To Cleanse or Not to Cleanse: What is Smudging?

I have been in Real Estate for many years.  I have people buying homes and they will smudge the homes for different reasons.  Buyers from all different cultures and religious beliefs will do this. 

Other cultures worldwide may burn herbs or incense for spiritual purposes, such as in smoking ceremonies, some forms of saining, or practices involving the use of incense censers. However, these cultures have their own practices, as well as their own beliefs about these ritual actions and the ritual use of smoke.

I have even known Real Estate Professionals do smudging when they list a home in order to help it sell.  This is like burying St. Joseph statue when a home is listed and sold. Bringing in positive energy to be associated with the transaction. 

So let’s talk about Smudging. 

Smudging, or other rites involving the burning of sacred herbs (e.g., white sage) or resins, is a ceremony practiced by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas. While it bears some resemblance to other ceremonies and rituals involving smoke (e.g., Australian smoking ceremony, some types of saining) from other world cultures, notably those that use smoke for spiritual cleansing or blessing, the purposes and particulars of the ceremonies, and the substances used, can vary widely among tribes, bands and nations, and even more so among different world cultures. In traditional communities, Elders maintain the protocols around these ceremonies and provide culturally specific guidance. The smudging ceremony, by various names, has been appropriated by others outside of the Indigenous communities as part of New Age or commercial practices, which has also led to the over-harvesting of some of the plants used in ceremonies. The appropriation and the over-harvesting have both been protested by Indigenous people in the US and Canada.

Native American traditions

In some Indigenous American and Canadian ceremonies, certain herbs are traditionally used to purify or bless people and places. For instance, some cultures use the smoke of burning red cedar as part of their particular purification and healing ceremonies. Sometimes this is done in hospitals to “cleanse and repel evil influence.” However, the same herbs that are burned by one culture may be taboo to burn in another, or they may be used for a completely different purpose. When specific herbs are burned ceremonially, this may or may not be called “smudging”, depending on the culture  Traditionally, when gathering herbs for ceremonial use, care is taken to determine the time of day, month, or year when the herbs should be collected; for example, at dawn or evening, at certain phases of the moon, or according to yearly cycles. Gertrude Allen, a Lumbee tribe, reported that her father, an expert in healing with plants, stated that sage varies in potency at different times of the year.

While sage is commonly associated with smudging and several Native American, First Nations, Inuit or Métis cultures may use forms of sage that are local to their region, the use of sage is neither universal, nor as widespread as many believe. Its use in regions that have not traditionally used sage for purification is largely a result of the Pan-Indian movement, rather than traditional practice. In some cases it may be in direct opposition to what is traditional for that region. Likewise, not all Native American or Indigenous Canadian cultures that burn herbs or resins for ceremony call this practice “smudging“.

While using various forms of scent and scented smoke (such as incense) in religious and spiritual rites is an element common to many different cultures worldwide, the details, reasons, desired effects, and spiritual meanings are usually unique to the specific cultures in question.

Controversy in the Native American Tradition 

While white sage is not currently on the endangered list, the over-harvesting by commercial sellers has severely depleted the amount available, and many fear that it is soon to be endangered or extinct. Native ceremonial people have reported that visits to their traditional harvesting sites in recent years have found them bare, their personal supply of sage taken from the tribe forever by new age, hippie, and other commercial poachers who have “destroyed” the sites by ripping the plants up by their roots.

Some of the terminology in use among non-Indigenous people, such as the American English term “smudge stick” is usually found in use among those who imitate what they believe are Native American sacred ceremonies. However, the herbs used in commercial “smudge sticks” or “sage bundles,” and the rituals performed with them by non-Natives, are rarely the actual materials or ceremonies used by traditional Native Americans. Use of these objects have also been adopted in some forms into a number of modern belief systems, including many forms of New Age and eclectic Neopagan spirituality. This has been protested against by Native activists as a form of cultural misappropriation, and care is needed to distinguish smudging from other practices involving smoke, which have completely different cultural protocols.

Smudging “kits” are often sold commercially, by companies such as Anthropologie, Sephora, World Market, Amazon and Walmart, despite traditional prohibitions against the sale of spiritual medicines like white sage. These may include bundles of a single herb or a combination of several different herbs; often these herbs are not found bundled together in traditional use, and their use is not universal to all, or even most, Native cultures. In some Native American cultures the burning of these herbs is prohibited. Other commercial items may contain herbs not native to North America, or not indigenous to the region where they are being used, as well as substances that are toxic when burnt.

Native American and First Nations students in college dorms have at times faced harassment and been forbidden from burning herbs for ceremonial reasons due to university fire prevention policies that prohibit the burning of candles or incense in college dorm rooms. This has raised issues around the religious freedom of Native Americans.  In another account, a Native American in Cincinnati became ordained by the Universal Life Church in order to fulfill the requirement that only clergy members could perform smudging ceremonies as part of the prayer ritual for other Native Americans in area hospitals.

