Hard Tack & Jerky

Earlier tonight, practically yesterday now, I took a drive a few miles North of Flagstaff with a friend from work. My friend needed a ride out to an area to look for a plant.

You see, my friend is a full-blooded Hopi Indian, and he was looking for a specific plant, an herb really, that grows wild in only certain areas. The closest english equivalent is "nanakofsi."

This is the second time I went out looking for it with him. The first time was a few months ago, and he found two or three plants, I found none... This second time, I was able to spot them very easily, and found more of them than he did! This herb is used by the Hopi for some traditional dishes, and it is a great honor to find it, especially in a quantity to be able to store it through the winter months.

As we were walking back to my Jeep, the conversation strayed to the "old times." Here I was, a midwest transplant, the epitomy of the kind of person who were the early "white" settlers in the area, walking with and helping a Native American, who could trace his lineage and recount stories back for hundreds if not thousands of years...

He taught me about another plant, something akin to "wild spinich," but will require at least three boiling/straining cycles before it is palatable...

I told him about Hard Tack. Hard Tack is nothing more than a cracker on steroids! Hard Tack was something the Calvery (in the 1800's) and the early settlers relied upon for food. It is easily made: flour, salt, & water... once baked, it lasts forever! Grind up some jerky, add it to boiling water, a few herbs, vegetables if you got 'em... drop in some Hard Tack... and you got yourself a very hearty stew!

Hard Tack is just that... HARD! Once it has been baked and totally dehydrated, it is like a brick! Pratically unbreakable and will last for a long time! Jerky, is similiar! Once dried/dehydrated completely... it too will last for a long time! But, both are easily reconstituted in the presence of water (especially if it is boiling)!

So we both learned somethings tonight:

Two peoples, Native American and White, who once considered themselves enemies, can truly become friends, even brothers...

There is knowledge and experiences that can be learned from each other! I learned about two plants that are edible, and he learned about Hard Tack and Timber Rattlesnakes! (That is a whole other blog!)

Needless to say, we are planning an outing together, sort of a camping trip, we'll invite friends, a "back to basics" kind of thing...

He'll bring the nanakofsi, I got the hard tack and jerky... if we are lucky, we might catch a rabbit...

Cowboy and Indian!