The Good Berry Cookbook: Harvesting and Cooking Wild Rice and Other Wild Foods

by Tashia Hart

Overview

Explore the natural history, ecological contributions, and cultural significance of manoomin (wild rice), and savor complementary wild foods and local flavors with more than seventy-five inspired recipes, including favorites from over a dozen Indigenous cooks from various nations.

Manoomin, wild rice, also known as "the good berry," first drew the Anishinaabeg people to the Great Lakes region in search of the prophesied "food that grows on water." Honoring the sustenance they found in the place known as Mni Sota Makoce, The Good Berry Cookbook follows the Anishinaabeg through seasons and spaces to gather wild foods and contemplate connections among the people and their plant and animal relatives.

Ethnobotonist Tashia Hart takes us afield to marvel at the wonder of the northland’s flora and to gather the bounty that translates in her kitchen—and yours—to inspired combinations like Bison and Sunchoke Quick Stew, Nutty Manoomin Patties with Ogaa (Walleye) Cheeks and Fiddlehead-Nettle Puree, and Sweet Potato Corn Pudding with Rose Sauce. Sweets are on the menu as well: Manoomin Chocolate Pie, Manoomin Smoothies, and Toasted Manoomin and Bagaan (Hazelnut) Butter Chocolate Cups.

These dishes are only the beginning: Hart shares foraging tips and basic preparations that equip home cooks to expand their repertoire. She invites other talented Native cooks and chefs to share favorite recipes. Through storytelling and science, she emphasizes food as medicine: good choices for our environment and good choices for our plate unite as we enjoy the benefits the good berry and its botanical neighbors have to offer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681342023
Publisher:	Minnesota Historical Society Press
Publication date:	09/21/2021
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Tashia Hart is a culinary ethnobotanist, artist, photographer, writer, and cook. Her education in the field and in the kitchen began with a father who fishes, hunts, and harvests, a mom who cherishes plants, and a grandmother who was a career cook and baker. Hart has led foraging expeditions and developed recipes for Indigenous food–focused kitchens. Her many skills are featured in this book: foraging tips, field photography, and creative recipes, all highlighting local flavors that celebrate the bounty of Minnesota fields, forests, and waters. She is Red Lake Anishinaabe.

Read an Excerpt

Mashkiigobag—Swamp Tea (the plant)

We all have our happy places that bring us wonder or mystery, places that make us feel humble, safe, loved. One of my favorite places is also the most sensory-awakening environment I have ever had the pleasure of being immersed in: the unassuming floating sphagnum moss bogs of cool, northern climates.

There is a plant that can be found living on these floating bogs that I’ve heard called mashkiigobag or aniibiishaaboo. As English-speaking Anishinaabeg (people), we also say “swamp tea” for both the plant and the tea.

The scientific name for mashkiigobag is Rhododendron groenlandicum, aka Ledum groenlandicum. It is more commonly known as bog Labrador tea. This plant also has names in other tribal languages as well as names those tribes use to refer to the plant in English.

One summer day I was happily, quietly, carefully squishing along atop a floating bog in rural north-central Minnesota, gazing into pitcher plants, admiring orchids, and stopping to smell the swamp tea.

After an hour or so of solitude, a nice shiny vehicle pulled up alongside the bog and parked on the side of the dirt road. A woman got out, squinted at me, and began to shout, “What are you doing out there!” It came across as less a question about what I was doing and more a question about my character. “Looking at flowers!” I replied, still crouched low. She stood there for a bit, hands on hips, obviously disturbed, then shook her head and flailed her arms as she stomped back to her vehicle and then drove away.

I should mention that you must be careful if you venture out onto a floating bog. Maybe she was concerned for me, but that’s not what it felt like. I know that mooz (moose) walk on these floating plant masses and seem to do okay. To be on the safe side, go with a friend—if for no other reason than to have someone to share the delight of squishing around on ground that dips and moves like a waterbed, but is much more enjoyable.

When I feel around into my memory, this plant is there alongside my great-grandmother, my father and his siblings, and my siblings, and I look forward to one day introducing my children to this highly revered relative. I always think of and speak to this family member with love, appreciation, and reverence. That it is a plant makes no difference....

It’s a delight to find this plant in the winter, as it often sits tucked halfway under the snow, looking like a miniature pine tree with its drooping twigs. The leaves are covered in soft, orange hairs that have a very pleasant floral aroma that is further released when simmered in water.

Mashkiigobagwaaboo (Swamp Tea) Serves 1
Swamp tea lifts away my anxieties and allows my focus to come into tune with my creativity and productiveness. It feels like a good dose of health for my whole being.

6 cups water about 1 cup fresh or dried whole swamp tea leaves honey or other sweetener to taste

Heat water and add tea in a tea bag or ball or loose if you plan to strain later. I personally brew leaves loose as I like to watch them dance around during the simmering. Let tea simmer on low for about twenty minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon every few minutes. You will know it’s ready when your house is filled with a beautiful floral aroma and the tea is yellowish in color. Strain, sweeten, and enjoy.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Good Berry, Good Food, Good Life
Botany Basics
Basic Manoomin Preparations

Ziigwan—Spring
Niibin—Summer
Dagwaagin—Fall
Biboon—Winter

Resources and Recommended Reading
Index

Editorial Reviews

The Good Berry Cookbook is so much more than a beautiful collection of recipes and photos—it’s a soulful conversation with Anishinaabe writer and cook Tashia Hart, as she blends intimate family stories with her deep love for indigenous plants, reminding us of the ways in which our food nurtures and heals us.”
Diane Wilson, author of The Seed Keeper and Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past

“I cherish the memories of walking through the woods with Tashia when she was on our Sioux Chef team and seeing the gentle connection she has to the plants around us. I’m so excited for everybody to read this wonderful book and try all the amazing, tasty, and healthy Indigenous recipes she has put together.”
Sean Sherman, founder, The Sioux Chef/NĀTIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems)

“An utterly clarifying and essential illustration of lived relationships to land, water, plants. Hart’s vibrant writing and her delightfully light touch with Indigenous ingredients make new our long-held cultural connections and relationships to the living world around us. The Good Berry Cookbook is an instant heirloom.”
Heid E. Erdrich, author of Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories, and Recipes from the Upper Midwest

“I highly encourage anyone interested in food sovereignty to read this book and try some of the recipes. A huge part of attaining food sovereignty is bringing cooking instructions and new recipes to our Indigenous communities, and this book does just that.”
Dr. Wendy Makoons Geniusz, associate professor of Ojibwe language, Universityof Wisconsin–Eau Claire, editor of Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings and author of Our Knowledge Is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings

“Beautifully photographed and very informative, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in manoomin, from how to prepare this special grain to details about its nutritive properties and its importance in Native culture. I appreciated learning about the richness each season provides in terms of food and look forward to preparing all of the recipes in this book.”
Lois Ellen Frank, PhD, chef/owner, Red Mesa Cuisine

From the Publisher