Crystal Wahpepah’s restaurant, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, picks up the place her work as a Bay Space caterer left off: making and serving Native American delicacies that each nourishes and educates diners, with the objective of fostering Indigenous meals sovereignty. Her menu is intimately tied to the provenance of the Ohlone land she grew up on in Oakland, California, and the meals traditions of her multi-tribe group there (Wahpehpah is an enrolled member of the Kickapoo nation of Oklahoma). Tribes all through North America inform the legend of “the three sisters,” the story of how corn, beans, and squash assist one another to develop and maintain the group. Wahpepah’s eponymous nod to those Indigenous staple crops is a fixture on her menu: This veggie bowl leaves loads of room so that you can adapt, simply because the restaurant does. Use no matter fruit is in season or fits your desire, if not strawberry, strive blueberry or pomegranate seeds; use the nuts you want finest; be happy to play with the greens you employ. It’s important, nonetheless, to make use of corn, beans, and squash. Even higher in the event you take a web page from Wahpepah’s ebook and likewise use this recipe as an opportunity to hunt out connections together with your area’s Indigenous farmers.
