Do you entertain? Tired of cheesetwists and beer? Want something that is memorable and trendy? What could be more trendy than an authenic Native American party bowl from the Northwest? Try this

Boiled Salmon-Guts

After the woman has cut open the silver-salmon caught by her husband by trolling, she squeezes out the food that is in the stomach, and the slime that is on the gills. She turns the stomach inside out; and when she has cleaned many, she takes a kettle and pours water into it.

When the kettle is half full of water, she puts the stomach of the silver-salmon into it. After they are all in she puts the kettle on the fire; and when it is on the fire, she takes her tongs and stirs them. When (the contents) begin to boil, she stops stirring. The reason for stirring is to make the stomachs hard before the water gets too hot; for if they do not stir them, they remain soft and tough, and are not hard.

Then the woman always takes up one of (the stomachs) with the tongs; and when she can hold it in the tongs, it is done; but when it is slippery, it is not done.

(When it is done,) she takes off the fire what she is cooking. It is said that if, in cooking it, it stays on the fire too long, it gets slippery. Then she will pour it away outside of the house, for it is not good if it is that way.

If it should be eaten when it is boiled too long, (those who eat it) could keep it only a short time. They would vomit.

Therefore they watch it carefully. When it is done, the woman takes her dishes and her spoons, and she puts them down at the place where she is seated; but her husband invites whomever he wants to invite.

When the guests come in, his wife takes a large ladle and dips the liquid out of the kettle into the dishes. When they are half full of the liquid of what she has been cooking, she takes the tongs and takes out the boiled stomachs and puts them into the dishes.

When all the dishes are full, she takes food-mats and spreads them in front of the guests. Finally she takes the dishes and places them in front of the guests. There is one dish for every four guests. Then she gives a spoon to each guest.

Water is never given with this, and they never pour oil on it, for oil does not agree with the boiled stomach; and therefore also they do not drink water before they eat it, for it makes those who eat it thirsty. Then they eat with spoons; and after they have eaten, the host takes the dishes and puts them down at the place where his wife sits.

Then he takes water and gives it to them. Then they rinse their mouths on account of the salty taste, for the boiled stomach is really salt. After rinsing the mouth, they drink some water; and after drinking, they go out of the house.

This finishes what I have to say about the cooking of various kinds of salmon. They never sing when eating steamed salmon-heads or boiled salmon-heads, or when they eat boiled stomachs, for these are eaten quickly when they first go trolling silver-salmon.

The stomach of the dog-salmon is not eaten when it is first caught at the mouth of the river, nor when it is caught on the upper part of the rivers; but they boil the heads when it is caught in the upper part of the river, also those of the humpback-salmon. At last it is finished.

Somewhere, I have a recipe for possum stew from a friend in Arkansas. When I get home I will have to search for i

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 28, 2000

Answers

Many cultures have some truly yucky native dishes. Often, these are poor people's food. Norway has lutefisk, Scotland has haggis, Poland(or is it Germany) has blood soup, Southern US blacks have chitlins, etc. Amazingly, some of these victuals evolve into genuine cuisine.

I'll take the cheesetwists and beer. Just in time for the Lakers/Blazers.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), May 28, 2000.

Lars:

I enjoy lutefisk; even though many of my ancestors came from Scotland, I can't take haggis. Maybe, I lost the gene for haggis or 370 y in North America got us out of the habit. Chitlins are also common among whites in the eastern mountains.

Best wishes,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 28, 2000.

Klingons have Gaak. It has to be fresh or it's virtually inedible.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), May 28, 2000.

Z,

Have you ever tried this dish you described?

Usually, if I am travelling and hear about a local dish that is popular among the locals, I will try it. Sometimes that has a bad outcome, but I usually prefer to eat what the locals eat rather than what they offer to foreigners.

-- Steve (sron123@aol.com), May 28, 2000.

Steve:

Yes, I have had it. I wouldn't recommend it as a daily meal, but it wasn't bad.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 28, 2000.

This thread wasn't meant to make fun of any culture. In contrast its meaning is to highlight our regional differences. To a large extent we are defined by our food.

The first recipe is from the area where most of my family lives. Like most Americans of my age, I have been a migrant. Living in many places. Really rootless. I read so many articles saying that the US has no cuisine, just Big Macs.

Here are two more from my places. The first is more traditional; the second is nearer to my roots.

Cafe Le Monde Beignets

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup barley flour or all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1 egg 2/3 cup buttermilk 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted 1 tsp. vanilla Cooking oil or shortening Sifted powdered sugar

In medium mixing bowl stir together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In small bowl stir together the egg, buttermilk, melted butter or margarine, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients until well mixed.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 to 12 strokes. If desired, for easier handling cover and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. Divide dough in half. Roll each portion of dough into a 9-inch square; cut into 2-1/4-inch squares.

In large saucepan or deep-fat fryer heat cooking oil or shortening to 3700 F. Carefully add 3 of the dough squares; cook about 2 minutes or until golden, turning once and spooning fat over squares as they fry. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on a wire rack set over paper towels. Repeat with the remaining squares 3 at a time. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Makes 32 beignets.

Pemmican

Categories: Caribou, Jerky, Wild game Yield: 1 batch

1 lb Caribou Jerky 2 tb Brown sugar 2 oz Raisins 2 oz Cranberries 5 oz Suet

Run the dry jerky through a food grinder a few times. In a loaf pan add the cranberries, raisins and brown sugar. When the mixture is well blended, melt the suet and stir it in. Let the suet cool and harden. This approximates the old style pemmican made to preserve meat without refrigeration and to add some vitamin C values.

Pemmican

2 pounds Dried Buffalo, or Deer

1 quart choke cherry, Elderberry, blackberry, or other fruits.

Add meat drippings to bind the mixture.

The buffalo strips that have been dried in front of the fire can be beaten until they are like a corn meal. This buffalo meal is then combined with choke cherry, elderberry, blackberry, or other fruits, and meat drippings to bind the mixture. The meat may be any type, and can be dried in a common dehydrator.

Best wis

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), May 28, 2000.

It's called "slime". Boil onions, yellow squash, and okra together until all are soft. Slime has the consistency and color of snot with soft boogers in it. The snot stretches from the slime on the plate to the slime on your spoon. The flavor is very mild and almost pleasant -- if you can actually swallow it.

-- helen (barfing@the.memory), May 28, 2000.

Boil galah & add axe-head until soft then throw away all - but dish out the axe-head. hehe. Actually galah is fantastic tucker.

I know witchity grub goes down well with beer.

Snake isn't bad either as far as bush-tucker goes. Crocodile in ginger sauce is bonzer stuff and so is oily mutton-bird smoked tender.

Cockling the beach for a bucket full and grilling them straight away on an open fire is an experience, but Morton Bay Bugs is just excellently quaint - they look like oversized roaches. I could go on but it'll make a strong stomach wobbly especially when introducing range oysters & such things.

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), May 29, 2000.

Anyone still have a recipe for fried chicken feet? I learned about chicken feet from a woman when I was a teen. They make a crunchy, snack-like treat that could be enjoyed much like pretzels while watching a sporting event. She gave me the recipe, but I could never find chicken feet. The last time I was at Hypermart, there they were...a bag of chicken feet. Unfortunately, the recipe was thrown away years ago.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), May 29, 2000.