What does smudging do?

Smudging is traditionally a ceremony for purifying or cleansing the soul of negative thoughts of a person or place. There are four elements involved in a smudge: The container, traditionally a shell representing water, is the first element.

So what are the four elements of smudging?

In some cultures, four elements are represented in parts of the ceremony: fire in the burning of the sacred herbs, earth in the herbs themselves, air in the feather used to fan the smoke or the smoke itself, and water in the vessel to carry the herbs.

Is incense a type of smudging?

Incense is still used today in the Roman Catholic Church and other religions for purification. Native elders teach that the smoke of dried sage clears negative energy and restores harmony.

What to do during smudging?

How to cleanse your house or space to clear negative energy

1. Gather your tools and have an exit strategy. 
2. Set your intention and say a mantra or request.
3. Light up. 
4. Slowly walk around your space. 
5. Be safe. 
6. Extinguish your sage.
7. Tip ….. You may be wondering what’s the best time of day to sage your house. You can sage your home at night or during the day. What’s most important is that you sage your home when you feel it needs to be done, or if you feel negative, sluggish, anxious, or stressed.

Smudging 101

Smudging is a way to energetically cleanse a space to invite positive energy. When smudging a space, you burn plant material (but there are alternatives if you can’t tolerate the smoke). The smoke fills and purifies the environment. As the smoke rises, it takes your wishes and intentions and mingles them with the universe as a way to connect heaven, earth, and humanity. Burning aromatic herbs and resins was practiced in antiquity and is found in many cultures and spiritual religions. Smudging, though, is primarily associated with Indigenous traditions in the United States.

Gather Your Materials

Before you begin the ceremony to sage your house, it’s important to take a couple of other steps. First, tidy up your home. Then, take your time to gather materials for the ritual. The mindfulness of a smoke ritual begins when you collect your supplies, so practice this with ease and care. Do your best to slow down and not rush through this first step.

Keep the ritual materials sacred by using them only for space clearing. You can store your other materials on your shrine or altar. If you are gathering materials to sage your house from negative energy for the first time, look for a smudge stick that has bundled materials that appeal to your senses, such as rose, mugwort, rosemary, and more. Besides a smudge stick, here are more supplies you will need to sage a house.

Candle and Matches

It’s recommended to have a candle nearby to relight the smudge stick during the smudging ceremony. Matches or a lighter is used to light the candle. You will light the smudge stick with the candle flame.

Fireproof Container

It’s useful to have a fireproof container like a small clay bowl to hold underneath the smudge stick to catch any ashes or embers. It’s tradition to use an abalone shell for this, which also brings into your home a beneficial water element that’s important for good feng shui. The container (bowl or plate) or shell should only be used for smudging ceremonies.

Bowl of Sand, Salt or Dirt

A bowl of sand is a must. It is used to properly extinguish the smudge stick safely after the ritual is complete.

Before You Begin the Smudging Ceremony

Allow enough space and time for the ritual so you don’t feel rushed. If possible, meditate for at least five minutes to calm your mind and heart. 

It’s calming to smudge a home by yourself. But, if anyone else is present during this smudging ceremony, you can include them in the ritual. Prepare some other space-clearing tools that they can use while you are smudging. For instance, they can work with sound and ring bells.

Remember when performing a space clearing, your intention is key. Take some time to contemplate what your wishes are for your home and family. When you clear your house, there’s a vacuum that’s created. You want to welcome your intentions into the newly cleared and open space.

Smudging the Space

Now that you have all your tools and preparations in place, you can begin the smudging ritual. 

Start at the front door of the home and light your smudge stick. Then, begin to move slowly around the home. Move mindfully and with care, walking clockwise around the entire interior perimeter of the home. Be sure to allow the smoke to drift into even the hidden spaces, like inside closets, basements, and dark corners. If there are stairs, just go up or down when you encounter them so you can smudge the upper or lower levels in the same manner. Then keep moving clockwise until you meet the stairs again. Then continue to go down or up the stairs and resume smudging on the main floor. 

Moving around a space like this is called “circumambulation.” It’s a practice that’s been done for centuries in ancient cultures to make a space more sacred.

If you feel comfortable doing so, there are things you can say when you sage your house. It’s helpful to chant a mantra or a prayer that is meaningful to you as a way to fill the space with more cleansing vibrations.

Closing the Ceremony

When you arrive back at the front door, chant your final mantra or prayer. Visualize the entire home filled with bright white sunlight. Then speak your intention one last time to close the smudging ceremony.

A smudging ritual is a beautiful and effective technique to clear a space. You’ll know if smudging worked because you will likely feel better after each ritual. A smudging ritual can be done annually, once a season, or more often. It’s especially powerful to perform a space clearing as part of the cleaning process when you first move into a new home.

