Navajo Blue Corn

As I have been studying Black, Purple, Blue, and other "dark" Gothic Plants, I would like to introduce you to a personal favorite: Navajo Blue Corn, also called Hopi Blue, is a variety of Flour maize grown in northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, particularly in the states of Arizona and New Mexico.  One of  the “Zea mays” corns  domesticated by Meso-Americans along the Rio Balsas of Mexico by at least 6,700 BC.  Corn is a staple food and has many ritual uses.   

 In my studies, I have found that Navajo Blue Corn was originally developed by the Hopi, and remains an essential part of Hopi and Navajo dishes.  Blue Corn Kernals are gound to make meal, and has a sweet flavore.  Blue Corn is also a staple of New Mexican Cuisine, where it is also known as Zuni Blue Corn.  The Navajo dry farm this corn below their canyons and mesas (near a flood plain to catch natural monsoon rains), thus making it a nice drought hearty addition to any Gothic Homesteaders list of grains.  Personally, Robby (my husband) uses Blue Corn meal alot to make the Navajo style corn bread we were introduced to while living near the Navajo Reservation.

 ~ Morria

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Lady of Gothic Gardening: Morticia Addams

Image
When people thing of Goth's and gardens or even homesteads, one of the first images that comes to mind is Morticia Addams.  Love her, hate her, admire her, she is the First Lady of Gothic Gardening.  African strangler plant, rose's for their thorns, hemlock, hensban, and poison ivy, she grew at her bidding.  And grow they did. The Addam's Family house had a large greenhouse built on, as many Gothic style homes did.  These were known as a conservatory.    What is a conservatory?  It is typically a glass room connected to a house on only one side, and is used for a greenhouse or sun room.  They were first used in the 1600's to try to grow citrus and other non-native plants in colder areas.  Morticia used her's to grow exotic plants year round. While our Gothic homesteads might not look like Morticia's (who wants to grow poison ivy? Not I;  itchy, itchy, itchy !), but we are unique in our own rights.  Black Nightshade, umm, oops, I mean Black Tomatoes ( to
Read more

Gothic Thanksgiving

Image
Having spent the last 14 years of my life as a Goth, and having been married for nearly 8 years, holidays and celebrations have taken on their own flavor. This is especially true living nearly 1,000 miles from my kin, and nearly 2,000 miles from my husband’s.  Not that we dont miss our families, but travel around this time of year just isn't  certain .  No matter if you are in an urban or rural setting celebrations play an important role in life.  So how to do it? Well, depending on it is just you and your fellow subculture family, or if you’re hosting other family for your celebrations depends on how “Gothy” the holidays will be, unless of course your family just deals with your  eclectic ness and writes it off... For Robby and myself it is how much black Robby can stand.  When back east with family, it is whether we are the cooks/decoraters that year or one of the siblings is.... it all depends on you, your family, and how much they put up with! For a Gothic Thanksgi
Read more

What is a Gothic Homesteader?

Image
Since starting Gothic Homesteading on Facebook back in 2013, more than once I have been asked just what is a Gothic Homesteader?  Just about as often, I get asked, What makes someone Goth?   And what is a homesteader?  All great questions. I have over the years actually heard many explanations to what it means to be a Goth and to be a Homesteader.   The simplest way I can explain it is thusly:  A Goth is one who who sees beauty in the midst of a dark and dying world. A Homesteader is one who follows the homesteading way of life: a. raising what one can - fruits, veges, herbs, animals, etc., b. make what one can - clothing, food, all sorts of crafts, very diy ( which Goths are great at typically ), c. providing what they can for oneself and ones friends and family. A Gothic Homesteader is one who see beauty in the midst of a dark and dying world, and thusly lives the homesteading lifestyle. As both Gothic and Homesteading cultures are very DIY (do it yourself) orien
Read more