Post by blackcrowheart on Nov 18, 2005 22:55:54 GMT -5
Grape dumplings and Pipe Dance, best of Oklahoma Email this page Print this page
Posted: November 14, 2005
by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today
Brenda Norrell Indian Country -- Debbie Ridge, Muscogee Creek from Tulsa, was among the cooks responsible for the grand feast and shared her recipe for grape dumplings. (Bottom photo) Sac and Fox Pipe Dancer Frances Grant of Oklahoma, Miss Sac and Fox Cristina Starr and her sister, Ni'vy Starr, were among tribal members at the Oklahoma Nations Cultural Night at the 62nd annual convention of the National Congress of American Indians.
TULSA, Okla. - Muscogee Creek grape dumplings, marinated buffalo, roast pork, white corn and frybread were a prelude to the best of Oklahoma Indian song and dance, including the Sac and Fox Pipe and Swan dances and Chickasaw Nation Dance Troupe's Stomp Dances, during the 62nd annual convention of the National Congress of American Indians.
Oklahoma Indian dancers from the Miami Grove area, Delaware dancers and Creek flutist John Timothy were among the extraordinary performers at NCAI's Cultural Night, hosted by the local planning committee at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
With Osage, Cherokee, Seminole and Kiowa lending helping hands to organize and prepare, members of Oklahoma's 39 American Indian tribes participated in the night of traditional food and dance. They purchased 1,000 pounds of meat, along with 500 pounds of flour for the frybread, for the feast.
Debbie Ridge, Muscogee Creek from Tulsa, was among the cooks responsible for the grand feast and shared her recipe for grape dumplings.
Although the dumplings were originally prepared with wild grapes, today's cooks use Welch's Grape Juice. Ridge begins by boiling the grape juice with sugar, then mixing some of the hot juice with flour. After kneading and rolling out the dough, she cuts the dough into squares and drops it in the hot juice to boil.
Meanwhile, the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah said some Cherokee cooks continue to make their grape dumplings by gathering and cooking wild grapes, called ''possum grapes,'' instead of grape juice.
The John Howard Payne Papers documents interviews with Cherokee elders and their knowledge of the traditional ways in 1835. The papers describe a grape dessert, made around the year of 1800, by boiling wild grapes, mashing them and then adding corn meal to make a thick consistency.
Cherokee Nation Grape Dumplings
1 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp shortening
1/2 cup grape juice
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and shortening. Add juice and mix into stiff dough. Roll dough very thin on floured board and cut into strips 1/2-inch wide (or roll dough in hands and break off pea-sized bits). Drop into boiling grape juice and cook for 10 - 12 minutes.
Posted: November 14, 2005
by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today
Brenda Norrell Indian Country -- Debbie Ridge, Muscogee Creek from Tulsa, was among the cooks responsible for the grand feast and shared her recipe for grape dumplings. (Bottom photo) Sac and Fox Pipe Dancer Frances Grant of Oklahoma, Miss Sac and Fox Cristina Starr and her sister, Ni'vy Starr, were among tribal members at the Oklahoma Nations Cultural Night at the 62nd annual convention of the National Congress of American Indians.
TULSA, Okla. - Muscogee Creek grape dumplings, marinated buffalo, roast pork, white corn and frybread were a prelude to the best of Oklahoma Indian song and dance, including the Sac and Fox Pipe and Swan dances and Chickasaw Nation Dance Troupe's Stomp Dances, during the 62nd annual convention of the National Congress of American Indians.
Oklahoma Indian dancers from the Miami Grove area, Delaware dancers and Creek flutist John Timothy were among the extraordinary performers at NCAI's Cultural Night, hosted by the local planning committee at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
With Osage, Cherokee, Seminole and Kiowa lending helping hands to organize and prepare, members of Oklahoma's 39 American Indian tribes participated in the night of traditional food and dance. They purchased 1,000 pounds of meat, along with 500 pounds of flour for the frybread, for the feast.
Debbie Ridge, Muscogee Creek from Tulsa, was among the cooks responsible for the grand feast and shared her recipe for grape dumplings.
Although the dumplings were originally prepared with wild grapes, today's cooks use Welch's Grape Juice. Ridge begins by boiling the grape juice with sugar, then mixing some of the hot juice with flour. After kneading and rolling out the dough, she cuts the dough into squares and drops it in the hot juice to boil.
Meanwhile, the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah said some Cherokee cooks continue to make their grape dumplings by gathering and cooking wild grapes, called ''possum grapes,'' instead of grape juice.
The John Howard Payne Papers documents interviews with Cherokee elders and their knowledge of the traditional ways in 1835. The papers describe a grape dessert, made around the year of 1800, by boiling wild grapes, mashing them and then adding corn meal to make a thick consistency.
Cherokee Nation Grape Dumplings
1 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp shortening
1/2 cup grape juice
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and shortening. Add juice and mix into stiff dough. Roll dough very thin on floured board and cut into strips 1/2-inch wide (or roll dough in hands and break off pea-sized bits). Drop into boiling grape juice and cook for 10 - 12 minutes.