Your Front Door: Color Me Feng Shui

Many years ago I wrote an article on Feng Shui. This you can find on my website.  Now I want to blog just about the door regarding Feng Shui. 

In feng shui, your front door is one of the most important areas of your home and represents the face you show to the world. Feng shui colors for a front door have practical, aesthetic, and potentially energetic implications. On a practical level, it is how you come in and out of your home. Your front door sets the tone for you and your visitors entering your home. It’s also the last thing you see when leaving your home to go out into the world.

On an energetic level, your front door also represents how energy and opportunities come into your life. Just like you want your guests to feel welcome when they enter through your front door, you also want opportunities to be attracted to enter your life. Your front door is the main portal for people and energy to enter your home. In feng shui, we call it the mouth of qi, or universal life force energy.

Your Front Door Color and Feng Shui

A feng shui practitioner looks at the colors and facing direction of your home to assess how the qi (life force energy) flows to your property. These factors offer information on how the qi is received inside the building. 

North-facing home: To activate the energy of your north-facing home, you can enhance the water or metal elements in your home’s north sector. Water is related to the color black and dark charcoal gray. Metal element colors are white, gray, and metallics like copper and bronze.

West-facing home: A west-facing home is enhanced by metal or earth element colors. Metal element colors are white, gray, and metallics, and yellow, brown, and earthy tones are all expressions of earth. 

South-facing home: The South is connected to fire, the summer season, fame, reputation, passion, illumination, and inspiration. It is related to red, purple, fiery orange, and yellow. 

East-facing home: Work with wood or water element colors to support the East direction. Wood is related to greens, mid-tone blues, and teals. Water is connected to black, dark charcoal gray, and deep navy blue.

One easy way to feng shui your front door is with paint. Look at things from a feng shui perspective based on your home’s facing direction and work with the colors you are attracted to. Also, pay attention to what colors will work well with the house’s exterior and your neighborhood as a whole. 

Red to Get Noticed

Red is the most auspicious color in feng shui, as well as a powerful color for protection and the transformation of negative energy. Red is also connected to the fire element, which represents warmth, passion, and inspiration. If you want your front door to be clearly visible from the street so that energy and opportunities can find you, a coat of red paint can be an effective way to do this. In the feng shui energy map, red is related to the recognition area. Red makes a bold statement, and it’s a great color to use if you want to get noticed.

Black to Attract Good Energy

Black absorbs, attracts, and brings in positive energy, which makes it a great choice for a front door color. It’s connected to the water element, which represents wisdom and depth. The north direction is also tied to this element. Water is also connected to your social connections and network, so black can be a supportive color for building friendships and relationships.

Yellow to Brighten 

Yellow is a bright, energetic color for a front door. In feng shui, yellow is connected to the earth element. Earth represents stability and grounding, so yellow is an excellent choice if you or your family could use more of that.

Green for Growth

Green is connected to the wood element in feng shui, which is related to new beginnings and growth. If you intend to invite in new opportunities to help you grow and expand, you may want to paint your door green.

White for Joy

Connected to the metal element in feng shui, white represents cleanliness and purity. The west direction is also tied to this element. The metal element is related to precision, communication, and joy. Try painting your door white to invite more of these metal element qualities into your life.

Blue for Knowledge

Like green, blue also represents the wood element, which supports growth and new beginnings. Deeper shades of blue are also connected to the “gen” area of the feng shui bagua map. Gen represents knowledge and self-cultivation, so dark blue can help support an intention to deepen your skillfulness.

Gray for Helpful People

Gray also represents the metal element, so it is a supportive color for inviting more metal element qualities into your life. In addition, it’s the color associated with the “qian” area of the feng shui bagua. Qian is all about helping people and travel, so a gray front door can support your intention to invite helpful people and benefactors into your life or to travel more.

After you’ve chosen a color for your front door, make sure you use it. Many people don’t use their formal front doors. It’s essential to activate energy flow by opening and walking through them regularly. Even if it’s not the entrance you use most often, try going out your front door when you go out to get the mail, for example. 

Finally, don’t forget to keep your freshly painted door clean. Part of having an inviting entryway is having a clean entry. When cleaning your home, take some time to wash your front door, including the hinges, knobs, and frame.

Questions often asked

What is the best color for a door, according to feng shui principles?

Feng shui is based on Taoism, a Chinese philosophy, and since red is the most auspicious color in Chinese culture, it is the most favored color for a door in feng shui. It represents good luck, protection, and the fire element. Fire is related to exciting energy, such as passion, inspiration, and expression.

What are popular colored doors in feng shui?

Some of the most common colors in feng shui for a door include red, green, blue, and brown. Red is related to power and energy, green brings growth, blue brings abundance, and brown brings earthly grounding.

What door color in feng shui attracts wealth to your home ?

