Wellness Center: Three Sisters Soup

LLTC Wellness Center Director Dawn Plumer shares this wisdom on mashkodesiminag (beans) from the Dream of Wild Health Cookbook: "Many of our beans seeds have come to us as a simple gift, some arriving wrapped in a plain handkerchief, with our stories, but still bearing names like Black Turtle, Potawatomi, Rabbit, Cut Short, Red Seneca, and Women’s Yellow Bean. Working with and eating these beans connects us to the people who carried them and to their untold stories. From a scientific perspective, indigenous beans are nutrient-rich food, providing vitamins, mineral, carbohydrates, and protein. Beans also provide dietary fiber, which is important for health but lacking in modern diets. In laboratory tests, the Potawatomi beans have approximately 21 times the antioxidant values of conventional bean varieties. This is good news because diets with a higher level of antioxidants appear to be associated with decreased incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease."

Three Sisters Soup
A Recipe from Donna LaChapelle and Patricia Chandler

3 Tbsp. doodooshaaboo-bimide (butter)
1 cup finely chopped zhigaagawanzh (onion)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. zhiiwitaagan (salt)
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken stock
1 butternut or acorn okanakosimaan (squash), prebaked and pureed
1/2 cup yellow mandaamin (corn)
1/2 cup gijikonayezigan (hominy), cooked
1/2 cup white maskodesiminag (beans)

Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Stir in curry powder, salt, coriander, and crushed red pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes to develop flavors. Stir in pureed squash. Cook 5 minutes or until headed through.

Serve warm with chives and plain yogurt, if desired.

For Other Dietary Considerations: To make this soup vegetarian, just replace chicken stock with vegetable stock. Additionally, to make this soup lactose-intolerant-friendly and vegan-friendly, use a plant-based butter substitute instead of butter.