West River Eagle

Southwest flavors and art inspire Lakota Cook of the Month



Orlando Avery

Orlando Avery has an adventurous palate and a deep and abiding love for the cuisine of New Mexico.

Orlando, also known as “Lando”, grew up in Red Scaffold and in Bozeman, Montana. His mother, Rosalita Roach, was famous for her enormous garden, so Orlando was already primed to love fresh food and all-natural ingredients before he ever travelled to Santa Fe, New Mexico for college in 2010.

His mother’s garden was so big, Orlando says, “every time we went to harvest, we would give to the community, as well for our own personal use. We raised chickens. At the time we had our own little food source going on… Now that I am learning more about food sources and where food comes from, a lot of those memories are coming back to me.”

He credits his mom with teaching him cooking methods for fresh homemade food.

Orlando moved to Santa Fe to pursue a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts at the Institute for American Indian Arts. He is currently studying Museum Studies with a focus on curating and archiving. He is continuing his studies online, and his goal is to open an art space on Cheyenne River. His passion for sharing the stories and voices of artists extends to the stories of food and what it communicates.

It took while for Orlando to come to love the flavors of New Mexico. When he first arrived, he was surprised to see green chile offered on a hamburger at McDonald’s – and he didn’t like it. Now he keeps both green and red chile on hand all the time.

“I just adapted ever since I’ve been living down there going to school. I’ve adapted my tongue towards the chile. When I moved home, I just missed it. I crave it. I always have my friends send me some care packages of that,” he said.

He started to think about how we experience the memory of food and to look up recipes on YouTube. Quarantine has caused him to focus more on making things, and on making food.

“It was just another branch off of art, you know. And I kind of miss doing art. I’ve just been using a lot of food methods and practicing around with different flavors, different genres of food. I enjoy everything. I’m not just a person to see the regular American food or native American food, I enjoy different cuisines. It’s my hobby to try different things,” he said.

“I kind of miss doing art. I’ve just been using a lot of food methods and practicing around with different flavors, different genres of food.” – Orlando Avery

Orlando’s artistic interests are equally varied and he is learning about different mediums.

“I started learning the trends of beadwork, learning the trends of printing, the art of quill work. I went into the art of sewing, doing applique work, just doing these different genres of art,” he said.

With the right ingredients stocked in his pantry from care packages and local shopping, Orlando took the inspired step to broadcast his cooking from home on Facebook Live. He’s inspired people across the country and across Cheyenne River to be more passionate about food, to try new things, and to see that cooking can be a relationship-building event.

“I think my educational component to my dishes that I’m bringing forth on my Facebook Live is just to play around with fresh food, different cuisine level. In Eagle Butte, all we have had access to is the Subway, Taco John’s and Dairy Queen,” said Orlando.

But according to the adventurous cook, Cheyenne River “is slowly getting into the mainstream of cuisine.”

Orlando works as a server and bartender at the Number Nine Steakhouse in downtown Eagle Butte, which is owned by friend, Cheryl Dupris.

“This is her second year opening. We just have a passion for food and she has a full food truck as well,” he said.

With the stay-at-home orders in effect, Orlando has taken to ordering some more hard-to-find ingredients online, usually from Walmart. He has also been very pleased with the selection at Lakota Thrifty Mart. He says it’s awesome to see people trying new ingredients like bok choi, Napa cabbage, or kimchi. He also likes to shop in Rapid City and Pierre at Walmart, the food coops, and the Metro Food Store. When he can, he also likes to shop at Whole Food and Trader Joes.

He recently received a shipment of green and red chile from a friend in New Mexico, got some New Mexico-style coffee, and is waiting on a shipment of Korean spices and chile paste. When they arrive, he’s going to try his hand at Korean beef bulgogi.

When Orlando is really hungry and doesn’t know what to cook, his go-to meals are pasta and marinara sauce. He always keeps green and red chile in his pantry, along with chicken stock, garlic, flour, lots of fresh vegetables, salads, and fruit.