Fire element red may be the most promising for attracting all good things. However, purple is also associated with wealth and royalty and can attract abundance and luxury into your life. Like red, purple is also associated with the fire element, attracting attention and change.

So are you ready to go choose a new front door color?  Get our brushes out and paint your door. It will be fun and who knows what will happen? 

Fry Bread: Is So Delicious! Try Some! 

I would like to start this blog by saying, I love and adore Fry Bread.  My go to at Pow Wows and to make at home even. So easy and worth a try! A vessel for savory or sweet toppings! 

Before we get into “complexities” of Indian fry bread history (also spelled frybread), let’s address some basics. This article is about the Indian fry bread that has evolved from the 1864 Navajo ‘Long Walk’ as explained below. Indian fry bread is usually made with a few simple ingredients – wheat (white) flour, salt, fat (lard), and water. Once the ingredients are mixed, it is formed into a flat dough bread that is fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard. Fry bread can be eaten just as it’s taken from the oil, or with one or more of several popular toppings. By itself it is a great bread accompaniment with a bowl of stew or when paired as a side to any beef-based meal or stew. When topped with honey it is often compared with sopapillas. Other sweet treat or dessert versions are sprinkled with sugar or topped with jam. Topping with beef or brisket is a popular pairing, making it a meal itself.

The ultimate fry bread-based meal, however, has evolved in its use as the base for an unlimited variety of tacos (replacing the “shells”). While the origin of fry bread is linked to the Navajo “Long Walk” of 1864, it is often found at powwows and tribal events (and homes) from coast to coast. On an even broader scale, its popularity has spread well beyond native events so that today it can be found at all types and sizes of fairs or festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Fry Bread was not originally a traditional Native food.

Ask most folks in American about fry bread and you will find that they consider it a traditional Native food. While this may be true given its origins, it is not an accurate description of the ‘roots’ of Indian fry bread history. Fry bread was created by the Navajo in 1864 when the U.S. government created the reservation system and the distribution of food commodities to the peoples and tribes ‘moved’ there whose way of life (and feeding themselves) had been disrupted. 

At the time this was happening to the Navajo, relocating them from northern Arizona to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico (which would not support their traditional staples of vegetables and beans), this same process resulted in many tribes being removed from their ancestral homelands to reservations in other parts of the West. Thus, the history of fry bread is directly linked to this trauma of relocation and the Native fight for survival.

Original Indian Fry Bread Recipe Defined by Minimal Government Rations

The tragic elements of Indian fry bread history start hundreds of miles away from the traditional and familiar lands of the Navajo where they could forage, hunt, and grow familiar crops. Here, in this new and desolate place, the Navajo starved. They were issued government rations of white wheat flour, salt, and lard, from which they created the recipe for fry bread. This ‘new’ bread recipe (see Mexican Fry Bread Connection section below) and cooking method (deep frying) helped them survive their time on the reservation until an 1868 treaty allowed them to return home to Arizona.

The story was a familiar one among other Native American communities who experienced similar relocations and internments across the United States. Native Americans received unfamiliar foods in the relocation camps where low-income communities continue to receive federal disbursements today. This means that for many Native Americans, fry bread history links generation with generation, connecting the present to the painful narrative of Native American history and relocation. 

Fry bread’s significance and relationship to Native Americans is described by some as complicated. Although frybread is often associated with “traditional” Native American cuisine, some Native American chefs reject it as a symbol of colonialism. Still others have described it as a symbol of “perseverance and pain, ingenuity and resilience”; a symbol of resilience as it developed from necessity using government-provided flour, sugar, and lard. Because the government had moved the people onto land that could not support growing traditional staples like corn and beans.

A Mexican Fry Bread Connection to Indian Fry Bread History?

While finishing research on this article, there were certain issues we were trying to cover, including the similarity of the tortilla and frybread, wheat flour vs. corn meal, etc.  Every article about the history of Indian frybread describes how it originated in 1864 as a result of the “Long Walk” and the minimal rations issued for survival, yet we found no references, except the two gentlemen quoted below, who asked if that wasn’t just half the story. Judge for yourself. It makes sense that after hundreds of years of contact with the Spanish (and subsequently Mexicans) that the Navajo would have been familiar with the flour tortilla. White flour had been introduced into the northern Mexican by the Europeans in around 1650, and corn tortillas had been replaced by white flour in that area for decades before 1864.  So the tortilla of these bordering northern Mexican states already included white flower. Then, instead of cooking in a fry pan or griddle without grease (or just a coating), you deep fry it in the lard provided by the government agents for a fluffier, dense, filling result. If you are given a handful of ingredients to make some type of nourishment on which to survive, it would be logical (and smart) to ask yourself, “what do I know to make that I could use or substitute some of these available rations with?” If I’m familiar with tortillas and can think of a way to basically just change the way I cook it to produce a much more filling piece of bread (and tastier if you don’t have the usual tortilla fillings), I’d vote for fry bread!

