Lois Ellen Frank, Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky

This will be an in-store event and live streamed to Zoom, register here for Zoom.

Copies of Seed to Plant, Soil to Sky can be purchased ($30) online or by calling the store to order (505) 988-4226. Signed copies will be available after the event.

This enriching cookbook celebrates eight important plants Native Americans introduced to the rest of the world: corn, beans, squash, chile, tomato, potato, vanilla, and cacao—with more than 100 recipes.

When these eight Native American plants crossed the ocean after 1492, the world’s cuisines were changed forever. Along with Native American culinary advisor Walter Whitewater, Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky shares more than 100 nutritious, plant‑based recipes organized by each of the foundational ingredients in Native American cuisine as well as a necessary discussion of food sovereignty and sustainability.    A delicious, enlightening celebration of Indigenous foods and Southwestern flavors, Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky shares recipes for dishes such as Blue Corn Hotcakes with Prickly Pear Syrup, Three Sisters Stew, and Green Chile Enchilada Lasagna, as well as essential basics like Corn Masa, Red and Green Chile Sauces, and Cacao Spice Rub. The “Magic 8” ingredients share the page—and plate—to create recipes that will transform your world.

About the Authors

Chefs Lois Ellen Frank, Ph.D. and Walter Whitewater are Santa Fe, New Mexico based chefs at Red Mesa Cuisine, a catering company specializing in Indigenous Cuisine and Cultural Education. Their work focuses on the revitalization of ancestral Native American cuisine with a modern twist using ingredients and preparing foods focused on health and wellness. Together, they have worked with communities in Southwest for over 30 years. This work culminated in the James Beard Award winning cookbook, Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations.

Dr. Frank was the recipient of the Local Hero Olla Award, which recognizes an exceptional individual for the work they do to create healthy, innovative, vibrant, and resilient local sustainable food systems in New Mexico. Chef Whitewater, who is from the Navajo Nation, was one of the first Native American chefs to cook at the James Beard House in New York City and the recipient of the James Lewis Award from BCA Global for his work as a native chef.

Together as part of the U.S. State Department and Consulate General’s Culinary Diplomacy Program they traveled to Ukraine (2013), the United Kingdom (2105) and Russia (2016) to teach about the history of Native American foodways, work with food as a form of diplomacy to create dialogue and educate people on the Native American food contribution shared with the world and how these native foods have influenced many of the foods we now eat every day. They also traveled to Guam (2011) to work with the Humanities Guåhan on the revitalization of traditional foods and foodways in

Guam.

Dr. Chef Frank and Chef Whitewater work with the Physician’s Committee (PCRM) on a program entitled The Power to Heal Diabetes: Food for Life in Indian Country www.nativepowerplate.org that uses the Ancestral Native American diet for health and wellness in Native Communities throughout the United States and they work with the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) on providing professional culinary development using Indigenous foods and recipes for health and wellness throughout the state of New Mexico. They work with communities all over the world, educating on the importance of indigenous foods and foods that Native people have shared with the world.