a traditional hopi meal

We were honored to be the recipients of some authentic cooking while we were on the reservation.  Kay made us a delicious Hopi dinner full of traditional ingredients.

There was hominy soup -

that could have been made with mutton, but for us, she used beef.

Yummy rolls...

Then there were the blue corn flaky tortillas, which melted away in your mouth because they were so light and airy.

The tortilla recipe starts with indian corn which is grown everywhere- and not watered.  It's planted, and left on its own until the harvest.  Thus, it gets very dry.

The other secret to the flaky tortilla-like shell is in the preparation.  Once the cornmeal mixture has been prepared, it's cooked on a stone over an open fire.

And pig's brains are used to grease the stone.

Moving on....

Inside these corn husks, which are used solely for the wrapping and presentation in this recipe (a lot of work but with beautiful and appealing results) are wads of thick blue cornmeal that is almost like candy to the Hopi children.  They have a sweetness to them that's hard to describe, but apparently they don't last long at a local gathering. 

We were hungry, and it all was delicious.  Kay put a lot of love and time into preparing that for us during the day so that she could have it ready by dinnertime.

Dessert was 18 of us sitting around the tables, each taking a turn to tell a little about ourselves. Which turned into a lot about ourselves.

 It was a most wonderful evening.