The Ultimate Variation: Indian Tacos!

Indian Fry bread is most often used as the foundation of the famous Indian Taco. At their most basic, Indian tacos are simply traditional taco fillings wrapped in fry bread, instead of being put into a taco shell. Originally (and often still) known as Navajo Tacos, they have been adopted by other tribal peoples nationwide. The Navajo Taco became popular very fast, being voted the State Dish of Arizona (where it was created) in a 1995 poll conducted by the Arizona Republic newspaper.

Besides being the universal modern Powwow food, Indian Tacos are also popular attractions at many fairs, festivals, and outdoor summer shows held all over the U.S. People line up in long lines to wait their turn to buy them freshly made. No plates or silverware are needed, just roll up the fry bread with your desired fillings and eat. For most appetites, a single Indian taco will make a complete meal.

Some people prefer to mix refried beans into the hamburger and seasoning mixture, both as an extender for the hamburger, and to help hold the taco meat mixture together. Place your hamburger mixture (or shredded beef or shredded pork.) in the middle of a warm piece of fry bread and add other toppings, such as taco sauce, chopped tomatoes, chopped scallions, sour cream, and shredded cheese.

If you love Indian fry bread and Indian tacos, and are in the Pawhuksa, Oklahoma on the first Saturday of October, be sure to drop in for The National Indian Taco Championship. Come hungry and be prepared to taste the best traditional tacos around. In addition to the tacos, you will also enjoy local bands, Native American dance demonstrations and craft vendor booths. There is always something for the kids from inflatables to children’s games, so bring the whole family and enjoy a beautiful day in Pawhuska.

Fry Bread Transition from Other Mexican Tortilla-Type Breads

José R. Ralat, Taco Editor for Texas Monthly and author of “American Tacos: A History and Guide” (University of Texas Press), tells an interviewer from “thetakeout.com” in May 2020 that he is starting to believe that with the Navajo, fry bread was something that transitioned from other tortilla-type breads that were learned from farther south. Then, when they were moved to a reservation in 1864 and their normal diet was replaced with government provided with a handful of less-healthy ingredients, flour was substituted for the traditional corn masa out of necessity and survival mode.

When you note that flour tortillas are typical of the U.S.-Mexican border region and the northern states of Mexico, including Sonora and Sinaloa, this theory appears very reasonable. They’re a consequence of Spanish conquest replacing corn with European white wheat flour introduced during the colonial period of New Spain. This would mean that Native American tribes, such as the Navajo, in the area would have been aware of flour as an ingredient in cooking long before 1864 and their removal to Basque Redondo.

But even if fry bread wasn’t simply a product of the Long Walk and subsequent internment, this perspective doesn’t detract from the significance of the back story of Navajo fry bread, and later, the fry bread taco. The elements of bread-making were already established when the Navajo were torn from their land. They simply used the government provided staples of lard, salt, and flour in a familiar way. As Jeffrey Pilcher, an expert in the subject of tacos and Mexican food and a professor of history at the University of Minnesota, explains, “People start innovating with ingredients when they have a lot of it around. In this case, government commodity programs may be part of the story.” They did what they could with what they had and, in turn, created something so powerful it nourished their bodies and their identities.

The First Navajo Taco ~ a new ‘wrinkle’ in Indian Fry Bread History leads to mass acceptance on a continent-wide level!

100 Years After Basque Redondo

The first Navajo taco was created by Lou Shepard, who worked for the Navajo tribe in the 1960s as manager of the Navajo Lodge, a tribally owned motel and restaurant. The story of how the Navajo taco was created was told to Dick Hardwick, managing editor of the Navajo Times by Allen Yazzie in 1970. Yazzie said he visited the restaurant at the Navajo Lodge on a cold wintery night in 1964. Due to the weather, he was the only customer. He told Shepherd that he was really hungry, having spent most of the day walking and hitchhiking from Forest Lake, Arizona. What a coincidence that this occurred 100 years after the forced removal that precipitated their creation!

When he asked Yazzie what he wanted to eat, he said he wanted to be surprised. The two were old friends, and Sheppard knew that Yazzie liked to blend different kinds of foods together, so when he went back into the kitchen to see what he had on hand the first thing he saw was some Navajo fry bread. He took one of them, placed it on his table and looked around to see what he could place on top of it.

The next thing he saw was some beans. He then added some red chili for a little zing. Shepherd later said he was making it up as I went along, deciding it needed more so he went took some tossed salad from the refrigerator and placed that on the beans and chili.

After Yazzie was called into the kitchen and saw what Shepherd had done, he was impressed and told Shepherd to “give him the works”. Shepherd then threw green chili on top of what he had made and presented it to Yazzie who dug in, saying it was one of the best things he had ever tasted.

