Yaqui) in this recipe are the result of relationships with people and places both near and far away. Some, such as the wild plants described below, cannot be obtained without understanding what they are and where they grow, while others, like corn and squash, are the results of millennia of stewarding the same plants in the same place, year after year. When preparing this recipe, consider where the ingredients originate from and how they arrived in your kitchen.

Chef Lois Ellen Frank, of Red Mesa Cuisine, prepares an Indigenous parfait composed of corn pudding and berry compote. The multicolored layers of this delightful dessert resemble a sand painting, forming a beautiful, delicious and nutritious traditional dish to share with loved ones.

Chef Kathleen Coriz’s (Santo Domingo Pueblo/Kewa) calabacitas recipe celebrates squash, corn, and chile, all crops commonly grown by Indigenous farmers in New Mexico. These vegetables go well in many everyday dishes, but the blend of textures, flavors, and heat that emerge when combined makes Chef Coriz’s recipe particularly memorable.

Chef Walter Whitewater (Diné/Navajo) of Red Mesa Cuisine shares a recipe for elk prepared with a southwest spice rub and cherry sauce. This elk dish is a meal appropriate for special occasions, such as after a hunt, ceremony, or gathering.

There is medicine growing everywhere around us, from our backyards, to forests and open spaces around the country, so long as you know what to look for. In this video, Flower Hill Institute’s Cultural Advisor, Brophy Toledo of Jemez Pueblo, describes two medicines readily found throughout the Southwestern United States.

Deer stew is cooked on special occasions in Pueblo villages throughout New Mexico. When the deer is brought home from a hunting trip, the first thing tribal family members do is honor the animal first and then begin preparing the dish to share among their families and/or community. For this recipe, you will need a large pot, deer meat, posole, salt, and water. A covered clay pot like Chef Coriz uses will work great.