Episode 43: The three sisters: Indigenous wisdom for growing, sharing, and home cooking squash, beans, and corn

This week we’re honored to share a wise and generous conversation with Javier Lara, a Nahau from Mexico, and program manager of the Anahuac Farm, a part of the Capaces Leadership Institute. This conversation centers on the lessons of reciprocity in farming, land stewardship, cooking, friendship, and community. Javier generously imparts his knowledge on the culinary and cultural significance, versatility, and richness of the "three sisters" – corn, beans, and squash.

In addition to sharing vibrant knowledge of the "three sisters," Javier recounts his personal journey of growing up in Mexico, later working as an agricultural laborer on the West Coast, subsequently venturing into independent farming, and now being an integral part of a non-profit organization dedicated to imparting traditional education in agriculture, culinary and cultural arts, wellness, and Indigenous languages to the local community and its youth. And since no FOOD FRIENDS episode is complete without recipes, Javier offers several and shares insights into how to use a few unexpected ingredients.

We are so grateful for this illuminating conversation with Javier, and can’t wait for you to tune in!

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Links to from this week’s show:

To find out more and support the organizations Javier is a part of head to: Anahuac Farm or Capaces Leadership Institue

A recipe for Ayomole in Spanish shared by Javier

Find out more about Quelites, and see the poster Javier shared with us

Avocado leaves from Masienda

Learn more about the Nahua  

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Javier’s recipe for Ayomole:

Ingredients-
two bolds of the guts of two squashes together with their seeds, preferably dark green
two pieces of the green squash (optional)
125 grams of tomatillo 
4 chiles guajillos 
2 sprigs of epazote (fresh better) 

Directions:
Boil in water the pumpkin guts and seeds with salt to taste. Once cooked, it is taken out and ground in a blender (traditionally we grind it in a stone molcajete). 

When grinding, don't blend it too fine, let the blender just break it up. Once blended, it is cooked again on the stove.

Remove the stem from the chiles, cut them in half and soak them in hot water for 15 minutes.  

Remove the husk from the tomatillos, wash them and blend them together with the chilies in a blender (very finely). 

Once this is blended, add them into the squash. 

Finally, add the two springs of fresh epazote and salt. 

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