He enjoyed the new creation so much that he urged Shepherd to add it to the regular menu (which he did the next day). It was an immediate sensation with his customers, and it soon became the restaurant’s most popular item. Shepherd was soon making as many as 75 Navajo Tacos a day, with many of his customers ordering it three or four times a week. He first called it “Lou’s Special”. However, when a customer came in and asked for a “Navajo taco” the name stuck and the rest as they say, is history. In this case, Indian fry bread history!

Indian Fry Bread Variations

The way fry bread is served varies from region to region and different tribes have variations on the recipe. It can be found in its many ways at state fairs and pow-wows, but what is served to the paying public may be different from what is served in private homes and in the context of tribal family relations.

A typical frybread recipe consists of flour, water, salt, a small amount of oil, and baking powder. The ingredients are mixed and worked into a simple dough and covered with a cloth for 30 minutes to an hour, until the dough rises. It is then formed into small balls and are either rolled or pulled into flat discs prior to frying in hot oil. 

Other variations include:

Chef Kris Harris, a Tohono O’odham of the popular Fry Bread House in Phoenix, takes the same position of that restaurant’s owner, Sandra Miller, also a Tohono O’odham, saying that vegetable shortening makes the fry bread puffy and fluffy. 

Sandra Miller, owner of Fry Bread House notes that everyone makes fry bread differently, comparing fry bread in the Southwest to the way pizza varies from place to place in a city like New York. 

Soft or Crispy? Maria and Carlos of Maria’s Frybread & Mexican Food in Arcadia, AZ both prefer crispy. To achieve this, they fry their dough longer. Their approach diverges from The Stand’s as they use a longer rest period of two hours—and lard, resulting in a rich, crispy fry bread.

Dough ‘rising / resting’ tip time for softer frybread: Set your dough inside of a microwave– a draft-free area, along with a small bowl of boiling water. This will cut the rising time in half to about 30 minutes. 

Fry bread in South Dakota (where fry bread is the official state food) is traditionally made with yeast instead of baking soda like the traditional Navajo recipe. This is because tribes on South Dakota reservations were rationed yeast instead of baking soda. 

Use pumpkin or squash with the fry bread recipe for Pumpkin Fry Bread (popular Seminole variation).

Substituting mayonnaise for oil in the dough (which produces a crisp, crunchy texture that resists getting soggy – ideal for Navajo tacos). 

Leavening the dough with a small container of yogurt or soured milk instead of using baking powder or yeast (produces a rich, sourdough flavor but requires several hours to fully leaven after the dough is prepared). 

Most frybread recipes do not use yeast at all because it was not typically available to Native peoples when this foodstuff was developed (it was/is used in the Dakotas where it was part of the rations). 

The traditional Utah and Southern Idaho scone is almost indistinguishable from frybread, due to the similar situation of limited resources faced by the Mormon pioneers of the 1800s. 

Fry Bread Trivia

Frybread was named the official state bread of South Dakota in 2005.

The Navajo taco was voted the State Dish of Arizona in a 1995 poll conducted by the Arizona Republic newspaper. 

The traditional Utah and Southern Idaho scone is almost indistinguishable from frybread, due to the similar situation of limited resources faced by the Mormon pioneers of the 1800s. 

Taco Tip: If using fry bread to wrap taco fillings, keep them soft by blotting quickly on paper towels and slipping them immediately into plastic freezer bags. If your fry bread has stiffened after cooling, you can soften it by microwaving for a few seconds.

Although fry bread is best served hot and out of the fryer, it can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Closing Thoughts on Indian Fry Bread History

Although a food that is not originally indigenous to Native American cuisine, fry bread has been considered for many years a Pan-Indian food nearly universal across the 574 federally recognized tribes. How ironic it is that fry bread, a food born from the desperation created by forced relocations of Native Americans from their traditional lands to often far away reservations, and the starvation that accompanied it, would become a touchstone of American Indian cuisine and culture. Bon Appetit!

Cooking Comparisons: Indian Fry Bread vs. Tortillas vs. Biscuits 

COMPARE: Except for the olive oil (not available at Fort Sumner in 1864) used in tortillas and biscuits, and the cooking method, all three recipes are identical!

FRY BREAD RECIPE

3 cups All Purpose Flour

1-1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt (Optional)

1-1/2 Cup Warm Water

Fry Bread Cooking Instructions: Heat a shallow pan on medium heat. Add in oil so that it fills the pan half way. You know oil is ready when test a small piece of the dough and it turn golden.

TORTILLA RECIPE

3 cups All Purpose Flour

1-1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt (Optional)

1-1/2 Cup Warm Water

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil (Tortilla and Biscuits Only)

Tortilla Cooking Instructions: If you are making tortillas then at this point you can warm up a skillet and form dough into round flat circles that are 1/4 inch thick and cook for at least 1 minute on each side.

