This is the time of year when the garden starts giving up all those wonderful gifts for your table. Serve up a great "Harvest Supper" for your family with some delicious Native American recipes.

Start the day out by baking your bread early, wrap it in clean cotton flour sack towels when cool and set the loaves in a big basket on your table. The Wild Sage Bread has a wonderful aroma and great taste to go with supper.

Wild Sage Bread

1 pkg dry yeast
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 TBSP melted shortening
1 TBSP sugar
2 tsp crushed dried sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour

Combine sugar, sage, salt, baking soda and flour and set aside. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, yeast is ready when bubbles appear (a little sugar will help the yeast grow). Beat the egg and cottage cheese together until smooth. Add the melted shortening and yeast. Add flour mixture slowly to egg mixture, beating well after each addition until a stiff dough is formed. Cover dough with cloth and put in warm place until double in bulk (about 1 hour). Punch dough down, knead for one minute and place in well-greased pan. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50 minutes. Brush top with melted shortening and sprinkle with crushed, roasted pine nuts or coarse salt.

The Three Sisters, corn, squash and beans, have always been a mainstay to the diets of most Native Americans. When these crops were introduced to the Iroquois and other tribes, they were a great compliment to the meats provided by the hunters. The three vegetables are also a compliment to each other when growing in the garden. The eldest sister, corn, grows straight and tall and wears golden tassels. The middle sister, beans, wears beautiful leaves and leans on her elder sister for support. The youngest sister, squash, wears a golden crown and sits at the feet of her sisters and spreads out to prevent weeds from growing. These three make a delicious, thick stew.

Three Sisters Stew

1 TBSP olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
1 lb. (medium size) yellow summer squash, slice into 3/4 inch pieces
2 medium-sized zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1 lb. green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup corn kernels
2 16-oz. cans kidney beans, drain and rinse
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1 TBSP fresh thyme leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeno. Saute until the onion is tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except the thyme, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, over low heat for 15 to 25 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender. Add thyme leaves during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

To top off your Harvest Supper, serve a fresh, home made pumpkin pie for dessert.

Pumpkin Pie

9 inch unbaked pie shell
1/2 Cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 16 ounce can pumpkin puree
1 1/4 Cups evaporated skim milk
3 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl, blend and beat all ingredients till smooth. Pour into pie shell and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and bake 50 minutes more. You know pie is done when knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve cold with whipped cream. If you prefer, you can just bake the filling in custard cups rather than the pie crust.

Enjoy your Harvest Supper!
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