Recipe - Apache Stew

2 Red bell peppers
5 Green anaheim chiles
One fourth cup Sunflower oil
1 pound Venison, cut into 1 One half inch
cubes
1 Onion, minced
3 Garlic cloves, finely
chopped
2 Carrots, cut or sliced up
3 cup Cooked Indian hominy
8 cup Water
1 One half teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon White pepper
1 cup Tumbleweed greens,
thoroughly cleaned, or
curly endive

Roast the peppers, then peel, seed, and cut into long strips. Roast the
chiles, then peel, seed, devein and dice.

Heat the oil in a large stew pot over mediumhigh heat. When the oil is
almost smoking, add the venison and cook until the meat is lightly browned,
3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and saute 2 minutes more.

Stir in the carrots, peppers, and chiles and cook 1 minute more. Add the
hominy, water, salt, and pepper and bring the mixture ot a boil. Reduce the
heat to low and let the stew simmer 1 One half hours, stirring occasionally to
prevent burning, until the meat is very tender. Just before serving, add
the tumbleweed greens, stir 1 minute and spoon into bowls. *****

The Apache people lived in many regions throughout southeastern Arizona and
New Mexico. The men hunted the animals that roamed the mountains, and the
women gathered and harvested both wild foods and the foods that they
cultivated on the land.

This recipe is based on a traditional stew that was taught to me by a San
Carlos medicine man during one of my visits to his ranch. When I prepare
the stew now, I can vividly remember the tapping of his traditional water
drum and the songs he chanted in his native Apache tongue. Through his
songs, he asked for all people to walk in harmony with Mother Earth and be
guided by the spirit of the mountains and the spirit of his drum. I still
remember the sincerity and yearning of his songs.

Depending on what type of produce was available, the ingredients added to
the venison varied each time the stew was prepared. This recipe includes
the basics of the stew, but you can substitute other vegetables.

From "Native American Cooking," by Lois Ellen Frank
Posted to MMRecipes Digest by "Rfm" RobertMiles@usa.net on May 25, 98