BISCUIT RECIPE

3 cups All Purpose Flour

1-1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt (Optional)

1-1/2 Cup Warm Water

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil (Tortilla and Biscuits Only)

Biscuit Cooking Instructions: Preheat the oven to 420 degrees. Form biscuits into flat shaped disks. Arrange onto a baking pan and let cook for 15 -20 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown.

The recipe I use and love is called Grandma’s Fry Bread

INGREDIENTS

4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons powdered milk

1 1⁄2 cups warm water

1 cup shortening or lard 

Extra flour

DIRECTIONS:

Put flour in bowl, add baking powder, salt and powdered milk. Mix.

Mix in warm water to form dough.

Cover hands in flour.

Knead dough by hand until soft but not sticky. Cover with a cloth and let stand for 15 minutes.

Shape dough into balls about 2 inches across then flatten by patting and stretching the dough.

Melt shortening about an inch deep in frying pan. When hot put dough in pan. Fry one side till golden brown, then turn and fry the other.  Add toppings for savory or make it sweet for desert (your choice of toppings) Delicious!!!!

Winter; Here comes the White Walker 

As the winter months approach, it’s important that we understand the dangers of it. Whether we love or hate the pretty snow, 62% of homeowners who suffered winter weather damage will still be dealing with the consequences for a while.

Luckily, there are things you can do to prevent a lot of that damage. If you’re looking to prep for winter, we have you covered. Here’s our essential winter home maintenance checklist for the year.

1. Insulate Your Pipes

Your water pipes are not strong enough to withstand the transition from liquid water to ice. Water expands when it freezes with tremendous force that can overpower most residential pipes. To prevent this, you need to insulate them, especially at their most sensitive points, which are outside and close to it.

Wrap your pipes with insulation if they are within 5 feet of your foundation, outside walls, or if they are outside of your home, as these areas will have the highest exposure to the elements. The best part is that this insulation is extremely cheap and it could save you thousands of dollars and won’t interrupt your water usage.

Head to the hardware store and pick up some foam insulation (it will look like a pool noodle) and wrap the areas that need it most to prevent them from freezing over.

Next up, to save money on your utility bill, you should also insulate your water heater. Wrapping this up will help your water heat up faster, reduce your energy consumption, and allow you to access warm water when you need it.

Anything else containing liquid water during the warmer months should be winterized by removing the water and storing it away. This includes garden hoses and irrigation systems.

2. Change Furnace Filters

This could save you a fortune on your furnace, utility bill, and it will also improve the efficiency of your heating system. Changing the filter is easy to do, it’s cost-effective, and it only needs to be done once or twice a year.

3. Sweep the Chimney

When too much ash, embers, leaves, and other materials clog your fireplace, it poses a risk of chimney fires. It could also prevent smoke from exiting the chimney, meaning that it will only enter your home. You should have your chimney swept once a year to prevent this from happening.

4. Check Your Roof

Hiring a roof inspector is a great idea, but if you don’t want to spend that money, at least give it a thorough look while you are cleaning the leaves out of your gutters. Get up on the roof (safely) and look for any abnormalities. If you see anything that concerns you, contact a professional.

The additional weight that snow adds onto your roof puts it in a compromising position that may lead to wear, leaks, or collapse. A new roof can cost well over $10,000 to replace. Don’t underestimate the importance of home inspection.

5. Rotate Ceiling Fans

If you’ve never heard of this trick, it’s very handy! Heat naturally rises toward the ceiling, so during the winter, if you have your ceiling fans rotating backward, it will gently push cool air upwards, forcing the heated air back down to the floor.

This is an especially helpful trick if you have high ceilings, as it can be very wasteful to heat large spaces when it all goes to the top.

6. Check Your Heating System

Make sure that your heating system is running at optimal levels. You don’t want to find out that it doesn’t work on the first below-freezing day of the season, so if you want to check beforehand, open some windows, turn it on, and check each outlet to see how they perform.

Never use your oven as a backup, makeshift heater. It is very unsafe as both a fire and carbon monoxide hazard, so do not use it as a heater or leave it open for an extended period.

7. Check Your Detectors

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are important all year round, but even more so during the winter months. When you are running your fireplace or any other heating element, you are running the risk of both starting a fire and trapping carbon monoxide in your home.

Even if you replaced your smoke detector battery, you should replace it before the winter months. The last thing you want is to get up in the middle of a freezing night because your smoke alarm is beeping to tell you it needs a new battery.

Remember, nearly 50,000 fires are caused every year due to heating systems. Accidents happen, but you don’t want them to cost you your life.

7. Look Outside

Winter storms in Massachusetts can get brutal, and we’ve all seen downed trees littering the road. Don’t be fooled. They hit houses, too.

