INDIGENOUS FLAVORS

CHUMASH FOODWAYS

Our Area’s First Cuisine

BY JULIE TUMAMAIT STENSLIE

Editor’s note: We respectfully invited Chumash Elder Julie Tumamait Stenslie to share a look at indigenous culture in the Ojai Valley and how it relates to food. By recognizing the history of our area’s first people, we can deepen our connection with the earth and our foodways today.

Imagine a time when we were all hunters and gatherers—Indigenous Peoples living in their indigenous lands. We had to pay attention to our surroundings and know our environment; our lives depended on this knowledge.

Beyond having the knowledge, there was interaction. As we recognized the Plants and Animals in our land, we hoped that they would recognize us too. We gave them gifts, sang to them their very own song; we gently harvested them, prepared them and consumed them. At the right time of the year we honored them in Ceremony. For the Chumash, that fall Ceremony is called the Hutash Festival. Hutash means Mother Earth.

The Ojai Valley has been home to our Family for over 10,000 years. Today, we use a variation of those village names: Ojai, from the Chumash awhay’, meaning moon; Matilija, or mat’ilha, which translates to correspondence; Sespe, derived from `seq`pe, Chumash for kneecap; Sisar, from sis`a, which means the eyelash; and TopaTopa, from Sitoptopo, translated much cane (a type of reed plant).

Since the time of hunter and gatherer, skills, techniques and lifestyles have declined and turned to a much faster-paced world. We don’t often allow ourselves the luxury of basking in nature. Knowledge has become mystery as we let others harvest our food. We have forgotten those ways, such as

Born to Vincent and Lucy Tumamait and raised in the Ojai Valley, Julie Tumamait Stenslie was appointed a Chumash Elder after the death of her father in 1992. She lives in Meiners Oaks with husband, Bruce Stenslie, and their children Paula, Robin and Aren. She is a commissioner on the Native American Heritage Commission and a board member of the Santa Clara River Conservancy. She is also the Tribal Chair of the Barbareño/ Ventureño Band of Mission Indians (Chumash).

“I am the Daughter of this Sacred Ground.”

Miner’s lettuce is also known as spring beauty, winter purslane, or Claytonia perfoliata: It got its name because Gold Rush miners collected and ate it to stave off scurvy. To add modern Ojai flavors, serve with Citrus Vinaigrette (page16).

eating and harvesting by the seasons. But we can eat and live like the MEAT FROM THE WILD first Indigenous Peoples, The Chumash. Much of what grew then still grows here today. Salad can be followed by the main course of Deer, Rabbit, Quail

We can take advantage of the harvest. Watching the oak trees and or Rainbow Trout. These were cooked on an open fire on a spit or acorns from last year told us that the rain is coming. The size and staked and set near the fire. Deer meat can be dried in the sun and abundance of the seeds were exceptional. This was a season when you turned into jerky. could harvest enough acorns to keep you well into the following year if stored properly. TEA FROM THE ROSES

Ceremonies to call and pray for rain also still happen in this ValTo drink, try a nice tea made from the wild rose (Rosa californica). ley. I invite People in the Community to join in this calling. But I say Collect the rose hips after the flower petals have fallen off. Petals were to them, “Don’t pray so hard for rain, it will come down that way.” dried and used for powder for the body and an eyewash, so don’t Instead I have prayed for snow for the past couple of years. The snow throw them away. Peel the hip open and extract the seeds, then plant is a better, slower way of getting water back to the land by melting them. You can make sun tea or boil water and let steep for 10 minutes. slowly into the earth, filling the aquifers without causing landslides. To obtain these foods now, I encourage you to plant them in your

As spring approaches there is plenty of food to look forward to. yards. If you do not own a yard, create a native garden in your comMINER’S LETTUCE SALAD es from the native species in nature. Collect miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) in the spring. Pinch off the leaf by hand; you can leave a bit of the stem. Don’t pick if it’s blooming. Rinse before eating. Add pine nuts: The pinyon pine But please remember to honor the thousands of years that these Rooted, Finned and Four-Legged People have been sustaining this world for Generations. To all our Relations. is in the Highlands; for us, that is the Pinyon pines in the Cuyama Cuyama Valley. When the pine cones Valley drop cones with white fall they are ready to harvest. Some seeds that are packed with pine cones are open, others are not. protein. (Photo by Julie Fire was often the way to open the Tumamait Stenslie) cones to extract the nuts. Crack open the shell; the nut meat is white in color. These seeds can be eaten raw or toasted.

In the old days, the nuts were parched on a flat woven basket tray. Small hot coals from the fire were added onto the tray, which was then swirled around so as not to burn holes in the tray, only to roast the nuts. Pine nuts can also be ground up and made into a gruel. Soup and salad.

Next, add chia seeds (Salvia columbariae). Women collected these delicious and highly nutritious tiny seeds by using a seed beater, which looks like a tennis racket, and a basket. They beat the plant (gently), which caused the seeds to come out of the flower head. Many seeds didn’t make it into the basket; that was alright, as it fed the earth so more could grow.

munity. This makes collecting easier and it doesn’t take away resourcYou can toast these seeds as well. A cast-iron frying pan works well for this process. Sprinkle them on salad. When ground up into meal, they can be placed on your meats or fish for added protein. Chia seeds are packed with nutrients and grow happily in the hills around Ojai and Ventura County.

Rethinking Invasive Plants as Gourmet Food

By Jess Starwood

In the springtime, the local hills all across Southern California are increasingly becoming covered in bright yellow flowers. Those are members of the Brassica family, or wild mustard—the wild counterpart to all of our cruciferous vegetables (kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.). Our hills didn’t always look that way this time of year. These invasive plants, originally from the Mediterranean, are taking over our native habitats faster than we can figure out what to do with them.

The term “invasive” is used for anything that seems to take over resources of native plants and change our landscape. These complex-flavored plants, some pleasantly reminiscent of wasabi, are pulled out, sprayed and destroyed in every garden and landscape and even our natural open spaces. Interestingly, these nutritious weeds tend to follow human populations across the globe. Maybe nature is trying to tell us what we should be eating.

With nutrition that surpasses top super foods such as kale and spinach by 200–300%, these disregarded plants deserve a place on our plate. In studies on modern indigenous cultures, traditional wild foods have been shown to be nutritionally superior to store-bought produce and contain higher concentrations of polyphenols and antioxidants, which are vital for improving and maintaining proper health.

By rethinking their role on the table, we can explore new territory in terms of a culinary experience. With rarely used textures and flavors, weeds open up an untapped wealth of creative uses that can look impressive on a plate, and also initiate the discussion of our relationship to food and its impact on the environment.

Some of our other local superfoods of interest that are showing up right now are dandelion, nettle, lambs’ quarter, mallow, chickweed, purslane and bur chervil. All of these offer unique flavors and textures to a dish.

And best of all, these plants don’t have to be limited to use by the most creative and adventurous chefs—they are accessible to the home cook as well. It is here that we can begin shifting our connection to the environment with our food choices.

Besides, how nice it would be to weed the garden and have fresh produce ready for dinner at the same time?

Jess Starwood is a professional forager, plantbased chef, and herbalist with a Masters of Science degree in Herbal Medicine from the American College of Healthcare Sciences. She hosts monthly wild food and mushroom classes and tasting events featuring her latest culinary creations in the LA/Ventura area. JStarwood.com