You know, I think our traditional Thanksgiving meal is about as close as we get to indigenous food, right? The wild turkeys were here when the first Puritans arrived. The native Americans were raising corn and squash and beans, I think, and sunflowers as well, which was a major vegetable protein source for them via the seeds which are easy to preserve. Cranberries are native in some parts of the country, and so is wild rice. So, all those ingredients are more or less indigenous American foods. Maybe one problem is that our nation is so large geographicaly, so we do have more regionalized "America food" depending on what foods are readily available in each region instead of a well-known "American" cuisine. For example, if you grew up in Boston, you might argue that lobster and Boston baked beans are true American cuisine, but if you grew up in Georgia or South Carolina, maybe you'd insist it was barbeque, baked beans, cornbread and grits. I was thinking about what kind of native food a forager would find growing naturally here in Oklahoma....there's wild game, of course, and wild blackberries and wild grapes here in southern OK, and some of you probably have wild huckleberries or currants in some eastern parts of the state that we don't have here. Here in southern OK, we have the wild prickley pears (you can make jelly from them) and native pecans and walnuts, and persimmons. There's also several kinds of wild plums, and you can fish in the Red River for catfish. Dorothy, I think I am going to grow peanuts next year so we can make our own peanut butter without all the additives. I remember having a Mr. Peanut machine when I was a little kid....you put the peanuts in his hat and turned the handle and got peanut butter (a peanut paste probably would be a better description). It was simple, so it seems like it'd be simple to make homemade peanut butter in the food processor or blender. Carol, I love all those old Southern Living recipe books...they are my kind of cooking! Another great cookbook full of old-style southern cooking is Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook, which came out at about the same time that her book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, was made into the movie of the same name. If my grandmother and southern aunts had written a cookbook of the foods they prepared their entire lives, it would have been very, very similar to Fannie Flagg's cookbook. Dawn

Here's one.... SWEET POTATO PANCAKES 1 lb. sweet potatoes Cold water 1/4 lemon 2 eggs 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tbsp. granulated sugar 2 to 3 tbsp. oil 2 to 3 tbsp. butter TIPS: Pancakes can be made ahead. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes. Peel potatoes and shred fine. Place in large bowl of cold water mixed with juice of 1/4 lemon. When ready to cook, drain well and pat dry. In large bowl, beat eggs lightly. Blend in flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar. Stir in sweet potatoes. In large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter. Spoon about 3 tablespoons potato mixture into skillet, forming 3-inch pancake. Repeat, spacing pancakes in skillet. Cook until golden on underside. Turn pancakes over. Press lightly with spatula. Let cook until other side is lightly browned and crisp. Transfer to paper-lined baking sheet. Keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, adding oil and butter as needed. 4 serving, 12 pancakes

Susan, they all sound good, especially the pie. Ann

Dariana -- the following recipe that a GW poster named jadite posted years ago would work well in your situation, since it reheats well. Fiery Sweet Potatoes Time: About 2 hours 5 pounds sweet potatoes 1 cup coconut milk 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon salt. 1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake potatoes on a baking sheet until very soft, about 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, peel and mash. 2. In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk with curry paste over low heat. Mix coconut milk mixture, half the sugar, half the butter, and salt into potatoes. Keep warm until ready to serve, or cover and refrigerate up to two days. 3. At least 30 minutes before serving, heat oven to 425 degrees. Put potatoes in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover potatoes, dot with remaining butter and sugar and broil until brown and crusty on top, checking often to prevent scorching. Yield: 10 to 12 servings. Notes: I've made this, the full 5lbs, following the recipe up through step 2. I've frozen it in portions at this stage. If I'm serving it to guests, I'll finish it with the butter and brown sugar because it makes a prettier presentation. If it's just for DH and me, I skip this. It's good enough as is. <-- note from jadite. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first year I made it for Thanksgiving I got started later than I ought to have, and didn't have time to roast the sweet potatoes, so instead I cubed them and boiled them for about 10-15 minutes. I also had a fair number of various colored carrots so I sliced them crosswise, caramelized them in olive oil, while the sweet potatoes cooked and then added the curry paste to the carrots and later the coconut milk. Then when then sweet potatoes were cooked, put them in a baking pan, pour on the carrot-coconut-curry sauce, and mix the sauce in and lightly mash the potatoes. Then top with butter and brown sugar as the above recipe states and bake for about twenty minutes.