Cooking for one person has not always been easy, said Orlando, who points out the traditional style of cooking for an entire tiwahe.

“I’m trying to train myself to just buy what I need, not an abundance so it doesn’t go to waste. But I think it’s like that in general with indigenous cooking. When you cook, you don’t just cook for yourself. You always just cook and when it comes out, you have leftovers. So it’s hard to portion your sizes and learn to make smaller portions because it’s just you,” he said.

Orlando brings his passions for creativity to the students he teaches at the high school in La Plante, where he lives now. He teaches Lakota Language and Culture to grades 8-11 and physical education to grades K-6. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the tribal college in Eagle Butte.

Pork and Red Chile Tamales

You will need: two large mixing bowls, small juice glass, large saucepan, whisk, Instant Pot/slow cooker/roasting pan, large saucepan with tightly fitted lid and steamer basket.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Ingredients:

For the roast

5 lbs pork roast

1 onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Red Chili Sauce

1 C plus 3 T lard

3 T white flour

1/2 C New Mexican red chili powder

2 C water

For the Corn Masa

4 C chicken stock or water

6 cups masa corn flour

2 T baking powder

1 package corn husks, soaked for 30-60 minutes

Pork Roast

Pat meat dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper, Place in roasting pan with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Add garlic and onion. Cover and cook until tender, or until it falls apart, for several hours. Remove from pan. Shred and place in large bowl. Add 2 C previously prepared red chili sauce, below, and let sit for 20 minutes so the flavors can marry. Put the corn husks in to soak.

Red Chili Sauce

Melt 3 T lard in a large saucepan. Sprinkle in 3 T flour. Mix together and cook roux briefly until fragrant but not burned. Add 1/2 C chili powder, combine briefly. Add water, whisk and simmer until thickened. Remove from heat immediately. Reserve some sauce for the corn masa mixture. Use the rest for the roast, above.

Note: The amount of water is flexible depending on your liking. I usually add about 2 cups because you are going to need enough sauce for your pork roast filling and your masa dough.

Corn Masa Dough

While the roast is cooling, sift together corn masa flour and baking powder. Work in 1 C lard to get small crumble texture. Add stock or water and mix to peanut butter texture. Tip: Fill a glass with water and add a pea-sized amount of dough to the water. If it floats the masa is ready. Add a little red chili sauce, above, for flavor if desired.

Assembly and Cooking

Grab a corn husk. Add masa dough (enough to cover half of husk) and spread like butter on the husk. Add pork filling and wrap the husk around the filling. Make sure it’s tight enough so the filling won’t fall out during the cooking process. Steam in a single layer over gently boiling water for 60-90 minutes. When done the masa will pull apart from corn husk easily. Enjoy!

Watermelon Salad

You will need a large mixing bowl.

Ingredients:

1 watermelon, peeled, and diced

1 cucumber, optional, sliced thin

1/2 C packed fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped or shredded

1/2 C packed fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped or shredded

2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 C lemon juice

2 T olive oil

1 c feta cheese, crumbled

Combine watermelon and cucumber. Add herbs and mix well. Add lemon juice and olive oil and combine to emulsify slightly. Add feta and mix together well. Top with kosher salt and chill for an hour.

Cucumber Lime Agua Fresca

You will need a blender, serving pitcher, small saucepan.

Ingredients:

4 cucumbers, cubed. Reserve 4-5 slices.

6 limes, juiced. Divide in two equal parts.

1 1/2 C white sugar

2 sprigs fresh mint

8 C water

Process cucumber and half of lime juice in blender. Blend for 3-4 minutes, then strain into pitcher. Fill with cool water. Combine sugar with remaining lime juice in small saucepan. Heat on medium and gently stir until sugar is fully dissolved. Add to pitcher and mix. Add mint and reserved cucumber slices to the top of the pitcher and chill for 2 hours. Serve over ice.

SCREENSHOT OF A HOMECOOKING VIDEO
Orlando Avery prepares calabacitas, a Southwestern dish primarily made with zucchini and corn.

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