Take a look for any branches or dying trees that are in close proximity to your house, car, fence, or other valuable property. Intense wind could take out a dying tree with ease, so if you see something, either cut it yourself (if it’s an easy fix) or call in the professionals.

8. Seal Air Leaks

Covering your windows with clear plastic will do the most for preventing heat loss, but even sealing the cracks around doors and windows will go a long way. Having a professional do this will yield the best results, but using door stoppers and some insulation caulk, you could make a big difference on your own.

This will help lower your energy bills significantly, as anywhere from 10% to 50% of heat loss comes from air leaks, and it will also keep your house warm in the event of a power outage.

How to Prep for Winter Power Outages

We all saw what happened in Texas last year when they received an unexpected winter power outage. Well, if you’re thinking to yourself “I’m not from Texas. We’re prepared”, think again.

A winter power outage could cause serious problems in your home, and it could even kill you if you aren’t prepared. Of course, you want to follow all of the steps above in order to prevent heat loss, pipe bursts, and structural damage, but there are still important steps to protect yourself from a power outage.

Keep Warm Clothes Available

If you’ve lived in New England throughout your life, you probably have a heavy supply of warm clothes. If you’re new to the area, it’s time to make the investment and keep them handy.

If you bring your clothes to a laundromat, don’t have enough winter gear, or simply rely on the heat and a thick hoodie to get you by, you need to make sure there are clothes available to you during the winter months. It could save your life.

This means a thick winter jacket, blankets, and pants. If you run out of options to heat your home, it’s important that you have options to retain your body heat. If you prepare for the worst and it never comes, at least you were prepared for it.

Stock Up On Supplies

Having a wide variety of non-perishable food items, drinking water, and first aid supplies could save your life in these situations. Have these items ready and don’t use them unless you need to, and always replace them when you do. Some great purchases to stock up on for both safety and comfort are:

Carbs – Oats, rice, pasta, or quinoa.

Protein – Powder, jerky, or canned meat.

Canned fruits and vegetables – Variety is good.

Drinking water

Flashlight – With spare batteries

Soap

Toilet paper

Paper towels

Medical supplies -First aid, Band-Aids, gauze, and more.

This is a good start. For drinking water, it’s best to keep at least 10 gallons available. If your pipes are frozen or if you can’t access clean tap water, you may need to use several gallons of it a day, so having a few days’ worth (per person) is important.

Portable chargers are another great investment for keeping your phones and electronics charged. Keep them charged at all times throughout the winter and only use them as needed.

Remember, it may not be possible to run to the store during one of these storms, and even if you managed it, supplies will likely be thin. If you’ve ever seen shoppers in Massachusetts the day before a heavy snowstorm, you know why it’s important to get your supplies early. There are plenty of other supplies you may need, but this will get you started.

Find a Smaller Space

If you have a smaller room within your house, especially one that doesn’t have windows or doors to the outside, use it. Bring food, drinking water, entertainment, and anything else that you need into the room in the event of a power outage to limit the time that you have to leave the room.

Your body heat alone will be enough to heat up a small enough space quite significantly over time. Start with layers of clothing, bring your necessary supplies, pets, and family members in with you, and allow the space to warm up. Seal off the bottom of the door to trap heat in the room.

If conditions are extreme, create a small space within a small room by using a tent or building a blanket shelter to allow your body heat to warm it up even faster.

Alternatively, in extreme conditions, get into your car. Assuming the roads are too bad to drive on, it’s okay to idle for a while and use the heat in the car. This will also allow you to charge your phone for emergencies.

Use Your Fireplace

Of course, if you have a fireplace and wood, you’re golden. That’s assuming you have your firewood in an easily accessible location. However, if you have a fireplace and no supplies, find scrap wood or kindling around your house. Even a small fire could make a large difference for the room if you seal it off.

As I mentioned, never use your oven for heat. If you have a gas stove or a gas oven, it’s okay to cook with them, which will provide some heat. Boiling a pan of water on the stove can add some heat and humidity, while also providing safe water to use.

Get a Generator

Lastly, a generator could save your life, keep your house warm, and keep your food from spoiling. If you can afford a generator, it may be the best investment you made in your life and it will prevent a devastating winter storm from causing too much damage to you or your property.

Without a doubt, a generator is the best way to maintain maximum comfort and safety during a winter power outage, especially combined with a fireplace. If you have both, you’re good to go!

Just remember that a generator is a waste if you don’t have fuel. Gasoline or diesel can degrade over time, especially in the colder months, so after a few weeks, use the can to fill up your car and refill it.

Stay Warm and Enjoy!

Now that you have the right winter home maintenance checklist, you can enjoy your winter with a newfound peace of mind and spirit for the season. It doesn’t have to be too difficult, so just spend a weekend preparing for the worst, and then hope to spend the season enjoying the best!

Do not become victim of the Winter White Walker!