Recipes by Anita Flanagan

December 12, 2024 Living 50 Plus Main Stories

Kanuchi

Serves 4 to 6

2 cups slow-cooked pinto beans

2 cups hominy

2 pinches black walnuts, chopped

1 pinch of salt

Mix hominy into pinto beans, including bean broth. Add nuts and a pinch of salt and cook on medium to low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Note: This was originally served as a soup, but it can be served as a side dish by limiting the amount of bean broth and extending the cooking time to achieve desired thickness.

History: This dish is traditionally served with fry bread or cornbread. The original recipe by members of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma featured hickory nuts. Anita Flannagan’s recipe was derived from her grandmother and other members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina, who substituted black walnuts, which are found in abundance in the eastern and central United States.

Three Sisters Mash

Serves 4 to 6

1 Tbsp. oil

1 mild onion, chopped

1 yellow squash, chopped in large pieces

1 cup slow-cooked pinto beans

1 cup whole corn kernels

½ cup hominy

2 Tbsp. honey

2 tsp. fresh sage

I Tbsp. finely chopped mint

1 large pinch of salt

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion and squash, cooking until tender, then add hominy and beans and continue cooking and stirring for about five minutes. Add honey, sage, mint and salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Grape Dumplings

Serves 6

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup and 1 Tbsp. sugar

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. butter

4 cups grape juice; ½ cup reserved

1 pinch salt

Dumplings: Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and the tablespoon of sugar. Cut in butter until pea sized crumbs appear. Add ½ cup of grape juice, mixing the dough only until ingredients are combined. Overmixing will produce tough dumplings.

On a floured board, mash dough into a flat disk and roll to desired thickness for plump dumplings. Cut into bite-size pieces.

Glaze: Heat remaining 3 ½ cups of juice and ½ cup of sugar to a simmer. Drop in dumplings and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Stir only once or twice to make sure dumplings don’t stick. Juice should thicken; serve immediately.

Note: A bottle of concord grape juice works well for this recipe. The original recipe calls for a mash made from fresh muscadine grapes. For an extra sweet treat, serve a large spoonful of this dish over vanilla ice cream.